The Cross is an Obstacle to Logic
Don’t Stumble – Part 1

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:5-10

Key Verse: 1 Peter 2:8

“A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for.

In today’s printed key verse, the Apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote of the obstacle of the cross.  His wording was, “He is the stone that makes people stumble.”  The cross gets in man’s way—his way of thinking!  For the Jewish people, they felt like they were the only people God truly loved.  God had chosen Abraham and they were descendants of Abraham.  For the Jewish “thinking,” that makes all Jews special and no one else gets their same privileges.

When Jesus died on the cross for all people, thus inviting everyone to join God’s family by faith in Jesus, this became a problem for the Jews.  This was the true cause of the Jews rejecting the Gospel.  They had a deep prejudice in them against any non-Jewish person.  Gentiles, for them, were intolerable and they refused to believe that their longed for Messiah would ever suggest that all people can come into God’s family.  They stumbled because they did not obey God’s Word (vs. 8b).

You and I must be careful not to stumble like the Jewish people did.  We would never think the thoughts they had, nor follow their logic!  However, we can easily develop our own thinking that does not line up with the Word of God.  We’ll look at examples of our poor logic tomorrow.  Today, let’s determine to not stumble, rather, let’s believe!

Father, I submit my thoughts to your Holy Spirit for review.  Please correct any and all logic that does not fall in line with your Word.  In Jesus’ name, amen.