“That Stumbling Stone”

Romans 9:32

There are many who earnestly desire salvation and eternal life, who will never be saved. There are many thoughtful and zealous men and women who very eagerly seek salvation, who will perish under the curse of God’s holy law. They want to be saved, but they will not bow to God’s way of salvation. “I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:2-3).

Mark those words, “submitted themselves”. Many will not be saved, multitudes will perish forever in hell under the wrath of God because they will not submit to God’s righteousness, that righteousness established by God in the Person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some of you who read these lines are not yet saved, simply because you will not submit to salvation by grace alone through the imputed righteousness of a Substitute. You talk about grace, waiting for grace, and praying for grace. You may talk about wanting to trust Christ. But you only deceive yourself. Your problem is that you keep trying to do something, find something, feel something, or experience something, anything of your own that you can bring to God along with the blood and righteousness of Christ for salvation.

Proud man wants to save himself. You believe you can do it. You will not submit to salvation by Christ alone. If you would be saved, you must make your suit before the bar of God as an undeserving, hell-bent, hell-deserving sinner, seeking the unmerited gift of his salvation on the footing of mercy alone! This is the thing the carnal mind cannot do - it cannot beg for grace. You think that you can work out a righteousness of your own which God will accept, or at least that you can say, or do, or think, or feel some good things which will supplement the righteousness and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You will not be saved by pure grace alone. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Foundation Stone upon which all God’s elect are built; but he is “that stumbling stone” over which proud sinners who will not submit to the righteousness of God in him, stumble into hell.

In order to be saved, you must throw away your filthy rags of self-righteousness. You must come to Christ in your naked guilt, sin, and loathsomeness, or you will never be an heir of eternal life.

“Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked come to Thee for dress,

Helpless look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Savior, or I die.”

The only way for a sinner to obtain righteousness before God is by submitting himself to Christ by faith. Until you are willing to be saved by grace alone, through the merits of Christ alone, you cannot be saved.

Don Fortner