1 Peter, 2:6-8
Gene Fuqua · Dec 3, 2006
1 & 2 Peter (2006-07), No. 10
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926010221829

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Well, we're continuing today in 1 Peter 2, verses 6-8. And let's read that verse there. Listen as I read. For this is contained in Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone, 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."

Last week's lesson, you saw in 1 Peter 2, verses 4 and 5, Christ the living stone, and that He is precious to God the Father, and that He has been rejected by men. And also you saw that we are being built up a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up living spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now today, our attention is focused on the Lord as the touchstone of human destiny.

The Old Testament passages concerning the stone are taken from Isaiah 26-16, Psalm 118-22, Isaiah 8-14. Okay, just those three. Now, the word Jesus also comes verses to himself. We see in Matthew 21, 42. Jesus said to them, did you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected?

This became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. And then Peter is using this imagery in his encounter with the Sanhedrin. He did this in the book of Acts. He said that Christ is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. So let's begin now with this verse 6.

Let's start with, for this is contained in Scripture. This is a really rich thought here. This indicates that this is not an exact quotation the way it's phrased. But this reference seeks for the essence of the idea. This truth about Jesus lies within the scriptures. It's contained within the scriptures.

I'm reminded of Psalm 40, verse 7, where the Lord says, Behold, I come in the scroll, in the book, it is written of me. You remember when Jesus was being accused by those Jews, and they were finding fault with Him, and they were trying to kill Him. He said to them, You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me. And you will not come to Me that you might have life.

Christ can be seen throughout the Scriptures. He's contained in them. And they knew scriptures, but they didn't have the spiritual understanding. You know, the natural man received not the things of the Spirit of God. And so, they could not see Him. They did not recognize. They didn't will to see Him. They didn't really have a heart for Him. They wanted a Messiah who would come in glory and not a humble Messiah who would come and suffer.

And then Isaiah 45, 15 says, truly you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, Savior. He is a God who is, the reality of him can be seen in the scriptures for the spiritual mind. And if you think about it, Not only is Christ a mystery to the natural mind, but how many really understand what the true church is today? I mean, they really don't know. It's a mystery. Paul calls it a mystery, the church. So the majority of people would think of the church as the outward form of everything, with all the ceremonies and the traditions and things.

But Christ is there, he's contained, and he makes himself manifest. He that has my commandments and keeps them, he says, he it is that loves me. And he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. He reveals himself. He's contained in Scripture.

Now the word behold here, I'm still learning about the Greek, but it's imperative middle voice. Vern may have to help me on this, but I think what it's saying here is see what I have done for you, because what's the subject here? The subject is you. You behold. You see what I'm doing here. Look at it. Know what I've done here.

And he says, Behold. Isaiah 28, 16 says, Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly stone, For the foundation firmly placed, he who believes in it will not be disturbed." And you see this term, behold, in various places in the scripture, like, behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.

That's Isaiah 7.14 and other verses. So, see what God is doing. behold, look, see what he's doing. Now he says, I lay in Zion. Now who's doing the laying? God the Father. And so he is the builder. And he is the one, we know in scripture says that I know that what God does, it shall be forever. And he's doing something. He says, I lay in Zion. Zion. A hill in Jerusalem.

And figuratively, we see the church here. So, this suggests that the foundation, speaking of Zion, I lay in Zion, it speaks of, or suggests that the foundation of the church will be laid at Jerusalem. And we know that it was laid there because Jerusalem is where Christ suffered, died, and of course was raised the third day. And it was at Jerusalem that the gospel began.

Jerusalem, Samaria, Judea, I mean it was just passed right off from Jerusalem. Okay, now we come to the stone. A stone. This is a unique stone. that ties all the other stones together. And it's what we as believers rest on, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our cornerstone. He supports the entire church.

Ephesians 2.20-22 says this, Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together in the dwelling of God in the Spirit." There are three adjectives here that describe the stone. First, choice. It's not a common stone. This stone is chosen and it's the object of God's approval.

