I turn in your Bible again to
Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter 8. And notice if you will, find Mark
8 verse 29. Mark chapter 8 verse 29. Now
the title of the message today is taken from this verse, verse
29 of Mark 8, Thou art the Christ, Thou art the Christ, the Christ. The most important question,
I thought about this, the most important question we must consider
in our life is given to us in this verse of God's Holy Scripture. Verse 29. The most important
question we can ever consider. Mark 8, verse 29. But whom say
ye that I am? What do you say of the Lord Jesus
Christ? What do you think of Him? The most important question
that you will ever consider in your life. I don't think I'm
overstating that. The most important, serious,
vital question that we must face. It is very much like this question
that is found in Matthew 22, verse 42, where the Lord said,
What think ye of the Christ? What do you think of him? Whom
say ye that I am? Well, Peter didn't hesitate,
did he, when he answered? He said, Thou art the Christ,
the Christ. Peter's answer was direct. Simple. Bold. Correct. And to the point. You're it. You're everything in salvation.
You are the Christ of God. It's recorded that way in Luke
9 20. You are the Christ of God. Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Christ. And as we read just a moment
ago in Matthew 16, 20, it's recorded there, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. What think ye of Christ? Whom say ye that I am? Now Peter
made this confession more than one time. I want you to take
your Bible and turn to these references. Peter made this confession
more than one time. You see, salvation is not just
a one-time shot. Salvation is a continuous thing
that goes on in our life over and over. We continuously confess
our hope of salvation in Christ Jesus. Life and faith is a continuous,
continuous thing. We're coming to Christ. We're
believing Him. We're looking unto Him. John
chapter 6. He confesses the Lord Jesus Christ again. And believers
confess Him over and over and over again that Christ is their
hope of salvation. John chapter 6 verse 66, from
that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more
with Him. When He said that no man can
come to Me except the Father which sent Me, withdraw him by
sovereign grace. Some of them got discouraged.
Some of them quit. John 6 verse 67, Then said Jesus
unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Simon Peter answered
him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We believe and we are sure that thou art that Christ, that
Christ, not another. Not a false one. Thou art that
Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now turn to Acts chapter
2. You remember when he stood up to preach at Pentecost? And his message was the same.
His confession was the same in Acts chapter 2. Verse 36. Therefore let all the
house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same
Jesus whom you crucified, God hath made him both Lord and Christ."
Now that word Christ means that He is the Messiah. It means that
He is the one Son of God. It means that He is anointed
in all of His office as our blessed Mediator, as our Savior. Now turn to Mark chapter 8 again. Our Lord demands us to answer
that question. Whom say you that Christ is? Now I want you to take it personal.
As if the Lord Jesus Christ was directly asking you that question. And He is. And He is. Whom say you that I am? The proper
and right answer to that question reveals the spiritual state of
our heart before God. How important it is we believe
the true gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a
central issue of the gospel, who He is, what He did. This is the weight and worth
of the gospel. Who is this man, the God-man,
the God-man mediator? Who is Jesus Christ, His person? What did He accomplish concerning
His priestly work? How important is this? Turn back
to John chapter 8 this time. John chapter 8. How important
is this? Now let me show you this. John chapter 8, look at verse
21. John 8, 21. Then said Jesus again unto them. That is these self-righteous
Pharisees. He said, I go my way the way
God decreed, the way of the cross, and you shall seek me." Now watch
what he says to them, that you'll die in your sins. Whether I go, you cannot come.
Then said the Jews, will he kill himself because he saith, whether
I go, you cannot come? And he said unto them, you are
from beneath, I am from above. You're of this world, I'm not
of this world. Now watch this carefully, underscore
this verse 24. I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins for if you believe not that I am.
Now leave that next word out, it's been added. If you believe
not that I am, you'll die in your sins. Now this is serious. If you believe
not the truth and trust the true Christ of God, you'll die in
your sins. Now turn back to Mark 8. And look at verse 27 and 28.
The Lord went out. He went His way. And his disciples
were with him, and he went into the towns of Caesarea and Philippi.
