Are You A Stumbling Block Or A Building Block?

Hi. We were kind of just riding around, nothing to do, probably, looking for frogs or whatever we could find along some of the country roads. And we kind of all stopped together at the side of this one road, which wasn't too far from my house. We kind of lived out in the country a little bit. And we were looking around for stuff. Sometimes we'd find hubcaps or different things like that, anything to kill some time and just have some fun. And one of my buddies leaned against one of the signs that was on the side of the road, and it moved. And of course, suddenly this catches all of our attention. Like, whoa, look at that! That's really cool! So we went over to this sign, and we started noticing this wasn't real secure in the ground. And we started moving it a little bit, and it became a little less secure as we played with this thing more and more. And we realized we could kind of pick this thing up. It was like, wow, this is really cool. So these junior high boys are messing around with this sign. Then we realized we could actually turn this thing. And so we started playing with this thing, and then the light bulb came on. This is really cool. We can really confuse people. Because the sign said, six miles to Hortonville, that way. New London, one mile. So we picked up that sign, and we twisted that thing around until it said exactly the opposite. And we thought, this is great. This is cool. People are going to be so messed up. They won't know what. They'll be going all the way to Hortonville, and they won't know until they get there. And so we thought that was the greatest thing in the world. So we laughed about that, and we laughed about it. And today, I wonder how many people actually went the wrong way now. I mean, how many people did we confuse that we're probably out in the middle of the country, didn't know where in the world they were, and thought, well, okay, finally, I know where I'm going. This is before GPS. And so they would have had no clue. They would have been dependent on that sign to send them in the right direction. And thanks to four junior high kids, they went the wrong way more than likely. And so as I thought about that, I have to apologize to my mom. She may not have heard that story before. Sorry, Mom. Yeah, we did some of those things. I wonder how many went the wrong way, and how many people we sent in the wrong direction. And as I thought about this in later years, I had eventually got turned back the right way. But there was no doubt there had to be quite a few people that went the wrong way. They didn't know where they were going. And as I thought about that, I think all of us have the potential of sending people the wrong way by what we do. Now, maybe we don't get out there and we rip out a sign and we turn it around and do that sort of thing. But what about our example? Because I think if we're not careful, every one of us can be an obstacle in where we point people. What direction our example and our life sends people. Do we become a barrier? Are we an obstruction for people who are trying to go the right way?

But we end up sending them in the wrong direction. Maybe a different way to think of it. Do we become a stumbling block to someone who's striving to go the right direction? The Bible has a lot to say about whether we are stumbling blocks or building blocks. Which are we? Are we an obstruction when it comes to people's lives? Do we become an obstacle? Or are we the kind of person that builds people up? Are we the kind of person that edifies and sends people off in a positive direction? In a direction so that it will help them on their way rather than be a hindrance to them? Because there's no doubt there are a number of ways that we can hinder people as they strive to follow God. As they try to do what's right, we can get in the way. Do we have a tendency to do that in our life? I wonder, are we a stumbling block or a building block? James gives us one example of how we can hinder people as they strive along a right path. James talks about this in the third chapter, right at the very beginning of that specific chapter, James 3, verse 1. Let's notice what James says. It's a familiar section of Scripture. I wonder if we've thought about it this way. Like we ourselves in our lives have picked up that sign that gives us the right direction. And now we've turned it so others that come to the intersection of our life get sent off in the wrong way. James says it this way, James 3, verse 1. He says, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. Now we might say, oh, good, at least I'm not a minister, I'm not a teacher, I don't have to worry about that one. Boy, they better be careful because they're going to get the stricter judgment.

Wait a second. Is it only talking to teachers? Is it only talking to ministers? Or is there more to it? Of course, in many ways, we claim to understand the truth. We claim when someone asks us a question that we can vocalize what the Bible has to say about this. Have you ever told anybody? Well, here's what the Bible really says. Now if you have, you've taken on the role of a teacher, haven't you? And so God says, well, we better be careful. We better be careful. Why would that be?

Well, in verse 2, He goes on, He says, we all stumble in many things.

We stumble in many things. Or the New American says, we all stumble in many ways.

There's many ways that we get tripped up. There's many ways that we become an obstruction or a barrier or a hurdle. He says, if anyone doesn't stumble, especially in the things that we say, He's a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. So James zeroes in on this. This first way that we can be a stumbling block is the things that we say.

So it's not just picking up that sign and running away and hiding and see if someone's going to go the wrong direction. It's by the things that we talk about, by the way that we say things. It's, in fact, didn't Christ tell us that? In fact, He said pretty clearly, I think it's in Mark, chapter 7, it's what comes out of a person that defiles them. What is it that comes out of our mouth? I mean, we know Jesus Christ set the perfect example, but we're bound, it says here, to stumble in what we say. We can be an obstacle for others because of what we say. And so He says, if you're mature, if you're perfect, that's what that word literally means there, if you're mature, if you're growing up in Christ, He says, then we're not going to stumble as much. We're not going to be that obstacle. We're not going to be that barrier. And yet, He says, we're able to bridle the whole body. Now, we can give an entire sermon on this one little section, but I think it's an important question that we have to ask. Do we cause people to stumble because of what we say? Because of the words that come out of our mouth. Or are we striving to be mature? Are we striving to be more Christlike? Are the words that I say more like Christ would say?