I am reminded of the time when Samuel came to Jesse, the father of David. And he said he wanted to appoint a king to replace Saul. And he said, OK, one of your sons is going to be the man. And so he began looking at the sons. And there were seven sons that passed by Samuel. And every time he would say, the Lord has not chosen him. Not chosen him. Not chosen him. Seven sons. Then Samuel said, well, do you have another son? And David. Yeah, we have David. He's the youngest. So they brought him. And then the Lord said, anoint him. This is he. And that's the same idea with the Lord Jesus. He is the one chosen. The choice.

And another adjective here, cornerstone. The meaning is that it's a stone lying at the extreme corner. This refers to the position of the stone in the building. It is a cornerstone that controls the lines of the building. It's not a buried foundation, but it's a stone that you can see. And then the other adjective here is precious, valuable. costly. This stone has an inestimable value. It's God's evaluation. To God the Father, Christ is precious. So it's a tremendous thought to think on, isn't it? That this is my beloved son, he says, in whom I am well pleased. It's wonderful to know that he's pleased with him. And he's pleased with the work that he has done on our behalf.

Okay, and he who believes on him, alright, and shows here the natural sequence between the nature of the stone and those who believe on him. Alright, so now our response to the value of the stone of the Lord Jesus is to believe on him. To us he is our object of faith. Our faith in him is especially related to the gospel message, which is the power of God and the salvation to everyone who believes. You know, the Gospel, you've heard it so many times, but it is not clear in so many Christians' minds, and even teachers, what the Gospel is. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried.

That's the proof of it, that He died. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. What's the proof of that? He rose from the dead. Notice that when Paul gave the gospel there in 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4, that he said he died according to the scriptures. When he speaks of him being buried, he didn't say according to the scriptures. So buried is describing what has happened, it's the proof of what has happened according to the scriptures. And then also when he says he rose from the dead, According to the scriptures, then when he says that he was seen in the next verse, I think verse 5, then that's, the fact that he was seen is the proof that he rose from the dead. Jesus believed on him, quite often we use the phrase believed in him.

Now what's the difference? Well, that's a very good question. I don't know. It's I really don't know. I think of being being on the stone, you know, we're resting on him. I wonder if it's not the same. I don't know if you ever thought about that, Vern. What's the difference? It's slight variation. It's not like it's some different belief.

But we think about belief upon him is more looked upon as a dependence upon him. That's where our belief is founded. So it is not a different belief, but it makes a different illustration of the truth and puts the emphasis on a different aspect of it. I think the main point for us to see that when we believe, Do you believe in the work that he has accomplished?

Do you rest on that work? As far as the distinction, I don't know. But I do know this, that when you look at tracts or handout tracts, that you need to always check and see what type of gospel, what is the gospel that's preached in that tract, if it's a gospel tract.

And what is the invitation? That's the key. How do they tell you to come to Christ? What do they say you have to do to be saved? I have a wonderful handout over here if you want to have it. It's put out by the Awan Association. It's called the Scriptural Evaluation of Salvation Invitations. Recently, I attended a church where they started the service with a film with people giving their testimonies at their baptismal as to how they were saved.

And so many times, I mean several times, I'll put it that way, people said, I asked Jesus to come into my heart. Now that's a wonderful expression, and it is true that Christ comes to dwell in our hearts, but it's not what I do. to ask him to do something. It's what he has done at the cross that's important message. And that needs to be clarified, I think, in so many believers' lives. They need to see that. Because otherwise, things get shaky.

I know when I was a child, I was taught to believe John 3.16. Well, I did. In my childlike faith, I believed, you know, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish. And I did. And God knows our hearts.

I really didn't totally understand. I don't think that I needed to really rest in his finished work, that he had done something for me that I can rest on that. I always kept going back, did I really ask Christ? Did I really believe on Him? And the emphasis was on me, rather than what Christ has already done.

And that's where we've got to help each other in witnessing, help our families I should say, and those that we can, to understand what the real gospel is, and where is our faith our belief to be, and what. And these four points of the Gospel, that's real security, when we realize it's something God has done for us, and he loved us while we were yet sinners, and died for us, and it's not based on my fluctuation or my experience, but what God has done, something outside of myself. So those handouts are there if you'd like to have any of those. They're great. They go into the different things that people are saying how to receive Christ, different ways. Some are good and some are very poor. All right.