And by the way, he asked his disciples, saying unto them,
Thou whom do men say that I am? And they answered, Well, John
the Baptist, some think you're Elijah, come back from the dead,
or John, come back from the dead, or one of the old prophets, come
back from the dead. Now here's the first division
in the message. The ideas or opinions of unbelievers
are many as to who is the Christ. The opinions and ideas of unbelievers
are many. They were confused. They didn't
know who He was. Many had a high opinion. Some
even had a good opinion. But they all fell short of the
truth. Now be sure you understand this.
The Lord of Glory never asked a question to obtain information.
He knew what people were saying and thinking. But He directs
this question unto His disciples to bring out from within them
their ideas that He might instruct them further in a way of grace. The Lord of glory never asks
a question to obtain information. As the omniscient Lord, He knows
all things. He knows your heart. He knows
your thoughts. This is a God with whom we have
to do. He knows us, our motives, our
thinking, our thoughts, our words, our words. John chapter 2, don't
turn, let me just read this to you. It says that many followed
Him because of the miracles, but the Lord didn't commit Himself
unto them because He knew all men. He knew why they were following
Him, for the loaves and the free meals, the freebies. And he needed
not that any man should testify of man, for he knew what was
in man. You see, this is the one with
whom we have to do. Find, if you will, Hebrews, the
book of Hebrews chapter 4, and mark this in your
Bible, Hebrews chapter 4. This is the one with whom we
have to do. This is the one who is God Almighty
incarnate. This is the one who is the sovereign
king of the universe. Hebrews 4 verse 12, For the word
of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints of the mower, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intense of
the heart, neither is there any creature that is not manifest
in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes
of him with whom we have to do." Have to do. Have to do with him. Now again, the Lord asked the
disciples this question to help to further instruct them and
to establish them in the gospel, to establish them to be rooted
and grounded in the faith. Now isn't that what a teacher
normally does to find out where the students are at? The teacher
will ask a question to find out where the students are at, to
find out what they know. And this is exactly what the
Lord Jesus Christ is doing to His disciples right here, to
draw out their thoughts that He might correct them. Vague
and erroneous ideas about the Lord Jesus Christ were common
in that day. Is our day any different? Not
at all. The Pharisees in that day called
him a devil. They called him a gluttonous
man. They called him a wine-bibber.
They called him a blasphemer. Nicodemus had quite another opinion. Nicodemus said, well, we know
your teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles
that you do except God be with you. But he still missed the
truth about his person and why he came. The common people had
a variety of opinions, but most thought he to be an old prophet
come back from the dead. They missed the mark, didn't
they? Some said, well, you know, you're a whole lot like John
the Baptist. He was a bold preacher of God,
John the Baptist was. And the Lord had bold and truthful
words just like John. Someone said of the Lord Jesus,
well, never man spake like that man. His words were with power.
So some thought, well, maybe he's John, come back from the
dead. Others said, well, you know, he's a whole lot like Elijah.
You remember Elijah on Mount Carmel had a face-off with those
prophets of Baal. had that contest. God that answers
by fire, He is God. The prophets of Baal, they cried
unto Baal all day long. Their God never answered. Elijah
prayed 63 words and fire fell from heaven. And then Elijah
picked up the sword and put the sword to 450 of them and killed
them. Elijah called down fire from
heaven on false prophets on the false prophets of Baal. And our
Lord in like manner condemned the Pharisees as children of
the devil and condemned their ministry. He said in John 8,
verse 44, You are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your
father you will do. Well, some thought, well, you
know, he's a whole lot like Jeremiah. Jeremiah was known as a weeping
prophet. You remember our study through
the book of Jeremiah some years back. He kept warning of judgment
to come. Judgment to come. He said the
wrath of God is coming upon our disobedience unto God. And one
day it did, in the form of the armies from Babylon, Syria, who
devastated Jerusalem. Jeremiah was known as a weeping
prophet who warned of the wrath of God to come. And our Lord
Jesus Christ warned of His wrath to come on the wicked. He that
believeth not on me, he said, you'll die in your sin. He that
believeth not, the wrath of God abides on him. Charles Spurgeon said of this
scripture, error has many voices. And they had a lot of voices,
they had a lot of opinions that day, didn't they? Error has many
voices, truth alone is one and abiding. Our Lord said, you shall
know the truth and the truth shall set you free. You see,
they had varied opinions. Whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Sinners make no true discovery
of the Lord's true character by their own guesswork. Only those to whom He reveals
Himself. People left to their own opinions,
their own natural reason, logic and will will never arrive at
truth. Never. Never. It will always
be error. It will always be wrong. Left
to yourself, you'll never believe the truth. Never. I'll show you
why. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Our prayer is this, God, don't
leave me to myself. Teach me the truth. Show me the
truth. Show me who you are. Show me
what you have done. Show me that I need you. Natural
man, left to himself, will never embrace truth. Here's the reason
why. Romans 8, look at verse 7. Because the carnal mind, the
natural mind, their carnal thinking is enmity against God. That word enmity there means
deep-seated, deep-rooted hatred. The natural man hates God. I'm not talking about the God
he's whittled out, the idol that he's worshiping, but the natural
man left to himself hates the true revelation of God. The carnal mind is enmity against
God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it
be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Here's another scripture found
in 1 Corinthians. The natural man left to himself. That's why they had so many different
opinions. No wonder today we have, even
in the small cities of America, The small cities of our country.
You take a small little country town that may be just a couple
hundred people and there will be 15 different churches. You
ever wonder, what's going on? No different in this day. Look
at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse
17. For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the
preaching of the cross, that is Christ crucified, the message
of substitution, satisfaction, redemption through the blood,
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, and are
perishing is foolishness. But unto them which are saved
is the power of God. Now right across the page, 1
Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14, The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. For they're foolishest unto him,
neither can he know them, because they're spiritually discerned."
They're spiritually understood. The sinner will make no discovery
of the Lord's true character and work, his true priestly work,
left to himself. That's why it's necessary to
preach the gospel. People, even though, now listen
to me, even though people in our day And what we call mainstream
Christianity, even though people in our day use the name Jesus
Christ, even name their churches after Him, that doesn't mean
they know the true Christ of God. Is that so? I know that for a fact. And here's
the reason I know that. Some of you know my personal
story. I grew up out in the Rocky Mountains. Grew up out in northern
Utah. Was born and raised a Mormon. Now you've heard about the Mormon
Church, haven't you? Do you know what the official name of that
church is? You know it's often called LDS,
Latter Day Saints. But that's not the whole name.
You know what the whole name is? Church, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now, does that mean they trust
the Christ of God? If you dig into their theology,
you'll find out that they think that Jesus is the brother of
Satan. Is that the Christ of God? You
see, it's not everyone that says the name of Christ knows the
true and living Christ. That's the point I'm trying to
make. Be careful. You know, the Apostle warned
of this. Find 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And John said, and our Lord
said, there will be false Christs. There will be many Christs. Be careful. Be careful. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. The Apostle warned of this in
his day. For if he that cometh, verse
4, 2 Corinthians 11 verse 4, for if he that cometh preaches
another Jesus, whom we've not preached. Or if he receives another
spirit whom we've not received, or another gospel which we've
not preached, he says, stick with me. Don't go with them. And notice in the same chapter,
verse 13, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no
marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according
to their deeds. Not everyone that says, Lord,
Lord, is going to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Few people, compared to the billions
of people on this earth, few people in our day know the true
Christ of God. Few people in our day are preaching
the true gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that honors
Him, honors God and all the attributes of His character, magnifies His
justice and His love, His mercy and His truth. Our Lord said
it would be so. Broad is the way, and many go
that way. Narrow, restricted is the way
of grace, and few be there that find it. Few people in our day
know the true and living God, know the true gospel of God and
grace, yet apart from knowing Him and being one with Him, there
is no salvation. There is no salvation apart from
Christ, the Christ of God. Turn to John 17, look at this
with me. John 17. Now there may be some of God's
elect among the masses of religious organizations in our day, but God must call them out of
darkness into his marvelous light. This is eternal life. John 17,
verse 2. Look at this carefully. Thou
hast given him power over all flesh. Verse 1 says, Father,
the hour has come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify
thee. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as the Father hath given him. Now listen carefully. Look at
verse 3. And this is life eternal. that they might know thee, the
only true God, Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." Now you better trust the right one, because there are
many false Christs. You better trust the Christ of
God, the one who is almighty, the one who cannot fail, the
one who is God manifest in the flesh. Without the true knowledge
of Him as the Sovereign Lord, as the Sovereign Christ, as the
one mediator between God and sinners, there is no salvation
apart from knowing Him. All the promises of God in Him
are yes and in Him. Amen. Unto the glory of God. Until you know Him as everything
in salvation, you are yet dead in your sin. Until God gives
you life. and speak to your heart and to
make you to know what you are by nature and what we are in
Christ Jesus by His grace, made new creatures in Him. Now back
to the text, Mark chapter 8. So they had, the town folks had
many opinions of this one named Jesus of Nazareth. But here's
the second thing. Verse 29, Peter's bold and true
confession of faith is the confession of every true believer. Peter
answered and said unto him, Thou art the Christ. Not a Christ. You're the Christ. The Christ of God. The Christ
of God. I remember some years ago when God raised up a man in Pike County.