Because that's the goal here, to be Christlike. Because we claim that title, we claim that title of Christian. And of course, if we're Christian, we're striving to be perfect. We're really yearning to be more like Christ. And so, do we talk about people behind their back? Do we gossip about people? Do we try to make ourselves look better by showing others' faults? You see, that's part of what James is getting at here. We stumble and try to make ourselves look better oftentimes by putting down others. In fact, just a couple of verses before this, if you look over at chapter 1, James right here. James chapter 1, look at verse 26. He brings it down not to just teachers or ministers, but he makes sure we all get it here. Verse 26, by saying, if anyone among you thinks he's religious, that's probably a good question to ask.

Anybody here think they're religious?

Oh, great. I'm the only one with my hand up. It's wonderful. I would think all of you would have your hands up, right? I would hope we all think we're religious, that we strive to follow God's way, that we try to do what's right, that we want to put on Christ. We want that. I want to be religious in God's way. I don't want to just have religion for religion's sake, but I want the truth. I want to live by the truth. I want to strive to put on Christ. I want to be a doer of that word, like James is talking about here. I want to be religious, especially when it comes to the eyes of God, that I'm striving to follow this way. So, if I think that I'm religious, then he says, I better think about something. If I do, if I claim to have the truth, which, well, we do, don't we? We claim to have the truth. We claim to follow the truth. We claim to try to do what God says we're supposed to do. We follow His Word, the Bible. So, if we do that, He says, but if we don't follow through, He says, if we think we're religious and we don't bridle our tongues, it says we deceive our own heart. And He says our religion is useless.

So, there's a practical application here is what He's saying. He says we can't just say we're religious. We can't just say we have the truth because that's not good enough. It's not good enough just to have the truth. It's not good enough just to read the Bible and never put it into practice. He says here, what we say has a tremendous impact on whether or not we really are following the truth. If we really truly are Christians, if we're really striving to be mature, if we're trying to be perfect, if that's the case, He says then we've got to make sure we're doing it. It's who we are then. It's who we are. So, He says very clearly here, don't deceive yourself. Don't kid yourself. Don't think that you can just gossip about people and then say, well, you know, I'm fine. Don't think that we can send people in the wrong direction because of the things that we say that don't match up. We talk this way and maybe sometimes it's not the things that we say. Maybe it's just the way we say them. Just the way we say them.

What is it? And so, James makes it pretty clear here, we have to be careful about that. What's coming out of us? Does it match with that label of being a true Christian? You may have heard the story about the young man back in the middle ages. He went to his minister and said, listen, I've been lying about people. I've been gossiping. I've been telling really bad things about people, but now I'm feeling guilty. What should I do about it? I've been telling everybody in town.

I felt pretty good about it, but now I realize I shouldn't have been doing that.

The minister told him, here's what you do. You get a feather pillow, open it up, take a feather out of there, and at every doorstep of a person that you've gossiped about or slandered about, said wrong things about, put a feather on their doorstep. When you finish, come back and I'll talk to you. So the man goes to about every other door in town, puts that feather on their doorstep on those that he had slandered. Finally comes back, all right, I did it. Put that feather on every single doorstep. Now, what should I do?

The minister said, go back and pick up all the feathers.

And you know what happened. Of course, as soon as you put them down, he said, the wind started to blow them all over the place. There's no way. I can't pick up all the feathers there. They're all over town. It's just impossible to try to get them all back again. And of course, the minister said, that's the lesson. Once those words come out of your mouth, once they've blown all over town, there's no way to take them back. You can't get them back. Those gossip words, those words of slander, those words of evil against others, they're impossible to retrieve. Careless words that we say, hurtful things, cynical comments. Once they're out, can you really get them back? You really can't take them back. And so James tells us we have to match what we say and how we say it to the standard of Jesus Christ. And so he says, if we don't, then we become a stumbling block to others because it doesn't match up. It doesn't match up. In fact, he says, we have to take that to the next level. He says we have to be sure that our example is something that matches with the example of Jesus Christ. If our example doesn't match, what we say doesn't match the things that we do. If it doesn't match, then we also can be a stumbling block. And I think that's a major point as well. Yes, what we say does, but even sometimes the things that we don't say can trip people up, can be an obstacle or be a barrier to Jesus Christ. You think that's true? There's an interesting passage that's over in 1 John. The apostle John wrote about this. 1 John 2. And verse 10, this is in the first letter of John, 1 John 2.

In fact, this ties in with a little story that I had heard about a blind man.

A blind man was sitting in town begging. He was on the street corner, and he had a little lantern beside him. And people were walking by this blind man and started making fun of him, because it's like, look, this blind guy has a lantern. What in the world does some blind guy need a lantern because he's blind? So it doesn't matter if it's daylight, it doesn't matter if it's dark. It doesn't matter if he has a lantern or not. It's not going to do him any good whatsoever. So they were kind of making fun of this poor blind guy for sitting there begging on the corner with this little lantern by him. So finally somebody got the nerve up to go right up to him. And they said, hey, what in the world does a blind guy need a little lantern? What difference would that make to you? You know what the blind man said? He said, I have this lantern so that no one will stumble over me.

Ever thought about it that way? He had a light shining so that no one would stumble over him.

That's kind of what John is talking about here in 1 John 2 and verse 10. You notice what it says?

It says, he who loves his brother, which better be us because that's one of the great commandments.

You love God? You love your neighbor as yourself. So we need to love our brothers and sisters. It says, he who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

You see, like that blind man, nobody's going to trip over him because it's obvious he's there.

He's lit up. You can see him. You're not going to accidentally fall and trip and cause to stumble because of him. Now, what about us?

What about us? Here the apostle John is telling us the same thing, isn't he?

He's saying, if we are lit up, then nobody's going to stumble over us. And of course, how do we make sure that we're shining, that that light is shining? Well, we've got to be close to God. We claim to be in the light. We claim to be in the truth. And if that's the case, then that light better be shining. And if it is, then we're not in the darkness. And we're going to be lit up and no one will trip and stumble because of us, because of our example. So does our example shine the way so that others don't get tripped up? They don't look at our life and say, well, wait a second. They're setting this example, and yet they claim to be godly. Yet, this is what they're doing over here. How can they do that? Come to church on the Sabbath and claim to be a Christian? That doesn't seem to fit. You see, people looking at our example see that disconnect. Does that draw them closer to God? Does that cause them to say, hey, I want a part of that because no, it doesn't. People see that. They see our example. They see what we claim to be. And yet, when they see our behavior, they see our example. There's a disconnect. It doesn't fit. And that can cause people to stumble. It can cause people to say, well, wait, if that's supposed to be the truth, I'm not sure I want any part of that. That doesn't seem to fit.

And so, are we that blind man that that light is shining? And of course, it says, we abide in that light. Obviously, then that's not just a Sabbath thing. That abiding means we remain. We stay in that light. That if we claim to have Jesus Christ in us, He's living in us more and more all the time. That light is getting brighter all the time. There's going to be less likelihood that people are going to trip on us as we continue this godly walk. And so, we're remaining in Christ. We're abiding in Him. We're not going outside of the love and the law of Jesus Christ. And so, it's going to be less opportunity for that. We're treating one another in a way that brings honor to God. And sometimes, that can be an obstacle. In that example of how we treat one another, what do we really think about each other? What do we say about each other? Sometimes, that kind of behavior doesn't match up. I was reminded of a trip we used to take when we'd visit our in-laws out in Missouri. We would have to come down this one big hill if we came from one of the directions to our in-laws' house. And as we had come down this hill, there was a one-lane bridge at the bottom of this hill. And it was a one-laner. There was no room on either side. It was this old—I always felt it was like this old rickety bridge—and always worried about that bridge, because as you came down this hill, there was this great big—it seemed like oversized—sign. And on that sign, it just said, yield. Big letters, big yellow sign, and then underneath one lane bridge ahead. And so I remember the very first time coming down to this bridge—and of course you really want to go really fast because you're coming down the hill in Missouri—and yet here's this really narrow bridge. It just seems like maybe you had inches on each side of the car as you were going through there. And I was like, wow, this is kind of scary. And then as you get to the other side, I always wondered, well, what happened if you were coming from the other direction? So I remember the first time coming back up on the other side of that bridge after going carefully through it, starting back up the hill on the other side. Looking back, sure enough, there was a giant sign on that side of the bridge as well. And you know what that sign said? No, it didn't say, run them over. No, it said, yield! One-lane bridge ahead. So the exact same instructions on both sides. And that always struck me, because as God's people, isn't that how we're supposed to be in our relationships with each other? That we yield to each other. If we don't yield, is that lending itself to this potential? To be a stumbling block to each other. To be an obstacle. That God tells us that we should be willing to give up our rights. To give up the road so that someone else may pass. Oh, sure, we could say, we've got the right. Don't we have the right to cry aloud and spare not? Well, yeah, we're told to do that at the right time.

In fact, someone was doing that with me the other day. A while back, I had done a program and I got an interesting note from them. It said this, I find your programs mildly amusing. I don't tell too many jokes on the program, so I know it wasn't that at all. But then they went on and said, and I understand they're hypocritical and condescending and made up of contradictory nonsense. Wow. So they were holding no punches back. They just laid it straight out. And he says, I'm more concerned about those that are vulnerable and aren't able to discern this.