Will not be disappointed. I hate to be disappointed, don't you? Hope deferred causes the heart to be sick, you know, when you're waiting on something and you're disappointed. This says that we will not be disappointed, not put to blush. The one who rests his faith on the stone will not be dishonored or disgraced. He will not have a misplaced faith that ends in disappointment.

Think of John 5.24.

The Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word and believes on him that sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death. into life. From Adam, where we got all that death stuff, to life. Christ said, I come that you might have life, life more abundantly. Thank God there's life for us older people coming. We've got it now, in fact, but we're going to get a new body as a result of this thing. That's great, that's good news. Alright, so we'll not be disappointed. We're in verse 7.

This precious value then is for you who believe. Now this is a rich thought. I think the King James says, to you who believe he is precious. But this translation in the New American Standard updated brings out what it's like, I believe, in the original. That this value is for us. Now this is speaking of the present, and to whom does this value relate?

For the believer, those who are seen as being in Christ, in this new position, with a new daddy, the last daddy. We are united with Christ who is honored with God the Father. And we shared his privileged position before the Father as seen in verses 4 and 5 last week. And we'll see this further when we come to verse 9. So, it's a great thing to think that God sees us as precious. Not because of what is in us of ourselves, but what we are in Christ.

OK, now, but for those who disbelieve to the unbelieving. Now this word means more than simple unbelief. It's a revolt of the will against God's authority. The gospel presents its truth to the heart as well as to the mind. Unbelievers disobey because they will to choose not to believe, to believe the gospel. And so, speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, we read in John 16, 8 and 9a, and he, speaking of the Holy Spirit, when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin because they do not believe in me.

So, they just will not believe. They will not to believe. It's hard for us to understand that, isn't it? How someone would turn down a remedy for sin, but they refuse. Now, we see the word rejected here concerning the stone. The stone rejected speaks of disapproval. Disapproval. And by implication is to repudiate.

Psalm 118.22 says, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Now this word means to disapprove after close examination. The people of Christ's day, they saw these wonderful works, the miracles, the good works that he was doing, and they still rejected him. Just totally rejected Christ. And yet the Lord Jesus became the very cornerstone that they rejected.

1 Peter 2.7 assures us that whether men honor Christ by believing, or if they dishonor Him by not believing, Christ is still the head cornerstone. What a blessing.

The very head cornerstone. the stone that they cut out of the Marble for the Unknown tomb in Washington, D.C. And all the ones, thousands around them that weren't fit, but this one was perfect. Yes, we went to Marble, Colorado. not too long ago. And how many have been up there? And you know, they have all this marble around, you know, this rows of marble.

And so they told us that the stone was there that was being being prepared and going to be taken to replace the stone at the unknown soldier, because evidently this other stone that's in Washington, D.C. is cracked or has some type of problem with it.

So we went back looking for the stone. We didn't have a guide. Went down one aisle and another of these rows of all these stones that were out in the open. And we looked and we thought, maybe that's the stone. There was one that really looked nice. And then we walked around some more and we saw this one that was even more perfect, this beautiful white marble stone that had already been shaped quite a bit to where it looked like they wouldn't have to do too much more work for it. And it was up on an old platform of some kind. And we took pictures of it and everything. But it was really quite a thing for us to be able to see that stone.

Well, we don't have to go to Washington, DC to see the tomb, the stone that's going to be placed there. But that's good. But this stone is a stone that is the very head cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a stone of stumbling. Isaiah 8.14, Then he shall become a sanctuary to both the houses of Israel, a stone that strikes and a stone to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It's interesting that God the Father knew they were going to reject Christ. It was no surprise to him that this was going to happen.

I believe it was J.C. Jennings said this, so here we have the first reference to our Lord as a stone. But so small and lying so low to the ground that Israel, who expected Jehovah's intervention in quite another way and was looking for him high up among the great ones of the earth, overlooked altogether the stone lying so low before them that they tripped over it and fell. And by that fall, salvation has come to us Gentiles. It is that very lowliness of the Lord of glory, who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister to our very feet, as it were, as we see in John 13, where he, of course, is washing the disciples' feet.

