The Stone Which the Builders Rejected - Glenn Conjurske

The Stone Which the Builders Rejected

by Glenn Conjurske

It is often pointed out to us that “The just shall live by faith” is of very great importance—-one of the cornerstones of Christianity—-for it is quoted three times in the New Testament. I have no argument with that, but I beg leave to point out that there is another text, little-known and little understood, which is quoted or alluded to five times in the New Testament. That text is, “The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.” The frequent reference to this text in the New Testament is indeed an indication of its great importance, and its message was perhaps never more needed than at the present day, for the great foundational fact which it enunciates has been largely forgotten by Fundamentalism, while Neo-evangelicalism deliberately and systematically denies it. That fact is, to be accepted by God, we must be rejected by man. This fact belongs to the foundation and the essence of Christianity. We follow a rejected Christ. We are saved by a rejected Christ. So Peter writes:

“To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Christ Jesus. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” (I Pet. 2:4-7). The entire position, place, and portion of the saints in this world is defined by this verse. The very first step which we take to come to Christ puts us into this position. “To whom coming”—-to a stone disallowed indeed of men, but all the while chosen of God and precious. Our very salvation, our very profession of Christianity, involves these two things: acceptance with God, and rejection by men. We must come to the stone which is rejected by men, though precious with God.

Our association and identification with that stone, which is disallowed indeed of men, of necessity involves our own rejection also. There is therefore but one proper response on our part to the rejection of Christ: “Let us therefore go forth unto him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.” And to this every heart which beats loyal to Christ must respond with the most hearty “Amen.” Does the world despise my Lord? Then let it despise me also. Does the world reject him? Then let it reject me also. Does the world hate him? Then let it hate me also. By my very profession of Christianity, I come to a Christ who is disallowed of men, and I mean to be disallowed with him.

This is nothing optional, but something foundational. What I am speaking of here is “positional truth.” It is “identification truth.” It is the truth that my identification with Christ gives to me the position which he has himself—-inside the veil, and outside the camp—-accepted with God, and disallowed indeed of men. There is no separating of these two things, and yet there are many whose whole emphasis is upon “positional truth,” who scarcely ever touch upon this side of the truth. Their whole idea of “positional truth” concerns our position in Christ in the heavenlies, but they have forgotten that we have a position with him on earth also. “As he is, so are we in this world.” (I John 4:17). We have a position in him “inside the veil,” and likewise a position with him “outside the camp.” Those who think to take the former position without the latter do but deceive themselves. These are they who love the world, and “if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15).

The woman who marries a social outcast does not expect to remain in “respectable society” herself. When she chooses to marry him, she chooses to share his rejection. If she does not, she is untrue to him, and untrue to herself. When we come to Christ, we take his position for our own, as any true woman does when she marries a man. And as this is nothing optional, neither is it some advanced degree of spirituality. It is the beginning point of true Christianity. “To whom coming as to a living stone, disallowed indeed of men.” We come to a stone disallowed indeed of men, and he who comes to him expecting to share nothing of his rejection does not come truly or sincerely.

But there is yet much more to say of this text. It contains a broad principle, which applies not only to the foundations and the beginnings of Christianity, but to the whole superstructure as well. It is the way of God to choose that which the builders reject—-and to exalt it to the place of pre-eminence. The builders reject the poor, the base, and the despised, and God chooses them and exalts them. Stephen’s long historical discourse in the seventh chapter of the book of Acts is nothing other than an exposition of this principle. Joseph was rejected by his brethren, but chosen by God, and exalted to be the savior of the world. Moses was “thrust away” by the Jews, but chosen by God, and exalted to be their prophet and deliverer. And the Jews to whom Stephen spoke had now become the betrayers and murderers of the Just One—-whom God in turn had exalted to be the Savior of the world. The last clause Stephen did not preach, for they stoned him ere he could finish his sermon, but this was the point at which he aimed through the whole discourse.

This preaching was of the same stamp as that of Peter in an earlier chapter of Acts. Peter says, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12).

And we must observe in all of this that the rejection by man precedes the exaltation by God. It is the stone which the builders have rejected which is made the head of the corner. And in this business it is a certainty that “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” (Matt. 10:24). For mark, these words of Christ were spoken with explicit reference to his rejection. He says in the next verse, “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” It is those who are rejected by the builders who are chosen and exalted by God. George Whitefield and John Wesley were shut out of the churches—-and exalted by God to be the great evangelists of the age. Joseph Alleine and John Bunyan were shut up in prison—-and exalted by God to write those books which had the widest circulation, and did the most good, of any books ever written. Martin Luther was rejected by the builders—-and made the head of the corner. This is the way of God, and it is a standing rebuke to the whole corrupt mass of Neo-evangelicalism—-for rejection by the builders is the one thing which Neo-evangelicalism avoids at all cost. The movement, indeed, exists for the purpose of gaining acceptance with the builders. And alas, dear Fundamentalism is very largely permeated with the very same spirit. What means their constant pursuit of masters’ and doctors’ degrees? Do they think the common people care a whit for such things? The common people may indeed stand in awe, and reverently call them “doctor,” but they will follow the man who actually leads them. They will follow the man who actually instructs them, who actually builds them up. Above all, they will follow the man who makes their hearts burn—-and how many doctors have ever done so in the whole history of the whole world?

What then? Is it God they seek to impress with their academic degrees? Ah, no, not God, but the builders. It is the denominational leaders, the heads of mission boards and publishing houses, the chancellors and academic deans, the executive directors—-the builders whom they seek to please. We may grant them some purity of motive in this. It is influence which they seek, and that for the sake of the cause of Christ for which they stand. But they have entirely missed their way. Their ignorance of Scripture, which is one of the most prominent characteristics of the church in our day, has left them destitute of the first notion of how to gain the influence which they covet. The way to that influence is to be rejected by the builders. This is the way to become the head of the corner.

