Believing

When Jesus asked Peter, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:16), the question was preceded by the disciples giving examples of what others were saying about who they thought Jesus to be. They thought He might be Elijah, or Jeremiah, pointing to Messiah. None of those was correct. Jesus wanted to know what Peter thought. It was an important question. It is an all-important question that too many don’t take seriously enough.

Peter’s answer was so right on that Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17).

What did Peter say that was so impressive to the Lord? He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Peter was saying, “You are the One, not just someone who points to the One.”

Jesus is the distinct, exclusive One about whom all the other ones have spoken and written for centuries. And there He stood before His disciples! Not even they had fully come to grips with the magnitude of His importance at that point. Peter blurts it out correctly, not by his own power, but by the power of God.

So why did Jesus ask the question in the first place? Was He hoping to have His ego stroked? Hardly. No, Jesus tends to ask questions because the answers carry such significance, not only for the respondent, but also for all who are privy to the respondent’s response.

For Martha, the sister of Lazarus, the question following Jesus’ proclamation that He was the “resurrection and the life” and “everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” was such a question: “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26). Fortunately, she answered, yes. Any other response would have been a basic denial of His identity. Her reply was not just for her, but for us who must respond in kind to perhaps the most important question Jesus ever asked; it’s right up there with what Jesus asked Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” Answer that one wrong and nothing else matters.

Yet today, in churches across our country and in many countries worldwide, precisely who they say Jesus is doesn’t seem to be a big deal. In fact, many are more comfortable letting the world define Christianity for them rather than allowing their faith to be defined by the ancient and sacred doctrines of the church.

Biblical theology has become nothing more than a cumbersome distraction, while being “missional” and “incarnational” are buzzwords for going into the world to meet tangible needs in the name of Christ. Meanwhile, the world prefers that Jesus not be part of the equation. And the world is not disappointed by many going out “in the name of Christ” today, based on their weak grasp of theology.

What makes Christianity Christianity? It is simply what we believe about a number of important doctrines, not the least of which is what we believe about Jesus. Who do you say that He is? How important is that to you? How much does your doctrine of Christ define your faith? Christianity is not just about doing good deeds, although what we believe can and should lead to good deeds.

Love people in the name of Christ. But make sure you really know—to the degree He has been revealed in the Scriptures—the One in whose name you are loving them. Know the Christ of Christianity.

“The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.”  —1 John 5:10