Turn, if you would, to the book
of Luke, chapter 18. We're in a series of messages
from the book of Luke. And we've come to a section that
we're going to actually look over in Matthew 16. It gives us more details. But I want to begin by reading
from our text in Matthew 9. Before I begin there, let me
share with you an article in today's bulletin right underneath
the song list titled, There Is Forgiveness With Thee. This is
from Frank Tate. He writes these words from Psalm
130, verse 4, where there is forgiveness with thee. He says,
even though I am the worst of sinners, every sinner thinks
that, don't we? Aren't we like Paul, the chief
of sinners? You know why that is? Because
I can see my sin. And I'm glad you can't. But,
you can see your sin if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, can't
you? We're the chief of sinners. Even though I am the worst of
sinners, there's a good hope that my sins will be forgiven
because there is forgiveness with God. I know that there is
forgiveness with God, because God has promised to forgive sin. He says in Jeremiah 31-34, I
will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more. Brother Frank goes on to say
this, he says, I know that God will not withhold mercy from
sinners because in Micah 7 verse 18, he delighteth in mercy. God delighteth in mercy. Then
he says, I know that God will be merciful to his people because
God found a way to show mercy to sinners in justice. God forgives the sins of his
people because the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for
their sin. God's justice demands death for
sin. Since Christ has already died
for the sins of his people, they can never die. Now God's justice
demands that his elect be forgiven of all their sin and be given
eternal life. Then mercy is sure, because of
the very character of God's demand, that God demands it. In whom,
speaking of Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1, verse
7. Now read with me, if you would,
Luke chapter 9, beginning at verse 18. We read these words,
And it came to pass, as he was alone. Now this is after the
Lord had fed 5,000. This is after they were all filled.
He says, and it came to pass as he was alone praying, his
disciples were with him, in other words, asking him to come with
him, and he asked him, saying, whom say the people that I am? Whom do the people that you associate
with every day? You're out in the crowd, you're
out in the crowds doing the things, they just went around between
the whole crowd of 5,000 people. You think there was a little
conversation going on? A little bit of conversation,
hey, who's that guy up there on top of the hill? I mean, look
at the miracle. I can't believe the basket's
still full. Who is this guy? Who's this guy committing this
miracle? I know the conversation is going on. So you have these
disciples, and the Lord says to them, who say the people that
I am? They answering him said, some
say John the Baptist, maybe. Some say Elijah's, and others
say that maybe one of the prophets is risen again. Maybe one of
those who died a long time ago, maybe they've come back from
the death. And he said unto them, and I'm going to say this to
you, each and every one of you. This is the question for you.
But whom say ye? Who do you say he is? Whom say ye that I am?" And Peter,
answering, said this, he said, The Christ. You know what that
word Christ means? Messiah. The word Messiah interpreted
is deliverer. The deliverer. The Messiah. The one who would come. The one
whom the Old Testament Scriptures all spoke of. There's one coming! I know we're sacrificing animals,
we're shedding blood, we're sprinkling blood on the mercy seat, but
that's just a picture. That's not going to save you.
This is nothing more than a picture of the one who's coming. See,
the Old Testament scriptures pointed the men and women then
to Christ. The New Testament scriptures,
guess what they do? They point you and I, and all
of those in the future until the Lord comes again, to Christ. So it's like two books that are
pointing this way, right to the middle. What's in the middle?
Christ. People say, well, that's not enough for me. I need to
know how to live. I need you to tell me about how
to treat other people. Really? Let's be adults. You know how to treat other people.
You just know. And you know when you don't do
it right. You just know. Those kids, those two children
back here, they know it. As adults, we better know it.
You know how to treat people. That's why we need to hear about
a savior. Because we don't treat people the way we should. What
are you talking about, John? I treat everybody just right.
I'm just the sweetest person you've ever met. I'm such a good
person. I don't care who you are. You've
thought about it. And if you think about it, you've done it.
