Title: Who Do You Say Jesus Is?
Meta: Jesus is a historical person who made massive claims about himself – we must all answer this question: Who do you say Jesus is?
Tags: Jesus Christ,God,Bible,Messiah,salvation,Matthew 16:13-28

(Note to Translator: If the excerpt "The Gospel of Christ Powerfully Saves - Paul Washer" is already translated into your language, than you won't need to translate line 602 from time 00:37:23,540 --> 00:37:28,570 to line 846 of time 00:51:56,445 --> 00:52:04,663. If you have the SRT you can paste in the text in the file. If you do not have the SRT please contact us.)

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Let’s open up our Bibles again to Matthew 16.

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And let’s just read verse 13 on down a bit:

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“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

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he was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’

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And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;

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but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’

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And he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

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Simon Peter answered,

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‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:13-16)

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Let’s pray:

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Father we come before you, in the name of your Son.

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We acknowledge that he is our righteousness,

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that apart from him we have no part with you.

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And I pray Father that today you would get glory for yourself

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and glory for your Son, through the things that are said,

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the things that are believed, and the works that are done.

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Lord, help us this day in a way that we will know that you have helped us.

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In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Now I want you to look at verse 13:

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“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

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he was asking His disciples...” (Matthew 16:13)

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Now this is important, this is not just an aorist activity.

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This is not just something he did once, heard something of an answer,

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and then let it go.

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But the idea here is that he was going back again and again,

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asking his disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?”

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Now this is extremely important. Why?

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Because everything – whether you want to believe me or not –

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I will tell you, that according to the Scriptures,

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everything in your life and everything in eternity is determined

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by how you answer this question,

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“Who do you say that he is?”

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Now that in itself is the scandal of Christianity.

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It’s set Christianity apart from everything else.

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You have to answer that question. Who is he?

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Now there’s something you need to understand about Scripture that is extremely important.

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Something you need to understand about reality.

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About truth itself.

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And why do I say it that way?

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Because today in our culture, reality is anything you think it to be.

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But that’s not true.

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Reality or truth is defined as that which is, most certainly is.

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And so the question is not, “Who is Jesus to you?”

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That’s not the question.

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Or, “Who do you want Jesus to be?”

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Or, “Who do you make him out to be according to your convenience?”

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That’s not the question.

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The question: “Who is Jesus?”

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Now go back several years, several decades ago,

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when I was in college and not a Christian, just nothing.

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Agnostic, nothing.

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Angry, nothing.

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Nonchalant, uncaring about religion whatsoever,

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and I was approached by a young student who wanted to talk to me about the Bible,

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about Christianity.

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And my first response to him was this,

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“I know about Christianity, I know about the church,

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I have family who are Catholic, family who are Baptist,

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family who are this and that, and every sort of thing,

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and I can tell you, I don’t want to know anything about the church.”

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And then he said something to me that hit me like a ton of bricks.

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He said it in a way that no one’s ever said it before and I’ll never forget it.

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He looked at me with a sternness in his face,

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and he said, “I’m not talking about the church.

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I’m not talking about denominations.

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I didn’t ask your opinion regarding those things.

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You cannot slide out of this by casting blame upon people

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who call themselves the children of God.

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I have one question for you.

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Who was the man, Jesus of Nazareth?

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Who was he?”

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With that sternness, I kind of bowed my head a bit and I said,

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well, I mumbled something like,

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“Well, you know, he’s a good man, good person,

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good... yeah, he’s a good guy.”

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It wasn’t but a few weeks later that I came across an old English author and scholar

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by the name of C.S. Lewis,

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who again said something that hit me like a ton of bricks.

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And it was this: He called it the trilemma, or that’s what others called it.

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And it’s this.

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When we talk about logic,

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I’m not talking about the flamboyant relativism and everything of our modern age

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that says you can’t know truth or everybody’s right –

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and to be honest with you folks, not everybody’s right.

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Here are the logical options.

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The logical option is, somebody’s right and everyone else is wrong,

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or everyone is wrong.

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But everyone can’t be right because everyone is saying completely different

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and contrary things, making contrary truth statements.

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So that’s something that we need to realize.

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You can’t just say, “Well, Jesus is right for you.”

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No he’s not.

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He’s either right or he’s wrong.

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And there’s no way you can dance around the issue.

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And that’s what C.S. Lewis was coming up with,

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and that’s what confronted me on that day in those pages when I heard this:

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here are the options with regard to the man Jesus of Nazareth.

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One – he is a liar.

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That’s one logical option.

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He is a liar.

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Because He said he was the Son of God

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and he purposefully, intentionally, misled people to think he was the Son of God,

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or in a more exact way to put it, God the Son, God in the flesh,

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God who became man.

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Now if he said that, and he did not believe it,

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and he was planning some sort of ruse or deception, he was a liar.

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And there’s no way around it.

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The other option is this: he’s a lunatic.

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Because any person who sincerely believes they are God in the flesh,

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and they’re not, they’re a lunatic.

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If you go to the park today in between this meeting and the wedding

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and you decide you want to walk around Bisset Park and see the river

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and you see a man standing on the park bench

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screaming out, “I’m the way, the truth, and the life,”

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what are you going to think about him?

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Or, “I am God in the flesh, ”

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or, “I am the creator of the universe

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and the mediator of all things between God and creation.”

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What are you going to think about him?

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Lunatic.

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As C.S. Lewis said, on the level with someone who had the brain like a poached egg.

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He’s a lunatic.

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And there’s one other option.

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And this is most scandalous and startling of all options.

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He was, and is, and will continue to be exactly who he said he was –

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the Son of the living God.

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Do you see that?

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So what am I telling you to do?

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Well, I’m not telling you to do, I’m giving you three options.

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Walk out of this building today and call him a bald-faced liar.

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Walk out of this building today and call him a lunatic

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and please have pity on the rest of us lunatics who are following him.

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Or third, bow your knee to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world.

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Those are your three options.

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Now I know you could probably sit down in a one-on-one argument with me

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and tell me, “No, I have all sorts of other options, ”

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and I would have to tell you,

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I wouldn’t want to pull a card on you or try to be smart aleck,

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but I would have to ask you just where you studied logic.

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Because there is no other logic.

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I’m not telling you that you have to believe in Jesus.

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I’m not telling you have to do this or that,

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but I am telling you that you only have three options.

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Liar, lunatic, or Lord.

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Now, let’s look at it.

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Liar.

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Well, liars, when they’re caught in their ruse,

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they usually give it up, don’t they?

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Because if you’re lying, you have some sort of mischievous purpose behind that lying,

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don’t you?

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Probably money, fame, power.

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So, when your ruse turns itself on its head

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and instead of getting all those things you’re being crucified to a Roman cross,

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you would probably say, “Stop! I take it all back, I’m not the Son of God.”

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Well, let’s talk about lunatic.

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Some of the greatest scholars that have ever walked this planet

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say that there is nothing in all of literature

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like what we have in the simple three chapters of the Sermon on the Mount

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in Matthew 5, 6 and 7.

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Some say that even the first verses of 5

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were written in such a way that we have nothing that compares to them.

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The statements that He made confounded the scholars of His day

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and until today cannot be contradicted.

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Lunatic? I think not.

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But, Lord. Lord. Lord.

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And here’s something else very important about our text.

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Look at what he says in verse 13: “’Who do people say that the Son of Man is…

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Some say John the Baptist; some say Elijah;

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but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’” (Matthew 16:13)

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Now these don’t in themselves seem like bad guesses.

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But they’re terrifyingly bad guesses.

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Because there’s actually something more dangerous

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than just out and out saying Jesus Christ is a lunatic or a liar.

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It’s making him common.

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Making him like anyone else.

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There, in that, lies the danger.

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He’s like this prophet, or he’s like that prophet,

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that we can accumulate a whole desktop or bookshelf full of prophets.

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And just put him up there with the rest of them.

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No, you cannot.

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He does not give us that option.

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He is the only one who said, “I’m not just a prophet,

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I am God become man.

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I am the eternal Son of God who has robed himself in flesh.”

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And now dwells, or the proper way to say it, now tabernacles among men.

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Do you see that?

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Most of you, whether you’re agnostic, atheistic,

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Christian, or just sympathetic, or whatever you are,

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you would have to acknowledge that media, by and large, is against Christianity.

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There’s not a whole lot of positive stuff being said about Christianity.

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And if I was invited on a talk show

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it wouldn’t be to promote one of my recent books,

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it would be to tear me to pieces.

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Now, here’s what I want you to think.

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I could change all that,

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I could change it all in a matter of less than a day.

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And I could make Christianity the toast of the town.

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And I only have to change one article.

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That’s it.

