Sermon Series: Misconceptions About Christianity 

It Doesn't Matter What You Believe About Jesus 

Romans 9:5 

CBC Bishop, November 9, 2003

In a nutshell: What people say about Jesus is one thing. And how we intellectually answer misconceptions people have about Jesus is another thing. But what you personally say is really the main thing.

I. Introduction

A. Headlines

Most Monday nights, the host of the Tonight Show, Jay Leno, does a segment called "Headlines". During that segment, he shows his audience some actual newspaper headlines that are so obvious that they're hilariously funny. Some of the ones he's shown in the past are things like: Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link, Cornell Daily Sun; Survey Finds Dirtier Subways After Cleaning Jobs Were Cut, The New York Times; Larger Kangaroos Leap Farther, Researchers Find, The Los Angeles Times; Alcohol ads promote drinking, The Hartford Courant; Official: Only rain will cure drought, The Herald-News, Westpost, Massachusetts; Teen-age girls often have babies fathered by men, The Sunday Oregonian; Fish lurk in streams, Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle; Tomatoes come in big, little, medium sizes, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia; Scientists see quakes in L.A. future, The Oregonian; Prosecution paints O.J. as a wife-killer, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel; Bible church's focus is the Bible, Saint Augustine Record; Lack of brains hinders research, The Columbus Dispatch. What a grasp of the obvious!

B. Transition

Well, one thing that's not obvious to a lot of people, is the truth concerning Jesus Christ. In fact, one big problem we face as the Christian church is a misconception by a lot of people that it doesn't matter what you believe about Jesus. In fact, the truth of the matter is that right now, today, very few people in the Owens Valley really understand who Jesus Christ really is.

You see, because most people in the Owens Valley don't go to church, many of them have developed a concept of Jesus Christ based on faulty information. This information came to them in a variety of ways, but primarily it came to them by observation and experience. -They maybe experienced going to church at some time. -They observe and work side by side with people who say they are Christians. -They observe Christian leaders and preachers on TV and the news. -They observe the attitudes and opinions of their friends and family regarding Jesus.

-And they've heard of the Jesus of Jim Bakker, or Jimmy Swaggert or prosperity preachers on TV who see no problem lining their pockets at the expense of others. -They've also heard of the Jesus preached by the hyper-fundamentalists-the Jesus who is more concerned with the outward appearance and the use of the King James Bible, rather than the inner qualities of Christian character and integrity. -And they've also heard of the Jesus of the liberal church-the Jesus who is politically correct and is more concerned with affirming people's lifestyles, than in truth and tough love.

So, just who is Christianity talking about when it talks about Jesus? Who is the Jesus we're talking about here at Calvary Baptist Church? This is a question of vital importance, because our view of Jesus determines our response to Him.

II. What Do People Say?

A. Asking the Disciples the Key Question

About half way through Matthew's account of Jesus' life, we read of a time when Jesus had taken His disciples away to a lonely place for rest and relaxation. And since Jesus was never someone who wasted even a moment of time, He turned this time of rest and relaxation into a time of teaching. They may have been sitting by an interesting rock formation during the day, or sitting around a campfire at evening, but at this time, Jesus gathered His disciples around Him. There He posed a very important question:

Matthew 16:13 13 …he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Isn't that interesting? The same question we're asking this morning, was the same question Jesus asked His disciples back then. And this question is so important, because many people really don't know who Jesus is. But who He is, is really the central issue of Christianity.

B. The Disciples' Reply

In response to that question, His disciples told Jesus what others were saying about Him. -Some people were saying that He was John the Baptist. Perhaps they were referring to Jesus' powerful and poignant preaching. Maybe they were referring to Jesus' fearlessness before the religious leaders, like John had demonstrated. -Other people were saying that Jesus was Elijah, the prophet. The Jews were waiting for the return of Elijah. Even today, as we learned from Rabbi Steve's Passover presentation last month, Jewish people still set a place for Elijah at the Passover table. They look forward to the return of Elijah because his return is to precede the Messiah. -Still others thought Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. They knew He was a significant prophetic voice in their time. They had seen Him perform miracles. They knew He put an emphasis what the Word of God said. And so, there were all kinds of ideas floating around Palestine about who He really was.

C. Opinions of Jesus Today

Obviously, there was a lot of difference of opinion back then, just like there still is today. In fact, today the opinions, I think, are even more varied. Let's examine a few of them.