That's what the Lord's Word says. If you think about it, it's already
done. It's already done. Who say ye that I am? Peter, answering, said to Christ
of God. Turn over to Matthew 16. Mark
says almost the exact same words as we read here in Luke. But
Matthew gives us a bit more in detail. So we're going to leave
the book of Luke, and we're going to go over to Matthew 16. And
I want to begin at verse 13. Read with me if you would, Matthew
16, verse 13. When Jesus came, into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do
men say that I, now notice the difference here, the son of man,
am. So he says, whom do men say that
I, the son of man, am. Now I want to start off with
just that right there. This is our Lord asking a question. Now, some people may think that
the Lord doesn't know everything. Some people may think, well,
you know, the Lord doesn't know all things. Why would he ask
questions? He's not asking to find out the
answer. He's asking the question to those
who need to know what the answer is. Who do you? Who do you think
the Lord Jesus is? Who do those around you think
the Lord is? I've got folks in my family who
think the Lord Jesus Christ is a man who walked this earth perfectly
and shed his life for their sins and has arisen from the dead
and sits on his throne working all things out according to his
own counsel. Doesn't that sound just like me? Oh, oh, but, but,
but, but, but. I didn't decide to start following
him until things got really out of control with my family. When my life got so far out of
control that I just couldn't deal with all the pain and the
suffering from those who hate me in the world around me, or
those who treated me this way, or whatever reason you want to
use, I decided I'm going to follow Jesus. That doesn't sound like
me. No. When you hear the story that
I have for you, what is it? I wasn't looking for God. Yet
He brought me. He brought me to this place where
the truth is preached. Not where the story about some
Jesus who loves everybody and can't do anything for you. But
to the one who preached the gospel that Jesus Christ's salvation
is of the Lord. And of the Lord alone. He saved
His people. He shall be called Jesus for
He shall save His people. Not because He might or maybe. God doesn't might do things. If He wants it done, it's done.
That's God. You don't hear that from most
pulpits. Our Lord here is asking a question Because he's going
to back it up with another question to those who are listening. And
he says, before and first, he says, who do those around you
say that I am? Knowing that he would hear the
answer, some think you're just a prophet. My sister, she just
thinks you're a prophet. My mother just thinks you're
just a good guy who's out here making some wonderful miracles.
My dad just thinks you're somebody who's there to pump people up
and make them feel better about themselves. Verse 14, and they
said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah's
another, Jeremiah's one of the prophets, and he saith unto them.
So we see the Lord asking the question. And then he says to
them, but whom say ye that I am? Now, I want you to stop there
for just a moment, because we go back to verse 3. Notice what
he closed with. Son of man. He says that I, the
son of man, am. Whom do men say that I, the son
of man, am? Notice the King James Version,
the word son is capitalized. Do you know the only time the
King James Version capitalizes a word is when they're talking
about God Almighty? Our Lord is declaring here who
He is. He's God in the flesh. The very
one who's asking you the question already knows the answer. Already
knows what your answer is going to be. He already knows exactly
what those men are thinking in their hearts. How? Because he's God, and he reads
the hearts of all men. And women, by the way. Don't
think I'm excluding you. He's God. He knew what the answer
was. Who do they say that the son
of man am? The one who is God in the flesh.
The very one who's going to walk perfectly in this world to establish
a righteousness for his people. Folks, we can't go to heaven
unless we're as righteous as God himself. And if we're not
in Christ Jesus, we're going to hell. Which is what we deserve. Thank God that he is merciful.
Thank God that he is gracious. Because if he wasn't, John Reeves
would get what he deserves. And so would you. Why is that
so important that we know who he is? If this Jesus was no more
than a mortal man, If this one who was asking the question was
no more than just a mortal, one who would die and not come back
to life, then his works would be insufficient. He'd be just
like any other man. What he did, what he does, and
what he will do would not be good enough, just like every
other man. But aren't you thankful that
Jesus Christ is not like Abraham. He was born of a virgin. He didn't
come into this world with the nature of Adam. He came into
this world by the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit of God that
moved upon Mary the virgin and gave her a son. Some say that he's a prophet.
Maybe one of the famous ones who has been resurrected like
Elijah or Jeremiah. Who do you say that he is? This confession of Peter's is
nothing to pass over quickly. I want to consider very carefully
this morning, if you would, what Peter has confessed to you. Not
everybody will confess it. Many will get up this morning
and walk out of churches who are preaching the truth all over
the country. Down here in Marietta and Yuba
City, down there in San Diego are two churches I know. All
the way back in New Jersey, there's a church under the ministry of
Clay Curtis. I know those folks are hearing
the truth. Many will get up and walk out saying, I'm not that
kind of a sinner. We've had that happen here, haven't
we? This confession of Peter put him at odds with everybody
around him. Did you know that if God has
done a work in your heart, if God has revealed to you who He
is in the flesh, what He's done, the precious blood that He's
shed, if He's revealed those things to you, you are at odds
with all the religions down this street. These guys across the
street, they don't believe He's God. When you think that your
will supersedes the will of God, what
is the will of God that Jesus Christ would lose nothing? To say that God loves all mankind
and all of the world, and you know that's what a bunch of these
other churches are saying. Jesus loves everybody if you'll
just let Him be your Lord. That's not the Jesus of Scriptures.
