Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1224
“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient.” 1 Peter 2:7,8.
So it always is where Jesus comes—He divides the company into Believers and unbelievers—the obedient and the disobedient. But why are unbelievers, here, called disobedient? Is faith a matter of law and because a man does not believe, does he therefore disobey? How can it be otherwise? Is it not a natural duty for every man to believe that which is true? Let the very least among us judge in so simple a matter! It so happens that in the very form and sound of the words in the original tongue, to believe and to obey are much the same and, certainly, to disbelieve and to disobey are things of very near relationship. To disbelieve is in its very essence disobeying, for he who disbelieves the Word of the King is disloyal at heart.
If I doubt the veracity of God I have assailed His authority and if, when He sets forth His Son to be a Propitiation for sin, I refuse to accept Him, disobedience is included in that rejection. As it were difficult to tell by which form of sin our father, Adam, fell, for all sins were wrapped up in the taking of the forbidden fruit, so unbelief contains within itself the eggs of all sins possible to men. Moreover, unbelief of God’s Word is the root of all other sin. A man who does not believe his God is a man who casts off the Law of God. He has already rejected God’s Gospel—why should he respect the Law?
If the silken cords of love are broken asunder, how much less is the man likely to bear the bonds of law? Now, inasmuch as it is painfully certain that a very large proportion of these who hear the Gospel are unbelieving and disobedient, it becomes important to consider, What is the result of this disobedience? This disobedience leads them into violent opposition. What effect does their opposition produce? The text tells us the result of human opposition upon Christ Himself, and, secondly upon the persons who offer it.
I. Let us consider, in the first place, then, THE RESULT OF THE UNBELIEF AND THE OPPOSITION OF MEN AGAINST THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. We are told that, as far as He is concerned, “the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner”—in one word, it has not affected Him at all! The opposition of mankind has, by no means, and in no degree, lessened the Glory which God has put upon His dear Son. The builders rejected the stone with disdain—“It shall not be built,” they said, “in the temple of our hope.”
But, God has said, “It shall be the top stone,” and the top stone it is, and shall be, despite all the opposition of earth or Hell. The rage of puny man shall no more defeat the Lord than the anger of a gnat can affect the sun! Human opposition shall no more thwart the Divine will than a sere leaf cast into Niagara can block the water flow. He that stumbles upon this stone shall be broken, but the stone itself will not be injured. Observe how the Lord Jesus has been rejected of man and yet His cause has stood against all opposition.
First came the Jew. He had the pride of race to maintain. Were not the Jews the chosen people of God? Was not Israel set apart by the Most High? Jesus comes preaching the Gospel to every creature. He sends His disciples even to the Gentiles and, therefore, the Jews will not have Him. They have been looking for a temporal prince. Jesus does not come with the magnificence they expected—He is a root out of a dry ground, without form or comeliness—they see nothing of Solomon’s splendor in the poor scion of the dried-up stock of David. Therefore, “Away with Him! Let Him be crucified!”
But the opposition of His countrymen did not defeat the cause of Christ. If rejected in Palestine, His Word was received in Greece. It triumphed in Rome, it passed onward to Spain, it found a dwelling place in Britain and at this day it lights up the face of the earth! The persecution of the Apostles at Jerusalem hastened the spread of the Gospel, for they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word, so that Jewish enmity was overruled for good and the foolish builders were made subservient to the uplifting of the rejected headstone!
Next arose the philosopher to be the Gospel’s foe. Different schools of thought held sway over the more cultivated minds of the period and no sooner did Paul begin to preach where these philosophies were known than they called him a babbler. They heard what he had to say and condemned him as a fool. This resurrection from the dead, this doctrine of an Incarnate God who suffered for human sin—it was too simple for them, too plain to fit in with their subtle philosophies. But though philosophy made terrible inroads, for a while, on the Church of God in the form of the Gnostic heresy, did it really impede the chariot wheels of Christ? Did it conquer the faith?