by Dr. Ralph L. ' Keiper
ROCK OF OFFENSE
S o m e o f o u r Jewish friends may consciously or subconsciously won der why the Gentiles obtained the righteousness of God on the one hand while Israel seemingly missed it on the other. Romans 9:30 asks, “How is it that the Gentiles came to know this wonderful truth?” Paul points out, however, that there is a basic difference to be established. Israel sought her own righteousness and the end thereof was spiritual and national death. They had a ritual of “do” while God’s law had been fulfilled in Christ and was “done.” Do not be fooled. There are many religions, some of them bearing the name Christian, which do not depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salva tion. They may pay Him lip service, however, their hearts are far from Him. There is one legalistic group today which, among other things, does not favor meat eating. Yet they evi dently enjoy meat since they go to extremes trying to find artificial sub stitutes. Man, by nature, can never keep the law of God. How foolish it is for Christians who have the opportunity to trust the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts, to fall into the same error as Israel. Israel had the law in tables of stone. It was always plain ly before them. Yet they still went their own selfish ways. They habitual ly shunned the law since it revealed to them how really far away they were from God. They tried to get around it by tradition and compromise. Ro mans 9 :30 to 32 reveals this all to us. God had made provision for Israel’s failure to keep the law, however, they were not interested. In a sense they “played tag” with the Lord. The Gen tiles knew they were excluded and were aliens. Yet to these the Lord Jesus Christ came to bring personal, individual, and eternal salvation. Man does not attain heaven through a
“do” religion, but rather based upon the completed work of Christ. The hymn writer had it correct, “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. All for sin cannot atone, Thou must save and Thou alone. Rock of Ages, Cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.” Here is where Israel stumbled. She did not know the Rock. This is the meaning of verse 33. Paul borrows a figure of speech from Isaiah 28:13-16. DON 'T CARRY THE BURDENS OF TOMORROW God broke our years into hours and days, That hour by hour, and day by day, Just going on a little way, W e m ight be able, all along, To keep quite strong. Should all the weight of life be laid Across our shoulders at just one place, A n d the future, rife with woe and struggle, M eet us face to face: W e could not go; Our feet would stop, and so God lays a little on us every day. A n d never, I believe, in all life's way. W ill burdens bear so deep, Or pathways lie so steep, But we can go, if, by G od's power, W e only bear the burden of the hour. The only way of salvation has been, is, and will always be, by faith alone. This is the Stone at which men stum ble today. To those of us who have accepted the Saviour we find Him tried and true. His oath, His covenant, His blood Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.
9
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker