Would you turn back to Matthew
chapter 22? And while you're turning there, you saw the list
for the conference speakers we're going to have this month. And
I want to remind you, we're going to have some additional expenses
this month to put on the Bible conference. So give to that as
the Lord enables you. And we also had, I'm embarrassed
to say this, but we had a $3,500 water bill. How? Well, two commodes were
running. We got them fixed. Nobody knew
about it. And then the Lexington-Fayette-Urban County government charged $1,900
to filter all that water. How that works, I don't know.
But I wanted to let you know about those issues. I have entitled this morning's
message, The Only Issue. the only issue. Now there are three issues raised
in Matthew chapter 22. Men have issues, plural, to avoid
the issue. There is only one issue. Look in verse 15 of Matthew chapter
22. Then went the Pharisees and took
counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. That's kind of amusing that these
men thought they could entangle omniscience. Can't be done, can
it? And they sent unto him their
disciples with Herodians, saying, Master, we know Thou art true,
and teachest the way of God in truth. Neither carest thou for
any man, for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us, therefore,
what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute
unto Caesar or not? Their sordid motive in asking
this question is already displayed. And their flattering words, interesting
how they tried to flatter the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not
respond to flattery. But their issue was the separation
of church and state. Should we give to Caesar? some kind of issue of government,
politics, and religion. That's always an issue with people.
How involved should Christians be in the government? What should
we do? Tell us therefore, what thinkest
thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? But Jesus
perceived their wickedness and said, Why tempt ye me, hypocrites?
You know, the way the Lord talked to people is just amazing, isn't
it? I mean, we can't get by with talking to people like that because
we can't see within somebody's heart, but he could. And he said,
why tempt ye me, hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And
they brought him a penny. And he said unto them, whose
is the image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
Then saith unto them, render therefore unto Caesars the things
which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.
And when they'd heard these words, they marveled and left him and
went their way. The same day came to him the
Sadducees. Now these were the liberals.
The Pharisees were the conservatives, the Sadducees were the liberals.
They didn't believe in the resurrection as we read. Let's go on reading.
Then came, same day came to him the Sadducees would say there's
no resurrection and asked him saying, Master, Moses said if
a man die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife
and raise up seed into his brother. Now those with us, seven brethren,
the first when he married a wife, deceased and having no issue,
no children, he left his wife unto his brother. Likewise, the
second also and the third unto the seventh. And last of all,
the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection,
whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her,
and we know they didn't believe in the resurrection. And I love
the Lord's reply to him then. Jesus answered and said unto
them, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power
of God. And isn't that what's behind
all error? Not knowing the scriptures, not
knowing the power of God. Verse 34, in the resurrection,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels
of God. But it's touching the resurrection
of the dead. Have you not read that which
was spoken unto you by God? I love the way he says that.
Of course, they've read it. He said this a lot to the Pharisees
and to the Sadducees. Haven't you read? Well, they
had the scriptures memorized, but he still says, haven't you
read? You've obviously not read with understanding. And look
at this reply. Verse 32, and this scripture
is a reminder to me of how big the Bible is. Because if I was
going to go to show the resurrection with the scripture, I wouldn't
have gone to this scripture. But the Lord does. And this just
shows us how big all the scriptures are. He said, I am the God of
Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God is
not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude
heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. Now that's the
second issue that was raised, the end times. What's gonna happen
in the end times? And that's always a big issue
with people. Now the third issue, verse 34. But when the Pharisees
had heard that he'd put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered
together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, an expert in the
law, an expert in the scriptures, asked him a question, tempting
him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the
law? What's the most important commandment?
Now that's another way of saying, what's the worst sin? Same thing. And people always want to know
what the worst sin is. And it's generally something
they think they don't commit. At least I don't do this. That's
the worst thing. Look at the way our Lord answers. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and all the
prophets. Now, the third issue, what's
the most important commandment? What's the greatest commandment?
And what they mean by that is, what is the worst sin? I'd like to know. I'd like to
know. I know it's something that I'm
not committing, the worst sin. I may be an adulterer, but I'm
not a drunk. I may be covetous, but I'm Not
a homosexual. Always looking for something
we don't do to give us some kind of comfort. Comparing ourselves
with other men. That's what was going on there.
