Mark 6:14-15 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
Matthew 16:13-17 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
The belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God provides the foundation of Christianity. For Christians, Jesus walked this Earth not just as good man who did wonderful works; neither was He simply a wise man who did acts of kindness out of his deep love for humanity, nor was He a mere reformer who wanted to change the world by teaching people about God's great love. No, Jesus was and is the Son of God who created all things, and because He created all things He has the authority and power to create new life in all who place their faith in his redeeming sacrifice at the cross. He alone can make all things NEW. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3) Jesus said we must be born again: we must have new life in us if we are going to experience eternal life with God. Jesus through the Holy Spirit is the giver of that life. Through his redeeming power, Jesus produces new life in us. The breath of the living God rests in Christ Jesus. We Christians believe that fact: we know that in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) All other claims of knowing God, every theology that excludes Jesus as the Son of God, are antiChrist spirits. These false religious theologies do not lead to freedom from sin, a transformation of the old self, and eternal life with God. They might make people better in certain aspects of their human existence: more loving, more caring, more sensitive to other people's problems, but they spawn no born-again life within their adherents. New life, born-again life, comes from knowing Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as THE LORD, as the giver of all life and in accepting all He has to offer as Lord of All. HIs works of righteousness are what is important. He died for us, He was raised for us that we might die with him and be raised with him in newness of life. We who trust in him by faith have no more debt to pay for our sins. He paid it all freely with his own life. Eternal life with him is ours, for we are his new creation, seated with him in God's presence. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
If someone tells you that your goodness, dedication to God, and wholesome worship will get you to heaven, you must take a step back and consider the source of such information. The new birth in you did not come about by your efforts: it is a gift from God. Your responsibility is to believe that fact by placing your complete trust in God's work through Jesus Christ's life and death on Earth. He paid the complete price for your salvation. Metaphorically, there are no other cards to place on the table; the winning card has already been placed on the table by Christ. You win! If you try to add anything else to insure your success, you lose. Nothing can be added to the Son-of-God card. So many times we Christians will try to place something else on the table to insure our success. We try to play our own self-righteous card to make sure eternal life is ours. When we try, we evolve into an antiChrist spirit. We are telling God that his plan is imperfect, that we finite beings have a better, more sure, salvation plan. We want to tweak God's plan just a little bit. But nothing can be added if we truly believe what Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God; the Creator of all things. In you we place our trust. Paul understood his position in Christ and expressed it well: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Galatians 2:20-21) He told the church they were foolish to think they could begin in the Spirit and then return to the flesh to perfect their lives. The same Spirit that worked to bring them to salvation was the Spirit that worked in them to perfect their lives. We must not ever set aside the grace of God or frustrate the grace of God with our foolish attempts to add to what God had already done through his Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Instead, we must yield to the Lord and allow him to use us to bring others to him.
If we want a victorious life so our lives will shine in a dark world, we must answer clearly and emphatically the question, Who do you say I am? If we in our human condition truly acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the enticements of this world will fade dramatically. Compared with the brilliance of Christ, the bright Morning Star, the world's attractiveness loses its hold on us; sin loses its hold. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) When we are in his light, we will dedicate our lives to Christ rather than following after our own fleshly desires. We will willingly face hardships and ridicule because of our Christian stand, BECAUSE WE KNOW JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD. Now, if you have any doubts about who Jesus really is, think on the words of Peter who lived with Jesus for three years and who died for him as a martyr. We did not follow cleverly INVENTED STORIES when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were EYEWITNESSES of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves HEARD this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 16-18) Peter was willing to follow Jesus all the way to be crucified upside down on a cross for the one he called Jesus and Lord. He knew Jesus not only as his friend and Lord but as the Son of God. There was no backing down for Peter. HE BELIEVED, FOR HE HEARD GOD PROCLAIM JESUS AS HIS BELOVED SON. He could say with Paul: I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (2 Timothy 1:12) Today, believing that truth, you can expect to see Jesus, the Son of God, in your near future, for to God, in the eternal reality, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3:8) God is near you NOW.
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