And so I had to think about that one for a little bit. Yeah, there are times that when we say the truth, that people might take offense to that. And so we're not really talking about that sort of thing. Yes, we have to stand up for the truth. We have to stand up for God's way. But that's a little bit different than this type of stumbling block we're talking about today. A little bit different than the stumbling block we set before people when we're offensive with what we say, when we're contradictory in the way we act, and especially when we're contradictory in how we judge others. I think that's a third way that we become a stumbling block, not only by what we say, not only by our example, but it really comes down to the way we think sometimes, doesn't it? Yeah, how do we think about others? How do we view others? What do we say about others as we look at what they do, the example that they set? The Apostle Paul dealt with this a little bit in Romans 14. I'm going to turn over to Romans 14 with me. In Romans 14, the church in Rome had an issue. They had an issue with food. Do we eat meat that's offered to idols or not? Do we fast on certain days or not? Does it really matter? Is that an issue that we should be worried about? Paul had to deal with that. Now, we're not talking about whether we're eating meat offered to idols today. That's not the issue today. But that judgmental attitude that the church members had for each other, that was the real issue. That, well, if you didn't fast on this particular day, and I do, something's wrong with you. If you don't eat this meat that's offered to idols, which is nothing, it doesn't really matter, it's clean meat, we can eat this, something's wrong with you. And so he was getting down to this judgmental attitude that we at times have a tendency to have. And when you look at verse 4, he lays it right on the line. He says, Who are you to judge another man's servant? Or some of the translations say, to judge another's servant. To his own master he stands or fall. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. And so Paul gets right down to the heart of things, that our attitude in judging others can be a stumbling block. It can be an obstruction to others as they're striving to become more Christ-like, especially as we aren't afraid to talk about it. We're not afraid to point it out to others. Not usually the person who might be doing something, but we point it out to everybody else. And he says, Who are you? Who are you to do this? You see what the real problem is here? That who are you is kind of a rhetorical question there, because by doing this we've already decided who we are, haven't we? He says, Who are you to judge another's servant? Who is that servant? Well, in the church, that is God's servant, isn't it? And so by judging someone else in the church, by putting them down, by finding fault, by gossiping, by doing all those things, we've taken on God's role.

We've become the master because we're judging that servant. You see, we're taking God's prerogative here and deciding for ourselves, what's wrong with them? What's their problem? What's their issue? Look at what they're doing. And so suddenly we've become the judge. And so Paul says, Who are we to take on God's role? He says, To his own master he stands or falls. So when God calls someone, they answer that call. They become a servant of God. That's God's prerogative, isn't it? That's God's prerogative. In fact, he says, God will cut his feet right out from under him. Oh no, it doesn't say that, does it?

Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

You see, but what are we doing? We're that roadblock. We're that speed bump. We're that stumbling block that gets in their way and they can trip and fall over. And yet, God says, He's able to make them stand. But you know, if we get in the way and we're that constant obstacle, we're that obstruction, we're that barrier that stands in the way of them drawing closer to God, then we're at fault. We become the judge. We become their master in that way.

And God says, Hey, don't judge my servant. In fact, the real master, God himself, He says, can make them stand. Don't you take heart in that? Because we need help. I need help. I need help sometimes. I need God and only God can make us stand. And so, we have to really be careful about the judgmental approach that we take to life sometimes. Sometimes it just gets away from it. It's out there before we even think about it. Isn't it? Sometimes we say things that, especially we say things about things that we don't even know for sure. We're not even sure about these things. It was like, well, yeah, I heard what He said about that. Do you hear what He said about the future temple? Are you kidding me? He's got that totally wrong. He doesn't understand that. He needs to maybe go back and take the minor prophets class all over again, because he didn't get it the first time around. I guess he just didn't understand. Or maybe I'd say, yeah, he needs to sit in on my former prophets class. Then, you know, I'm the guardian of the truth. I'll send him in the right direction. Of course, he'd understand that. Of course, he doesn't understand what he's reading in his own Bible. Of course, then we might say, well, I'm not saying he's a bad person. I'm not saying that he's evil. You know, I'm not saying he doesn't love God. I just wouldn't believe a thing he says. He just doesn't know how to read his Bible.

Bless his heart.

Or the other thing we say, yeah, he doesn't know how to read his Bible. He doesn't get it.

Well, just saying. See, we use those two phrases a lot. Bless his heart. You can say anything nasty about somebody. As long as you say, well, bless her heart. Or, well, I'm just saying. You know, we think we have an out then. That I can be judgmental. I can condemn somebody. I can say some nasty things. And if I just kind of make up for it at the end, then I'm really not being all that judgmental. But in fact, aren't we? Aren't we? Whose servant are we judging then when we do that sort of thing? You see, that's where we get into problems. That by our attitude, by our approach, by our picking at others. You know, sometimes we feel better because, look at, I found a chink in their armor. They're not so perfect after all. And we can point that out. We could pick at it. We could poke at it and say, wow, look at that. Did you notice that? And we prod at that. And we pick at that. And sometimes in our relationships within our own homes, we sometimes have a tendency to do that because it's so easy to find the faults rather than to find those wonderful traits. Concentrate on those. Aren't we told to overcome evil with good? Not just the poking and the prodding?

I was reminded of this the other day. Someone, I think it was in one of the sermons, mentioned one of our former presidents, James Garfield. And I wanted to find out a little bit more about him, so I was reading some things about him. James Garfield was quite a man. He was a preacher, not only president, but also he was the head of college. He was quite an educated man. In fact, he was ambidextrous. So this man could eat with his left hand, eat with his right hand, either way.