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Instead of calling Jesus the Savior, with a definite article,

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the only thing I have to do is change “the” to “a.”

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He is a savior.

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If I was to do that,

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Christianity would become totally and completely accepted by media,

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scholarship, even the ungodly.

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Why?

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Because the scandal of Christianity is not that Jesus is a savior

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or Jesus is a lord or Jesus is a prophet.

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The scandal of Christianity is that he is the Lord, the Savior, the Prophet.

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And anyone who contradicts Him is wrong.

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That is the scandal of Christianity.

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And those of you who may be Christian need to understand something.

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If you deny that scandal, if you try to weasel your way around it

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to make your faith more compatible and friendly,

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so that people like you more,

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you’ve denied Jesus Christ.

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He is not a savior. He’s the Savior.

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He did not say, “I am a way, a truth, and a life.”

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He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

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And you must understand that.

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Now we don’t want to be mean, we don’t want to be mean-spirited,

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but listen, I see the erosion of Christianity all around us

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and that we keep compromising in order to be acceptable – to what?

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To a fallen world.

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Sometimes when I’m witnessing, especially in a university setting,

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I say, “Here I am, so help me God,”

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because I have to tell all you students this:

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“I do believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

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And that there is no way to be reconciled to God except through him.”

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I believe that.

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And I must proclaim that to you.

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And it’s the same thing here today.

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I must tell you that.

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Or I would be defiling conscience, I would be lying.

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And I would be giving you an option that would make you happy

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but would damn your soul.

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Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

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He’s not just a prophet, he’s not just like others.

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It’s his uniqueness that brings about His exclusivity

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which brings about the scandal and the hatred of the world.

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Now, I was looking this morning in my office,

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and I just pulled up some things from a gospel book

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00:16:31,393 --> 00:16:33,308
that I’ve been working on for a while,

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and I just want to give you some ideas of what I’m talking about.

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I want to quote a very, very prominent theologian that I greatly respect,

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00:16:41,519 --> 00:16:45,391
Loraine Boettner, and this is what he said,

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00:16:45,397 --> 00:16:47,298
and you’ve probably never thought of this before.

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But he refers to Jesus as the only expected person in all of history.

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And this is true.

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This is documented.

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In all the history of the world, Jesus emerges as the only expected person.

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00:17:04,232 --> 00:17:08,214
No one was looking for such a person as Julius Caesar, or Napoleon,

253
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or Washington, or Lincoln to appear at the time and place that they did appear.

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00:17:13,185 --> 00:17:18,512
No other person has had his course foretold or his work laid out for him

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00:17:18,519 --> 00:17:20,834
centuries before he was born.

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00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,724
But the coming of the Messiah had been predicted for centuries,

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in fact, the first promise of his coming was given to Adam and Eve

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soon after their fall into sin.

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00:17:30,107 --> 00:17:34,028
As time went on, various details concerning his person and work

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were revealed through the prophets.

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And at the time Jesus was born,

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there was a general expectation throughout the Jewish world

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that the Messiah was soon to appear.

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Even the manner of his birth and the town in which it would occur

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00:17:48,259 --> 00:17:51,046
have been clearly indicated.

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00:17:51,052 --> 00:17:53,951
Now you can go back, and I have, through any religion in the world,

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00:17:53,957 --> 00:17:58,261
any so-called founder, prophet, or whatever you want to get to,

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00:17:58,267 --> 00:18:01,491
and you find that it’s simply not the case.

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No ancient documents,

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00:18:05,392 --> 00:18:11,337
no multiplicity of prophecies indicating who he would be,

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00:18:11,343 --> 00:18:13,677
where he would come from, what would be his lineage,

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00:18:13,683 --> 00:18:15,963
what would he do, what would he teach.

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But all of these are found in the person of Christ.

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Let me read something to you from the historian Philip Schaff

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00:18:23,275 --> 00:18:27,811
that I’ve always held dear.

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This is an amazing statement, I love this statement.

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Speaking of Jesus, he says:

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00:18:35,171 --> 00:18:40,418
A character so original, so complete, so uniformly consistent,

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00:18:40,424 --> 00:18:45,524
so perfect, so human, and yet so high above all human greatness,

280
00:18:45,530 --> 00:18:49,989
can be neither a fraud nor a fiction.

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The poet, as has been well said,

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00:18:52,702 --> 00:18:55,538
would be in this case, greater than the hero.

283
00:18:55,544 --> 00:19:00,092
It would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus.

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That’s how great he is.

285
00:19:04,507 --> 00:19:08,111
Now let me share something else with you just before we go on.

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00:19:08,117 --> 00:19:11,170
I want to lay out a few things for you and I don’t usually do this

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00:19:11,176 --> 00:19:15,990
but I want to kind of go through a few small prophecies

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00:19:15,996 --> 00:19:19,888
to indicate to you this very important point.

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00:19:19,894 --> 00:19:22,696
And we often do this in a Jewish evangelism,

290
00:19:22,702 --> 00:19:27,189
I’ve done this over in Israel, and that is this:

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00:19:27,195 --> 00:19:33,164
If Jesus of Nazareth is not the Messiah,

292
00:19:33,170 --> 00:19:38,555
then every promise in the Bible with regard to the Messiah has failed,

293
00:19:38,561 --> 00:19:42,498
because it can no longer be fulfilled.

294
00:19:42,504 --> 00:19:45,301
Let me just read a few things that I’ve gathered over the years.

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First of all, just listen to this:

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00:19:47,214 --> 00:19:51,228
according to Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

297
00:19:51,234 --> 00:19:55,049
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh,”

298
00:19:55,055 --> 00:19:58,470
a reference, ancient reference to the Messiah,

299
00:19:58,476 --> 00:20:00,344
“until [he] comes.”

300
00:20:00,350 --> 00:20:02,134
Now, what is it saying?

301
00:20:02,140 --> 00:20:05,663
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,” – it shall not –

302
00:20:05,669 --> 00:20:09,222
Judah shall reign until Messiah comes.

303
00:20:09,228 --> 00:20:11,086
But here’s the promise.

304
00:20:11,092 --> 00:20:16,603
This promise, that a descendant of Judah would reign until the coming of the Messiah,

305
00:20:16,609 --> 00:20:19,812
in 70 A.D. the city of Jerusalem was destroyed,

306
00:20:19,818 --> 00:20:22,878
the political dominion and authority of the Jews was taken away,

307
00:20:22,884 --> 00:20:24,901
and the nation was scattered.

308
00:20:24,907 --> 00:20:29,863
For nearly two millennia, there has been no ruler from the tribe of Judah.

309
00:20:29,869 --> 00:20:35,312
If Jesus is not the Christ, then God’s promise in Genesis 49:10 has failed,

310
00:20:35,318 --> 00:20:39,015
for the time is past and it can no longer be fulfilled.

311
00:20:39,021 --> 00:20:41,497
It’s an absolute impossibility.

312
00:20:41,503 --> 00:20:45,044
Now according to Daniel chapter 9 verse 24 through 27,

313
00:20:45,050 --> 00:20:49,604
the city of Jerusalem was to be rebuilt 7 weeks of years,

314
00:20:49,610 --> 00:20:54,461
that’s 49 years, after the end of the captivity.

315
00:20:54,467 --> 00:20:59,441
And the Messiah would appear 62 weeks of years, that’s 434 years,

316
00:20:59,447 --> 00:21:01,964
after the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

317
00:21:01,970 --> 00:21:06,389
This prophecy coincides perfectly with the life of Jesus.

318
00:21:06,395 --> 00:21:11,178
If Jesus is not the Christ, then God’s promise in Daniel has failed

319
00:21:11,184 --> 00:21:14,101
because the time has passed, the days have run out,

320
00:21:14,107 --> 00:21:19,045
and there’s no longer any opportunity for it to ever happen again.

321
00:21:19,051 --> 00:21:24,373
Both Malachi chapter 3 and Haggai chapter 2 teach that the Messiah was to come

322
00:21:24,379 --> 00:21:27,218
while the second temple was still standing.

323
00:21:27,224 --> 00:21:30,024
The second temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.

324
00:21:30,030 --> 00:21:35,077
So if Jesus is not the Christ, the Messiah is never coming.

325
00:21:35,695 --> 00:21:38,536
The Messiah was to be a son or descendant of David.

326
00:21:38,542 --> 00:21:41,818
And he was to come at a time when the house of David was in low estate

327
00:21:41,824 --> 00:21:46,477
and held in contempt like a tree that had been cut off to its very roots.

328
00:21:46,483 --> 00:21:48,605
In Isaiah 11:1 the Scriptures declare:

329
00:21:48,611 --> 00:21:51,062
“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,

330
00:21:51,091 --> 00:21:53,629
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”

331
00:21:53,635 --> 00:21:56,377
Jesus appeared as the Messiah at such a time.

332
00:21:56,383 --> 00:22:00,276
If he is not the Messiah, then the Scriptures cannot be fulfilled

333
00:22:00,282 --> 00:22:03,140
for even the root of Jesse now has been pulled up

334
00:22:03,146 --> 00:22:06,682
with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.

335
00:22:06,688 --> 00:22:10,926
At that time when the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.,

336
00:22:10,932 --> 00:22:14,080
all genealogical evidences were destroyed

337
00:22:14,086 --> 00:22:19,259
and it would now be impossible to prove the Messiah’s lineage.

338
00:22:19,265 --> 00:22:23,223
According to Daniel 9:27, the Messiah would confirm the new covenant

339
00:22:23,229 --> 00:22:27,071
and put an end to the sacrificial system under the old covenant.

340
00:22:27,077 --> 00:22:32,852
The sacrificial system ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

341
00:22:32,858 --> 00:22:35,666
If Jesus is not the Christ,

342
00:22:35,672 --> 00:22:40,133
then the sacrificial system has ended without the coming of the Messiah.

343
00:22:40,139 --> 00:22:42,701
And finally, according to the prophet Isaiah,

344
00:22:42,707 --> 00:22:49,728
the Messiah’s coming would be marked by an ingathering of the nations, or the Gentiles.

345
00:22:49,734 --> 00:22:51,734
For nearly two thousand years,

346
00:22:51,740 --> 00:22:57,465
a countless multitude of Gentiles from every nation on earth

347
00:22:57,471 --> 00:23:04,523
has identified themselves with the God of Israel through the so-called Messiah,

348
00:23:04,529 --> 00:23:07,219
just as the Scriptures predicted.

349
00:23:07,225 --> 00:23:09,926
Jesus is the Messiah.

350
00:23:09,932 --> 00:23:13,512
And the Messiah was not just a man.

351
00:23:13,518 --> 00:23:18,262
Even the ancient Jewish scribes held him to be more than a man,

352
00:23:18,268 --> 00:23:22,412
that when he came, the Son of David would be greater than David

353
00:23:22,418 --> 00:23:26,895
and that he would be Lord of David.

354
00:23:26,901 --> 00:23:28,473
That he would be divine.

355
00:23:28,479 --> 00:23:33,369
That he would be God that became man, and that’s exactly what happened.

356
00:23:33,374 --> 00:23:38,517
Now, what do the people say about Jesus?

357
00:23:38,523 --> 00:23:40,958
That doesn’t really matter.

358
00:23:40,964 --> 00:23:45,409
What do you say about Jesus?

359
00:23:45,415 --> 00:23:47,387
You personally.

360
00:23:47,388 --> 00:23:50,909
What do you say about Jesus?

361
00:23:50,915 --> 00:23:54,391
And if you’re not a Christian, I hope that these words will haunt you,

362
00:23:54,397 --> 00:23:59,022
and haunt you, and haunt you until you answer.

363
00:23:59,028 --> 00:24:00,155
But I will warn you,

364
00:24:00,161 --> 00:24:04,666
Jesus in his own teachings does say that when you hear something like this,

365
00:24:04,672 --> 00:24:09,743
there is a character in the Bible that happens to be real and personal –

366
00:24:09,749 --> 00:24:11,955
he’s called Satan –

367
00:24:11,961 --> 00:24:15,624
and that when someone hears something like this and doesn’t pay attention to it,

368
00:24:15,630 --> 00:24:17,398
but seeks to dismiss it,

369
00:24:17,404 --> 00:24:20,579
then Satan himself comes by and snatches it out of their heart,

370
00:24:20,585 --> 00:24:23,354
so that they do not think of it again.

371
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:27,291
That’s why Jesus said be very careful of the things that you are listening to.

372
00:24:27,297 --> 00:24:30,667
Because “…to whom much is given, much is required.”

373
00:24:30,673 --> 00:24:36,177
Who do you say that this Jesus is?

374
00:24:36,183 --> 00:24:39,666
Now, here’s something else that I want you to see that is very important.

375
00:24:39,672 --> 00:24:42,098
Look in verse 16:

376
00:24:42,104 --> 00:24:48,114
“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

377
00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:51,821
And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona,

378
00:24:51,827 --> 00:24:54,811
because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you,

379
00:24:54,818 --> 00:24:56,545
but My Father who is in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:16)

380
00:24:56,551 --> 00:25:01,446
Now, I’ve sat here, well, stood here, for the last twenty minutes

381
00:25:01,452 --> 00:25:07,610
and spoke about the Messiah, spoke about Jesus, given you certain evidences,

382
00:25:07,616 --> 00:25:10,166
and although that is all helpful,

383
00:25:10,172 --> 00:25:16,032
what you need to understand is that to truly believe in Jesus Christ,

384
00:25:16,038 --> 00:25:22,403
as Lord and Savior in a saving way, it is a work of God the Father.

385
00:25:22,409 --> 00:25:24,738
That’s what he tells Peter here, this apostle:

386
00:25:24,744 --> 00:25:27,724
“Peter, you didn’t think this up, you just weren’t convinced;

387
00:25:27,730 --> 00:25:29,403
this is something supernatural.

388
00:25:29,409 --> 00:25:33,074
God opened up your heart and he revealed this to you, Peter.”

389
00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,311
Now, here’s what I want to ask you.

390
00:25:35,317 --> 00:25:37,707
How can you know?

391
00:25:37,713 --> 00:25:41,160
If you’re in agreement with me right now in everything I’ve said,

392
00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:45,475
how can you know?

393
00:25:45,481 --> 00:25:51,195
How can you know that that affects you in any way?

394
00:25:51,201 --> 00:25:54,017
If I walked out on the streets and gave an interview,

395
00:25:54,023 --> 00:25:57,350
I’d find all kinds of people say, “Yeah, yeah, I believe he’s the Son of God.

396
00:25:57,356 --> 00:26:00,407
I believe he’s the Son of God. Yeah.”

397
00:26:00,413 --> 00:26:05,713
But then if I looked at their life, would I see any evidence whatsoever

398
00:26:05,719 --> 00:26:07,713
that they actually believe this stuff?

399
00:26:07,719 --> 00:26:10,079
I want you to think about it.

400
00:26:10,085 --> 00:26:14,126
There are people here today in our world

401
00:26:14,132 --> 00:26:18,325
who would acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah,

402
00:26:18,331 --> 00:26:21,669
and yet when they die they will stand before God, will be judged,

403
00:26:21,675 --> 00:26:23,343
and will not enter into heaven

404
00:26:23,349 --> 00:26:27,396
but be condemned to separation from God throughout eternity,

405
00:26:27,402 --> 00:26:29,490
even though with their mouth they have said,

406
00:26:29,496 --> 00:26:35,898
“I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.”

407
00:26:35,904 --> 00:26:38,126
Because they really didn’t.

408
00:26:38,132 --> 00:26:41,196
It was just something they were taught.

409
00:26:41,202 --> 00:26:44,264
They learned it from their mom or their dad, or their grandmother,

410
00:26:44,270 --> 00:26:46,374
or they became intellectually convinced

411
00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:49,969
but they never truly did believe.

412
00:26:49,975 --> 00:26:52,866
They never came to a point where they meditated upon this,

413
00:26:52,872 --> 00:26:56,227
they thought upon it, they held onto it, they fought with it

414
00:26:56,233 --> 00:26:59,914
until they come to the realization that this is true,

415
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:02,424
and because of that, their life was never impacted

416
00:27:02,430 --> 00:27:04,515
and their religion was always external.

417
00:27:04,521 --> 00:27:07,599
It was always just something that, “Well, I go to mass,”

418
00:27:07,605 --> 00:27:10,174
or, “I go to the Lord’s supper,” like we’re going to have next week,

419
00:27:10,180 --> 00:27:10,827
or, “I do this,"

420
00:27:10,833 --> 00:27:11,607
or “I go to church,"

421
00:27:11,613 --> 00:27:12,577
or “I sing in the choir,"

422
00:27:12,583 --> 00:27:13,082
or “I do this,"

423
00:27:13,088 --> 00:27:16,160
but when you look at the inside of their life,

424
00:27:16,166 --> 00:27:18,271
there is no genuine love for Christ,

425
00:27:18,277 --> 00:27:20,329
and their lives are not transformed by him.

426
00:27:20,335 --> 00:27:24,360
He is not the center of their lives.

427
00:27:24,366 --> 00:27:26,824
He is not in their thoughts.

428
00:27:26,830 --> 00:27:32,971
He is part of a religion they have adopted or inherited.

