"If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire." Matthew 18:8

Salvation is received at a certain moment in time, yet must be maintained. We are saved, we are being saved and we shall be saved if we endure until the end.

The Apostle Paul had much to say about salvation. To the Ephesians he wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works so that no one can boast. He instructed the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.

Paul liken the salvation journey to a race and to a fight - both must be completed before the prize is presented. Along the salvation path there are stumbling blocks which can cause us to fall from grace. As we see by our text today, Jesus is driving home the fact of how dangerous stumbling blocks can be. They can cause us to be cast into the lake of fire.

Jesus is referred to as a "Rock of offence." The Jews stumbled over Him and many since have followed suit. He is the Truth, the Way and the Life. The Apostles taught that there is salvation in no other name. People stumble because they are disobedient to God’s Word - most are unwilling to accept God’s truth and live by His way. People disobey due to rebellion, lack of faith or lack of humility.

Many are just offended by the Word of God, -"Behold, I lay in Zion a choice Stone, a precious corner Stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed. This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, the Stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner Stone, and a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the Word, and to this doom they were also appointed." (1 Pet.2)

It is a sad fact that of the Israelites whom God delivered out of Egypt, most stumbled in the wilderness of Sinai and never made it to the promised land. They stumbled over idolatry, failing to keep the Sabbath, immorality and grumbling against authority. These things are still dangerous today and can cause us to stumble if we fail to yield to God and obey Him.