1. Great Man

One opinion is that Jesus was a great man. Some people like to believe that Jesus was a human who had obtained a high degree of spirituality. They believe that Jesus lived on a higher plane than most of us in terms of His integrity, honesty, ethics, morality, and personal character. They see Him as being a good and great man who achieved something few human beings ever achieve. But while He was great, they believe he was just a man. An extraordinary man, to be sure, but just a man. So, the question is, was Jesus just a great man?

2. Great Teacher

Another popular opinion today is that Jesus was a great teacher. Well, in all truthfulness, Jesus has been described as the greatest teacher to have ever lived. But holding this opinion still makes Jesus just a man.

You see, a person can be a great teacher…, -someone who inspires learning in the highest sense, -someone who challenges people to change their lives, …but still be only a man. Jesus was undoubtedly a great teacher, but was that the extent of His significance? Is He simply on the same level as…or a little higher than…Socrates and Aristotle? Is that it?

3. Prophet

Still another popular idea about Jesus is the notion that Jesus was a prophet or a great religious leader. A lot of people put Him on the same par with the likes of Confucius, Mohammed, or Buddha. Each one of those guys developed a religious following and a system of beliefs. And Jesus developed a religious following and a system of beliefs. But is Jesus just another significant religious leader or prophetic voice? Or is He more than Mohammed, more than Confucius, and more than Buddha?

III. What Does God Say?

A. Strong Statement

Illustration: When I was playing football in college, my high school Sunday School teacher from my home church came to one of my games with my Dad and Mom. He watched me play and watched our team lose the game. Afterwards we all went out to dinner together and my teacher began telling me which player I should have blocked on a particular play, rather than the one I did. Well, my coach had diagrammed the play, and he told me differently. In the game, I was blocking the way the coach had told me to block. My former teacher didn't realize the entire scope of the play, but my coach did. So, who do you think I listened to? My coach, of course. Because he was the authority figure on the football field, not my Sunday School teacher.

Well, as followers of God, we really shouldn't be concerned with what people are saying about Jesus. Rather, we should be concerned with what God says about Him. God is the authority. He's the head coach. He's the boss. So what does God say about Jesus? Look at what God told the apostle Paul to write down in…

Romans 9:5 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

…Christ, who is God over all. That's what God says about Jesus.

Friends, this is a powerfully strong statement. And since God isn't in the business of tricking us or lying to us, this is the truth about Jesus. -He was more than merely a man. -He was more than even a great man. He was and is God. We Christians speak of the triune God, we refer to God as God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit.

B. Jesus Claimed to be God

Now, here's something else you should know. Jesus Himself claimed to be God. In Mark 14…we read about Jesus standing before the Supreme Court of Israel, being tried for His life…

Mark 14:61-64 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62 "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." 63 The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64 "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death

You can't take that out of context. You can't get much plainer than that. In fact, if you missed what Jesus said about Himself, just look at the reaction of the High Priest in verses 63 and 64. There was no doubt in the Chief Justice of that Supreme Court's mind that Jesus had made Himself out to be God the Son. So, Jesus, Himself, claimed to be much more than merely a man.

On another occasion, people were picking up rocks to stone Him to death. Look at this incident from…

John 10:32-33 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

In yet another verse it's recorded that Jesus said…

John 14:6 6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Folks, Jesus made some very bold claims about Himself. -He claimed to be God the Son. -He also claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He didn't claim to be a way, but the Way. He did not claim to be a truth, but the Truth. He did not claim to be a life, but the Life. -In addition, He claimed that He was the only way of access to God the Father and heaven! This is what Jesus claimed for Himself. That is certainly a whole lot more than just a man.

It has been correctly stated that, when you consider the claims that Jesus made of Himself, that He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the true Lord.

C. S. Lewis, who once was a professor at Cambridge University, and who was once an agnostic (which means atheist lite), and who later became a Christian wrote: I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be a devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."

Later, Lewis said the words I put on your worship folders this morning…

"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

B. Alternatives

1. Liar, hypocrite, evil, or a fool

Was Jesus who He said He was, or was He a liar? -If He wasn't who He said He was then an option was that He was a liar of the highest order. In other words, If He knew he wasn't God, then when He taught people, He did it knowing His claims were false. But does this jive with His teaching?

