December 31st 2017
No One Disagrees That Jesus Was Born, But Who Do You Say He Is?
Matthew 16:13-17 (NIV)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven”.
Have you cleared up your doubts about how you would answer this question posed by Jesus? Do you think you will ever be asked this question by Jesus, some day? Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way by which humankind can be saved? Luke writes about this in the book of Acts. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12, NLT) No other name “under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” If you do believe this, then you must answer as Peter did in the selected verses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
There is a growing group of elitist people in this country who have been taken in by putting their faith in man’s knowledge not in God’s Word. Such people believe that mankind is still evolving into a being of immense abilities, which allows them to thrive without any need of a supreme being or a god or gods! Some people rebel against there being a powerful creator, because then they would have to admit their dependence on such a being, and they desire to be free to do whatever they want too, and as long as they are not caught, they feel no guilt, there is no such thing as sin. John may have written about such people when he walked this earth. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” (John 7:7 NIV)
Are you ever included, by your choice, in such a thought group? An old term comes to mind, “it was only a little white lie.” Is a lie ever little and white? In 2 Corinthians Paul writes about some people who were posing as Apostles and were trying to lead this church astray. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:13-14) Paul seems a bit harsh here in his estimation of what these people were trying to do. It makes you wonder has Satan ever fooled you into thinking someone seems to have your best interest in mind, when in fact, they are trying to entice you into their world, so to speak!
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:13-14) In this parable many people were invited to a wedding feast, but few came, then the king had his people invite people around the area. There was a man who came to the feast but he did not dress correctly. The analogy here may be of a person not making an effort to accept the invitation, but then they didn’t change to fit into their new found situation, they did not repent! They were not exercising their new found freedom by turning over their life to Jesus.
Scripture teaches that it is God's desire for ALL to be saved, that none be lost. Sadly, it is mankind exercising his freewill that makes that decision by faith to accept Jesus or reject Him. Those who will be saved have made the conscious, freewill choice to accept the Lord by faith. The “few” refers to the fact a large percentage will sadly reject faith in Christ. It also refers to the fact that even amongst believers; God calls each of us to serve Him in various ways. Many however, choose NOT to fulfill his plan for their life by never fully surrendering to His will and serving Him as they are called! Are you working for the Lord, or are you working for yourself or someone else, instead of for the Lord? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23, NLT)
If you devote whatever you are doing to the Lord, then you can receive a blessing, even for mundane tasks, which you are called to do by the Lord. Jesus was trying to explain to Nicodemus what is meant by the term born again, and this religious leader could not comprehend what Jesus was telling him. Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NLT) At this point Nicodemus would not have given a correct answer to Jesus question of, “Who do you say I am?” This was because he was not yet sure of the fact that Jesus was the Messiah.
Something for us all to remember, is that when Peter answered correctly about who Jesus is, it was before Peter denied Him three times. Maybe more important is to remember this same Peter became the leader of Jesus’ church on this earth. So having doubts is not a big problem, the problem comes when we do not try to correct our doubts by studying the Bible, through prayer, and by discussions with other knowledgeable believers at a church of your choice. We read about the disciples having doubt as they witnessed Jesus ascension into heaven. However, He still gave them the Great Commission!
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20) Jesus promised to be with them (us), even when “some doubted.”
Do not let me confuse you here, it is okay to have some doubt about some details, but you must know that Jesus is who He said He is! Then you will answer correctly when asked, who do you say Jesus is? For you know, and answer as Peter did, Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 16:13-17 (NIV)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven”.
Have you cleared up your doubts about how you would answer this question posed by Jesus? Do you think you will ever be asked this question by Jesus, some day? Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way by which humankind can be saved? Luke writes about this in the book of Acts. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12, NLT) No other name “under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” If you do believe this, then you must answer as Peter did in the selected verses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
There is a growing group of elitist people in this country who have been taken in by putting their faith in man’s knowledge not in God’s Word. Such people believe that mankind is still evolving into a being of immense abilities, which allows them to thrive without any need of a supreme being or a god or gods! Some people rebel against there being a powerful creator, because then they would have to admit their dependence on such a being, and they desire to be free to do whatever they want too, and as long as they are not caught, they feel no guilt, there is no such thing as sin. John may have written about such people when he walked this earth. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” (John 7:7 NIV)
Are you ever included, by your choice, in such a thought group? An old term comes to mind, “it was only a little white lie.” Is a lie ever little and white? In 2 Corinthians Paul writes about some people who were posing as Apostles and were trying to lead this church astray. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:13-14) Paul seems a bit harsh here in his estimation of what these people were trying to do. It makes you wonder has Satan ever fooled you into thinking someone seems to have your best interest in mind, when in fact, they are trying to entice you into their world, so to speak!
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:13-14) In this parable many people were invited to a wedding feast, but few came, then the king had his people invite people around the area. There was a man who came to the feast but he did not dress correctly. The analogy here may be of a person not making an effort to accept the invitation, but then they didn’t change to fit into their new found situation, they did not repent! They were not exercising their new found freedom by turning over their life to Jesus.
Scripture teaches that it is God's desire for ALL to be saved, that none be lost. Sadly, it is mankind exercising his freewill that makes that decision by faith to accept Jesus or reject Him. Those who will be saved have made the conscious, freewill choice to accept the Lord by faith. The “few” refers to the fact a large percentage will sadly reject faith in Christ. It also refers to the fact that even amongst believers; God calls each of us to serve Him in various ways. Many however, choose NOT to fulfill his plan for their life by never fully surrendering to His will and serving Him as they are called! Are you working for the Lord, or are you working for yourself or someone else, instead of for the Lord? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23, NLT)
If you devote whatever you are doing to the Lord, then you can receive a blessing, even for mundane tasks, which you are called to do by the Lord. Jesus was trying to explain to Nicodemus what is meant by the term born again, and this religious leader could not comprehend what Jesus was telling him. Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NLT) At this point Nicodemus would not have given a correct answer to Jesus question of, “Who do you say I am?” This was because he was not yet sure of the fact that Jesus was the Messiah.
Something for us all to remember, is that when Peter answered correctly about who Jesus is, it was before Peter denied Him three times. Maybe more important is to remember this same Peter became the leader of Jesus’ church on this earth. So having doubts is not a big problem, the problem comes when we do not try to correct our doubts by studying the Bible, through prayer, and by discussions with other knowledgeable believers at a church of your choice. We read about the disciples having doubt as they witnessed Jesus ascension into heaven. However, He still gave them the Great Commission!
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20) Jesus promised to be with them (us), even when “some doubted.”
Do not let me confuse you here, it is okay to have some doubt about some details, but you must know that Jesus is who He said He is! Then you will answer correctly when asked, who do you say Jesus is? For you know, and answer as Peter did, Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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