Baptists Believe in Jesus Christ

Matthew chapter 16 started a series back about two months ago now on what do baptist believe, okay? What do baptist believe anyway? Now, most of you have been baptist for quite a while. Some of you maybe not so, maybe you just started coming to Baptist Church. Maybe it's the first time you've been.

Maybe it's a bit new to you. In a nutshell, here's what baptist believe. This, we believe the Bible. Amen? Amen.

Amen. This is what we believe. We believe in God's word and what it tells us of our God in heaven, of Jesus Christ, our savior, and of the gospel, the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible. We believe in the trinity, the father, the son, and the holy spirit.

We believe in creation by the direct act of God as recorded for us in Genesis chapter one and two. We believe in the sovereignty of God. We believe in one of my missing that I already went over. We believe in fall of man into sin and therefore, our need of salvation. This morning, we're going to look at Baptist Believe in Jesus.

We believe in Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus? Amen. Amen. I hope so.

Otherwise, what are you doing here today? Because what our reason for being here is someone named Jesus. But let's let's read this passage and then we'll go to the Lord in prayer. Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 through 17. When Jesus came in the coast of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, who do men say that I, the son of man, am?

They said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. Some, Elias, which by the way, is the same as Elijah. Others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophet he say it unto them but whom say you that I am Simon Peter answer and said, thou art the Christ the son of the living God Jesus answer and said unto him, blessed art thou Simon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my father which is in heaven and we'll stop there for this morning. Let's go to Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for for being who you are.

Thank you Lord for coming for us, for dying for us. Lord, thank you for the invitation that you have offered us to be forgiven of all our sins, to know you, become your children, and receive the gift of everlasting life. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to worship you here today. Though terribly unworthy we are, you are more than worthy. Of more than we can give.

But Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to lift up your name, to give what we can in praise, worship, to our savior today and Lord, I pray that this would extend outside these walls in every day of this week and every hour of this week, we may live to the praise of Jesus Christ who has given us new life. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Now, we're talking about baptism.

I'm not ashamed of being a baptist or being identified as one. Although, there are many baptist today who no longer preach the same gospel, I'm afraid or others that see the need to live the same holy life. Who are baptist in name only or baptist by the right of baptism but not in genuine faith. All denominations of baptist have nearly abandoned the faith altogether. Individual churches and preachers are swerve far from the truth in order to purse their own push their own personal or perverted agenda.

So, I rarely introduce myself as a baptist. I prefer to introduce myself as a Christian. Now, mind you, there are many who name the name of Christ who sadly do not know Christ and Christ does not know them. Just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not make them one. And in Matthew chapter seven, Jesus says, that there will be some who approach him in heaven and say, I did this for you and I did this in your name and did that in your name and Jesus will say, I never knew you, depart from me, that work iniquity.

Yet, there are many others who do know Christ but seem to have little zeal to serve him. But the name Christian is a biblical title. A title given to believers in the early church that identified them not with a denomination, that identified them not with a creed but identified them with a person. A person. A person in whom they had come to trust.

A person that they had come to know, to serve, and to love, who had made all the difference in their lives, in the here and now. And in the hereafter to come. That person Jesus Christ and therefore, because they were followers of Christ, they became known as what? Christians. Christians.

You might be a Baptist this morning but being a Baptist is meaningless if you are not a what? If you are not a Christian. If you do not know Jesus Christ. So, over the next three Sundays, we're going to focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ and what that means to us Baptist and Christians this morning. So, back to our passage, Matthew chapter 16, we read these verses here.

Jesus said, well, who who are others to his disciples? Who are people saying that I am? Does all your some say, well, you're a prophet. Some say you're John the Baptist. Some say you're Elijah and Jesus looked at them.

Well, who do you think I am? And Peter speaks up and says, you are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the what? The son of the living God. Jesus is not just a good person or a great leader or an outstanding teacher. Not just a prophet, priest, or preacher.

He was not just a more enlightened man or more religious or spiritual than the rest of us. Though he was many of those things, what makes Jesus Jesus, who Jesus really is, is what Peter confessed here in these verses. You are the son of the what? Living God. The son of the living God.

