Go ahead and turn with me to Matthew chapter 16. While you're turning, I just want to briefly say how much I appreciate this church. We've been friends a long time now, and you're very special to me. Darden is very special to me. You individually are. We've become friends. We're family, brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. And just thank you. That's all I know to say, just thank you.

When I was a young preacher, and I might add, not a very good one, Brother Mahan, I wasn't able to be in his, Providence didn't allow me to be in his preacher school, but once or twice a year, my pastor would get him to come, and I just, for some reason, he took an interest in me. And I remember things that he said to me, and even now, things come to mind that he said to me, And at the time I had no idea why he said them to me and now I do. And that's just the Lord, isn't it? That's the Holy Spirit.

But one thing Brother May had told me was to always preach with urgency. And to always preach for a verdict. And that's what I hope to do this morning. My title is a very simple one. What do you think of Jesus Christ? It's a personal question. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Not what the world thinks, not what our dear grandmother thought. But what do you yourself think of Christ? Who do you say he is? It's an urgent question. It's a matter of life and death.

Our Lord asked many questions in his brief years of ministry. You know, the Lord was only in the ministry, so to speak, well, from the day he was born in one sense, but you know, three, three and a half years. And you think about the scripture says that if you recorded all the great things that he did, this world couldn't contain the volume of books that would be written. That was in three and a half years. But our Lord often asked questions, and every question that our Lord asked exposed the hearts of those that He asked. He never asked a question to seek information, because He knows everything. And He never conducted a poll or survey. That's something we do. And it's out of pride and arrogance when we do. We like numbers. We like to count numbers. But our Lord never conducted a poll or survey. And again, one who knows everything doesn't need to do that. He never asked people what they thought because he was curious or in doubt. The Lord asked questions to give revelation. He asked urgent questions that demanded a verdict. Questions often force people to confront things. Questions often leave no room for vague answers. People often hide behind generalities. But the Lord Jesus, he went straight to the heart.

I remember something else Brother Henry said one time. He said, it's a long ways from here to here. 18, 17, 16 inches? I don't know. But it's a long way. And only God can cause it to go from here to here. But the Lord always spoke to the heart. His asking caused listeners to think deeply. And He asked questions to expose sin and expose error. And He asked questions to demand accountability. You know, there's an old saying, you've heard it, I've heard it, let me answer your question with a question. That simply means instead of giving a direct answer, the speaker shifts the focus back on the one who asked the question. And it's to provoke thought and it's to make the listener think deeper about their own question. And that's what our Lord frequently did, and he would answer someone's question with a question, and it would cut to the heart of unbelief. And that was his practice, especially when communicating with the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

And there are some questions that our Lord asked here in Matthew chapter 16 and also in Matthew chapter 22 that were the same question asked in slightly different ways, but same question and the same consequence. This is a question that determined everything that really matters. It was a question that determined eternity. It was a question that divided. It divided heaven from hell. It divided truth from deception. It divided eternal life from eternal death. You can be wrong about politics, and you can be wrong about science, and you can be wrong about philosophy, but if you get this question wrong, you lose your soul. So Lord, don't let us get these questions wrong. You can be right about a thousand things and still be lost. You know, that's the same with false preaching today. Somebody once said years ago, it's kind of like rat poison. It's 97% good food. It's that 3% or 2% that'll kill you. And rats wouldn't eat it if it wasn't 97% good rat food.

So look at verse 13 here in Matthew chapter 16. You know this passage well. But it says, when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now I'd have you to notice the setting of our Lord's question here. It's Caesarea Philippi. A little easy research will tell you that was a place of pagan idolatry. It was a place of worldliness. There were shrines to Baal, kind of like Mars Hill, one of the men mentioned. They had a god for everything. They worshipped Baal. They had temples unto Caesar, who was just a man. And then they had one Greek god that they worshipped. The city was prevalent in worshipping. His name was Pan. Might as well be Peter Pan. But it was Pan. He was the god of the wilderness that was an acclaimed protector of shepherds and sheep. There's a picture there. I wish I had time to look at it, and maybe I will. But ironically, the god of Pan had goat-like features. I thought, Think about it. We've got a goat trying to tell sheep. Preach to sheep. Be the god of the sheep.