His name was Paul Doug Thacker. And God inspired him to buy this
property, build this building, and invited gospel preachers
to come here and preach. And I remember Pastor Mahan telling
me when Brother Thacker wanted to confess the Lord Jesus in
believer's baptism, and as he walked into the pool, He said,
I want to confess that Christ. The Christ of God. Not this weak,
neat, weak and fumbling and failing Jesus who tried and failed and
wanted to and can't. The Christ of God. That's whom
I'm confessing. The Sovereign Christ. The Almighty
Christ. Whom say ye that I am? Now the
Lord directs this most vital question to the hearts of his
disciples. You see that? Whom do you say that I am? I want you to take this personal,
as if the Lord Jesus Christ was asking you right now. What's your answer? It's a personal heart-searching
question, isn't it? He asked all the disciples, and Peter, without hesitation,
he said, you're my Christ, you're my God, you're my Savior. Peter
didn't discuss it with the others, well John, what do you think?
Andrew, what do you think? No, he said, you're the Christ. He didn't ask the opinions of
his friends, his family. He answered without hesitation,
without reservation, boldly and quickly. He gives a revelation
of his heart. He outspoke the words and the outspoken words
with the revelation of his inward belief. You are the Christ. Oh,
you are the Christ. He rejoiced in his heart. He
sang, I'm a Savior. I'm a sinner and you're the only
Savior. You are the Christ. You are the
Christ. Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed of
God. You are the Son of God. You are God incarnate. You are
all my salvation. Neither is there salvation in
any other. You see, this word here means
the anointed of God. It means He is the Messiah, the
one Son of God, anointed in all of His mediatorial office as
prophet, priest, and king. You are the Christ. Jesus Christ
is that prophet. like Moses to reveal salvation
unto us. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 1 this time. He's that prophet like Moses,
son of God. God said, I'll raise up a prophet.
He is that prophet to reveal God's will of salvation unto
us, Hebrews chapter 1. Look at verse 1, God who in sundry
times endowed his manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophet, past in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also we
made the worlds, who, being the brightness of his glory, and
the expressed image of his person, upholding all things by the word
of his power, when he by himself purged our sin, sat down at the
right hand of the majesty on high." He is that anointed prophet
to reveal the will of God in salvation. unto us. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
anointed priest, like Aaron, like Melchizedek, to represent
us before the throne of grace. The priest who came before God
had to have somewhat to offer. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
bring that typical blood sacrifice. He brought Himself. And He obtained
for us eternal redemption with His own blood. He redeemed us. This is the Christ of God who
accomplished salvation, who put away the sins of God's covenant
people, who cannot fail. He's the Christ of God, not only
the anointed prophet to reveal, the anointed priest to represent
us with that blood sacrifice of his own blood, but he's also
that anointed king like David to rule and reign over us in
all wisdom, power, and authority. He said, all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. I confess that Christ, that Christ. How about you? The Christ of
God. Let us follow Peter's example.