But it was more than that. It was more than just ambidextrous. This guy was phenomenal. Do you know what he could do? He could write Greek with one hand. So just imagine being able to do that. I can't even hardly look at Greek and figure out what the word is, let alone write it. So he could do that with one hand, and you know what he could do with the other hand? At the same time, he could write Greek with one hand, and at the very same time, write Latin with the other. I can't hardly move my hands at the same time, let alone write anything. Can you imagine that? It's just amazing. This man must have been just a tremendous, very educated man. Well, he was elected president in 1880, but only after six months in office, he was shot. He was shot in the back with a revolver.

And never lost consciousness. He knew what was going on. They rushed him to the hospital.

The doctors figured they had to get that bullet out of there. It didn't come through, so they needed to get that out. So they got in that bullet hole and tried to figure out where that thing was.

And the doctor began by sticking his finger in the hole, and they couldn't feel that bullet.

And so, rather than giving up, they got these silver-tipped probes, and they started poking at that hole, trying to figure out and locate where exactly that bullet was. And they couldn't find it. They couldn't locate where that thing was. So they rushed him back to Washington, D.C.

In fact, it was this time of the year that he was shot. Very hot, human time of the year. He started getting weaker and weaker. And so this big team of doctors figured out they absolutely had to get that bullet out. So what did they do? They kept probing that bullet hole, trying to figure out where that bullet lodged. And they couldn't find it. Time after time, they worked at this thing and tried to figure out where it was, and they couldn't. In fact, they tried so hard, they finally called Alexander Graham Bell, the guy that was working on the telephone. They called him and figured... I don't suppose they called him. But they... Yeah, I guess they called him. The phone wasn't working by then. Nobody was home. They got him there! Do you think he could find the bullet?

He couldn't find it either. So he came, tried, failed as well. So the president hung on through July, in fact through August, and it wasn't until September that he finally died. But he didn't die from the bullet wound. Do you know what he died from? Infection. Infection. All the probing and the poking and the prodding introduced infection into his body, and it was the infection that eventually killed him. And I think it's an important lesson. It tells a vital story, I think, for all of us. You know, we can find holes in people's lives. I mean, there's no doubt. None of us are perfect. We're striving to be, but if all we're looking for is the holes, and we start picking at them, and we start poking at them, and we start prodding, what's going to happen?

You know, I think it's going to become an infected relationship. And all too often, when we look for the faults, we're going to find those bullets of fault. And if we keep prodding at them, it's just going to lead to problems. It could be the death of that person. I think we all can probably think about people, maybe who were once here, but they became offended at something somebody did, or maybe something that was said. And because of that, not here anymore.

Now, that's not right. That shouldn't cause them to leave. But it certainly is an important lesson for all of us. You know, is it our job to be the ones to point out all the faults and the holes in others? I think Paul puts it pretty clearly here. If you skip down to verse 13 and Romans 14, verse 13 says, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in our brother's way. You see, the message couldn't be any clearer. That we cannot, we can't be the ones that are those doctors for Garfield who are probing and prodding and ultimately become what makes that individual fall, that becomes that hindrance or that stumbling block or that obstacle. In fact, Christ points it out pretty clearly. If you go over to Luke 17, Luke 17 begins to turn it around for us. In fact, Christ focuses in on at least three ways that we can avoid being a stumbling block and become a building block.

Luke 17 begins to give us some guidance on how we could actually do this, how we can avoid those pitfalls and become a building block, be a stepping stone for good things, for better things. Notice what he starts here in Luke 17, right at the very beginning of the chapter here.

He says to the disciples, saying to us in a sense, it is impossible that no offenses should come. So in other words, boy, there's going to be times we are offended. That can't be avoided. Physical human beings, there's going to be times we're offended. But, he says, woe to him through whom they do come.

Yeah, there's going to be offenses, but you better not be the one that causes it.

It's a little bit different way of saying it. We better not be the one that brings that offense, that causes that offense. We can't be that guy. That's unacceptable in God's eyesight.

And so he says, don't be the one that causes someone to stumble. He says it'd be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Of course, if you were to look up that offense, that's that same word that could be translated, a stumbling block. Some translations do even say that that become a stumbling to another. In fact, that's that Greek word scandalon. And it's actually spelled the way that it sounds, scandalon, S-K-A-N-D-A-L-O-N, scandalon.

In fact, we get our words scandal from that same base word. A stumbling block can be scandalous.

If we're to be true Christians and we don't represent God's way in an appropriate manner, we're a scandal to the church. We're a scandal to the family of God. We don't measure up in that way. And so I don't think there's any reason why this word wouldn't be used, because it doesn't match up. We can't be that stumbling block. And in fact, you know where that base word actually comes from. If you were to look that up, it means the part of a trap that you put the bait.