That's who Jesus is. He is the son of God. Now, Jesus is also the son of man. He referred to himself as that in verse 13. He like to refer to himself as that often to remind people of his humble estate, of his commonality that he shared with his creature when he became a man and so he was for he was the son of God but also the son of who?

The son of Mary. So, he was the son of man. But Jesus was also and is also the son of God and just as being the son of the son of Mary, made him human. Being the son of God, makes him divine. Deity.

God. He is not less than God but he was equal to the father in all respects of his nature and worthy of our worship as such. He did not begin as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. No? He lived in eternity past as one with the father in heaven.

In the beginning of the Bible, we read in the beginning in Genesis one one. When you get to the New Testament, you begin reading the book of John, you begin with also, you see where is it? There it is. We'll get to it. In the what?

In the beginning. In the beginning. In the beginning was the word. That's a name for Jesus. You notice it's capitalized here.

He's called the word at the beginning of this because he's God's revelation to man. In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word next to. Was God. Was God. The word Jesus was and is and forever will be God.

All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. When you read in Genesis one, we're told who created the world, who created the world? Lord Jesus. Okay. God created the world and the Lord Jesus created the world.

Therefore, the Lord Jesus must be who? God. Lord Jesus must be God. He created all things and the word that is Jesus was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glories of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem in a manger.

He came from heaven. We lived in eternity past with God the father and God the holy spirit as one. He created the world and all and all that is and then he came. To Earth and God also became a what? He became a man.

So that we could see God in him. Indeed, he was born of a virgin as foretold by Isaiah and declared in Matthew one twenty two and twenty three. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled was spoken of the Lord by the prophet that would be Isaiah saying, behold a virgin shall be with child, shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is being interpreted is what? God with us. God with us.

He said, Isaiah said, he will be called Emmanuel. Matthew tells us, reminds us, for those of us who don't know Hebrew, a lot of manual means and it means, God with us. God was in heaven and God came down to be with who? Amen. He came down to be with us.

Jesus was in heaven, the son of God came down to be one of us, born of a virgin, the virgin Mary, conceived in Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit is declared here in Luke one thirty four and thirty five. Then said, Mary and of the angel, how shall this be? Seeing I know not a man and the angel answered and said unto her, the holy ghost shall come upon you. The power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called.

The son. The son of God. Why will he be called the son of God? Because he is the son of God. Who is Jesus?

Jesus is the son of God. The son of God come to Earth who took upon himself human flesh for a purpose. Turn if you would to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture.

It must have been one of my Christian school or church's favorite passages of scripture because I don't know how many times I memorize this passage in school. It's one of few somewhat lengthy passages that I can can rattle off. Reminds us of something very important who Jesus is In this passage, we're being reminded of his humility and the humility that we should have as well. But there are some other things we see in this. Verse five of Philippians two, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

Now, let me tell you what that that verse means. Being the form of God doesn't mean he looked like God or he appeared like God. No, it means he was God. In every way, in every aspect, he was God. However, being equal with God, with the other members of the trinity, father, spirit, He left his glory.

He left his throne. He left his exaltation behind to become a baby born in a manger. To become a human being for a purpose. Verse seven, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross. Who is Jesus?

He is the son of God. Come from heaven. To die for you, to die for me. Why did he come? He came to save sinners.

He came to save sinners from eternal death. From the second death of Revelation 20. From a place called the Lake Of Fire that burns how long? Forever. Forever.

And ever. He came to save sinners. From their just faith. Because sinners are rebels against their creator. Sinners have failed.

Their creator. Sinners are not allowed in heaven in the presence of their creator. But Jesus came to change all that. Jesus, the son of God. Who is he?

That's who he is, the son of God. Why did he come? He came to save who? Sinners. He came to save sinners.

Matthew one twenty one Tells us and she shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. This is the angel talking to Joseph. Joseph is concerned because he just found out that his bride to be is pregnant out of wedlock. That she is going to have a child out of wedlock and he was making a difficult decision.

