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Rejecting The Manual
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone” (Mark 12:10).
Jesus referred to Himself as that “chief cornerstone.” He
was the Christ, the one the Jews should have accepted. After all, “to
them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2), and those
scriptures had given more than three hundred distinct prophecies about
the Christ. It was as though the Jews had a ‘cornerstone manual’ in
their hands, a manual containing all of these distinguishing marks to
look for. Yet upon inspecting Jesus (who fulfilled perfectly each of
these prophecies), they said, “No, that’s not the cornerstone we’re
looking for.” Their willful blindness led them to reject the Savior.
Many today are just as blind as the Jews of old were, only now
with a different ‘manual,’ the New Testament of Christ.
In this manual is the description of a disciple of Christ. The
disciple is described as being loving, joyful, peaceful, longsuffering,
kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control of himself (among other
things, Galatians 5:22,23). “But this is not what we’re looking for!”
the world retorts. “The proud! The ambitious! The assertive! The fellow
who looks out for ‘number one!’ Now there’s the one to be admired!” The
true picture of a disciple is rejected.
This testament contains directions for the work and worship of
local churches. Yet the denominations of men have seen fit to reject
these in favor of innovations that “sound better, feel better, and look
better!” But what does the Lord’s manual say? What does it indicate? How
can men presumptuously reject the distinguishing features of a local
church as revealed in Jesus’ word?
When will men ever learn?
“But why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the
things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
--Mike Noble
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