A Rock of Offense by R.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 30, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 25.

A Rock of Offense

By R.

CHRIST is called a “Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense.” This is because the acceptance of Christ requires the denial of everything that is pleasing to the natural heart. But this same Stone is the Foundation-rock of Ages. There is no other foundation on which life can be built to endure. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands is represented as destroying all the nations that are antagonistic to the kingdom of God. One must either fall upon that Rock and be broken, he must accept Christ and build his life’s structure upon this Rock, or the word is that the Rock will fall and grind him to powder.

The kingdom of God will be established, but it can be established only by the destruction of every particle of opposition, and that it will fully destroy all sin and evil is well represented by the expression: “It shall grind him to powder.” In the vision of the prophet Daniel the particles of the image representing the nations were broken in pieces by the stone that smote the image upon the feet, and in the destruction of this image it became as “the chaff of the summer thrashing-floor; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.”

While Christ is a Rock of offense to those who choose the evil way, yet it is most unfortunate for any one to take this view of the case. “Blessed is he,” says Christ, “whosoever is not offended in Me.” The only real blessedness or happiness or success comes in finding Christ’s way our way, and there never can be any real happiness, true blessedness, in a course or determination which makes Christ an offender. There is no reason for offense. The offense, if any, is due to the unreasonable attitude of humanity, for great peace have they that love God’s law, and nothing shall offend them.

Judgment may be convinced. We may see that the claims of Christ are proper, but with the revelation of the Christ comes always the revelation of our sin. We can not keep our sin and obtain Him also. We can not follow His way and our own sinful way. And so the final decision in all cases as to whether we shall accept the way of Christ or not depends merely upon whether we are willing to give up our sin or not. We may reason and argue and explain, but the kingdom of God and the great plans of God will go on to work out their destined and blessed results for all those who accept, and their strange and inexorable effects upon those who oppose.