What he was going to do? And he had decided to divorce her because betrothal was a little bit different in that day than than engagement. You actually had to go through a divorce. To divorce her quietly, to not put her to to open shame. Because she obviously had been unfaithful and an angel comes to Joseph and he says, Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife because that which is conceived in her is of who?

The holy. Is of the holy ghost, is of the holy spirit. And she shall bring forth a son and you shall call his name the Lord saves. That's what Jesus means. It means the Lord is salvation.

That's who he is. He is the savior. He came to save people from their what? From their sins. Yes, he also taught the ignorant.

He also healed the sick. He also fed the hungry. And he cared for those whom he came in contact with. He bore our sins. He carried our our sorrows.

He showed himself to be a god of love, to be a god of caring, of comfort, with power to heal, and he did all of those things. He didn't use the days of his ministry selfishly upon himself. As he said to some who wanted to follow him, foxes have dens, birds of the air have nests but the son of man, that's Jesus, has nowhere to what? Lay his head. Because he spent his days ministering to others, revealing God to them, telling them the truth, the gospel, healing their sicknesses.

But that alone does not tell us all he came to do because he didn't just come to heal the sick or to give sight to the blind. He didn't just come to educate people in the truth. He didn't just come to feed the poor. Though he did all of those things, he came to save sinners. You see, we can feed the poor.

We can help the sick. We can comfort the grieving. We can teach the ignorant but only Jesus can do what? Save the soul. Only Jesus can save a soul.

Only Jesus can save sinners and that's what he came to do. For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. I think maybe I have that up here. Not sure. And in first Timothy one fifteen, I do have this one.

It says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to what? Save sinners. To save sinners of whom I am chief. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sin. That's why he came.

He didn't come just to give us a good example. He didn't come just to do good things. Now, we did all of those things. But he came to do the one thing that no one else could do. He came to save sinners of whom Paul said, I am chief.

He came to save sinners. Mark two seventeen, I referenced this in Sunday school this morning. You see, the Pharisees came to Jesus because he was hanging out with the riffraff. The only reason Jesus was hanging out is the riffraff is because he was hanging out with his new disciple, Levi, who had left the tax collector's booth to follow Jesus and invited his friends to hear the message that Jesus had to give and to tell them who he was. The Messiah, the son of God.

So, that they might be saved. The Pharisees got angry and said, why are you hanging out with the riffraff? Jesus said, I came to save who? Sinners. Sinners.

I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The Pharisees didn't think they were sinners. They didn't think they needed a savior. So, they weren't coming to him to be saved but these people were. So, he said, why do I hang out with these people?

Because these people have come to me to hear the gospel. You're not interested. Why did Jesus come? He came to save, to save sinners. To save sinners who like, like who?

Like us. To save sinners like us. Who is a sinner? Sinner is someone who sins. What is sin?

It's the transgression of the law. You want to know if you sinned? Well, have you ever lied? You ever born false witness? Have you ever stolen anything?

Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Have you ever had a wicked or a lustful thought? Have you ever dishonored your parents? Disrespected them? Those are part of the 10 commandments.

They reveal to us that all of us are what? Sinners. All of us are sinners. We sin because we're sinners. It's who we are.

Not something we can change Only something who can change. Jesus. Lord Jesus can change. The Bible says for the wages of sin is death. Says that all of us are sinners, no none righteous, no, not one for all have sinned and come short.

The glory of God and it tells us for the wages of sin is death and one day, Bible says, the point on the man wants to die but after this, the judgment and in Revelation 20, it tells us that all whose names were not found written in the book of life because they rejected Christ and were judged based upon their works were cast into the what? Lake Of Fire. Lake Of Fire because they were guilty. Why? Because we are.

Sinners. Who did Christ come to save? Sinner. He came to save sinners. Who's that?

That's me. That's me. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner saved by. Grace.

Grace. And one day when I get stand before him in heaven, I'll be a sinner no more. Amen. Praise the Lord. He came to save sinners.

Is that you? How did he do it? How did he save sinners? Here's how he did it. He died on the cross.

He gave himself for our sins. He rose again from the grave. In Galatians one four, it says, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our father. You know, this world is not my home. I'm just passing through.

