Thou
art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God
The title words were spoken by Peter when Jesus asked him,
"Who are people saying that I am?" The disciples answered that
some of the people said he was a prophet, others answered other things.
Then Jesus said, "But who do YOU say that I am?" And that
question is the heart of the matter.
The confession of Peter as to who Jesus is has been the
foundation of the Church since its birth. It is upon this confession
that the true Church is built, and without the revelation of who Jesus is
there is no true Christian faith. It is precisely this revelation that
is questioned, ridiculed and even hated by many, for the confession of who
Jesus is points to the undeniable truth that there is no other Savior and no
other way to God. For other religions this amounts to a slap in the face
if not worse. It is however, the ultimate truth.
History
The early Church had questions as to what the basic beliefs of
the Christian faith were comprised of and met to hammer these out and put them
in simple form so that it would be clear as to what the Church believed and
stood for.
The Nicene Creed was adopted by the Church Council at Nicæa
in AD 325 and appears in its present form by the Council at Chalcedon in AD
451. It has remained in use since that time. It states clearly the
nature and work of Christ.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver
of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic
Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen
Scripture
The Bible itself is also clear as to who Jesus is. The
Gospel According to St. John records that Jesus was with God and that He was
God. John also states that everything in creation was made by Jesus and
that He had created the world and then come to this world.
John - Chapter 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
In the 12th Chapter of John, the writer there is speaking of
Jesus and says that in the Old Testament, Jesus was revealed as The Lord (or
more commonly translated, "Jehovah")
John 12:41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
When did Isaiah see the glory? The only recorded
instance is in Isaiah chapter 6 where he says " In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the
seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."
(verses 1 - 3)
Holy Scripture makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is Divine,
that He is Creator, and that He is Lord of all.
No
Other Way
Of Himself Jesus had this to say: John 14: 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
A good man will not tell you that he is the only way to reach
God. Either this is the truth or it is a lie. If it is a lie, we
can disregard everything else Jesus had to say! Why listen to a
liar? If it is the truth then we stand in eternal danger if we do not
listen!
Separation
The truth of who Jesus is separates mere religion from the
truth.
I John 2: 22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
If you are of a religion that denies the Divinity of Christ,
you are anti-Christ. Further, you have no part with the Father.
The key to reaching God is Jesus, NO ONE ELSE! Not Buddha, not Mohammed, not Confucius,
not Abraham ..... No One Else! Without Jesus you cannot reach God.
Peter told the crowd in the temple ... " Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved." Acts 4:10-12 emphasis added)
There is no salvation in any other name than the name of
Jesus.
What
About ..... ?
You may ask, what about those people who don't believe in
Jesus? People who have other religions? Can they be saved?
The Scripture is clear about one thing, only through Jesus Christ can a person
be saved. There is no salvation any other way.
Christianity is exclusive. God has given a revelation
and we must follow it. Christianity is not anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic,
anti-homosexual, anti-Hindu ... God loves everyone. He loves the atheist and
even those who hate Him. But He requires that we come to Him HIS
WAY.
Understand this, you are free to believe what you want and
worship however you choose. If you choose to reject this truth that is
your choice.
One of these days however, God will have the last word. At
that day every knee will bow and every person will confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord. It would pay to do it now rather than later.
.And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Further Reading:
Who Is This Man?
Forgiveness
How Do I Pray?
Prayers - For
The Times When You Don't Know What To Say