So if you can imagine what a mousetrap looks like. I think everybody's seen the old-fashioned mousetrap. You've got a hunk of wood on the bottom. Then you've got this spring that holds that metal piece that snaps down on that poor little mouse's head. Right? Well, that little thing in the middle where you put the peanut butter or whatever you think might actually be enticing to that little mouse. That little thing that kind of moves around, that you have to set it very carefully. That little thing, that is the bait trap or the bait stick is what it's called. That's where that word, scandalon, comes from. That's where the word stumbling block comes from. So that little mouse kind of is wandering around and smells that wonderful, luscious peanut butter or whatever it is. It comes over to that trap, touches that bait stick, and what happens? Whack! He's snared. He's dead. Right? And so Jesus Christ uses that word to describe anyone who is a stumbling block to others. The one that sometimes it's said to trigger off trouble. Yeah, that's triggering off trouble for sure if you're a mouse. Bam! That's definitely triggering the trouble. And so it's a good reminder for us. Woe to those who set that kind of a snare, that kind of a trap, that kind of a thing that triggers off trouble. He says, woe! Woe to the adult that doesn't measure up, that claims to be a Christian. Woe to the preacher who deceives. Woe to the counselor who takes advantage of somebody that's emotionally fragile.

Woe to those that misrepresent God's way. Woe to the friend who seems like a friend but really isn't. Woe to those who judge. So that's what Christ is saying here. He says, watch out. Watch out for that. He says, that's a major problem. In fact, if you hold your place here in Luke, go over to Matthew 18. Matthew 18 gives us a little bit more information about this stumbling block. In verse 4, he tells us, So that's the example. That's the goal. That's what we're striving for.

But, verse 6, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks, because of offenses, for stumblings must come, but woe to that man by whom the offenses come.

Of course, he goes on and he talks about that even more. So he's telling us, be on guard. Be on guard. And if we know what a millstone is like, have you ever seen a millstone?

Usually these great big round stones, and oftentimes they've drilled a hole in the middle of them, put an axle through there so that as it rolls, it crushes whatever it is underneath. It just pulverizes grain, for instance, if you've ever seen these mills that have these millstones. And it goes round and round and it just crushes the grain into a fine powder. And so he's comparing us to this because you know what they would do with millstones that they had to get rid of?

You know, in these ancient times, they're too big to just try to move somewhere. So they would oftentimes just disconnect them and roll them down the hill right into the ocean, right into the sea.

And so he paints this, well, it's actually pretty horrid death, if you can imagine it, instead of an axle through the middle of that. Imagine a rope tied around that wheel, that giant millstone, and the other end is around your neck. It's not going to be like a little medallion. It's going to be this giant stone that's going to pulverize everything in its path.

And he says, you along the way as well. So he says, this is a big deal. This is a this is not just a minor thing. He says, this is important. This is so important. He uses this horrid example in this way, this image of death, and very vivid, paints the picture that it's a better end just to be done, than have the kind of judgmental attitude that leads someone away from God. And so he says, watch out for that. Watch out. Like if you flip back to Luke, he tells us to watch out. He says, we have to watch out so that we're not that kind of a stumbling block. He says, take heed to yourselves. This is in verse 3 of chapter 17. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, seven times in a day returns to you saying, I repent. You shall forgive him, it says.

And so here Christ gets into the way that we can be a building block, a building block instead of a stumbling block. Now at first it seems like he's kind of jumping all over the place here, but he's not. He's painting this picture of an important lesson that we can learn from this. If your brother sins, what do you do? Aha, finally, I get to nail him. I can rebuke him. I can tell him his faults. Is that what he's saying?

Well, this is an interesting word that he uses here for rebuke.

You know what the first definition of that word is in the Greek?

It's to show honor. To show honor. So if your brother sins, show him honor.

Yes, it can mean to to reprove or correct, but it definitely isn't talking about nailing him to the wall. We're helping guide him. We're showing him honor by showing, hey, there's a problem here, but we're not causing him to stumble. In fact, this showing honor, this correction with love, what is it doing? It's bringing repentance. It's bringing the first step in being a building block, and that is forgiveness. Isn't that the first step? That's what Christ outlined here. If your brother sins against you, he repents. What do you do? You forgive. If you want to be a building block and not a stumbling block, then be a forgiving individual that forgives completely, that forgives quickly, that forgives repeatedly, over and over and over again. Unfortunately, the rebuking part comes a little more naturally, doesn't it? You messed up and let me tell you about it. But he said, wait a second. You missed the point. The point is helping someone to come to repentance and forgiveness. That's not saying, I'm just excusing their fault. I'm not just overlooking it. I'm just turning the other blind eye to something that might be very serious. You see, instead of that, we're allowing God to handle it.

We're turning back to the master again of that servant and letting God handle it. And when God handles it, He calls us to repentance, doesn't He? And then our part is forgiveness. Our part is forgiveness. And so we're to do that repeatedly, over and over again. In fact, He says seven times a day. So that's a challenge. And oftentimes, people were closest to, we have these kinds of issues with because we have more contact with them. We have more experience. Oftentimes, it might be family, husbands, wives, that sort of thing. And He says, if we're going to be a building block, then we better be ready to forgive. We can't be holding grudges. That isn't God's way. That isn't God's way. And so we have to be sure we're ready to forgive. In fact, you probably heard the story about the man who was telling his friend about his wife and all the problems that they were having and how they would always argue, and it seemed always to get into a big mess. And he would tell his friend, I just hate it every time we have an argument because she just gets historical.