We should always be ready to give a good scriptural answer
to those who would ask us of the reason of the hope within
us. What is the reason of our hope? Christ also once suffered for
our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God. And we can't come justly any
other way. We can't come savingly any other
way, but by Jesus Christ in Him. crucified. Believers, due by
His grace, possess a good hope through grace, through grace. Let us follow Peter's example.
What think ye of Christ? What do you think of Him? Whom
say ye that I am? Is this a religious historical figure? A pitiful reformer who tried
and failed? Or the Christ of God. The Christ
of God. Turn to Matthew 16. Here's the
third thing. How did Peter learn this? How
did he come to such knowledge, such truthful knowledge? Matthew
16. Verse 15, But whom say ye that
I am? Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father, my
Father. Now stay here in Matthew 16 a
minute. Peter did not learn these glorious
truths of the gospel by carnal reason, by fleshly research,
but rather by Holy Spirit revelation. It pleased God to hide these
things from the wise and prudent and reveal them undebased, even
so, Father, it seems good in your sight. You see, it takes
God to reveal God. It takes God to reveal God. Turn
back to 1 Corinthians again, chapter 2. And notice this, if
you will. I have not seen, nor hear heard,
neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Corinthians chapter
2, verse 9 and 10. But God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of man, save the Spirit of man which is in him? Even
so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the
Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. It takes God to reveal God. Now notice what the Lord says
here. He reminds Simon Peter, what he is by nature. Simon Bar-Jonah. The Lord called his old name,
son of a sinner, to remind him what he was by nature and what
God has made him by grace. Every believer can identify with
it. It's only by his sovereign grace that we differ from any
other person. God who's made us to differ.
It's God who has made us to differ. Every believer can also identify
with this. Yes, I'm a sinner, but also blessed
art thou, Simon, son of a sinner. Every believer of the gospel
of Christ is blessed of God. Thou art blessed, blessed of
God. Peter was not blessed on the
account of his first birth. Flesh and blood. Flesh and blood
didn't reveal this to thee. But rather because of his second
birth. Born from above. Born of God. Born of the Spirit of God. Who
is a blessed man anyway? Well, you know, I've got a good
job. Well, I'm glad you do. A lot of folks are losing their
jobs. Well, I have good health. I'm
glad you do. A lot of folks have poor health. But that's not a blessed man.
A blessed man is one who is in love with Christ, who sees all
of salvation in Christ, who is with the Lord Jesus Christ by
this vital living union. That's a blessed man. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they
whose sins are forgiven. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not charge sin. Now that's a blessed man. Psalm 65 says, Blessed art thou
whom thou, blessed is the man whom God hath chosen, and causes
to approach unto him." Now that's a blessed man. Those are blessed
who are one with Him who is the blessor. The Lord Jesus Himself. May God be pleased to reveal
the Lord Jesus Christ unto us and give us a heart of love, give us a heart of faith to receive
Him, give us grace to rest in Him. I want you to take this
personal. Turn to John chapter 20. You remember the story in John chapter
20? The risen Lord had appeared to
those disciples and you know what? Thomas wasn't with them. Thomas, one of the disciples,
was not with the other ten. Judas was dead. In John chapter
20, verse 24, but Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus,
they call him Doubting Thomas, was not with them when Jesus
came. This is the risen Christ. The
other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.
Verse 25, But he said unto them, Except I see in his hands the
print of the nails, and put my fingers into the print of the
nails, and thrust my hand into his side. I won't believe. I won't believe. Doubting Thomas. After eight days, again his disciples
were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you. See verse 27? Then saith he to
Thomas, You see, he knew what was going on in Thomas' heart.
The Lord said to old doubting Thomas, Thomas, reach hither
thy finger to hold my hands. Reach hither thy hand and thrust
it into my side and be not faithless but believing. Thomas answered
and said, My Lord and my God. You see, He's my Lord, and He's
my God, and He's my Savior, and He's all of my salvation. And
Jesus said to him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed. But blessed are they that have
not seen, and yet believe. We see Him with the eye of faith,
don't we? We see Him in His Word. We see Him in the Gospel. God's
grace. I want you to think about that,
that question, that all-important question. Whom do you say that
I, the Son of Man, am?