The Jesus of Scriptures says it is finished and it's done.
He says salvation is of the Lord and salvation is of the Lord
and the Lord alone. If you believe that God died
in the face of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the sins of
His people, His elect, as scripture declared, you are against all
these other religions outside the church. Oh, we're the only
ones? We're the only ones here in rescue
that I know of? I only know of one group of folks in Australia,
and they don't know of anybody else. I was talking to Gabe Stoniker,
pastor of Kingsport, Tennessee, Sovereign Grace Church. Did you
imagine? Being the only one in your whole
country that you know of that preaches Christ and Him crucified. The sovereignty of God. I feel
for those folks down there. I'm going back. Not to stay,
don't worry. But I'm going back. There's a
group of brothers and sisters in Christ in Australia who love
the gospel like you do. who don't want to hear about,
oh, progressive sanctification, how I can get better now that
I'm saved. Or how free will, if you'll just
exercise your free will, if you'll just make a decision for Jesus,
if you'll just let Him be your Lord, They loved to hear they
weren't looking for God. God came to them and found them
and took them into His loving arms and now they see the love
of God and His grace and His mercy for them. You can't see
that until the Lord does work in your heart. You hear the words. It's like Johnny when he was
a little boy. Don't do that, boy! He'd go right
in one side and out the other. None of you folks are like that,
right? No, you guys always listened to your parents, didn't you?
People loved the miracles that God did. He just fed 5,000. He just fed 5,000 with two fish
and five loaves of bread. Whew! Could you imagine that?
The only thing more miraculous and more spectacular than that
would be to see this sea open up. And there'd be dry land. That'd be pretty cool to see,
wouldn't it? Feeding 5,000 with just a little bit of fish and
a couple of minnows. Some of you have heard this before,
too. But could you imagine being at the bottom of the hill? Oh,
they're no way the best what you did to me. I'm going to be
hungry. I don't even know if I want to
stay sitting here. I'm going to go down to McDonald's
and get something to eat or something. That basket ain't going to ever
make it around to me. Wait a minute. The basket comes. There's food.
It's full. And I can eat as much as I want.
That's a miracle. That's the God that we worship,
the God of this book, the God of scriptures, all powerful,
all wonderful, all gracious, And he loves a people. Maybe
he loves me. Many were against the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the only reason they came was to see his works. These ones who came were selfs. They were steeped in their own
self-righteous works. And here comes a man, a man in
the flesh that says, your works are as filthy rags. What you
think you do to get saved in God's eyes is nothing but filthy
rags. Unrighteous works. He'll say
to those who go through that doormark death, depart from me,
you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. You know who
he's saying that to? Religious folks. Many were against
him, but Peter confessed him. When the rulers of his own nation
And the religious people that Peter knew, the scribes, the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, and the people, they
were all opposed to Christ. But yet Peter stood up and confessed
to Him as God, the true and living God. Oh, there's a lot of people
who say, who call Him Jesus, but they don't know. They don't
know Him as the true and living God. Peter says, thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. Verse 15, 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. This confession
of faith comes from a man of tremendous faith. He had tremendous
character and commitment and zeal. Say what you will about
Peter, he had faults, many of which I can relate to greatly,
I know, but do not underrate him. His heart was under the
rule of Christ. Grace is evident in him. Peter was a true-hearted, fervent,
faithful servant of God. Now let's consider the content,
if you will, of Peter's confession, looking in the face of the Son
of Man. Peter said to that man, he said,
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter confessed
that the man Christ Jesus is God, the eternal Son. that the
despised Nazarene standing before him is the Christ, the promised
Messiah, the one for whom all the prophets had spoken of. In
a word, Peter confessed that the man Jesus is God come to
save his people. Look over. Hold your place there,
Matthew 16. We'll come back to it. Turn over
to Matthew chapter 1 for just a moment. Look at verse 21. I quote this often, but I want
you to read it. I want you to see it in God's
word. I want you to be as the Bereans. Make sure the guy standing
before you is quoting scripture properly. Look at verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he might. Or, for he maybe. No, that's
not what it said, does it? What does it say? Shall. That
word shall there, it's as though it was already done. Shall save
his people from their sins. Peter was truly a blessed man,
wasn't he? His blessedness would manifest
not only in his lifestyle or his freedoms from the troubles
and sorrows, but in the grace of God he had experienced, as
was evident in his confession. He confessed that he was a sinner,
and that this man, Jesus, was his savior. Like all who are
born of God, he was blessed with spiritual understanding. You
can read about that in John chapter 6. Let's do that. Let's look over at John chapter
6 verses 44 through 45. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Turn over to John 6. Look at
verses 44 and 45 with me. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me do what? Draw him. As children of God, we know that
to be true with us as well, don't we? We know that we weren't looking
for God, that He found us. No man can come unto me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him
up the last day. 45, it is written in the prophets,
this is what all the prophets wrote about, and they shall all
be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Over in 1 John 2, verse 20, we
read this, But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know
all things. Peter, as all who belong to Christ,
was blessed by divine decree. We can read that in Ephesians
1. And he was distinctly blessed by distinguishing grace. You
can read that in 1 Corinthians 4, 7. Let me read it for you.