And his friend looks at him and says, well, you mean hysterical, don't you? He says, no, I mean historical because every time we argue, she brings up everything from the past and she holds it against me and reminds me of it over and over and over again. You see, but God says, erase that history, right? It's like going into your web browser and you erase the history. You get rid of it. You don't remind yourself. You've got to free that space up, right? He says right here, you can't allow that to go on. You can't allow that to go on. Be ready to forgive. I mean, aren't we commanded to do that? Remember what Christ talked about in that model prayer back in Matthew 6, where he talked about how we should pray. A vital part of that prayer was the part that says, forgive my sins, forgive me my debts, as I forgive those who have sinned against me, as those who have forgiven our debtors. Remember that? I've forgiven those debts for others.

And of course, as Christ talked about, he says, if you forgive men when they sin against you, he says, I'll forgive you too. So there's this direct correlation between my willingness to forgive and God's willingness to forgive me. And God doesn't hold any grudges. He's willing to forgive. And so the goal then is to follow God's example, God's example of forgiving and forgetting. And if we can begin to do that, isn't that much more positive? Isn't that what God wants us to be? He wants us to be a forgiving individual that doesn't hold grudges. I was reminded of the story of Clara Barton. You may have heard of Clara Barton. She's the one that founded the American Red Cross.

And the story goes, she had a friend that started telling her about some situation that had gone on in the past where this other individual just really was cruel to her, said nasty things, mistreated her. And this had happened years before this, but her friend was reminding her of all these negative things that this individual had done to her. And do you remember when she did that and how she said that and what went on and how all of these things and how terrible that was? Her friend was going on and on and on. And she said, don't you remember that? You know what Clara Barton said?

Supposedly she said, no, I distinctly remember forgetting it. I distinctly remember forgetting it. You see, we've got to get out from under that, and we've got to remember to forget it. Not harbor that bad attitude, not harbor grudges. We've got to get rid of it, because if we collect grudges, they're going to mount up. They're going to mount up. So God says, collect postage stamps or coins or something else. You don't collect that sort of thing. We've got to get rid of that and forgive and get beyond that. Be the kind of building block that God wants us to be. But that's a challenge. In fact, look how challenging it is. If you look at Luke 17.5, the disciples heard this, and what was their response? All right, great, we can do that. That's easy. Forgive over and over seven times a day. No problem. No, they were shocked.

They said, if that's what we're supposed to do, what did they say? Verse 5? Increase our faith.

I suppose in a way they're thinking, there's no way. There is no way. We'd have to have this unbelievable amount of faith if you expect us to forgive when somebody acts like that.

But Christ says, well, wait a second, that is the way it's supposed to be. That is the way it's supposed to be. In fact, He says, what you've got to do if you're going to be a building block is you've got to rely on God. Yes, you've got to begin to learn to forgive, but our reliance can't be on ourselves. In fact, the implication here is you can't rely on your own faith. Isn't that what He's saying here? That our reliance has to be on God if we're going to be the kind of building block we're intended to be. Because notice what He says in verse 6.

Christ Himself says, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you. So here the disciples say, increase our faith. We need a monumental amount of faith. And Christ says, no, mustard seed will do it. Mustard seed will do it. So the amount of faith really isn't the issue, is it? That's not really... if it was just like a mustard seed, the tiniest seed, you'd be able to do this. You'd be able to do this. So He's saying even the tiniest amount of faith in God... anybody seen a mulberry tree get just ripped out and thrown in the sea? That's an awesome miracle. I mean, that's a fantastic, impossible thing, it seems. But even the smallest amount of faith can accomplish the impossible. That's what Christ says here. So in a way, He's saying, it's not so much having this great, huge amount of faith in God that's a requirement.

He kind of turns it around, doesn't He? He says, instead of this great faith in God, we have to have faith in a great God. Even just the tiniest faith in our great God can do impossible things, amazing things, phenomenal things. And there's not an ounce of uncertainty in Christ's mind that they could do this, that they could make this happen. Why? Because it wasn't up to them. If they have the trust and the reliance and the confidence in the right source in God, in a great, small amount of faith in a great God can accomplish awesome things. That's what Christ is telling them here. And it is possible. He says, this can be. No doubt. In fact, if you want to just flip the page, at least in my Bible, go over to chapter 18. Look at verse 27.

Verse 27, he kind of summarizes this whole concept. Christ Himself says, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. So there is no doubt in Christ's mind that it doesn't take this huge amount of faith in God, but instead, even just the tiniest amount of faith in an awesome great God will make it happen.

And so He sets the tone right here. You don't have to be about the what-ifs and watch-outs and oh-if-onlys. No, Christ is that go-for-it kind of person. This is truth. And if we want to be that building block, have faith in an awesome God, a great God who can accomplish all things. We know that. We even know that we can do that. Not because I'm great, not because I'm anything.

But if I have faith in Christ who strengthens me, I can accomplish all things. Right?

We can do these spiritual things. It's possible to be this building block when we put our faith in our great God. In fact, He doesn't let us off right there either. He gives another example of how we can be that building block. If you look back to chapter 17 again, in Luke 17, he reminds us, down in verse 7, he says, Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him, when he's come in from the field, Come at once and sit down and eat? No, servants don't do that. You're working out in the field. You take care of business. You do your job. Verse 8, But will he not rather say to him, Prepare something for my supper, gird yourself up, Serve me till I've eaten and drunk? And afterward you will eat and drink.

Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded of him?

He says, I think not. I think not. And he draws us into the illustration, doesn't he? He draws us into the object lesson. We're that servant. We're that servant that's working in the field, and you know, there's more to do even after that work is done. He says in verse 10, So likewise you, when you've done all the things which you are commanded, say, We're unprofitable servants. We've done what was our duty to do. And so he points us to accomplishing the job at hand.

And he says that job at hand is not just doing that responsibility. You see, what's this servant doing? He's out there working in the field, then he comes in and there's more service to be done.

So in a way, what he's doing is he's pointing beyond just the responsibility. He's pointing beyond just the duty. He's pointing beyond just the job. I believe what he's pointing at here, he's pointing at our identity. He's pointing to who we are, not just this task that needs to be done, not just that you have to pick the fruit that's out in the field. No, not just cooking the meal when I come back. It's not just that duty, not just that job, but it's who we are.

And he says, we are servants. We're servants. Our identity is to be a servant of Jesus Christ and a servant of His people. And when we find our identity in being a servant, our identity isn't just in serving. Well, I did this and I did that and shouldn't I get a reward now? It doesn't work like that.

You know, if you're in the military, you know, your drill sergeant says, make your bunk, shine your shoes, get out on the field. Yes, sir. Well, you get out on the field and you say, well, I did my job. Can I have leave now? I don't think so. No, no, you obey. You do what's required of you. And, you know, I suppose in a similar way, if we're really servants, if we are servants of Jesus Christ and God the Father, we don't say, God, I had a great attitude today.

Boy, I was nice to people. I did. Shouldn't I have some kind of reward? Shouldn't you bless me? Shouldn't I have a bigger house, a better car? Shouldn't there be some blessing that you pour out? Because I was good today. Doesn't really work that way, does it? Doesn't work that way. You see, God's not our servant. We are His servants. And even when you flip to the very back of the book, you look to the very end of the book of Revelation, and it even says that, even in all eternity, it says, His servants will serve Him.

And our identity is being a servant of God. And by being a servant, we fulfill those responsibilities. But it's not just about the responsibilities, it's about who we are. It's about who we are. It's about our identity, that we are servants of God. And by being servants of God, it's not expecting favors when we serve. It's just who we are. It's what we do. It's what our calling is all about.

And when we do that, what does Christ say? He says, we're a building block then. We're being that stepping stone to better things. And so, when people look at our lives, there's not a disconnect. It's all the same. And so, that's what God wants us to be. And sometimes, someone says, well, how do I know if I'm really a true servant? Well, how do you act when you're treated like a servant?

Maybe that's part of it as well. How do we act when we're treated like a servant? In fact, maybe the Apostle Peter puts it best over in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, we're given an example here by Peter as he makes such an important point, I think. It maybe sums it up for us here in 1 Peter 2. In verse 3 of 1 Peter 2, he says, if indeed you've tasted that the Lord is gracious, say, we should grow, put this understanding into practice. We need to grow in grace and knowledge. That's what we should be about. And as we're doing that, and of course, we have tasted how good God's mercy and grace is.

He says, verse 4, coming to Him as to a living stone, realizing that's where our spiritual life really is. It's in Him. We come to Him as He is a living stone.

He was rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. And so as we follow Christ, as we imitate Him, verse 5 says, you also as living stones. He says, we're to be living stones. We're to be those building blocks of something even bigger, something even greater than just ourselves. He says, living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house.

Well, we are the house of God. Are we building that house more and more every day? Are we growing in grace and knowledge? Are we avoiding those speed bumps? Are we avoiding the obstacles? Are we avoiding becoming an obstruction to others so that we are being built up into that spiritual house? He says, a holy priesthood. And if we're doing that, we're offering up that servanthood. We're offering up that spiritual sacrifice, he says, that is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And that's what we're about.

We're about that. And so he says, therefore it's contained in Scripture, verse 6, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. You see, we're building on that foundation of Jesus Christ. And he says, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.

Won't be a stumbling block. Can't be a stumbling block. And so Peter lays it out for us. There is good news. There is a blessing here that if we've been a stumbling block in the past, we don't have to stay in that frame of mind. He says, stone by stone, we can tear down the barriers, we can tear down the obstacles, we can change the kind of character that we've been, and we can start building a spiritual house in what we do and how we think, what we say, the example that we set. We don't have to be that one that picks up the signpost and turns it in the wrong direction and sends people going off in a way that will only lead them in the wrong direction. We don't have to be that kind of person. Peter reminds us that we can be different in how we think. We can be different, and we can be forgiving. We can have faith in a great God, and we can be the servant that God called us to be. And so let's strive to do that. We can do that even in a greater way, even more fully. So let's strive to continue to do that. And so if there's any area in our life that we've been that roadblock, that we've been that speed bump, we've been that obstacle. Let's dedicate ourselves, instead of being a stumbling block, let's be the building blocks of living stones.