There are other ways, no doubt, but rejection by the builders is the sure and the safe way. It is the way of God. For mark well, the other ways to exaltation are always built at some point upon the steps of compromise. It would seem that Fundamentalists must know this. They seem to know it for others, but not for themselves. They can point to Billy Graham, and demonstrate that his place of pre-eminent influence is the fruit of his compromise—-and all the while they pursue the same path of compromise themselves. Not that they would compromise in the same manner, nor to the same extent, that Graham has done, but still it is the same spirit of man-pleasing which dictates their own course. They take that path which they suppose will increase their influence with men, and there is always and of necessity some departure from the ways of God involved in it—-though their ignorance of the ways of God may leave them entirely unconscious of it.

But whether the departure from the ways of God is deliberate or unconscious, its effect is still to destroy the spirituality and usefulness of the man who takes it. As a general rule a prophet of God must be rejected by the builders. God sends no prophet where no prophet is called for, and it is the departure of the people from the ways of God which calls for the voice of the prophet. He is sent of God to rebuke and rectify the popular errors, not to fall in with them and perpetuate them. The man who gains acceptance with the builders disqualifies himself as a prophet of God—-and that not only in the reckoning of God, but in the actual state of his own soul. In the pursuit of his academic degrees he imbibes the spirit of the world—-though probably without suspecting it. He loses his spirituality, and becomes intellectual. He loses his touch with the common people. And so while he gains his place of influence he loses his ability to make that influence tell for the cause of Christ. His ways and purposes are lowered, for while he seeks to please the builders, he must necessarily give countenance to some of those things which are “highly esteemed among men”—-and which are therefore “abomination with God.” (Luke 16:15). Indeed, his very academic degree itself is one of those things which are most highly esteemed among men, and therefore, if Scripture speaks true, abomination with God. But he perceives none of this, for God has hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes.

The way of God to the place of influence, as said, is the safe and sure way. It fits the man for the place of influence, while it conducts him to it. The way of rejection by the builders, the way of loneliness and exile, the way of toil and tears and yearning, the way of fellowship with Christ in his rejection, the way of the back side of the desert, this is the way which fits men for the place of pre-eminent influence, while the way of acceptance with the builders is the surest way to destroy their fitness.

Observe once more, it is the stone which the builders reject which is made the head of the corner, and “this,” the scripture immediately adds, “is the Lord’s doing.” The way of the builders, then, is set aside by “the Lord’s doing.” Whom they reject, God exalts. “Whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,” says Peter when preaching on this text. The plain implication of this is that the builders cannot be trusted, cannot be safely followed. “The traditions of the elders” stand most commonly in direct conflict with the ways of the Lord. This was true in the days of the judges, and in the days of the kings. It was true in the days of the prophets. It was true when Christ walked the earth. It has been true through most of the history of the church, and no man ought to be astonished if he finds it true today—-and true in Fundamentalism and Brethrenism. It is a grand mistake, then, to seek the approval of the builders. It is a grand mistake to concern ourselves about it. If John the Baptist had made this his concern, he might have been a flute playing in the temple, but he would never have been a voice crying in the wilderness. He would never have been a prophet of God. Those who become the creatures of the builders sacrifice any possibility of being prophets of God. As we gain our lives by losing them for Christ’s sake (Luke 9:24, John 12:25), so we gain the place of pre-eminent influence by losing our place of influence for Christ’s sake.

Not that we ought to court rejection. To lose our lives for Christ’s sake does not mean to commit suicide. It means no more than to be faithful to him—-to seek his approval alone, without any reference to the frowns or smiles of men. Rejection by the builders is the natural result of such a course—-and this is the way to pre-eminent usefulness.

For observe, the stone which the builders rejected is not only chosen and accepted by God, but made the head of the corner. Here we see Joseph, and Moses, and David, and Elijah, and Luther, and Bunyan, and Wesley. There may be a place of usefulness for those who covet the caresses of the builders, but it is a contracted place. Never a man loved David as Jonathan did, and never did David love a man as he loved Jonathan. Jonathan loved David, and served him—-so far as he could while he adhered to the court of Saul. But he never went forth unto David outside the camp, bearing his reproach. He never knew the fellowship of his sufferings. He never shared in his rejection, and his name does not appear in the list of David’s mighty men.

To conclude, our text contains the essence of the Christian position. We come to a rejected Christ. We serve a rejected Christ. He has no place in this world, and those who court the approval of the world must of necessity do so at the expense of faithfulness to Christ. The ways of God have no place in the world, and little enough place even among his professed people. The builders who rejected Christ were not the sinners of the Gentiles, but the elders of the Jews. “How can ye believe,” the Lord asked them, “which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44) Even good men snub and slight the prophets of God, when the man-pleasing spirit takes hold of them. It will not be convenient to countenance a prophet of God, while they seek a place of influence among the builders, whose ways he rebukes. Thus the true prophets of God may find themselves rejected even by those of whom they expected better things. Let them patiently submit to it, taking it from the hand of God, and they may one day find themselves at the head of the corner. An old proverb affirms, “A stone that is fit for the wall is not left in the way.” The case is just the same when we speak of God’s building, though men may reject the best stone on earth in the construction of their programs and organizations. Yet when men reject such a stone, God will take it up. The stone may be unfit indeed for the sort of wall which the builders aim to build, but so much the more is it fit for God’s, and its very rejection at the hands of man will add to its fitness for the work of God.

Glenn Conjurske