Caesarea Philippi represents the world, this world in which we live. And it was in this pagan environment that the Lord asked, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? In other words, what is the word on the street about me? Here in this religious world in which we live, what do people say about me? Who do they say that I am? And they said, verse 14, some say they are John the Baptist, some Elias, Elijah, or others Jeremias, being Jeremiah, are one of the prophets.

Now, listen, John the Baptist was a fiery and immoral man. It'd be a compliment if you compared me to him. Elijah was a powerful and miraculous prophet. Jeremiah was a tender and weeping man cared for the souls of men and women. One of the prophets refers to a spokesman for God. These were good things that they said, you know, when you really think about it. And I was thinking, this world has many opinions of Christ. You ask them, they'll tell you, you'll get, you ask 10 different people, you get probably 10 different answers, unless you're at a conference or something, where it's all believers. And they may even seem respectful, but they're wrong. Some recognize His greatness, but they missed His glory. Lord, don't let us do that. Some admired Him, but they didn't adore Him. There's a difference. A lot of people I admire, I don't even know. And this is still true today. Men call Christ a great teacher. They declare Him to be a moral example. Others claim that He was a great prophet. But He's anything but God manifest in flesh.

This religious world will tolerate Christ the man. But most will reject Him as a just God and a Savior. Then in verse 15, the disciples of the Lord here were given a personal challenge. In verse 15 it says, He, that being Christ, saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Here this shifts from men in general to you. Getting a little closer to home now. Who do you say that I am? That's all that matters, as far as my salvation and eternity for me goes. He's not interested in what others say. He asks, what do you say? That's an eternal question. Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? And that's a question that only your heart can answer. Your family can't answer it for you. I can't answer it for you. You can't answer it for me. Religion, your denomination, cannot answer it for you. Your preacher, your pastor, your pope can't answer that question for you. You've got to answer it for yourself. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Who do you say that Christ is? It's not enough to admire Him. We should adore Him and bow to Him. It's not enough to believe He's Lord. Is Jesus Christ your Lord? My dad used to say, that's where the rubber meets the road. And it is.

Peter in verse 16, he gives us the correct answer. The Lord Jesus must, by divine revelation, give us the answer. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. That's the answer to the eternal question. And that's the confession that gives eternal life.

Jesus Christ is not one among many. The Christ. Words mean something. He is the way, the truth, the life. That means there is no other. No man comes to the Father but by me, he said. Only one Christ. He's the anointed one of God. He's the promised Redeemer. He is the Son of the living God. And He is God the Son. Not a prophet who speaks for God, but God Himself in the flesh. If you take away the deity of Christ, the gospel collapses.

And He had to be a man in order to redeem man. He's the God-man. Had to be, in order for us to be saved. Call Him a man only and His cross means nothing. The justice of God is so unbending and inflexible. How much so? You've got to be perfect to be accepted. Not just good. Well, Johnny, he's a good boy. No, I'm not picking on you, John. He's a good boy. Well, that's not good enough. You've got to be perfect to be accepted. If you keep the whole law and offend in one point, you're guilty of the whole law.

So unbending the justice of God, so inflexible that it took Christ, God the Son, the Son of God, to put away your sin and satisfy God's holy justice. Now you think about that just for a minute. God's justice. He's holy. This world's made him a God of love. He loves everybody. He loves everybody too much to send anybody to hell. No, he's holy. He's too holy not to send one who sins to hell. We believe unto salvation or we bow in eternal judgment. One of the two. But when men confess it, it's one or the other. Some will confess it in joy and others will confess it in judgment.

But that's the question that stands before us this very moment. Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? We gotta answer that question in our hearts before we leave this world.

And here's the thing, we're not promised another day. I got word last week that a schoolmate of mine I went to school with, we went to school together from seventh grade on. I got word that he had passed. He's 69 years old and he got up that morning and just another day. You know, just, I'm sure made plans for lunch and maybe dinner and whatever else as we do. We have our things to do list and he didn't live. One second past God's appointed time. We're not promised tomorrow. What do you think of Jesus Christ right now? Who do you say that Jesus Christ is right now in your heart?

