As we said last Sunday, it's
often quoted from the book of John 17, verse 3, which says,
This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. vitally important scripture verse,
that is. It is saying that salvation is
to know the true God, or that is to know that He is truly God,
or the God who is God indeed. And salvation, eternal life,
spiritual life, is to know the Christ of God, who He is. why he came and what he did.
In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, if you want to follow along
in your Bibles, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, the Lord asks
this question of His disciples. In verse 18, He asks them, saying,
Whom say the people that I am? everyone saying about me? Whom
do they say that I am?" And in verse 19, his disciples answered,
said, they say, You are John the Baptist. Some say Elias or
Elijah, that is. Others say, You are one of the
old prophets that is risen again, Moses or Samuel, one of the old,
old prophets. So the people back then were
saying, great things about this Jesus of Nazareth. Some were
saying that he was John the Baptist risen from the grave because
John had just been beheaded. Some were saying he was Elijah,
the great prophet Elijah or Moses, one of those prophets. Now, that
would have been amazing if he had been John resurrected or
If he had been Elijah or Moses, that would have been amazing.
And you know, most persons back then probably would have followed
him if they thought that he really was Elijah reincarnated. They would have followed him.
That would have been amazing if he had been. But it still
would have made him to be only a man. Only a man. And you know, many today in our
day are saying and believing great things about Jesus. And most believe he was a great
man, powerful, influential, able to do great things. Most believe
that he could actually work miracles, even heal people. And many even believe that he
is the Son of God, or that is, they believe He is a deity. Not the deity, not God, but less
than God, the Father, but a Son. One time the Lord asked the Jews
this question. He said, What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? Well, they answered,
He's the son of David. And indeed, the Christ was to
come from the lineage or the house of David. Well, the Lord
then asked them, well, if he's David's son, why did David call
him Lord in the Psalms where it says, the Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou at my right hand? Well, the Jews couldn't answer
that. son of David could be David's Lord or David's God. The Jews
of old heard what Christ was saying about Himself. They heard
what He was saying, the claims He made. And today I hear many
say that Christ never said He was God. Well, it's maybe because
He didn't say it to them. Scriptures are very clear when
Christ says things like this. I'm reading from John 8. John
8, verses 56 through 59. He said, Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. And the
Jews said, You're not fifty years old. Have you seen Abraham? Jesus
said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham
was, I am. He used that same name that Moses
heard on the mountain from God when he asked God, whom shall
I whom shall I say has sent me? And God said, this is what you
say. Tell him I am has sent you. Same one, same name, same God. And they took up stones, the
Jews took up stones to stone Christ at that time. And over
in chapter 10 of the Gospel of John, it says the same thing.
Christ said, I and Father are one. And then the Jews took up
stones again to stone him. And Christ said, for a good work,
many good works I show you from my Father, which of these works
do you stone me? And they said, for a good work
we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, because thou, being a man, Make
Thyself God. You see, men haven't changed
today in their beliefs of who He is either. They believe He's
a healer, a miracle worker, a great man, Son of God even, but God
Almighty? No, never. There are many who claim today
to be witnesses for Jehovah. but refuse to believe that Jesus
Christ is Jehovah. He is indeed. And unless Jesus
Christ is Jehovah Sidkenu, then you and I have no hope of heaven. Go and learn what that name means,
Jehovah Sidkenu. You'll find it in the book of
Jeremiah. Well, he asked his true disciples
this question. In verse 20 of Luke 9, he asks
them, Whom say ye that I am? And I want us to look at two
answers given by two of his disciples. First, by Peter. Peter here in
Luke 9, verse 20, answers Christ right away. He answers him and
says, You're the Christ of God. Now, that's right. This is salvation, to know the
Christ of God. And it's also salvation to know
that Christ is God. That's right. We must believe
that Jesus is the Christ. Do you know what the word, the
name Christ means? He is the Christ. Many people
use that name, that term, that office or that title in a As
a byword, even a curse word. Tragic as that is. But you and
I must have the Christ. We must know the Christ if we're
to get to be with God someday. Christ means Messiah. Messiah
means sent from God. And it means so much more. Peter
said, you're the Christ. That is, you're the only one.
the only one sent from God to do what you did. He's the only
mediator between men and God. Only one. Mary is not a mediator. She can't pray to God for us. No saint is a mediator between
God and men. Only Jesus Christ. Only God will
hear him. He is the only high priest. Christ
means the great high priest. the one who goes to God with
that sacrifice we need. Christ is the only advocate for
sinners, the only daisman, the only umpire, the only one who
can stand in the gap and touch God and touch man. Christ is
the only substitute for sinners, the only blood offering or sacrifice
for sinners, the Christ of God. Christ is made unto his people,
the Scripture says, wisdom. righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Jesus Christ is the only righteousness
that a believer has before God, or the only righteousness he
needs, the only sanctification, the only Redeemer. Christ, to
say that Jesus is the Christ, is to say that he is your all
in salvation. That he is all you need to know
to get to God. He is all you need. What he did
is your only hope of getting to God. Not what you do, but
what he did. The works he performed. The life he lived. That he is
your all in salvation. And to add to, or take away from,
the work of Christ is anti-Christ. To add to what Christ did, to
add our works or add even our faith. Faith is not what we do. Faith is the gift of God. And
that's the gift of God through Christ. So to add to anything
that Christ did is anti-Christ. Well, to take away from it, to
say that Christ did not actually pay for and put away the sins
of his people when he came, is anti-Christ. To say that he merely
tried to do something and yet failed, and it's only effectual
if we make it so, that's anti-Christ. Well, Peter said, you're the
Christ. You're our only hope of heaven. You're the mediator.
You're the great high priest. You're the only advocate for
sinners such as we. You're the only substitute. You're
our righteousness. You're our sanctification. You're
our wisdom. You're our redemption. Well,
over in the Gospel of John, John chapter 20, we're given another
answer. Thomas gives us the answer. Now, the Jews, when the Jews
of old, when they talked about the Christ, they were really
talking about God coming to them. In Isaiah chapter 25, the great
prophecy of the coming Christ says this in verse 9, "'Lo, this
is our God!' We've waited for him. He'll save us. This is the
Lord. We've waited for him. We'll be
glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah chapter 9, that's a prophecy
of the coming Christ, says a child is born, a son is given, the
government shall be upon his shoulders, his name shall be
called, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. So to believe that in the Christ
back then, to say that he was the Christ, is to say that God
had come. God had come. Yea, Jehovah had
come. In John chapter 20, the Apostle Thomas, he gives
another answer of who they believed that this Jesus was. In John
chapter 20, verse 28, Thomas answered and said unto
Christ, My Lord and my God." My Lord and my God. Thomas called Jesus his Lord
and his God. And Jesus Christ did not correct
him. Why, people, if he is not God,
then that was blasphemy. That would have been idolatry,
wouldn't it, for Thomas to worship him and to say that? But no,
Christ didn't correct him because he is indeed God manifest in
the flesh. He's the Christ and he's the
God. He's the Christ. You must have
this Christ as your substitute, your advocate, your mediator,
your righteousness. And He must be your God, because
only God can save us, only God can justify us, only God can
do what Jesus the Christ did. John said it in 1 John chapter
5. He said, Now this is the true
God and eternal life. We know that He's come. Well,
I hope you know who He is, and I hope you believe who He is,
and trust in Him and Him alone. If you would like this message
on cassette tape, write to us and we'll send it to you free
of charge along with the message that was preached last Sunday.
Write to the address that shall be given. Until next Sunday,
good night.