Welcome back to the Supervisor course, we hope you enjoyed the previous lesson and are glad you are continuing on.
We are looking at 1 Peter 2:4-10 in the first few days of this course, so let’s read through it again now:
1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV) As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
As we look at this passage, we noticed in the previous lesson, 1) Peter’s continual reference to the cross, 2) his application of the cross to daily living, and 3) his use of the Old Testament as it points to the cross. In this course, we will examine each of these three points.
We also see two groups of people in this passage: the first is those who believe and who have found the “Stone” that was rejected to be precious in their sight. “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious” (1 Peter 2:7-8). We have viewed this Stone being rejected, we have seen the nails He took, the crown of thorns He wore, the pierced heart He experienced, and we have counted Him precious. He loved us “to the end” (John 13:1) and has endeared Himself to our hearts, so much so that we see Jesus and value His cross more than silver or gold, more than homes and property, more than anything this world offers.
But there is another group of people shown in this passage, and it is those who do not believe, and so they stumble over the rejected Stone, they stumble at the message of the cross. “But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.”
Question 1. In the context of supervising new mentors, why is it important to know the two different groups of people listed, and how they each respond to the message of Christ crucified?
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One group of people rejoices in the crucifixion of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the death of their old selves, the other group stumbles over it. The people in this latter group don’t see how the gospel sets them free apart from their own works, or the programs of man. They trip and fall down at the cross of Christ.
Your new mentors will experience both groups. The first group will see the crucifixion of Christ and rejoice in their hearts that “It is finished!”. When a student begins to eagerly grasp the saving and sanctifying message of the cross, the new mentor will no doubt weep with tears of joy!
But this new mentor will also experience the second group: those who don’t apply themselves to the lesson in any way, or they are apathetic and only give one-sentence answers, don’t respond to the mentor’s voice messages, aren’t really interested in changing. Or they want to argue, nitpick, become sidetracked, going off onto their favorite tangents (Bible versions, denominational distinctives, modes of Baptism, the validity of speaking in tongues, end-times events, etc.). They are evidencing no heart-cutting, life-changing faith in the cross of Christ. This has the potential to greatly discourage your new mentor. You will have the joy of encouraging them to turn back to the cross, to experience once again the power of it and to remind them to continue giving that message out.
Question 2. What would you say to a new mentor whose students are not engaging with the message of the cross, or are evidencing indifference to the blood Jesus shed for their freedom?
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