429
00:27:32,977 --> 00:27:36,014
But there’s no transformation.

430
00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:41,587
There’s no living according to the greatest truth that’s ever been given.

431
00:27:41,593 --> 00:27:46,952
I was at a school one time and after the classes I was sitting down in the café

432
00:27:46,958 --> 00:27:48,025
minding my own business,

433
00:27:48,031 --> 00:27:53,581
and these two people came over and started a discussion with me,

434
00:27:53,587 --> 00:27:59,345
something of an aggressive discussion with regard to the things about Christ,

435
00:27:59,351 --> 00:28:02,419
and as I talked to this one fellow,

436
00:28:02,425 --> 00:28:06,435
finally this girl, I think she was trying to gain some points in the argument,

437
00:28:06,441 --> 00:28:12,834
she says, “Well, I do believe in God, I’m not like my brother.”

438
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,600
And I said, “What’s your brother like?”

439
00:28:14,606 --> 00:28:17,547
She said, "Well, he’s an atheist.”

440
00:28:17,553 --> 00:28:19,620
“Really, and how does he live?”

441
00:28:19,626 --> 00:28:21,889
“Horribly!”

442
00:28:21,895 --> 00:28:23,644
I said, “Well, to be honest with you,

443
00:28:23,650 --> 00:28:28,348
I have a lot more respect for your brother than I do for you.”

444
00:28:28,354 --> 00:28:29,822
And she said, “How can you say that?”

445
00:28:29,828 --> 00:28:32,759
I said, “Rationally, I have to say it.

446
00:28:32,765 --> 00:28:36,131
Your brother claims there is no God,

447
00:28:36,137 --> 00:28:44,901
and he lives like a man who believes there is no God.

448
00:28:44,907 --> 00:28:50,356
You tell me there is a God, but you do not seek to know His will,

449
00:28:50,362 --> 00:28:52,695
you do not seek to know His commands,

450
00:28:52,701 --> 00:28:56,535
you do not seek to order your life according to Him.”

451
00:28:56,541 --> 00:28:58,474
Do you see the inconsistency?

452
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,804
They’re both wrong but at least one is more logical.

453
00:29:02,810 --> 00:29:07,293
He’s being consistent to the false thing he believes.

454
00:29:07,299 --> 00:29:11,791
The question is this: are you and I consistent?

455
00:29:11,797 --> 00:29:15,495
Do we truly believe?

456
00:29:15,501 --> 00:29:17,808
And then I want to end with this.

457
00:29:17,814 --> 00:29:20,483
We have to be very, very careful here.

458
00:29:20,489 --> 00:29:23,187
Because if I were to stop this sermon right now,

459
00:29:23,193 --> 00:29:29,852
you might think that Christianity is simply a moralistic, ethical religion.

460
00:29:29,866 --> 00:29:34,226
That, “Well, I acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah,

461
00:29:34,232 --> 00:29:37,774
and therefore, I’m going to get a Bible and I’m going to read His commands

462
00:29:37,779 --> 00:29:39,838
and I’m going to seek to follow Him.”

463
00:29:39,845 --> 00:29:43,404
Now remember what I told you earlier,

464
00:29:43,410 --> 00:29:48,809
that Jesus is a prophet, but not just a prophet, but the Prophet,

465
00:29:48,815 --> 00:29:51,988
and he’s not only the Prophet, he’s more than a prophet.

466
00:29:51,994 --> 00:29:55,349
And what am I trying to say?

467
00:29:55,355 --> 00:30:02,492
Christianity is not about you buying the rule book

468
00:30:02,498 --> 00:30:04,966
and then trying to follow the rules.

469
00:30:04,972 --> 00:30:07,765
That is not Christianity.

470
00:30:07,771 --> 00:30:14,469
That is a legalism and it is deadly; it is self-righteous, and it’s wrong.

471
00:30:14,475 --> 00:30:20,173
And it shows that you’re blind to everything about God and yourself.

472
00:30:20,179 --> 00:30:21,811
You see, let’s look.

473
00:30:21,817 --> 00:30:23,386
Jesus says this:

474
00:30:23,392 --> 00:30:28,013
If you turn over with me in chapter 16,

475
00:30:28,019 --> 00:30:35,076
after Peter makes this declaration that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah –

476
00:30:35,082 --> 00:30:38,665
what he was saying was true, but Peter himself didn’t understand it.

477
00:30:38,671 --> 00:30:44,074
He said, “Yes, you’re the Messiah, you’re the Son of God.”

478
00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:49,543
You believe that, you do well, but what does it mean?

479
00:30:49,549 --> 00:30:51,652
Is it your kind of Jesus?

480
00:30:51,658 --> 00:30:54,734
Jesus defined by you.

481
00:30:54,740 --> 00:30:57,870
Or is it the Jesus defined by himself?

482
00:30:57,876 --> 00:31:03,857
And look what he says. (Matthew 16,) Verse 21:

483
00:31:03,863 --> 00:31:07,923
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem,

484
00:31:07,929 --> 00:31:11,608
and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,

485
00:31:11,614 --> 00:31:14,487
and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

486
00:31:14,493 --> 00:31:17,936
So we’re talking about something more here than a prophet.

487
00:31:17,942 --> 00:31:20,932
We’re talking about a Redeemer.

488
00:31:20,938 --> 00:31:22,802
Because let me share with you something.

489
00:31:22,808 --> 00:31:27,945
If this day you believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God,

490
00:31:27,951 --> 00:31:31,142
this very day, and you go out and buy yourself a Bible

491
00:31:31,148 --> 00:31:35,358
and if you could, from this very day,

492
00:31:35,364 --> 00:31:40,648
you obeyed every command internally and externally,

493
00:31:40,654 --> 00:31:43,254
every disposition of yours was perfect,

494
00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:46,878
every word, every attitude, every thought was sinless,

495
00:31:46,884 --> 00:31:49,711
from this very day until judgment,

496
00:31:49,717 --> 00:31:54,005
you would still stand condemned before God.

497
00:31:54,011 --> 00:31:56,492
Why?

498
00:31:56,498 --> 00:32:00,716
Well, if I’m driving down the road and a policeman pulls me over

499
00:32:00,722 --> 00:32:05,395
and he says, “You were going 70 in a 55 MPH zone.”

500
00:32:05,401 --> 00:32:07,201
I say, “Well, don’t write me a ticket.”

501
00:32:07,207 --> 00:32:07,683
“Why?”

502
00:32:07,689 --> 00:32:11,943
“Because from now on I’ll never do it again.”

503
00:32:11,949 --> 00:32:14,602
You see, you’re already guilty.

504
00:32:14,608 --> 00:32:16,306
You’re already guilty.

505
00:32:16,312 --> 00:32:18,189
There were two men broke down on the side of the road,

506
00:32:18,195 --> 00:32:19,514
that’s why I got here late today.

507
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:23,682
I pulled over to see if I could help them, and we were able to share Christ with them.

508
00:32:23,688 --> 00:32:26,946
They were two pretty rough looking characters,

509
00:32:26,952 --> 00:32:32,144
and I looked at them and I said, “You want to know something? I’m a criminal.

510
00:32:32,150 --> 00:32:37,801
And if I died right now – even being a pastor, being a preacher,

511
00:32:37,807 --> 00:32:40,017
helping orphans, and everything else we do –

512
00:32:40,022 --> 00:32:43,383
If I died right now, based on that, I’d go to hell.

513
00:32:43,389 --> 00:32:45,847
Do you understand me?”

514
00:32:45,853 --> 00:32:49,671
I said, “My only hope is the only hope you two men have,

515
00:32:49,677 --> 00:32:54,131
and that is that Jesus Christ died for sinners.

516
00:32:54,137 --> 00:32:57,299
My hope is not my ability to follow him,

517
00:32:57,305 --> 00:32:59,732
my hope is not my church attendance,

518
00:32:59,738 --> 00:33:03,016
my hope is none of that.

519
00:33:03,022 --> 00:33:08,721
My hope is that Jesus Christ died for sinners.”

520
00:33:08,727 --> 00:33:10,686
And that’s what Peter and they had to understand.

521
00:33:10,692 --> 00:33:13,887
They thought, well, he’s the Messiah, the King, he’s going to reign now,

522
00:33:13,893 --> 00:33:15,501
and we’re all going to follow Him.

523
00:33:15,507 --> 00:33:18,686
The problem is Peter, you’re an enemy of God.

524
00:33:18,692 --> 00:33:22,846
The problem is, John and Paul and every other apostle

525
00:33:22,852 --> 00:33:25,906
and every other person including everyone in this room,

526
00:33:25,912 --> 00:33:35,510
you have broken every law God has ever written and you are an enemy of God.