That makes him a very precious stone to all, whose faith sees the divine glory beneath the humiliation. What an amazing Savior we have, don't we? One who would humble himself. and have rejection. Really, this rejection that he had was throughout his life. Rejection is birth. There's so many things there that you can see. Married. Pregnant. Out of wedlock, so to speak. Unmisunderstood. And Joseph.

Christ had rejection from birth to death. And he accepted that and he willingly went as a lamb to the cross. And yet he is the very cheap head cornerstone, God's choice and precious. Peter brings out that Lord Jesus is that stone and that sanctuary, he said.

Now the non-Christian's unbelief is what's causing him to stumble. Unbelief is a rejection of God's authority. People stumble for one reason, and that is that they will not believe. It's not because they cannot believe. And a rock of offense, he says here in this verse. Offense means to cut against. The cross of Christ offends non-Christians. It cuts against their bent towards sin. The death of Christ is a substitute for sinners. This thought for them offends them. It offends unbelievers.

Yet we read that in the scriptures, great peace are they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. And we think of law here for us believers in New Testament times. We're thinking of the word of God. Nothing will offend them. For those who really love God and his word and what's contained in there, the spiritual aspects, we're not offended.

This is a great verse for practical living, too, for us believers, is to not be easily offended about things. Sometimes people say to me, does that offend you? Well, I usually think of this verse, a great peace of they which love thy law, thy word, nothing shall offend them. We as believers should not be quick to take offense about things.

But he is a rock of offense to those who are unbelievers. Now we have the phrase, they are disobedient to the word. Disobedience here is equated with unbelief. They refuse God's authority. We will not have this man rule over us. No, absolutely not. Romans 121, when we look at this passage, speaks of the natural man here in Adam's race.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. They did not honor him. They did not acknowledge him by believing him. The Lord said, you will not come to me that you might have life. Now we see in Isaiah 53, this idea of rejection. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised. And we did not esteem Him.

Now for believers, what does this mean? Well, if we look in 1 Thessalonians 5.9, for God has not destined us to wrath. Isn't that a good news? But He has destined us for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's wonderful to know that He desires for us to come to believe. He's not willing that any should perish. that all should come to repentance. In other words, to believe, to believe Him. Believe what He's done. Now for the unbelievers, it says, to this doom they were appointed. To this doom they were appointed.

2 Thessalonians 1, 7-11. It's an interesting verse. And to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven and with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who believe, for our testimony to you was believed." So we see three reasons in 1 Peter 2, 6-8 for us to have a good, solid, secure position. First, a relationship with Christ. We see that this is God's choice. You know, when we begin to look at scriptures from God the Father's viewpoint, that's when we can really, I think, have more of a spiritual understanding that it's going to be something we can rest on.

When we see that What does God the Father think about this thing, the cross, the burial, the resurrection? What does he think about it? Well, he said, I have laid, I lay in Zion a choice stone. And it's something he has done. That should give us a secure feeling to know that God is satisfied.

When Christ died, was buried, rose again, went to the Father, He's the one that was our sin bearer. And He's the one that's before the Father now, without sin. What happened to our sin? It's been removed. What a blessing. You know, as far as the East is from the West, He's removed our sins from us. What a Savior, what a Heavenly Father that loves us so much. Such good things to meditate on, isn't it? So, this relationship that God has set up for us.

1 Corinthians 3.11, And no man, for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He's the foundation. Many build their hopes on heaven on experience, church membership, baptism, communion, anything but Christ.

I talk to some people about, are you a Christian? Do you have any spiritual interests? Yeah, I go to church every Sunday. I go in the garage every day, but I'm not a car. It's a lack of spiritual mind of knowing what the true church is. What is the true church? What is it? What would you say? The body of Christ. How do you get in the body of Christ?

Well, you're a good grandma. Keep on talking to those grandkids. That's great. That's good. Believe. Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe the gospel. You don't have to believe. Believe. Believe the gospel and be placed in Christ and be part of the body of Christ. That's great. Okay.