You see, if He were a liar, then He was also a hypocrite. Because He taught that we should tell the truth and be honest in every situation. If He knew His claims were false, then He would be a hypocrite of the first order.

-Furthermore, He would also be evil to the core. I mean, He encouraged people to trust in Him. What kind of person, knowing his claims were false, would encourage people to trust in him and his teaching for eternal life? Only someone who was demonically inspired.

-And finally, if He knew His claims were false, then He was a fool because He died for those claims. Was Christ a liar, a hypocrite, evil, and a fool? If He wasn't who He claimed to be then that is one alternative.

2. Lunatic

Another alternative is that He was a lunatic. In other words, He didn't know His words were false and He was seriously deluded. He was self-deceived. As C. S. Lewis said, He would have been the kind of man who claims to be a poached egg.

After all, what other kind of man would claim to be God the Son, the Savior of the world, when He wasn't? Only a lunatic. Was Jesus a lunatic? Did He deceive Himself?

It seems to me that there has never been a man who was more in control of Himself than Jesus. He hardly exhibited the kind of imbalance you would expect in a lunatic. In fact, even when He was hanging on the Cross, losing His life, He showed incredible poise, unshaken confidence, and total compassion.

3. He was who He said He was

The obvious third alternative is that He was and is who He said He was. He is the Lord God! Indeed, when you factor in the evidence of the empty tomb and the resurrection, you are left with no other alternative. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. That's who He is. He is God. And if He is God, then all of humanity is required to bow before Him and pledge their allegiance to His leadership.

IV. Conclusion: What Do You Say?

A. The Main Thing

Now, friends, what people say about Jesus is one thing. And how we intellectually answer misconceptions people have about Jesus is another thing. But what you personally say about Jesus, is really the main thing.

While it's interesting to hear what others say about Jesus, what we say really makes all the difference in terms of how we live our lives.

After Jesus had asked the disciples what people were saying about Him, He turned the question to the main thing, and asked the disciples what they thought about Him.

He asked, "Who do you say that I am?" He wanted to know what conclusions they had come to, after knowing about Him, personally. This was the issue for them, and it's still the same issue for us.

B. Get Personal

Let me get very personal with your right now. Have you personally come to the truth concerning Jesus for yourself? You see, it's not simply what you believe intellectually about Jesus. It's important that the truth about Him grips you at the point where it makes a difference in the way you live.

Let me share with you what knowing the truth about Jesus means in terms of my life:

1. Knowing that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, and loves me…, … means that I can trust Him with my life. It means that I know that He wants the best for me. Knowing that He left His throne in Heaven, became a man, and suffered by dying on a Cross for my sins, means that I can rest secure in His care for my future.

2. Knowing that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, and shed His blood on the Cross for me… …means that I can have confidence that any and every sin that I have ever committed or ever will commit can be forgiven through His sacrifice. It means that there is no sin so terrible that Jesus cannot forgive it. It means that when I confess my sins I know that Jesus Christ will forgive those sins. Knowing that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for me means that I can trust that I have eternal life in heaven with Him.

3. Knowing that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, and wants to lead my life…, … means that I can follow His leadership with confidence. Since He is God, that means that I am in intimate, daily contact with the highest power in the universe for the way I should live my life. And that means that I can trust in His leadership and His will for my life-because He says that all things in my life will work together for good, because He loves me.

C. Invitation

Friends, knowing about Jesus may be a good religious or intellectual exercise; but knowing Jesus will change your life. -You can know about Mohammed and never come to know him. That's because he's dead. -You can know about Buddha and never come to know him. Because he's dead. -You can know about Confucius and never come to know him. Because he's dead.

And You can also know about Jesus, but never come to know Him. But the great thing is you can come to know Him. You can know Him because He lives. -Mohammed lived and died and is still dead. -Confucius lived and died and is still dead. -Buddha lived and died and is still dead.

But Jesus lived, died, and also rose again from the dead. He lives today. And you can come to know Him personally and intimately. Coming to know Him will forever impact what you say about Him.

When you come to know Him then you will come to truly know who He is, and experience forgiveness for your sin, freedom from guilt, and leadership for your life.

Jesus I know I am a sinner and I need your forgiveness. I believe that when you died on the cross and rose from the dead, You did those things for me. I accept the exchange of my sin for your righteousness. And from this day on, I want to follow you as the leader of my life.