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“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:1-5). Stones are not something usually thought of as being alive, that is, as living. Yet, the Bible frequently describes inanimate objects and even emotions as living. We have “living bread” in John 6:51, “living water” in John 4:10, “living way” in Hebrews 10:20, “living oracles” in Acts 7:38, and “living hope” in 1 Peter 1:3. The Greek word used for “living” in these examples is zao. It relates to divine life. It is the same word used to describe God as “the living God” in Matthew 16:16. The first temptation Jesus faced from the devil after having fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness was one of turning a stone into bread. “And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread’” (Matthew 4:3). The devil attempted to cause Jesus to take His eyes off of the spiritual and focus on the physical. Jesus responded by saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus would not take a dead stone and turn it into bread to feed His physical body. He could have done so and it would no doubt have satisfied His physical hunger, but just as Adam and Eve forfeited the life of their spirits by eating a piece of fruit, having been tempted by Satan to do so after being forbidden to by God, He would have experienced spiritual death also. The consequences, however, would have been incalculably greater. The sin of Adam and Eve caused the Creation to come under the dominion of sin until Jesus’ triumph over death; thus, there was a remedy for Adam and Eve’s sin. Had Jesus sinned in any way there would have been no triumph over death and no salvation for the Creation. Jesus’ first temptation to sin was very similar to the first sin that brought about the fall of mankind. The food that was offered to sustain life in actuality brought death – first to the spirit and finally to the body. Dead stones while useful for things that pertain to the physical, if relied upon to sustain the spiritual, will bring about death. A modern day example of such reliance is church buildings. Without a doubt some of the most beautiful buildings in existence are cathedrals and churches. Nevertheless, they are no more than dead stones if the hearts of those inside fail to rely upon the Word of God. Some deceive themselves thinking that because they faithfully go to church every time the doors are open that they have spiritual life, “but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). They have fallen for Satan’s temptation of turning dead stones into bread, but this bread satisfies only the external, the temporary. They reject the words that proceed from the month of God because their hunger has been assuaged. This is not a new phenomenon. “And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, ‘As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down’” (Luke 21:5-6). The Jews relied upon the stones of the Temple to feed their spirits, forgetting that it was the Lord who chose to put His name there that gave true life. Jesus emphasized this when He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). It is interesting that the Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone. “When He (God) had finished speaking with him (Moses) upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). These ten laws were to be the basis of the Jewish judicial system. Indeed, the same laws are the basis for many races. They are good laws and when obeyed bring about a civilization that benefits all the people subject to them. Paul went so far as to say, “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). There is nothing wrong with the Law of God as written on the tablets of stone. So why did the Jews and the rest of the world that has read these words fail to fulfill them? Why do we still covet or steal or kill when the Law written by the finger of God on stone tablets instructs us not to? Because the word of the Law, as long as it remains letters on stone tablets (or engraved on beautifully crafted modern material) remains outside of man it has no power to change his heart. It can tell him how he should behave, it can make him aware of how short he has come from fulfilling the Law by stirring up his conscience to accuse him, but it cannot give him the power to obey. The Law makes evident the rebellious nature of fallen mankind. Indeed, when we seek to obey the Ten Commandments we discover a sin-nature within us that refuses to submit. One of the major ways capital punishment was carried out in Biblical times was by stoning. It is almost as if when someone broke the Law – broke the stone tablets if you will – the pieces of the tablets were used to put them to death. Paul is so bold as to say that the first covenant was a “ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones…” (2 Corinthians 3:7). In comparing the first covenant established by the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai to the second covenant established by Jesus Christ, Paul said, “Our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). The Law, as long as it remains engraved on dead, external material, rather than written on our hearts, will always produce death. Steven became the first Christian martyr by stoning at the hands of the Jews because he told them they had not kept the Law. Speaking to the crowd that had come against him he said, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it” (Acts 7:51-53). These are very strong words. Obviously Steven was not out to win friends and influence people. He told them they had the Law, yet like their forefathers, they broke the Law, actually using the Law to condemn innocent people to death by stoning. Far from being living stones they proved the deadness of their hearts by their deeds. One of the best-known stories in the Bible is the one about the woman caught in adultery. She was brought before Jesus for judgment. “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say” (John 8:3-5)? They did this to test Jesus, to see if He would follow the Law as they thought it ought to be applied, or let her go free, thus condoning her sin. They were not interested in the welfare of the woman. Their reason for judging her was wrong and Jesus knew this. His reply to the Jews is well known. “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). This answer was totally unexpected. With it Jesus exposed the deadness of the hearts of those who were ready to stone the woman. “When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court” (John 8:9). The older ones left first. They had more sins accumulated in their lives than the younger ones and more quickly realized their guilt. Nevertheless, even the youngest eventually left, for they too could not escape the guilt their consciences brought against them. The Law as written on stone that would have killed the woman guilty of adultery was ready to kill them. Jesus taught that He did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. To the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and other religious leaders, this would not have given Jesus a place of prominence among them. As far as they were concerned they too fulfilled the Law. They took pride in their self-righteousness by publicly praying or fasting. Their strict religious obedience to the letter of the Law was well known. They reveled in the adoration and fear their lifestyles produced among the populace. They looked down upon the mass of people who did not follow the Law as stringently as they. Thus, for Jesus to say He came to fulfill the Law was nothing unusual for a rabbi. That is, until Jesus pointed out the spirit behind the Law. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42). Anyone, Christian or non-Christian, can give of his finances by tithing, give of his time doing good works or even occupying a seat in a pew in the church of his choice, but none of these things in and of themselves will change his heart of stone to become a living stone fit for the Body of Christ. We may be tempted to despair of ever being made a “living stone”, someone useful to the Lord for the building of His kingdom. We may look back over our lives as the people did who sought to stone the woman caught in adultery, hang our heads in shame, and walk away from the presence of the Lord, for being before Him is painful. Satan would desire such a thing, desire for you to fix your eyes upon your sins and your failings, for without you, the one whom the Lord has called, His temple will not be complete. It is when thoughts like this invade your spirit you must realize as Paul did that, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). It is when we realize that our salvation and our usefulness to the Lord do not depend upon our own goodness or natural abilities, but rather upon the shed blood of Jesus that we can come boldly before the Father. Do not allow Satan or those who speak his lies rob you of your rightful place in God’s kingdom. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem after God had exiled the Jews to Babylon as punishment for their sins he found a city lying in ruins. The walls and gates had been destroyed and burned with fire. He set about the business of rebuilding the walls and gates to protect Jerusalem from her enemies and for the glory of God. In doing so he encountered severe opposition from those who feared that the restoration of Jerusalem would endanger their dominance of the Jews and the Jews eventual dominance of them. “Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones’” (Nehemiah 4:1-2)? When we as Christians go about the business of establishing God’s kingdom in the world around us it provokes fear and anger in those opposed to the Lord. The media, ungodly organizations, and powerful people with the fame and wealth necessary to make their voices heard mock and ridicule us. Christians are called hate-mongers, bigots, anti-woman, and intolerant of other’s lifestyles. When we as born-again Christians, Living Stones, take our place in the Body of Christ and promote holiness, righteousness, and purity by living a life that pleases the Lord we are called hypocrites because we are human just like everyone else. We have been burned by sin. Our lives are marked with weaknesses and failures. Thus, the world cries out that we are fooling ourselves if we think we can be revived; that is, born-again. On the day we declare ourselves a Christian they see no change in us and ask us why God would accept a sacrifice (whether time, money, talents, etc) from us when He would reject it from them. They do not understand that only salvation through Jesus Christ makes one acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. For them that is an affront to their pride and the stoniness of their hearts is exposed. Can God revive our hearts of stone? Will He? After all that we have done, after all our sins, after having our very natures burned (branded) by sin, will He make us living stones fit for His kingdom? Emphatically, yes! “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Notice the, “I wills” the Lord uses here. It is nothing we can do for ourselves. It is wholly a work of the Lord. A heart that is alive, that is soft and receptive to the instruction and guidance of the Lord, will replace the hardness, the deadness, of our hearts. We should not become discouraged at the time it takes for us to grow spiritually. Certainly we should be growing, but just as physical growth is often unapparent to those closest too us, our spiritual growth can also be hidden from the eyes of ourselves and others. Indeed, it appears at times that no growth is taking place. Yet it is. When Solomon was having the Lord’s Temple built in Jerusalem it was for the most part a quiet undertaking. “The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built” (1 Kings 6:7). The actual shaping of the stones used in the construction of the Temple was done away from the construction site. As the Lord molds us and shapes us for use in His kingdom, much of the work going on in our lives is hidden from others. They may see little evidence that the Lord is doing anything within us. Yet little by little the heart of stone is being replaced with a heart of flesh. Things that we use to accept as legitimate activities we are now repulsed by. Eventually, if we submit to the guidance and discipline of the Lord, change will become evident to everyone. In fact, some will begin to wonder just what is wrong with us. “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:3-5). They are surprised because they may not have seen a dramatic, sudden change in you. You look the same; you are the same age, the same height, and the same weight, have the same color of eyes and hair you have always had. They are surprised because the change first occurs inwardly, out of sight, before it is expressed outwardly for all to see. The Lord almost always works this way. “Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior” (Isaiah 45:15)! He hides Himself within our spirit, revealing Himself a little here, a little there until we are wholly transformed into the image of Christ. We become living stones, precious stones, treasures suitable for being used in the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). Jesus spoke this parable to define what the kingdom of heaven is like. As Christians we are part of that kingdom, we are that treasure. Yet notice that the Lord found us in the “field” which symbolizes the world. Yet, He did not take us out of the world, but rather hid us again in the world (field) so that we might be “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Please notice that the “man” did not just buy the treasure, but the “field”; that is, the whole world. Jesus’ death and resurrection is sufficient for the whole world. One day we will all be made living stones and “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). God’s kingdom will be complete when every stony heart has been made a “living stone” properly prepared by His hand. Unless otherwise noted: Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Article Source: http://christian-topics.info
In January 2000 Terry began a writing ministry called, "Whispers of the Spirit" (www.whispersofthespirit.com). In 2003 he graduated from Yellowstone Valley Bible Institute with high academic honors. Today, he continues to teach, preach, and write. Terry is the author of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (ISBN 9781420820546) which can be reviewed and ordered from www.authorhouse.com/bookstore. You may reach Terry at Terry_L_Brown@whispersofthespirit.com
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