Week 8 | Day 3
Sovereign Stumbling Blocks
Romans 9:30-33
Paul’s point is not that Israel couldn’t be saved, but that many missed the Law’s purpose—to expose sin and point them to the Savior. From Eden to Abraham, David, Daniel, and now us, God has always rescued people by faith, not performance. Christ is the “stone”—the only God-given way of righteousness. When we try to add our goodness to grace—either to get saved or to stay saved—we trip over the very Rock meant to save us. The written logos (God’s Word) reveals to us our sinfulness and points us to the embodied Logos (Jesus) who saves.
Application
1. Let the Law Lead You to Jesus.
Allow the Word of God to serve as a mirror to reveal your true spiritual condition as a sinner instead thinking that you can climb some spiritual ladder of success to salvation. God’s Word should reveal sin, imploring us to run to Christ instead of to the notion of self-repair.
2. Rest in Grace—Resist the Earning Mentality
You can do nothing to achieve salvation—it is a gift to be received. No matter how much your flesh thinks and strive to achieve, it cannot succeed. Keep living by the same faith that saved you, and stop keeping score.
3. Name Your “Add-ons”
Identify the subtle ways you try to qualify yourself—quiet times, morality, going to church, ministry results—and lay them at the foot of the cross. Allow your faith to generate your efforts instead of thinking your efforts sin some way can generate your faith.
4. Stand on the Stone—Don’t Stumble Over Him
Make Jesus your foundation in identity, security, and hope. Trust solely in His finished work on the cross when self-sufficiency, false accusations, or insecurity rise.
5. Share the Simple Gospel with Others
Offer people Christ, not a checklist. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”—no small print, no fine-tune of works.
Allow the Word of God to serve as a mirror to reveal your true spiritual condition as a sinner instead thinking that you can climb some spiritual ladder of success to salvation. God’s Word should reveal sin, imploring us to run to Christ instead of to the notion of self-repair.
2. Rest in Grace—Resist the Earning Mentality
You can do nothing to achieve salvation—it is a gift to be received. No matter how much your flesh thinks and strive to achieve, it cannot succeed. Keep living by the same faith that saved you, and stop keeping score.
3. Name Your “Add-ons”
Identify the subtle ways you try to qualify yourself—quiet times, morality, going to church, ministry results—and lay them at the foot of the cross. Allow your faith to generate your efforts instead of thinking your efforts sin some way can generate your faith.
4. Stand on the Stone—Don’t Stumble Over Him
Make Jesus your foundation in identity, security, and hope. Trust solely in His finished work on the cross when self-sufficiency, false accusations, or insecurity rise.
5. Share the Simple Gospel with Others
Offer people Christ, not a checklist. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”—no small print, no fine-tune of works.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, You are the only way, the truth, and the life. Forgive me for the moments I treat grace like a project to complete or a trophy to keep. If I could earn Your favor, there would have been no need for the cross—yet You came, bled, and rose because there was no other way. Thank You for doing for me what I could never do for myself. Teach me to rest in Your mercy, to walk by faith, and to point others to You, the Cornerstone. Let me revel in this blessing today and share it freely, that others might find peace with You too. Amen.