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WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS

SALVATION

MATTHEW 16:13-17

WHOM DO MEN SAY THAT I THE SON OF MAN AM

Open your Bible to Matthew chapter 16 and we will begin by reading verses 13 through 17:

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

No person in all the annals of human history has been more misunderstood as Jesus Christ.  Jesus had just entered the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, and He asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” 

This is the ultimate question – the question that every person must face:  Who is Jesus Christ?  The correct answer to this question is of the most monumental importance.  On your answer hinges your eternal destiny – heaven or hell.

With that brief question Jesus confronted His followers with the most important issue they would face.  He had spent a great deal of time with His followers.  He had made some very bold claims about His identity to His followers.  And He had also, made some bold claims about His authority.  But now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His message.

Now let us consider what the Bible says about Jesus:

JESUS IS GOD

While Jesus was on earth there was much confusion about who He was.  Some thought He was a wise man.  Some thought He was a great prophet.  Others thought He was a madman.  Some couldn’t decide.  Some just didn’t care.  But Jesus said in John chapter 10 and verse 30, “I and my Father are one.”  Jesus claimed in this text to be nothing less than God in human flesh.

Many in our generation do not understand that Jesus claimed to be God.  They are content to think of Jesus as a great moral teacher.  But even His enemies understood that He claimed deity – they understood that He claimed to be God.  That’s why they tried to stone Him to death (John 5:18; 10:33).  That’s why they had Him crucified (John 19:7). 

C. S. Lewis said, “You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.”

If the biblical claims of Jesus are true, He is God!

JESUS IS HOLY

God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13).  As God, Jesus embodied every element of God’s character.  According to Colossians 2:9, In Jesus “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”  In Jesus we see the fullness of Deity in bodily form.  He was sinless.  He was perfect (Hebrews 4:15).  Even His enemies could prove no wrong doing against Him (John 8:46).

God requires holiness of us as well.  First Peter 1:16 says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

JESUS IS THE SAVIOR

We are by nature sinful.  We fail to obey God.  We fail to be holy.  With all of this against us, this places us in danger of eternal punishment (2 Thessalonians 1:9).  We stand before God condemned.  The natural man cannot obey God because we have neither the desire nor the ability to do so.  Paul said to the church in Rome, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  That means:  I have sinned, you have sinned, and the whole world of humanity has sinned.  We are not holy.  And we are incapable of changing our sinful condition.  Jeremiah 13:23 says, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”  Jeremiah’s analogy is simple:  Can the Ethiopian change his skin?  No.  Can the leopard change his spots?  No.  Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

Now, that doesn’t mean we’re incapable of performing acts of human kindness.  But it does mean that man in his fallen state is utterly incapable of understanding God.  He is utterly incapable of loving God.  Man in his fallen state is utterly incapable of pleasing God on his own.  Man within his own power doesn’t even seek after God:  “there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11).

God’s holiness and justice demands that all sin be punished by death:  “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).  That’s hard for us to understand because we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming some sins are less serious than others.  However, the Bible teaches that all sins are an offense against God.  They come as a result of sinful thinking and evil desires.  That’s why simply changing our patterns of behavior can’t solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences.  We must be changed inwardly.

Jesus is the only one who can forgive and change us, thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin:  “Neither is there salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love has provide a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners.  Christ died for our sins – He took my place.  Christ died once for all – the just for the unjust.  He did this in order that He might bring us to God (ref. 1 Peter 3:18).  Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice.  Which in turn, enabled Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (ref. Romans 3:26).  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

JESUS IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH

Some people think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.  But without a valid object your faith is useless.  Many people assume there are many paths to God and teach that each religion represents an aspect of truth.  But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  Jesus did not claim to be one of many ways to God, He claimed to be the only way to God.

JESUS IS LORD

The New Testament reveals it was Jesus who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).  Therefore He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19).  That means He has authority over everything.  He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship. 

Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [Jesus as Lord], and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  Confessing Jesus as Lord means humbly submitting to His authority (Philippians 2:10-11).  Believing that God has raised Him from the dead involves trusting in the historical fact of His resurrection, which affirms His deity and authority (Romans 1:4; Acts 17:30-31).

True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin.  Repentance is more than simply being sorry for sin.  It is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin and pursue holiness (Isaiah 55:7).  Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  You must be willing to turn your back on your life – willing to stop going the way you are going, and follow Jesus – make Him Lord of your life.

It isn’t enough to believe certain facts about Jesus.  Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don’t love and obey Him.  Their faith is not genuine.  True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians 2:10).

Jesus is the sovereign Lord.  When you obey Him you are acknowledging His lordship and submitting to His authority.  That doesn’t mean your obedience will always be perfect, but it does mean that you will be grieved by your failure, even though your goal is perfect obedience.

JESUS IS THE JUDGE

All who reject Jesus as savior and Lord will one day face Him as Judge.  God has so fixed this (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).  If you face Him as judge your fate will be hell, and He will explain why this is so (Revelation 20:11-15).

HOW WILL YOU RESPOND

Who do you say Jesus is?  That is the inescapable question.  He alone can redeem you – free you from the power and penalty of sin.  He alone can transform you, and give your life eternal purpose.  Will you repent and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

In Christ,

Jerry W. Arnold

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