And when the Lord answers this question, I love his answer.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. The second is like unto it. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and all the prophets. And to fail in these two areas
is to commit the greatest sin. You know what it appears to me? It appears to me that me and
you are always in the process of committing the greatest sin. That's a sobering thought, isn't
it? I'm not talking about the way it was yesterday. I'm talking
about the way it is today. Anybody in here love God with
all your heart and all your soul and all your mind? If you did,
you wouldn't see it. Verse 41, while the Pharisees
were gathered together with these issues, Jesus asked them, he
turns the tables. They're asking him what he thinks
about government and religious activities. They ask him what
he thinks about the end times. They ask him what he thinks the
greatest commandment is. And he said, I'm going to ask
you fellows a question. While the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them saying, what think ye of Christ? What are your thoughts? What is in your mind? What is
in your heart right now concerning the Christ? Whose son is he? Now, this is the only issue that
in reality settles all other issues. You believe that? This is the only issue. What
do you think? What do you think of Christ? God's thoughts of you will be
seen in how you think of His Son. Now let me repeat that. You can
know how God thinks of you. by how you think of his son. If you have high thoughts of
his son, do you know God has high thoughts of you? And if you have low thoughts
of his son, God has contempt for you. Now, this is the issue. What think ye of Christ? What do you think? What do you
think? I know what God thinks. Hebrews
1 says, To the Son he saith. This is what God says to the
Son. God the Father says to the Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. That's what God the Father says
God did the Son die for. See what He thinks. This is my
beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I know what God the
Spirit thinks. He tells us in His Word. The
Lord says concerning the Holy Spirit, He shall glorify me. That's his purpose. For he shall
receive of mine and show it unto you. I know what demons think. Luke chapter 4 verse 41 says,
And devils came out of many, crying and saying, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered
them not to speak, for they knew he was Christ. The devils knew. You believe
there's one God, you do well. The devils believe and tremble. I know what the natural man thinks.
In Matthew chapter 26, verse 66, when Ananias, the high priest,
said to his cronies, what thinkest thou? And their reply was, he's
worthy of death. That's what the natural man thinks
of Christ. We will not have this man to reign over us. That's the natural man's response. But what do you think? What are your thoughts concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ? When God looks in your heart
right now, present tense, what does he see? Not what does the
church you go to believe, not what does your husband believe
or your wife believe or your mother or father believe or your
children believe. We're not concerned about them
right now. What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he? What do you
think? What are your thoughts? You know,
not many people think in their religion. You can see that by
the crazy, idiotic things people believe. And it's not because
of lack of intelligence. It's just like, it seems like
people just check their brains out at the door when they come
into religion. What do you think? What are your thoughts concerning
Christ? Now, listen to me real carefully. You can tell a lot about what
somebody thinks of Christ by what they think about themselves. That answers the question. What
you think about Christ is seen by what you think about yourself.
Do I see myself as a sinner? You know, not many people do.
Not by what the Bible means by the word. Do I see myself as
a sinner? Now, the only way that I can
see myself as a sinner is if I've seen Him. That's the only
way. This is meaningless to you. if you don't have high thoughts
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Job said, I've heard of you with
the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore
I hate myself and repent in dust and ashes. Isaiah said, In the
year the king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord high and lifted
up, sitting on a throne. And that's the only way you'll
ever see Christ, if you ever see him. And what was Isaiah's response?
Then said I, woe is me. I am undone. Daniel said, when I saw him,
my comeliness turned to corruption. Paul went from being the chief
of the Pharisees to the chief of sinners. Peter, when he finally
saw who he was, he said, depart from me, Lord. You don't want
to have anything to do with somebody like me. I'm a sinful man. Now, I can tell what somebody
thinks about Christ by what they think about themselves. What
about the law? What's the law say to you? God's holy law. Does it only condemn you? And
that's it? Gives you no comfort whatsoever?
only condemns you, every commandment. Oh, how precious Christ is to
you then. You see, how you really view
Christ himself is seen in how you view yourself. Am I sick
of sin? And I'm not talking about somebody
else's sin. I'm talking about my own. Am I sick of sin? Is my sin a burden to me? Well, if it is, the Lord says,
come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. What think ye of Christ? What's
he worth? What's his worth to you? What is his worth to you? Is
he worth losing anything over? Is he worth losing a friend over? Losing a job over? Is he worth
losing your life? What is he worth? Now, the scripture says in 1
Peter 2, verse 7, to you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. Now that is how every believer
thinks of the Christ. To you therefore which believe,
he is precious. He's precious in his person. Now for a moment, I want you
to quit thinking about how you're looking at yourself to think,
well, is he precious to me? And I understand you thinking
that way. I think that way too. Am I real? Am I hypocrite or
am I real? How precious is he to me? Now,
what I'd like you to do for just a moment is quit thinking that
way. Quit thinking that way. He's God. He's the creator. He's man. He's the God man. He's precious. His attributes
are precious. Everything about him. What's
his sovereignty to you? You know, we're not talking about
the doctrine of God's sovereignty. We're talking about who he is.
Jesus Christ is absolutely sovereign. That means you're in His hands. And you have absolutely no control.
He has all control. He's sovereign. He's absolutely
holy. He's altogether other. He's altogether
different from anything created. He's other. What do you think
of His justice? Absolutely just. Will never let
one sin go unpunished. What do you think about his love
to his father? He would die before he would
let his father's law be dishonored. What do you think of his wisdom?
The way he's made a way for God to be just and justify somebody
like me? Don't you admire him? What do
you think of his immutability, the fact that he never changes? Is that precious to you? Because
you know if he changed, he'd have to throw you out. He'd have
to throw me out. What do you think of his independence?
The fact that he has no needs. He's utterly independent. He
said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you about it. The cattle
on a thousand hills are mine. He's not worshiped with men's
hands as though he needed anything. What do you think of the Christ? He's precious in all of His person,
in all of His glorious attributes. You know, I love His grace. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. You know that. That though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through
His poverty, might be rich. What do you think of His lowliness
and meekness? how whoever was around him, when
they were around him, they didn't feel threatened. They didn't
feel judged. And this is the true Holy One,
the only Holy One. He said, I'm meek and lowly in
heart. What think ye of the Christ? Now this is the one issue. There
are no other issues. There really are not. You see,
we're settled here. We'll be settled everywhere else.
What do you think of the Christ? That's his offices. What do you
think of him as prophet? Now, a prophet is someone who
brings the Word of God. He is the Word of God. He is
all God has to say. What do you think of him as the
prophet? You know, some folks heard him
in John chapter 6, and after hearing him speak, they said,
these are hard sayings. Who can hear them? And the Lord
replied, does this offend you? What if you should see the Son
of Man ascend up where it was before? He said, if you're offended
now, you'll really be offended then when you find out who I
really am. He said, the words that I speak unto you, their
spirit and their life. Do you find his words, spirit
and life? His words. You know the Lord
saw that crowd leaving him and he said to the disciples, will
you also go away? And Peter said, Lord, to whom
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the
son of the living God. What do you think of him as a
prophet? Do you need him as your prophet? What about priest? He's the prophet,
he's the priest. Now, what do you think of his
office as a priest? You know about those other priests,
every high priest standing daily, ministering, oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but this man, this
priest, this God, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins
forever, sat down on the right hand of God. Why did he sit down? Because his work was finished. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever. them that are sanctified. Now
what do you think of his priesthood? Do you need him as priest? Do
you need him to represent you? I mean, you desperately need
him to bring your name before the Father. You wouldn't come
any other way. What do you think about his kingship?
Prophet, priest, and king. Now the king is the one whose
will is done. Not who wants his will to done
if people let it happen. No, the king is the one whose
will is done. Do you need him as a king to
cause you to do his will? What do you think of his kingship? What do you think of Christ? Now I want to attempt to tell
you what I think of Christ. Now, let me preface that by saying
this. If what I'm saying regarding
what I think about Christ is not what the Word of God says
about Christ, what I'm saying is wrong and shouldn't be listened
to. I'm wanting to tell you what
this sinner talking to you right now thinks of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What think ye of Christ? Well,
let me tell you what I think. I think He is all. I really think that. And you?
He's all whether I think it or not. He's all whether you think
it or not. Because Colossians 3.11 says
Christ is all. Now what does that mean? That's
such an all-encompassing term. And this is what I think. Christ
is all. Well, first of all, Christ is
all that God is. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. You believe
that regarding Christ? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I believe that He is all in all
the counsels of God. I believe everything God does
is for the glory of His Son. He's all to God in this sense.
Everything that God requires of me, He looks to His Son for. Everything. Everything. You see, it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell, that in all things he
might have the preeminence. He's all in the scriptures. And
you know, I really believe that. This isn't a cliche statement
with me that I've just been taught by somebody else. I really believe
this. He's all in the scriptures. Every scripture speaks of him. He said in John 5.39, you search
the Scriptures and then you think you have eternal life and they
are they which testify of Me. I believe He's all in every doctrine
of the Bible. No doctrine of the Bible is understood
apart from Him. You talk about election? We're
chosen in Him before time began. You talk about redemption? We're
redeemed by His blood. Talk about justification? Justified
by His righteousness. He is our sanctification. Whatever
doctrine you're speaking of in the Word of God, He is the sum
and substance of it. He's all. He's all in my forgetness. That means the only reason I'm
forgiven is because of Him, for His sake. Be ye kind, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. That thrills me. The only reason
God needs to forgive me is His Son. He's all. And beloved, He's all to me. You know what that means? That means
He's all I have. I don't have anything else. But
not only is He all I have, He's all I want. And He is all I need. He is my life. Paul put it this
way in Colossians chapter 3, verse 4, when Christ, our life,
shall appear. What's your life? His life. He's
all, my life. He's my peace. Ephesians 2.14
says, He is our peace. He's my hope. 1 Timothy 1.1 says,
The Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. He's my wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption. Because 1 Corinthians 1.30 says,
He's made into us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. He is the way. He's my way. He's
the truth. He's my truth. He's the life. He's my life. What think ye of
Christ? Well, he's my Savior. He's my Savior. He's my Redeemer. He's my husband. He's my friend
because he's the friend of publicans and sinners. I love what Thomas
said when he bowed before him and said, my Lord and my God. He's my Lord. He's my Lord. And he's my God. Now, look at
the answer the Pharisees gave him when he asked this question.
What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They said unto him, the son of
David. Now, what they said was true. He is the son of David. But what they said was not the
truth, was it? It was true. He is the son of
David. But look how the Lord replies
to them. He saith unto them, verse 43,
How then doth David in spirit call him Lord? saying, and he quotes Psalm 110,
the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I
make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then called him Lord,
how is he his son? Now, if you and I learn the answer
to that, we've learned the gospel. Whose son is he? And what think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? You will remember when the Ethiopian
eunuch said, what hinders me from being baptized? And Philip
answered, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And
he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son
of God. I love what he didn't say. He
didn't say, I believe I'm saved, or I believe Christ died for
me, or I believe I'm a Christian, or I believe I'm born again,
or I believe I'm one of the elect. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is God the Son. You believe that? What think ye of Christ? The only right thoughts of Christ
are those that recognize and acknowledge Him as the Lord. The Lord. You know, I love the
way the disciples, you won't find one example in the scriptures,
in the New Testament, where any of the disciples came up to Him
and said, Jesus, I want you to do this, or no. How did they
address Him? He's the Lord. You call me Master and Lord,
and you say, well, for so I am. You see, if I ever have right
thoughts of him, I'm always going to recognize him as the Lord. You remember after the resurrection
when the disciples had decided to go fishing, and the Lord says
from them children, have you any meat? And they didn't recognize
it at the time. And they said, no, we don't have
anything. He said, cast on the right side.
And they did. All the fish came up, 153 and all, and then John
said, it's the Lord. It's the Lord. There was, when
they recognized him, they recognized him as the Lord. Now the Lord
means the one whose will is done. The one who has the power to
decide, the possessor and disposer of a thing. The one who has control. That's all the Lord needs. He
has absolute control. And anybody who ever sees Him
recognizes Him as such. He's the Lord. I don't know of anything I find
more disgusting than hearing somebody say, won't you make
Jesus your Lord? I've got news for you. He is your Lord. You may not
acknowledge it, But He is your Lord. God hath made this same
Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He's Lord of creation. That means
He's the Creator. He didn't have any help in creation.
He spake this world into existence. He's the Lord of Providence,
that means He's controlling everything. Everything that happened to you
yesterday, He's in control of. Everything that's going to happen
to me today, He's in control of. Everything that's going to
happen to me tomorrow, He's in control of because He's Lord.
He's Lord of Providence. He upholds all things by the
word of His power. Most especially is He the Lord
of salvation. You know what that means? That
means exactly what that leper meant when he came to Him and
said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. It's what the centurion meant
when he said, Lord, my servant, life at home, sick of a palsy,
grievously tormented. I think it's interesting. I didn't
say healing. He just said his case. This is
this is where it's at. And Lord said, I'll come and
heal him. He said, Lord, I'm not worthy for you to come under
my roof. but speak the Word only. I know authority, and you have
all authority. Speak the Word only, and my servant
shall be healed." And then we read of two blind men that came
to Him. And He said, what will you that I should do unto you?
And they said, that we may receive our sight. And He said, do you
believe that I'm able to do this? Yea, Lord! See, nothing's too
hard for Him because He's the Lord. Yeah, you're able to save
me with no help from me. Have mercy on me, oh Lord, thou
son of David. You know, when the Lord said
to the disciples, one of you shall betray me, 11 of them said,
Lord, is it I? One of them said, master or teacher,
is it I? Which one do you think it was?
You know, Judas, he didn't know him as the Lord. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. When Simon saw who he was, he
fell down at Jesus' feet and said, depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. The Lord saved Zacchaeus. He
said, Behold, Lord. He wasn't talking to anybody
else. He said, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to
the poor. Will you also go away? Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Lord, the thief said, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Peter said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love
your person, Lord. Now, when someone has right thoughts of
Christ, here's what they think. He is the Lord. And not only is he the Lord,
he's my Lord. Just like Thomas said, my Lord
and my God. Now this is the one issue. What
do you think of Christ? Not what do you think of various
doctrines, not what do you think of the Todd's Road Grace Church
or the preacher there. What do you think of Christ? What you think of him will demonstrate
what God thinks of you. Do you think he's the only Savior? Is he all you have? Let's pray.