527
00:33:35,516 --> 00:33:38,427
You say, well, I’m not that bad, really.

528
00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:42,746
If I could take out your heart right now and put it on a DVD,

529
00:33:42,752 --> 00:33:47,063
and I could show up here on a screen everything you’ve ever thought,

530
00:33:47,069 --> 00:33:49,722
even some of the things you’re thinking now about me,

531
00:33:49,728 --> 00:33:52,562
you would run out of this place,

532
00:33:52,568 --> 00:33:55,645
you would run out of this place and you’d never show your face here again

533
00:33:55,651 --> 00:33:57,846
because you’ve thought things so dark and so twisted

534
00:33:57,852 --> 00:34:00,015
you could not share them with your closest friend

535
00:34:00,021 --> 00:34:05,620
and yet the God who is holy, holy, holy, sees them all.

536
00:34:05,626 --> 00:34:09,411
What do we have to be to go to heaven?

537
00:34:09,418 --> 00:34:12,023
I had someone ask me that one time on an airplane.

538
00:34:12,029 --> 00:34:14,121
I was reading my Bible, and he said, “What you got there?”

539
00:34:14,127 --> 00:34:15,438
I said, “I got a Bible.”

540
00:34:15,444 --> 00:34:19,178
We started talking, and he said, “Well, what do I gotta do to go to heaven?”

541
00:34:19,184 --> 00:34:21,360
I looked at him, I said, “Well, that’s easy.

542
00:34:21,366 --> 00:34:23,743
You just have to be absolutely, morally prefect

543
00:34:23,748 --> 00:34:25,847
from the time of your birth to the time of your death.”

544
00:34:25,853 --> 00:34:28,721
And I went back to reading my Bible.

545
00:34:28,726 --> 00:34:32,670
And I could see his face twisting up sort of,

546
00:34:32,676 --> 00:34:34,679
and then, finally he looked at me and he goes,

547
00:34:34,686 --> 00:34:37,223
“Hey – what?”

548
00:34:37,228 --> 00:34:38,391
And I said, “Oh, I’m sorry,

549
00:34:38,397 --> 00:34:43,228
you have to absolutely ethically, morally pristine, without any flaw,

550
00:34:43,235 --> 00:34:47,032
without any shadow, without any error in thought, word, or deed,

551
00:34:47,038 --> 00:34:49,284
before a holy God who is thrice holy,

552
00:34:49,290 --> 00:34:54,871
you have to be like that from the moment of your birth to the moment of your death. OK?”

553
00:34:54,878 --> 00:34:57,424
And he looked at me and he goes,

554
00:34:57,430 --> 00:34:59,119
“Nobody could do that!”

555
00:34:59,125 --> 00:35:02,257
I said, “You got a big problem, don’t you?”

556
00:35:02,263 --> 00:35:05,096
You see I wasn’t trying to frustrate the man, I was trying to prove a point,

557
00:35:05,102 --> 00:35:06,625
the same one I’m trying to prove to you.

558
00:35:06,631 --> 00:35:11,078
There are a lot of people who think that they and Jesus working together

559
00:35:11,084 --> 00:35:13,475
are going to get themselves to heaven.

560
00:35:13,481 --> 00:35:15,807
You’re mistaken.

561
00:35:15,813 --> 00:35:23,088
If I took your best thought, your best word, and your best deed,

562
00:35:23,094 --> 00:35:27,180
and sent you before God with only those to be judged by,

563
00:35:27,186 --> 00:35:29,588
you would be condemned.

564
00:35:29,594 --> 00:35:30,635
Let me just give you an example.

565
00:35:30,641 --> 00:35:33,156
You say, “Well, I’m not a murderer, I’m not a prostitute.”

566
00:35:33,162 --> 00:35:35,715
What is the greatest sin?

567
00:35:35,721 --> 00:35:37,084
Well, what’s the greatest command?

568
00:35:37,090 --> 00:35:39,534
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

569
00:35:39,540 --> 00:35:43,321
Do you realize you’ve never done that, not one second, in any day of your life?

570
00:35:43,327 --> 00:35:45,969
You and I have never loved the Lord our God

571
00:35:45,975 --> 00:35:47,968
with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

572
00:35:47,974 --> 00:35:50,437
We are so full of self.

573
00:35:50,443 --> 00:35:55,815
That’s why we have more mirrors than Bibles in our house.

574
00:35:56,530 --> 00:36:00,743
And that’s why mirrors are always hung up and Bibles are closed.

575
00:36:00,749 --> 00:36:03,117
We’re all about self.

576
00:36:03,123 --> 00:36:07,913
And God is holy. God is holy.

577
00:36:07,919 --> 00:36:09,827
Now that’s good news and that’s bad news.

578
00:36:09,833 --> 00:36:10,930
Why is it good?

579
00:36:10,936 --> 00:36:15,345
Because you wouldn’t want an omnipotent Creator and Lord of the universe

580
00:36:15,351 --> 00:36:17,898
having the character of a Hitler, would you?

581
00:36:17,904 --> 00:36:20,110
You’d want a holy and righteous God, you would,

582
00:36:20,116 --> 00:36:23,301
that’s comforting to know that God is holy and righteous.

583
00:36:23,307 --> 00:36:27,908
But it’s also, to the thinking man and woman, it’s very discomforting.

584
00:36:27,914 --> 00:36:32,438
Why is it discomforting?

585
00:36:32,444 --> 00:36:36,037
Why is it discomforting that he’s holy and righteous?

586
00:36:36,043 --> 00:36:39,482
Because you’re not.

587
00:36:39,488 --> 00:36:45,182
So now what does a holy and righteous God do with someone like you? And me?

588
00:36:45,188 --> 00:36:47,112
What does he do?

589
00:36:47,118 --> 00:36:50,127
Now, I’m going to give you the heart of Christianity.

590
00:36:50,133 --> 00:36:54,303
Now when I say that I realize I’m kind of old, I’m fifty-three,

591
00:36:54,309 --> 00:36:57,572
but I haven’t been alive for a millennium.

592
00:36:57,578 --> 00:37:01,345
And all the wisdom of the world wasn’t born in me nor shall it die in me,

593
00:37:01,351 --> 00:37:03,250
so how do I come about telling you

594
00:37:03,256 --> 00:37:05,801
I’m going to give you the very heart of what Christianity is?

595
00:37:05,807 --> 00:37:06,675
Well, for two reasons.

596
00:37:06,681 --> 00:37:09,131
One, it’s in the Bible, but I can misinterpret the Bible,

597
00:37:09,137 --> 00:37:10,505
even though the Bible is infallible,

598
00:37:10,511 --> 00:37:13,089
so how do I know I’m giving you the heart of Christianity?

599
00:37:13,095 --> 00:37:15,982
Well, when you look down through 2,000 years of Christian history

600
00:37:15,988 --> 00:37:21,246
this is what you see by those men and women who loved the Bible

601
00:37:21,252 --> 00:37:23,534
and studied it and believed it.

602
00:37:23,540 --> 00:37:28,570
I’m going to give you the hardest, greatest problem in all of Scripture.

603
00:37:28,576 --> 00:37:31,028
This is it.

604
00:37:31,034 --> 00:37:33,337
If you’ve been here in this church you’ve heard it a million times

605
00:37:33,343 --> 00:37:34,327
but some of you haven’t,

606
00:37:34,333 --> 00:37:38,518
so the people in this church are going to hear it a million and one now.

607
00:37:38,524 --> 00:37:41,463
This is the greatest problem in the Bible:

608
00:37:41,469 --> 00:37:47,201
if God is good, he can’t forgive you.

609
00:37:47,207 --> 00:37:52,752
If God is righteous and holy, he cannot forgive you.

610
00:37:52,758 --> 00:37:56,194
And you say, “What?”

611
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,319
That’s it, really.

612
00:37:59,325 --> 00:38:02,296
The greatest problem in all of Scripture.

613
00:38:02,302 --> 00:38:04,878
We see it in Exodus, we see it in Psalms,

614
00:38:04,884 --> 00:38:06,264
and we even see it in the book of Proverbs.

615
00:38:06,270 --> 00:38:09,360
We see Paul dealing with it in Romans chapter three.

616
00:38:09,366 --> 00:38:12,116
And it’s this problem: if God is just,

617
00:38:12,122 --> 00:38:18,833
how can he just simply, as he says, just turn his back to your sin,

618
00:38:18,839 --> 00:38:20,681
how can he cover your sin,

619
00:38:20,687 --> 00:38:25,084
how can he cast your sin away from you as far as the east is from the west?

620
00:38:25,090 --> 00:38:31,652
Literally, in the book of Psalms and again, in Romans 4, it’s he covers it.