A man can be wrong about some things and still be saved. There's so much about the Scripture. I don't know. I would dare say Brother Pledger has probably forgotten more Scripture than I know. But that's not the issue. You can not know a lot of things and still know Christ. And you can know a lot of things and not know Christ. You can be wrong about some things and still be saved, but this is not one of them. You cannot know everything, but you've got to know Him.

Some of you have walked with the Lord for a long time now. Sometimes I'm amazed at how long, you know, I'm like, that's been 35 years, where did time go? Don't seem like it's been long, but been trying to believe for a long time now, you know what I'm saying, that's the way I feel. By His grace, I know He's revealed the truth to me. But some of you walked with the Lord for a long time now, and I always think about our Lord's question to Philip. It always comes to my mind when I think about my walk with the Lord. In John chapter 14, the Lord asked this question to challenge Philip's desire for the Lord to show him God. He said, Lord, show us the Father. And remember what the Lord said? Have I been with you so long? Haven't I been with you so long and yet you've not known Me? You haven't known Me, Philip? And then the Lord said this, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?

The Lord Jesus Christ is God. He's not just a messenger. He's not just a prophet. He's not just a priest. He's not just a king. He's all those things because he's God. I remember Brother Cody Groover telling me one time a young girl came to him. I probably told you this. Like Paul said, we forget what we said, you know, different places. But Brother Cody told me this young girl, 12, 10, 12, I don't know, came to him and said she wanted to be baptized. And I'd always struggled with that. I've had young people ask me to be baptized before, and I didn't feel in my heart they were ready. You never know what to say. So, you know, he asked, he said, well, honey, why do you want to be baptized? And thinking that, you know, he could discover a lot by asking that question. And she said, I've seen that Jesus Christ is God. I say fill up the baptistery. What hindered that girl to be baptized? And a lot of people have been baptized that don't know that Jesus Christ is God.

To see Christ is to see God. To see Christ is to see God in action. To see Christ is to see God in character. Christ embodied God's nature perfectly. This is not just a rebuke to Philip. Though it was that, this is a revelation to Philip. And it's a revelation to us. Jesus Christ is God. What do you think of him? Our Lord asked the question one day, why call me Lord, Lord, and do not things which I say? That exposes a whole lot, whether you know him or not. I'm not saved by my works, but I'm going to tell you something. Faith without works is dead being alone. True discipleship is seen by obedience, not empty promises and professions. You can say, Lord, Lord, all day, every day, but if you don't trust Christ in faith, believing that Jesus Christ is the hope of glory in you, that's the only hope There is for you, or in you, Christ. What do you think of Him? It's not a hard question. Impossible to know apart from divine revelation. But it's a personal question. What do you think of Him? Whose son is He? If you don't know that, it won't profit you nothing.

Oh my Lord, call Him Lord. to most of them in this world, that's just a title. But it's not just a title, it's submitting to Christ's rule and everything. He's my Lord. It's my reasonable service to bow to Him and serve Him. Turn over just a few pages to Mark chapter 22. Look at verse 41. On this day, the Pharisees had all their different disciples lined up. In verse 15 of Matthew 22, on this day, The Herodians questioned the Lord Jesus about paying tribute to Caesar. And he said, given to Caesar the things that are Caesar. Verse 15 says that they might entangle Christ. That's why they're asking these questions. They're not interested in the answers. They're just trying to tempt him, trying to entangle him. The Herodians said, you know, Are we to pay tribute to Caesar? And the Lord said, give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they write down the verse.

Then the Sadducees, verse 24, start questioning them about the resurrection. They say, if a man died and he doesn't have any children, and his wife married each of the seven brothers and they all died, whose wife would she be in heaven? And the Lord said, you don't know the Scriptures. You don't know what you're talking about. In the resurrection, they'll neither marry nor be given in marriage. God is not the God of the dead, but the living.

And then here come the Pharisees in verse 36. They had all their arsenal ready. And the Pharisees sought to disprove the Lord in questioning His thoughts on the greatest commandment. Which is the greatest commandment? And he shut all their mouths. He said, love the Lord thy God with everything in you, and love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law hangs on those. If you can do those two, you won't have any trouble with the others.