Now the second thing that helps us to have a secure position that we see in these verses God's promise to us who believe that they will not be disappointed. God's promise. Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust. These divine promises. Whoa. God has promised. And there's several things, there's one thing God can't do. What is it? He can't lie. God cannot lie. So he's promised that we'll not be disappointed. That, you know, that's great. It's just wonderful. It gives us security. God cannot lie.

And then we see Christ's preciousness has become our preciousness because we're positioned in Christ. It's not what we are. But that's who He is. He's precious to the Father, and He sees us in His beloved Son who is precious, and we are partakers of that divine nature in that respect. We've become in union with him. We have the nature of him. We have him as our life. And we have a new source, a new daddy.

It's a brand new thing. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. Those things in Adam have passed away. Behold all things, behold, there's that word again, behold all things are become new. God's done it. That's great. All right, any thoughts you have? Because we're Body of Christ, and the Lord may have shown you a few things as you've looked at these passages. Yes, sir. Yeah, I agree with you, because I think the son of the prophet Paul mentioned the early points of our salvation, what it was all about, and all that. And I think that's one of the things that's pretty important to know.

And we don't mention that sometimes when we are witnessing to people, our friends, loved ones, and all, that God had this plan, that He made the plan, it just didn't all happen. He knew you before you ever came to know Him. And because of that, He provided that eventuality. And when they hear that and realize that this wasn't just something that just came over and one day I got inspired to do better and be a good Christian and do the right thing for my fellow man, it might have had some influence. As far as being mentioned more often, the fact that he knew us would be an important foundation in this world. He knew where he was going to place us. He had a place for us in his beloved shrine. He pre-planned for us to be in him. He knew all about what he was going to do.

We had to get into First Adam. before we got into the last Adam. He's not the second Adam, he's the last. There'll never have to be another Adam. Yet at school I find these little guys called Adam. It's my chance to slip in a Bible verse. Do you know who Adam was? The first Adam? That's good, that's good. Yes sir, Jack? Um, I was looking this morning at this word that's translated precious. And then later on. described as choice.

And I just kind of wonder, are there degrees of preciousness? It doesn't seem to me he is the most precious. And I just wonder if that's reflected in the Greek or anything like that. It's just to say. something is precious, but he's precious to God beyond understanding. Do you mean, are there any degrees to Christ's preciousness? Well, it just says he's precious, you know.

Yes. It seems to me With us, anyway, there are degrees of preciousness, and this is the most precious. And so I get to chasing so many rabbits. Preciousness. And I just wonder about that. And this is a choice. That's a translation, too. And I just wonder.

I see, I don't know if I put the Greek words there. But you know, deities in the eyes of the beholder, they say, and who's beholding in this passage? God the Father. And when he puts the value of preciousness on his son, I think there could be no higher value than that.

I mean, we know that. There's no degrees about Christ. Certainly in our own thinking, we're going to grow in understanding the preciousness of him as we get into the Word. But degrees of preciousness of Christ will only be in our learning and growing.

And so I would say that you had any thoughts on that. You know, this is translated here, a precious and interesting degree where the definite article is not there. Here, the focus is on the character. The focus is on, is on, he emphasizes the precious character of Christ. that he is by character precious. So that's it's not the case. It is the most precious. But the focus here is on it emphasizes and underscores the precious character of Christ. He is by nature and essentially precious.

That's what it says. And so, of course, the choice, I guess I did not check the Greek on either of these words other than precious. I had that one. You're talking about choice. Precious. I do have down there in the Greek. It refers to being valuable or costly. And I didn't. And I believe it's inestimable. I mean, you cannot. For the value. We've got the father puts a value on it like that.

You know, start thinking about space and all how far, I mean, it's beyond anything that we could ever even think of in these little finite minds of ours right now. Lord willing, when we get to heaven, we'll start growing and growing and appreciating more and more and have full appreciation for this value. Good questions and good thoughts for us to be able to meditate. I get any more wisdom on that or if anybody does share with one another. That's good. Yes, sir. New computer. A new computer. One that doesn't get old. One that doesn't need to be upgraded. That's going to be great. There's always something better out here on this earth.