621
00:38:31,658 --> 00:38:35,980
What do we think about a judge who sweeps crimes under the rug?

622
00:38:35,986 --> 00:38:37,495
Do we call him righteous?

623
00:38:37,501 --> 00:38:38,654
No, we don’t, do we?

624
00:38:38,660 --> 00:38:40,273
We call him corrupt.

625
00:38:40,279 --> 00:38:43,479
Is he maintaining righteousness? Absolutely not.

626
00:38:43,485 --> 00:38:46,876
He’s defaming righteousness.

627
00:38:46,882 --> 00:38:49,449
You see therein lies the great problem in the Bible.

628
00:38:49,455 --> 00:38:51,443
God is righteous.

629
00:38:51,449 --> 00:38:55,590
And because he is righteous and because he is holy, and guess what?

630
00:38:55,596 --> 00:38:58,676
Because he is love, he hates.

631
00:38:58,682 --> 00:39:01,470
He hates evil.

632
00:39:01,476 --> 00:39:04,255
Some people say, “Well, God is love and therefore he doesn’t hate.”

633
00:39:04,261 --> 00:39:08,714
No, God is love and therefore he must hate.

634
00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:11,263
He hates evil.

635
00:39:11,269 --> 00:39:13,602
He can’t just turn his back on evil

636
00:39:13,608 --> 00:39:18,858
and he can’t just turn his back on your evil, or my evil, or anyone else’s evil.

637
00:39:18,864 --> 00:39:22,821
God is a righteous judge.

638
00:39:22,827 --> 00:39:26,177
And shall not the God of all the earth do right?

639
00:39:26,183 --> 00:39:28,223
So the great question in the Bible is:

640
00:39:28,229 --> 00:39:35,435
how can God be just and yet simply forgive wicked men?

641
00:39:35,441 --> 00:39:38,153
How can he do it?

642
00:39:38,668 --> 00:39:42,452
The answer is in the person of Jesus Christ.

643
00:39:42,458 --> 00:39:46,206
And this is what so many people do not understand about the cross.

644
00:39:46,212 --> 00:39:50,233
God in his righteousness condemns man; every man, everyone here,

645
00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:54,559
everyone who’s ever walked the planet since Adam, condemned in our sin.

646
00:39:54,565 --> 00:39:56,815
And all the religion, all the church going,

647
00:39:56,821 --> 00:39:58,900
everything else you mind want to add to it,

648
00:39:58,906 --> 00:40:03,688
it’s not going to help you one bit.

649
00:40:03,694 --> 00:40:04,886
You’re condemned.

650
00:40:04,892 --> 00:40:08,768
To be in heaven you must be perfect; have perfect righteousness,

651
00:40:08,774 --> 00:40:11,092
and none of us have that.

652
00:40:11,098 --> 00:40:13,034
And God cannot do it any other way.

653
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:20,802
Because he is righteous he cannot sweep your sin in a basket or under a rug.

654
00:40:20,808 --> 00:40:25,921
So God in his righteousness condemns you, and me, and all of humanity.

655
00:40:25,927 --> 00:40:28,663
And then God in his love becomes a man

656
00:40:28,669 --> 00:40:32,553
and he lives the life you could not live, that I could not live.

657
00:40:32,559 --> 00:40:36,332
Not only is he avoiding sin,

658
00:40:36,338 --> 00:40:41,177
but at the same time, he is living a life of perfect righteousness.

659
00:40:41,183 --> 00:40:45,160
Not only avoiding the negative, but always doing the positive.

660
00:40:45,166 --> 00:40:47,636
A perfect righteous life.

661
00:40:47,642 --> 00:40:51,207
And then that Son of God, he goes to Calvary.

662
00:40:51,213 --> 00:40:54,315
And on Calvary, he dies.

663
00:40:54,321 --> 00:40:56,364
But now here’s the problem.

664
00:40:56,370 --> 00:41:00,070
When you hear all those Easter sermons, mainly what do you hear?

665
00:41:00,076 --> 00:41:04,820
You hear about the Romans, you know, nailing him to a tree,

666
00:41:04,826 --> 00:41:07,447
and beating him and stabbing him with a lance,

667
00:41:07,453 --> 00:41:10,876
and you hear about all the things the Romans did to Jesus,

668
00:41:10,882 --> 00:41:11,854
and it killed him.

669
00:41:11,860 --> 00:41:13,841
And when you hear that kind of preaching,

670
00:41:13,847 --> 00:41:18,475
that kind of preaching is totally missing the point.

671
00:41:18,481 --> 00:41:24,039
We are not saved from our sins because the Romans beat up Jesus and killed him.

672
00:41:24,045 --> 00:41:27,749
We are saved from our sins because when he was on the tree,

673
00:41:27,755 --> 00:41:31,571
all of your sin was imputed to him,

674
00:41:31,577 --> 00:41:36,467
and then God in heaven turned away from his only Son,

675
00:41:36,473 --> 00:41:40,242
not because he lacked the moral fortitude to see him suffer, no,

676
00:41:40,248 --> 00:41:46,149
he turned away from his only Son because his only Son became sin.

677
00:41:46,155 --> 00:41:49,725
And the separation from God that you should experience

678
00:41:49,731 --> 00:41:51,959
and I should experience throughout all of eternity,

679
00:41:51,965 --> 00:41:55,293
the Son of God experienced on that tree.

680
00:41:55,299 --> 00:41:59,870
And then there was not just the negative withdrawal of God’s presence from Christ

681
00:41:59,876 --> 00:42:02,455
so that he cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”

682
00:42:02,461 --> 00:42:05,222
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

683
00:42:05,228 --> 00:42:10,574
But then, all the full force of God’s wrath,

684
00:42:10,580 --> 00:42:17,741
of his holy hatred against you, and your crimes, and me, and my crimes,

685
00:42:17,747 --> 00:42:21,887
that as a holy God, he must pour out,

686
00:42:21,893 --> 00:42:25,173
he poured out on his own Son.

687
00:42:25,179 --> 00:42:31,220
As the prophet in Isaiah 53:10 says, “And it pleased the Lord…” –

688
00:42:31,226 --> 00:42:37,499
the four consonant YHWH – “it pleased YHWH to crush the Messiah.”

689
00:42:37,505 --> 00:42:40,279
To crush him! Under the full force of his wrath.

690
00:42:40,285 --> 00:42:42,172
You know, many of you have read the Bible,

691
00:42:42,178 --> 00:42:45,503
he’s in the garden, and he cries out, “Let this cup pass from me…

692
00:42:45,509 --> 00:42:48,253
let this cup pass from me…let this cup pass from me.” (Matt 26:39-44)

693
00:42:48,259 --> 00:42:49,810
Three times.

694
00:42:49,816 --> 00:42:55,873
Do you honestly think that our Savior was afraid of a Roman lance?

695
00:42:55,879 --> 00:42:59,921
How is it that so many people think that when Jesus is looking at this cup,

696
00:42:59,927 --> 00:43:02,776
he is thinking, you know, about the cross,

697
00:43:02,782 --> 00:43:05,549
and the beatings, and everything else,

698
00:43:05,555 --> 00:43:09,206
and it causes him to sweat drops of blood. Really?

699
00:43:09,212 --> 00:43:15,074
How is it then, count the apostles, all but John, and countless martyrs,

700
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:20,367
went to the cross, and church history tells us they were singing hymns?

701
00:43:20,373 --> 00:43:24,237
They were full of joy at being crucified like their Lord.

702
00:43:24,243 --> 00:43:28,232
So how is it that they had more boldness than their Savior?

703
00:43:28,238 --> 00:43:34,944
Jesus was not sweating drops of blood in the garden simply because of a Roman cross.

704
00:43:34,950 --> 00:43:40,082
It was because he had always dwelt in the bosom of the Father,

705
00:43:40,088 --> 00:43:42,569
perfect delight between one another.

706
00:43:42,575 --> 00:43:46,595
He had always been the beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleased.

707
00:43:46,601 --> 00:43:53,121
And on that tree, the Father withdrew his presence from his Son as he should from us,

708
00:43:53,127 --> 00:43:57,580
and then his Father crushed his Son.

709
00:43:57,586 --> 00:43:59,932
That’s what was in the cup.

710
00:43:59,938 --> 00:44:05,181
The wrath of Almighty God against every sin we’ve committed.

711
00:44:05,187 --> 00:44:09,909
And he drank it down, and when he cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

712
00:44:09,915 --> 00:44:13,965
he turned the cup over and not one drop came out.

713
00:44:13,971 --> 00:44:16,459
He drank it all.

714
00:44:16,464 --> 00:44:20,874
Paid in full.

715
00:44:21,242 --> 00:44:23,382
And he died.