Well, they couldn't love God with all their heart, soul, and spirit, and neither can we. That's why the Lord Jesus died for us. He did. He did. And that's the question that verse 41, while the Pharisees were gathered together and Jesus asked them there in verse 42 saying, what think ye of Christ, whose son is he? They knew the scripture, but they didn't know the Savior.

And again, this is the question that strips away religion and lays the heart just bare and open before God. You can know theology. You can quote the Scriptures. My dad had a friend, I'm not kidding you, I've seen this with my own eyes, that memorized the whole New Testament. And you could take a Bible, and you could say Matthew 22, verse 4, and he'd start right there at verse 4, and quote it, and go right on until you told him to stop. Anywhere in the New Testament. And I asked my dad about him one time later on, I said, how's that fellow doing? I can't even remember his name now. He said, committed suicide last week.

You know theology. You can quote scriptures and still miss Christ. That's right. That's right. These men were law keepers. They were experts in Jewish traditions. But here the Lord Jesus Christ is questioning them about His identity. He challenges their understanding of the Scripture and who He truly is.

Look at the second part of verse 42. They say unto Him, they answered the question of who Christ was and said, He's the Son of David. Now this is so important. If you never see Christ as more than the Son of David, then you'll never see the difference between religion and redemption. This is the question that divides the world. The Pharisees had the answer half right, and still didn't know who Christ was. You can't just be half right on this. Half-truths condemn the same as complete error. Half-truths know truth at all.

Christ was the Son of David, but He was also the Son of God. Jesus Christ was the Son of David, but He was also David's Lord. Every cult, every false religion, worldly philosophy stumbles on this point, and that's on the point of who Jesus Christ truly is.

Look at verse 33. He, Christ saith unto them, well, if he's, you know, the son of David, how then doth David in spirit call him Lord? How then is he David's son if David calls him Lord? I've called my sons a lot of things, but never Lord. He was speaking in spirit. He was speaking prophetically, and he calls the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, His Lord. He said, He's my Lord. How did David then call Him His Lord, if He's David's son?

David, speaking in spirit. And even though the Messiah is His descendant, Christ came in the human line of David. We know that. Yet by the Spirit, David knows that the Messiah is one far greater than himself. And David calls Christ Lord, indicating His authority above David's. And here, the Lord is driving home the point that the Messiah, being Himself, isn't just a human descendant who inherits a throne. He's a divine, He's an exalted, sovereign, omnipotent, one who none can question or stay His hand. He's the God of heaven, who does whatsoever He wills. He's the Savior of sinners, who must be both human, Son of David, and divine, Lord of David.

The Holy Spirit gave David this revelation and ability to see Christ. If he saw him only as his descendant, then it didn't gain him anything. But he saw him as the one who reigns with divine authority. Now my question to you is, have you? Has God revealed him to you that way? Who do you say that Jesus Christ is?

Verse 43, I'll bend up David in spirit, call him Lord. And saying, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. And here the Lord is quoting Psalm 110 verse one, and this is a pointed question to the Pharisees. Those words, sit at my right hand, signifies Christ's place of ultimate honor and power and authority, ruling over everything, and everyone, especially those who are opposed to God.

Lord Jesus, by asking this most important question, is letting the Pharisees and us know some things. He's letting them and us know that we often fail to recognize who He really is. So we ask with a question, who is Christ to you? What do you think you've cried? Whose son is he?

Salvation's of the Lord. No one else can save you. No one else can put your sin away. No one else can bring you to God. No man comes to the Father but by Him. I love those words.

You see, dear friends, the identity of Christ is the urgent issue of the gospel. Everything hinges on who Christ is. If He's only David's son, He can't save. But if He's David's Lord, then He's God, and He's the only one who can save.

These aren't just... They're elementary in understanding, but... You can't figure this out on your own. I remember one time in preaching, I said, have you figured that out yet? And Teresa looked at me like, Because we don't figure it out. We can't figure it out. God's got to show it to us. That just becomes more obvious to me every single day.

It all hinges on who He is. He is both fully human and fully divine. He's not half God, half man. He's 100% God. He's 100% man. And that's the only one that could put away your sin.