It does boggle your mind, doesn't it Jack, when you think about him being choice and precious. And that's good. Any other thoughts? Yes sir. So earlier on you were making a statement about people asking Christ to come into their life. You were making a statement about believing rather than, you know, asking Him to do something, because the places are actually... Yeah, come into my heart. Yeah, Christ come into my heart.

So I was elaborating on that. It's like the two basic points here were believe or reject. Yes. Right. A couple of observations. One is if you believe, first of all, we're believing in that cornerstone. And it's like belief, one belief builds upon another belief. And as you go along, you have this structure being built based upon your belief, rather than you're asking him to come into your heart. Or you reject him. So my question was, where do some of the people that are singing and teaching that I've asked them to come into my heart, where is that coming into play?

I would think in Romans 10, let's see if that's what I'm thinking, Romans 10, 9 and 10. Let's see, that's the one, Romans 10, 9 and 10. For with the heart a person believes, it says. If you confess with, verse 9 of chapter 10, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. So I think the fact that when somebody gives the gospel presentation to someone, and they say, now do you want to pray to ask Jesus to come in your heart? They don't use the word believe. And the person is thinking, well my prayer is what's going to save me, or me asking the Lord to do something. rather than focusing on what God has already done.

Because he says in verse 8, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. See, there's the gospel there. That God raised him from the dead. He died and he was raised. It's right there. But that verse is left out, I think, in their invitation.

We would clarify it in their mind, especially children, so that they understand what they're doing. And so, does that make sense, Steve? I think that might be one verse that people are saying. I don't know, but it's very, very common in the Christian church. We went to a evangelical fundamental church recently and we saw this film where they were showing these people giving their testimonies and it was very obvious that that's what they believed. Asking Jesus in your heart, do you want to ask Jesus in your heart? Yes I do and I'll pray to ask him to come into my heart.

And so these type of people that are coming on to salvation that way are going to be very insecure as they go along and find that they still have a problem with sin. And Satan is going to accuse their brethren, come along and say you are not Christian. So then in their particular situation they walk the isle again so to speak. Or go to the altar. We don't have an altar. What happened to it? In fact, the Lord Christ is the altar. He's already sacrificed. It's a done deal. That's the point. See, Steve, I don't know if that makes sense. I don't know where people started that from. Lack of ignorance of the scriptures is all I can think.

But, you know, the Lord comes to live in our hearts. Yes, he does. And so it's true in that sense. But what happens is people go and invite the consequence rather than look to the Lord in belief, which is the focal point of the gospel. And so we go and pray for the consequences rather than look at the focal point, which is belief in the Lord. That's good. It's also how you may end up praying, because if you follow through on it from the beginning point, If you're asking the Lord to come into your heart, then ultimately as you grow, you're going to grow in the mindset that you're asking Him to do things all along.

Rather than if you're believing in that initial cornerstone belief, then as you grow in your relationship, you're not asking Him to do things, but you're believing the things that He's done. That's a subtle thing. That's good. Thanks, Steve. in your progression. I think there's one other misconception.

It's about the heart. As God expresses the heart, he's talking about the whole essence of who you are, your heart, mind, and soul. And it's our heart that needs to belong to God. so much that we invite them into our heart. You know, I mean, it's a two-way street. But first you have to give yourself. Give yourself? Give your belief and your need. You give your whole self. Dedicate yourself. For salvation, you're saying? Yes. Well, does God, for salvation, what do I do for salvation? Christ has done it all. We see that, behold what He's done and believe that. I don't give God anything of my old man. I don't give him anything. He doesn't want that. I don't have to present anything to Him. He wants you to be his slave though instead of sin to be your slave.

That's true. That's for us as believers but for the unbeliever it's to believe you see. It's the first step is believe and then he works in us to will and due pleasure to present our bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable. We can all be wholly acceptable in Christ see. So we don't ask the child or person to give all that we are.

Christ. But I'm sure you're talking about being in Christ. Rather than just Christ being in us. You want to be placed into Christ. For belief. For salvation. That's the context of what we're talking about. But belief is the instrument. Yes. In each case. Yes. Good.

Let's thank the Lord for the time. Thank you Father for this great time that we can meditate and to exhort and encourage one another and to just be focusing on your beloved Son. And we just commit the rest of this day to you and thank you for it. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.