716
00:44:23,388 --> 00:44:26,665
And on the third day, he was raised.

717
00:44:26,671 --> 00:44:29,587
By his own power, by the Spirit’s power,

718
00:44:29,593 --> 00:44:32,462
and by the power of the Father he was raised.

719
00:44:32,468 --> 00:44:38,691
And Romans tells us that that is God’s sign, that is God’s vindication of his Son

720
00:44:38,697 --> 00:44:44,473
and proof that that death he died on Calvary was sufficient to pay for all your sins.

721
00:44:44,479 --> 00:44:48,331
So what does it mean to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God?

722
00:44:48,337 --> 00:44:53,117
It’s not just, “I love his teachings and I follow him.”

723
00:44:53,123 --> 00:44:56,689
It is this:

724
00:44:56,694 --> 00:44:58,777
I have nothing.

725
00:44:58,783 --> 00:45:01,010
I have no righteousness.

726
00:45:01,016 --> 00:45:06,838
I have no hope except what God did for me on Calvary

727
00:45:06,844 --> 00:45:09,928
and in the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

728
00:45:09,934 --> 00:45:14,283
That is my hope.

729
00:45:14,609 --> 00:45:24,716
If I stood in the midst of the most horribly, wicked people in a massive den of iniquity,

730
00:45:24,722 --> 00:45:29,743
and I stood there, I was transposed there right now, translated to that place,

731
00:45:29,749 --> 00:45:35,433
the only thing that separates me in the eyes of God from them

732
00:45:35,439 --> 00:45:37,212
is the cross of Calvary.

733
00:45:37,218 --> 00:45:40,151
Where Jesus Christ died for my sins.

734
00:45:40,157 --> 00:45:41,608
That’s it.

735
00:45:41,614 --> 00:45:44,114
And I want to tell you something.

736
00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:48,021
If you add any of your supposed virtue to that,

737
00:45:48,027 --> 00:45:52,780
you do not believe in the Son of God.

738
00:45:54,010 --> 00:45:58,293
I hear so many people tell me, “Yeah, I’m a Christian.”

739
00:45:58,299 --> 00:45:59,573
“Are you believing in Jesus?”

740
00:45:59,579 --> 00:46:00,618
“Yes, I am.”

741
00:46:00,624 --> 00:46:02,829
“Well, if you died right now, where would you go?”

742
00:46:02,835 --> 00:46:05,831
“Well, ah, I think I’d go to heaven.”

743
00:46:05,837 --> 00:46:06,410
“Why?”

744
00:46:06,416 --> 00:46:10,834
“Well, I’ve been good. I’ve been a good person.”

745
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:15,510
Do you see the disconnect?

746
00:46:15,516 --> 00:46:19,892
What?! What?!

747
00:46:19,898 --> 00:46:26,161
You’ve been a good person? Really? Really?

748
00:46:26,167 --> 00:46:29,052
Good enough to take any one of those thoughts and stand before God

749
00:46:29,058 --> 00:46:32,754
and risk all of eternity on it?

750
00:46:33,806 --> 00:46:37,779
Well, some people will say (and they said this in Romans 5 and Romans 6,

751
00:46:37,785 --> 00:46:39,588
that was what Paul was answering to),

752
00:46:39,594 --> 00:46:44,732
“Well, if you’re saying that it’s just faith in Jesus and not our works,

753
00:46:44,738 --> 00:46:49,398
then people will just believe in Jesus and then live like the devil

754
00:46:49,404 --> 00:46:50,372
and they’re going to heaven?”

755
00:46:50,386 --> 00:46:51,227
Absolutely not.

756
00:46:51,233 --> 00:46:54,029
You see there’s two doctrines in the Bible you need to understand.

757
00:46:54,035 --> 00:46:56,102
The first one is justification.

758
00:46:56,108 --> 00:46:57,418
What is justification?

759
00:46:57,424 --> 00:46:58,854
It is a legal declaration.

760
00:46:58,860 --> 00:47:03,811
The person who believes in Jesus Christ is legally justified before God.

761
00:47:03,817 --> 00:47:06,064
God looks at that person as right with him,

762
00:47:06,070 --> 00:47:08,049
not on the basis of their virtue,

763
00:47:08,055 --> 00:47:12,210
but on the basis of what Christ did for them.

764
00:47:12,216 --> 00:47:13,520
God declares them righteous.

765
00:47:13,526 --> 00:47:15,062
That’s the believer’s standing.

766
00:47:15,068 --> 00:47:18,067
But then there’s another doctrine called the doctrine of regeneration.

767
00:47:18,073 --> 00:47:21,262
If you’ve read the Bible, you’ve heard it in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

768
00:47:21,268 --> 00:47:23,274
“If any man be in Christ he is a new creation,

769
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:25,632
old things pass away, behold all things are new.”

770
00:47:25,638 --> 00:47:26,611
What does that mean?

771
00:47:26,617 --> 00:47:30,901
It means those who truly believe in Jesus Christ have also been born again,

772
00:47:30,907 --> 00:47:33,886
or, what we call regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

773
00:47:33,892 --> 00:47:35,973
They’ve been made alive.

774
00:47:35,979 --> 00:47:39,996
So that it’s not them believing in Jesus

775
00:47:40,002 --> 00:47:43,869
and then doing a bunch of righteous things that they hate.

776
00:47:43,875 --> 00:47:46,676
But it’s their believing in Jesus and they’re saved.

777
00:47:46,682 --> 00:47:48,175
And because of that salvation,

778
00:47:48,181 --> 00:47:51,033
and because of the power of God to transform a life,

779
00:47:51,039 --> 00:47:53,464
they now begin to walk in newness of life.

780
00:47:53,470 --> 00:48:00,231
But never is their standing before God based upon what they do.

781
00:48:00,237 --> 00:48:02,853
It’s based upon the cross of Calvary.

782
00:48:02,859 --> 00:48:05,547
Christ, Christ alone.

783
00:48:05,553 --> 00:48:09,009
Now, I’m going to finish with an illustration,

784
00:48:09,015 --> 00:48:10,591
and hopefully it doesn’t apply to you,

785
00:48:10,597 --> 00:48:15,130
but it may give you some insight into what I’m talking about.

786
00:48:15,136 --> 00:48:17,608
First heard this from a dear friend of mine, Charles Leiter,

787
00:48:17,614 --> 00:48:20,096
and it’s a wonderful illustration.

788
00:48:20,102 --> 00:48:25,652
Let’s say that we own a bunch of sheep, and we’ve got a problem.

789
00:48:25,658 --> 00:48:27,714
There’s a bunch of coyotes.

790
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:29,682
Now how do we solve the problem?

791
00:48:29,688 --> 00:48:32,756
Well, there’s a few ways we can solve the problem.

792
00:48:32,762 --> 00:48:39,251
One is, we can get a gun, and we can shoot the coyotes.

793
00:48:39,257 --> 00:48:41,919
Now that solves the sheep’s problem, it solves our problem,

794
00:48:41,925 --> 00:48:45,432
but it doesn’t solve the coyote’s problem.

795
00:48:45,438 --> 00:48:47,470
What else can we do?

796
00:48:47,476 --> 00:48:52,638
Well, we can get a cage, and we can trap the coyote.

797
00:48:52,644 --> 00:48:55,300
We could trap him.

798
00:48:55,306 --> 00:48:58,797
So we’ve solved the sheep’s problem, we’ve solved our problem,

799
00:48:58,803 --> 00:49:02,507
but we really haven’t solved the coyote’s problem.

800
00:49:02,513 --> 00:49:04,922
You say, “Well, he’s reformed.” No, he isn’t.

801
00:49:04,928 --> 00:49:06,732
He’s just caged.

802
00:49:06,738 --> 00:49:08,318
He’s not reformed.

803
00:49:08,324 --> 00:49:11,939
He walks back and forth in that cage, back and forth like this,

804
00:49:11,945 --> 00:49:14,581
and just wanting to get out.

805
00:49:14,587 --> 00:49:17,162
You let that door open, he’s coming out of there.

806
00:49:17,168 --> 00:49:18,525
So we haven’t solved his problem.

807
00:49:18,531 --> 00:49:21,512
You know what I just described? Religion.

808
00:49:21,518 --> 00:49:25,870
And a lot of Christian religion.

809
00:49:27,140 --> 00:49:32,028
“I go to church, I hate it, but I’m going because it’s the right thing to do.”

810
00:49:32,034 --> 00:49:34,870
“I do this because it’s the right thing to do, because I gotta do it.”

811
00:49:34,876 --> 00:49:38,347
There’s really no love for God, there’s no genuine desire to serve him.

812
00:49:38,353 --> 00:49:40,036
“Just gotta do these things.”

