Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



a stone over which men stumble and a rock of offence; they stumble over it in their disobedience to God's word. Such is their appointed doom. Verse ConceptsLibertinismPredestined PlansStumblingAbuse, Of Christian FreedomProphecies Concerning ChristStumbling Over ChristPeople StumblingChrist The RockRoyal Priesthood






















What are we to conclude, then? That Gentiles who never aimed at righteousness have attained righteousness, that is, righteousness by faith; whereas Israel who did aim at the law of righteousness have failed to reach that law. And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble ??33 as it is written, Here I lay a stone in Sion that will make men stumble, even a rock to trip them up; but he who believes in Him will never be disappointed.

Jews demand miracles and Greeks want wisdom, but our message is Christ the crucified ??a stumbling-block to the Jews, 'sheer folly' to the Gentiles,


Then, I ask, has God repudiated his People? Never! Why, I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin! God has not repudiated his People, his predestined People! Surely you know what scripture says in the passage called 'Elijah'? You know how he pleads with God against Israel: Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thine altars; I alone am left, and they seek my life. read more.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous.

a stone over which men stumble and a rock of offence; they stumble over it in their disobedience to God's word. Such is their appointed doom. Verse ConceptsLibertinismPredestined PlansStumblingAbuse, Of Christian FreedomProphecies Concerning ChristStumbling Over ChristPeople StumblingChrist The RockRoyal Priesthood





What are we to conclude, then? That Gentiles who never aimed at righteousness have attained righteousness, that is, righteousness by faith; whereas Israel who did aim at the law of righteousness have failed to reach that law. And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble ??33 as it is written, Here I lay a stone in Sion that will make men stumble, even a rock to trip them up; but he who believes in Him will never be disappointed.


come to him then ??come to that living Stone which men have rejected and God holds choice and precious, come and, like living stones yourselves, be built into a spiritual house, to form a consecrated priesthood for the offering of those spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For thus it stands in the scripture: Here I lay a Stone in Sion, a choice, a precious cornerstone: he who believes in him will never be disappointed. read more.
Now you believe, you hold him 'precious,' but as for the unbelieving ??the very stone the builders rejected is now the cornerstone, a stone over which men stumble and a rock of offence; they stumble over it in their disobedience to God's word. Such is their appointed doom.