For who maketh thee to differ? Who makes us to differ from what
we were once before? When the Lord said to Nicodemus,
when he said to Nicodemus that you must be born again, Nicodemus
asked, well, how can that be? And the Lord said, don't fret
over that. And just like the wind blows,
that's the Holy Spirit that does that. That's God the Holy Spirit
that gives the new life. Don't fret about what I'm saying
about being born again. That's my job. Just as all salvation
is of the Lord, who maketh us to differ. Who can describe the
blessedness of knowing Him? Can you, if you know who the
Lord Jesus is, can you truly put into words the depth of his
love for you? It tears me up inside. I think
of the depth of my sin and what it is to God. Sin is not just something little,
folks. Sin will condemn us to hell if
we do not belong to Him. And we would deserve that if
we do not belong to Him. Who can describe it? As it was
in Peter's day, so is it today, and so it is every age. The people
of this world, religious and non, have many and varied opinions
about who Christ is, but only one opinion is right. Only one
opinion is right, and that's the opinion that God gives of
Himself in the Word of God, of who He is, what He's done for
His people, and where He is right now on His throne. That's the only opinion that
matters. That's the only truth. I would love to say you can trust
this guy down here, this guy who's running for an election,
wherever he might be. I would love to tell you you
can trust him, but I'm going to tell you on the authority
of God's word, you can't trust anybody. You can't trust me. What? We can't trust the guy
who's standing there before us preaching? No. Check the word
of God. Look into his word with me. Make
sure what I'm standing before you is true. Make sure that when
I tell you about the grace of God, it's the grace of God in
my heart, for me. I can't tell you what the grace
of God is for you. Folks, that's what grace is.
It's the salvation of His elect, the salvation of His people.
And I believe I'm one. through the preaching of His
Word. We looked at this in Bible study this morning. How can I
know? To be quite honest with you folks, the heart is desperately
wicked. It's deceitful and desperately
wicked above all else. Who can know it? You might say,
I'm whipping you with this. You might say, I'm whipping some
folks who are getting close to death with this. But just as
the apostles in the Lord's day said, Lord, is it I? When he
told them about somebody who was going to betray him, they
said, Lord, is it I? I asked, Lord, is it I? That's
grace in my heart. That's grace of God to me, telling
me, no, you're not the one, John. I've given you the ability to
believe, and whosoever believeth on Christ shall live everlasting. Who can truly describe the blessedness
of knowing Him? Peter was a man blessed of God. We do not come to know Christ
after the flesh or by any human learning, but by my Father which
is in heaven. Verse 17 of our text, Matthew
16, 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. In Matthew 11, 25-27, let me
read these for you because it's getting close to time and I'm
going to have to skip some things. Listen to these words in Matthew
11, 25-27, and at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent. and hath revealed them
unto babes. Paul wrote to the Galatians in
chapter 1, verse 15 through 16, But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. He
didn't go to the apostles. When Paul was called out of darkness
on that road to Emmaus, he was called, and then the Lord was
preached to him, and he was given his sight, returned his sight
to him. What did he do? He went out right away. He didn't
go and say, hey, what did you guys say? Did you guys hear about
this Lord Jesus you've been talking about? You know, you guys that
I've been chasing after to persecute? I see your point now. No. He went right out and preached
Christ. I heard some things. I heard about a Savior. I heard
about a Savior. And I went right out. Like the
leper. Like the man from Gadareo. Like
the blind man. And I told the people I know
about He who is God. For the first time in my life,
I've been around religion for a little bit, but for the first
time in my life, I heard about somebody who deserved the title
God. The knowledge Peter received
from God is the same knowledge that God gives unto all of his
church. He gives us the knowledge of his son, the savior of his
people, Jesus the Christ, this is who my Savior is. Who is your
Savior? The foundation upon which the
church is built, the foundation on which our souls are built,
the foundation on which our faith and hope is built is the Rock,
Christ Jesus. Isaiah 28, 16, Therefore thus
saith the Lord, Behold, I lay in Zion, For a foundation, a
stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation,
he that believeth shall not make haste, but go out, go out and
declare. Christ is our sure foundation.