813
00:49:40,042 --> 00:49:43,607
That’s legalism, that religion, that’s church.

814
00:49:43,613 --> 00:49:47,053
“Why do we have to go?”

815
00:49:47,059 --> 00:49:50,854
It’s the same way as the coyote saying, “Why can’t I just eat sheep?”

816
00:49:50,860 --> 00:49:54,069
And every time someone’s not looking and every time that door is open,

817
00:49:54,075 --> 00:49:55,432
you’re going to eat sheep.

818
00:49:55,438 --> 00:49:59,408
You’re going to sin, because that’s what you love.

819
00:49:59,414 --> 00:50:02,938
Now what is Christianity?

820
00:50:02,944 --> 00:50:06,827
God changes the coyote into a sheep.

821
00:50:06,833 --> 00:50:08,010
That’s Christianity.

822
00:50:08,016 --> 00:50:12,889
From the inside. He changes their heart.

823
00:50:12,895 --> 00:50:16,345
He takes out their heart of stone and he gives them a heart of flesh.

824
00:50:16,351 --> 00:50:18,948
And that’s how you know you’ve become a Christian.

825
00:50:18,954 --> 00:50:22,065
Not just because you give some empty profession,

826
00:50:22,071 --> 00:50:24,237
that, “Yeah, I believe Jesus is the Son of God,”

827
00:50:24,243 --> 00:50:27,277
but because something, as it happened to Peter,

828
00:50:27,290 --> 00:50:30,377
something more than flesh and blood happened to you.

829
00:50:30,383 --> 00:50:33,025
God showed you, this is his Son,

830
00:50:33,031 --> 00:50:40,137
and he put an overwhelming new desire in you to follow him and to please him.

831
00:50:40,143 --> 00:50:41,959
Do you see that?

832
00:50:41,965 --> 00:50:47,081
I’ll give you a lecture right now in ontology.

833
00:50:47,087 --> 00:50:50,510
And it’s this:

834
00:50:50,516 --> 00:51:01,271
I have a nature, I have a will, and I have activity – things I do.

835
00:51:02,461 --> 00:51:09,177
If my heart loves evil, my desire is for evil.

836
00:51:09,183 --> 00:51:12,785
Things of this world, the immoralities, the sensualities,

837
00:51:12,791 --> 00:51:15,439
the money, everything that’s in this world,

838
00:51:15,445 --> 00:51:21,922
if that’s what my heart loves, then those desires influence my will,

839
00:51:21,928 --> 00:51:24,699
and my will pushes my activities.

840
00:51:24,705 --> 00:51:32,127
I’m driven by my will that’s driven by my evil desires, and I do evil.

841
00:51:32,133 --> 00:51:37,677
But, if someone can change this heart of mine,

842
00:51:37,683 --> 00:51:42,814
so that the things I once loved I now hate

843
00:51:42,820 --> 00:51:47,421
and the things I once hated, like righteousness, I now love,

844
00:51:47,427 --> 00:51:51,033
then there’s not much to worry about after that.

845
00:51:51,039 --> 00:51:56,439
Because my new desires push my life in a completely different direction,

846
00:51:56,445 --> 00:52:04,663
and when I do sin, it breaks my heart because my heart’s been made new.

847
00:52:04,669 --> 00:52:08,502
If I was a pastor of some of the churches that exist.

848
00:52:08,508 --> 00:52:13,004
Say I’m the new pastor and as soon as I come my first Sunday,

849
00:52:13,010 --> 00:52:15,166
someone walks up to me and says, “Brother Paul,

850
00:52:15,172 --> 00:52:18,793
there’s a guy over there named Bill, he’s over there up the hill there,

851
00:52:18,799 --> 00:52:21,736
and he hasn’t been to church in five years, and everything,

852
00:52:21,742 --> 00:52:23,540
and we can’t get him to come back to church.

853
00:52:23,546 --> 00:52:27,512
He’s a member here, would you please go and get him?

854
00:52:27,518 --> 00:52:29,388
That’s your job, you’re the shepherd.”

855
00:52:29,394 --> 00:52:32,798
So I go, I knock on the door, and there’s Bill.

856
00:52:32,803 --> 00:52:34,464
Bill says, “Come on in.”

857
00:52:34,471 --> 00:52:35,763
I come in.

858
00:52:35,769 --> 00:52:39,351
I say, “Bill, you haven’t been in church in five years.”

859
00:52:39,357 --> 00:52:41,759
“You’re right, preacher, you’re right,

860
00:52:41,765 --> 00:52:46,474
you know I just follow other things, just have a love for the world,

861
00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:48,128
but you’re right, I need to do the right thing

862
00:52:48,134 --> 00:52:50,154
and I need to get back in church.”

863
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:54,949
“And Bill, I hear you’ve been walking around town drunk quite a bit.”

864
00:52:54,955 --> 00:52:58,093
“You’re right, preacher, I’ve been drinking and stuff,

865
00:52:58,099 --> 00:53:00,753
just love that old liquor, but I need to put it away,

866
00:53:00,759 --> 00:53:03,599
I need to do the right thing, and I need to get back to church.

867
00:53:03,605 --> 00:53:04,823
It’s what I need to do.”

868
00:53:04,829 --> 00:53:10,858
“Okay, and Bill, I hear you haven’t been very faithful to your wife.

869
00:53:10,864 --> 00:53:13,442
That you’re kind of a man about town.”

870
00:53:13,448 --> 00:53:15,127
“Preacher, you got me there.

871
00:53:15,133 --> 00:53:18,314
You’re right, I just need to let that go,

872
00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:22,421
as much as it pulls on me, love that kind of life,

873
00:53:22,427 --> 00:53:25,297
I just need to let it go, I need to do the right thing.”

874
00:53:25,303 --> 00:53:28,469
So next Sunday, I come to church and everybody says,

875
00:53:28,475 --> 00:53:34,299
“Pastor, this is incredible! A sheep has come home!”

876
00:53:34,305 --> 00:53:35,652
No, he hasn’t.

877
00:53:35,658 --> 00:53:38,898
They’re all looking at Bill and they’re going, “A sheep has come home.”

878
00:53:38,904 --> 00:53:40,246
No, he has not.

879
00:53:40,252 --> 00:53:42,959
A wolf has just come back into the cage.

880
00:53:42,965 --> 00:53:44,634
Do you realize what Bill is saying?

881
00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:49,048
“You’re right, preacher, I need to stop doing all the wicked things I love

882
00:53:49,054 --> 00:53:51,442
and start doing all the righteous things I hate

883
00:53:51,448 --> 00:53:54,116
in order to gain some entrance into the kingdom of heaven.”

884
00:53:54,122 --> 00:53:57,100
That’s religion, and that’s not what we’re talking about.

885
00:53:57,106 --> 00:54:01,223
We’re talking about a life transformed.

886
00:54:01,229 --> 00:54:04,436
And if your life has not been transformed from the inside out

887
00:54:04,442 --> 00:54:07,340
and all you have is a religion, or a ritual,

888
00:54:07,346 --> 00:54:10,757
or there’s certain things you think you’ve done and you’re doing

889
00:54:10,763 --> 00:54:14,025
and because of that you’re going to be okay on the final day, you’re not.

890
00:54:14,031 --> 00:54:18,030
I’m telling you, you’re not going to be okay at all.

891
00:54:18,036 --> 00:54:23,510
The question is, not some religious exercise as Paul says in the book of Galatians,

892
00:54:23,516 --> 00:54:29,994
the question is, are you a new creature, with new desires and a new heart?

893
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,932
“What should I do?”

894
00:54:32,938 --> 00:54:36,253
Acknowledge your sin,

895
00:54:36,259 --> 00:54:41,415
acknowledge that all your righteousness is like filthy rags before God.

896
00:54:41,421 --> 00:54:44,108
And throw yourself on Christ.

897
00:54:44,113 --> 00:54:48,476
On Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand…

898
00:54:48,483 --> 00:54:53,587
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

899
00:54:53,593 --> 00:55:01,105
Nothing in my hands I bring (to barter with God, to pay off God),

900
00:55:01,111 --> 00:55:04,926
But simply to the cross of Christ I cling.

901
00:55:12,019 --> 00:55:13,299
Let’s pray:

902
00:55:13,305 --> 00:55:16,833
Father, I thank you for your Word,

903
00:55:16,839 --> 00:55:20,365
thank you for the cross of Christ,

904
00:55:20,371 --> 00:55:25,693
thank you for the Holy Spirit who opens up hearts and minds to know thee.

905
00:55:25,699 --> 00:55:28,722
Lord, help us, in Jesus’ name.

906
00:55:28,727 --> 00:55:30,349
Amen.