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1 Peter 2:8
8 And [kai] a stone [lithos] of stumbling [proskomma], and [kai] a rock [petra] of offence [skandalon], even to them which [hos] stumble [proskopto] at the word [logos], being disobedient [apeitheo]: whereunto [eis] [hos] also [kai] they were appointed [tithemi]. KJV-Interlinear
8 and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. NASB
When a person is running down the sidewalk, they are in a hurry to get to where they are going. They have a plan and a destination, and they hurry along their way.
Now, they come across a stone in the walkway, and they see it, and they stumble over it and fall off their preferred path to their preferred destination. They get up and they continue running.
They again see a stone in the walkway, and they stumble over it, and fall off their preferred path to their preferred destination. They get up and they continue running.
They again see a stone in the walkway, and they stumble over it, and fall off their preferred path to their preferred destination. They get up and they continue running.
And they do this over and over, again and again throughout their entire, repeat, entire life.
How can a person live an entire life, whether twenty or fifty or ninety years in length, and never think these six little words, ‘Father I believe in Jesus Christ.’? How is that possible? In fact, they make an effort to not, think these six little words.
And as they stumble over the stone, which is in their way, instead of pondering the stone, instead of going off their preferred path and onto an alternate path, which the stone would have detoured them onto, they not only stumble over the stone, but grow to be offended, ‘skandalon,’ by the stone.
The stone is of course, Christ. The detour path is the Christian life. Their chosen path is the path of eternal condemnation. But in all of this, these folks live for years, for decades, for an entire lifetime, and they see or are aware of the stone (Christ), all of their life, and they stubbornly refuse to recognize Him.
Such is the power of arrogance. It can place a tremendous stubbornness inside of you, and unless you gain some spiritual muscle through doctrine, you cannot overcome it.
But doctrine does you no good, unless you first believe in Christ, and belief in Christ takes no more than a second. And yet people will hold out for years and years and years. And why? How much can it cost you to think these six little words? What possible harm could it do?
And the alternative to salvation is the Lake of Fire, and that is the appointed destiny for unbelievers.
Believers will go to heaven, regardless of their spiritual growth. Salvation guarantees you a place in heaven with God, forever. And that guarantee comes to you in that initial instant of time when you first believed in Christ.
To refuse, is to reject heaven and to embrace the alternative destiny, the Lake of Fire.
There are only two possible destinies. There is no third possibility.
In eternity past, when God set out the divine decrees, He decreed that believers would go to heaven, and that unbelievers would go to the Lake of Fire. That has never changed, and never will.
Stubbornness, is described here to show how extensive it can be in ones life. But remember that Peter is addressing believers who are under suffering. And as such, even believers can adopt a stubborn attitude about things in life.
When a person does not pay attention to his daily studies, then he is wide open for being influenced by the many opinions from this world. He can adopt the same running down the path and stumbling over the stone (doctrine in this case), as the unbelievers do.
So beware, and be forewarned. Doctrine is there for all to see, and see it everyone does. Don’t make the same mistakes and continue to ignore the many truths in life, for all of your life, but instead apply your daily life to a daily study, so that your eyes can be opened to the many traps that this world has laid out for you.
The objective of this world is to distract you away from doctrine, and as such, distract you away from your spiritual growth.
The world has no value to give you, but doctrine has tremendous value (infinite) to give to you.
Which is worth more?