In religion, we all know this, I hesitate to even mention it, but religion exposes itself by the things it says. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. You can't. You don't have the ability. God's already made Him Lord. You're going to have to bow to Him as Lord.

Let Jesus have His way in your life. How can you let one who is sovereign who rules the universe, who speaks things into existence, how can you let Him do anything? It's blasphemous. The word let and God are never be used in the same sentence.

He does whatsoever He wills in the armies of heaven, among the inhabitants of the earth. And nobody questions Him. He's the sovereign God with whom none can stay his hand or question him.

Give your heart to Jesus. Your heart's deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. God doesn't want that wicked thing. He's got to give you a new one that believes and bows to Him.

We live in a world where everyone gets saved by a decision they make, a choice they made, a work they did. That only proves they're not saved. Because they don't yet know who Jesus Christ is.

Who is He? Who is He to you? Who do you say that He is? This question demands a personal answer.

Look at verse 46. And no man was able to answer Him a word. Neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions. And it's here that we see the conclusion of a long confrontation between the Lord and the religious leaders of His city.

Christ's divine wisdom, He just silences human argument. You talk to somebody and they want to start debating the Scriptures, arguing the Scriptures, you just can quote one verse of Scripture and they go, you shut them up real quick? God's word will do that.

And if they want to argue, don't waste your time, because you're not going to convince them any differently anyway. Only God can. You just tell them the truth, and almost let God do what he wants to do.

We don't say that. We don't say that. Somebody asked me one time, he said, do you think that he was lucky? I said, well, if I believed in luck, I would. I don't believe in luck.

The scribes, the Pharisees, Sadducees, had all tried to trap the Lord with their clever questions, but when the Lord Jesus asked His question, if David calls Him Lord, how is He David's son? They didn't have an answer.

When faced with the truth of Christ's identity, it'll be silence from those who refuse to believe. Our Lord always stands as the final authority. By their silence, they knowingly confessed His superiority. Didn't they? That was a confession without words.

Our Lord always is the final authority. The one they sought to test was the very judge of all men. He doesn't answer to anyone, but everyone's going to have to answer to Him. And sadly, they didn't repent or believe, they just simply stopped questioning.

When truth is rejected, the heart goes silent. Not in submission, but in spiritual deadness. So let me say in closing, ask you the question again, what think ye of Christ? It demands an answer.

If he's merely a man, the son of David, or is he the son of God? The God of David. Refusing to answer, it's a verdict of unbelief. Christ's wisdom exposes our ignorance. His authority always silenced opposition. And his identity demands a personal response.

The Pharisees' silence stands as a warning to us. Those that will not answer Him right now. Well, we'll see you another day about this. May not be another day. This is the question that reveals the heart. This is the question that divides the world. This is the question that determines eternity. This is the question that demands your response. What? Thinking of Christ. Whose son is he? These questions silence the Pharisees, but the true confession of who Christ is saves the sinner. And that's why we preach Christ and Him crucified. If you don't have Christ, you don't have anything.

I said Friday night that this weekend you were going to hear about the glory of God that's found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that not what you've ever messaged? We don't have any other message to preach. Nope. Pharisees walked away that day speechless, not because they couldn't answer, but because they wouldn't. Let's don't make that same mistake. Christ still asked, what think ye of me? Silence of unbelief is still a deadly outcome. May God enable us to bow before feed of the Lord Jesus and confess with old Thomas, my Lord and my God.

Not merely theological recognition, this is personal faith in a personal Savior. Salvation is personal. Why? Because sin is personal. Each of us stand guilty before God individually. He's a personal Savior because it's my sin. that separates me from Him. Therefore, salvation's got to be personal, doesn't it? Paul said, the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me, that's personal. Can you say that? Is He your shepherd? I know He's a great shepherd, but is He your shepherd? Is He your Savior? I know He's the Savior, but is He your Savior? He's got to be my Lord. If He's your Lord, it doesn't do me any good. He's not just a Lord. He must be my Lord. Not enough to say He's Lord or He's God. The question is, is Jesus Christ your Lord and your God? Thomas missed that the first time. I won't believe it till I see the holes in his hands and his feet. Hello, Thomas. My Lord and my God. My Lord, my God. You're my Lord. You're my God.