He is precious to us because being our foundation, we count
on him for everything. He's a tribe foundation, as we
read in Hebrews 10, 12. He sits on his throne this very
hour, making intercession for those the Father hath given him. Who do you say that he is? Is
he someone who has done some things and is waiting for you? Or is he your salvation, your
all in all? Am I resting in my substitute?
Is his blood sufficient for my salvation? Christ is the rock
upon which we must all build our house. For other foundations
can no man lay, it says in 1 Corinthians 3.11. Then that is laid which
is Christ Jesus the Lord. He is the precious cornerstone
the Lord has laid in Zion. Those who believe on him shall
never perish, but have everlasting life. Those who build on the
sand, the sand of their own works, shall be buried in everlasting
ruins. Let me close with a blessed promise
it says. It says there in verse 18, And I say also unto thee, that
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail." What a promise. What a promise. You know what,
Simon? I'm going to change your name
because, see, from today forward, you're going to preach about
the rock. I don't have anything else for
you, folks. I've been preaching the same
rock for four years now, or however long it's been. I lose track
of time. I don't have anything else. There's
nothing else for God's sinners but the rock, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Peter, I'm going to change your
name to me, the rock. That's what Peter means. Simon,
I'm going to change your name to Peter. And on the fact of
what you just said, on the basis of what you just answered me,
I am the Son of God. On that basis, I will build my
church. Go forth and preach the gospel,
Peter. Go forth and tell those about
the one who saves, not the one who's trying, but the one who
does. Go forth and teach those who
I bring into the church to hear my word, that they might believe
on me. That's what the Lord's telling
Peter. He's saying, I will build my church, not you. How many
churches have you been to in the past? They say, man, we got
30 people, 30 brand new people to come to church today. You
see our numbers. We have thousands that show up
on Sunday morning. How can that not be righteous? I'll tell you how. They believe
in their own works. They don't believe in the true
and living God. And neither did we. Can't close without bringing
out the grace of Christ. That's what coming to this table
is all about. It's about the grace of Christ
and how he gave his body. He laid down his body, a body
that was prepared by God the Father from before the world
ever began. A body that was prepared to go
to a cross and be beaten and strung up and hung on the cross
for us, for his people. I never get tired of telling
you about the grace of God, because that's what's good about my life.
Everything else in my life is a ruin at times. Give me something
to do, I can break it. What's the secret to a long marriage?
It's not John Reeves. It's my savior, my Lord, my God,
that he put a love in this woman for me that I don't deserve.
What's the secret to a long marriage? Who maketh us to differ? My Savior. One last verse. I've got to do
this. I've got to do this. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. Local
churches wither and die. There's a church down in Texas,
not David Pledger's, where a dear brother is packing his things.
His last service was last week. For the past month, nobody has
been there but him and his wife. The Lord shut this church down
is what he says. And he's moving off, going off
to Florida to go live with his brother for a while, Joseph Murphy.
I've heard Joseph preach. And he preaches the gospel, just
like all of the sovereign grace preachers that I know. But the
Lord has removed the candlestick from that area. How often we've
seen the Lord remove a candlestick from a place here or a place
there. You know what Don Forder told me? When Gene Harmon moved
away to be with his daughter and to help take care of him
and his wife in their final years, Don told me, he says, of all
the churches I know, he knows churches all over the world,
five, five churches had continued in the gospel after the preacher
had left. Did you know Charles Spurgeon?
A man who preached to 2,000 people on Sunday mornings, who had 200
men in the men's meeting before services started. His church
reverted to freewillism, Arminianism, within two years after he had
left. What a miracle. What a blessing
that God has continued the gospel here in Reston. It's not something
John Reeves did. I didn't want this job. I was
willing to give it to that other man, remember? But God did not
have it that way, did he? It still scares me every time
I come to this pulpit to talk to you because I'm so insufficient. But aren't you thankful that
God's word is sufficient? That's all I gotta do. I couldn't
have an easier job but to get up and preach Christ and Him
crucified. Look here at 1 Peter 1, verses 2-5. called according to the foreknowledge
of God. Those of you who were chosen
in Christ before the world was, elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification, setting apart, be made holy of
the Spirit, and to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you. Now look at this, read these
words with me, who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day.