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Yes, that's a lyrics to the chorus to a song, a hymn. But this world is not my home. My home's up there.

I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. My name on it. Why? Because I'm deserving because I'm such a good person. No, because I have such a great what?

I have a great savior. His name, Jesus Christ. And he came to save me. And how he, how did he do it? He came and he gave himself for me.

Jesus, the sinless son of God, became a man that he might die for men, becoming a curse in their place, bearing our shame upon the cross, enduring the full weight of God's wrath which I was due. He bore it all for me on the cross of Calvary. He bore my shame. He bore my curse. He bore my suffering.

He bore my hell upon the cross of Calvary that I might be what? Saved. Saved. From sin. He did it all for me.

He did it all for Romans five eight, but God commended his love toward us. God demonstrated his love for you and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How did Jesus Christ save us? He died in our place. He took our punishment.

He paid our penalty. He paid our debt. He paid our fine. For our sin that we could not pay. So that we might be redeemed.

So that we might be saved from the penalty of sin. Save from the bondage of sin. Be given eternal life. First Peter three eighteen, for Christ hath once suffered for sins. The just, that is Jesus, for the unjust, that's me.

That he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit. What does that mean? That mean Jesus Christ came. He died on the cross. He was just.

He was righteous. He wasn't a sinner. He did not deserve to die but he died in my place. He bore my punishment so that I might be reconciled to my heavenly father. Amen.

And then he did what? He rose again from the grave. Why? Because he is the son of who? He is the son of God.

And he rose again from the tomb. Second Corinthians five twenty one, I think I have that here. It says, for he hath made him that is God hath made him Jesus to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. There's a picture. This is pictured in the Old Testament sacrifices in the law.

Israel was to bring a lamb. When they sinned, they were to bring a lamb or an animal to the priest, okay? And they handed the animal to the priest to be sacrificed in their place. The lamb was innocent. They were guilty.

And the lamb was handed to the priest to be sacrificed in their behalf so that they wouldn't have to be punished for their sin. The priest then took the lamb and the person who had sinned would place their head on the lamb and then the lamb was taken to be slain. What was the purpose of the person laying their hands on the head of the lamb? I tell you what it was to illustrate this very verse. For when the person laid their hands on the head of the lamb, it signified the innocence of the lamb being exchanged for the sin and guiltiness of the person who brought the sacrifice.

In other words, symbolically, the person who brought the lamb took upon themselves the innocence of the lamb and the lamb took upon itself the guiltiness, the sin of the person who had wronged God and then the lamb died in the person's place so they could go what? So, they could go free. That's what Jesus did when he died on the cross. God placed our opportunity the for come Lord. And guiltless.

That's what you Jesus did for you and for me. I'd like to ask you a question once more. I'd like to ask you this morning. Again, are you a sinner? Are you a sinner?

If so, you are under the condemnation of God for disobedience and are your rebellious ways. You are condemned. The Bible says you're condemned already but you are not without what? You are not without hope. For Jesus came to save who?

He came to save you. That's why he came. If he hadn't come, we would be forever without hope, lost, and under the condemnation of hell. But because Jesus came, the son of God to Earth and he became a man and he suffered as a man and he died for the sins of men on the cross of Calvary, we can be saved. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his son in the world to condemn the world. Why? We were already condemned. God did not send Jesus to condemn us. What he sent Jesus to do?

To save us. He did not send his son in the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. Who is Jesus? Jesus is love. Love personified.

God's love for us. Dirty, filthy, undeserving, rotten sinners to give us an opportunity. Life, to give us a home in heaven, to make us the children of God who come to him by faith and the Bible says, he that cometh to him, he will in no wise what? Out. Cast out.

Thou shalt Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. Believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be. Saved. Saved. I did that when I was nine years old.

And God has kept his what? His promise to me. And I'm saved not because I'm better than anybody else. I'm saved because my savior is better than everybody else and he has washed away my sins because Jesus is love. He could have stayed in heaven.

He didn't have to come. But he chose to. So that you and I might be saved. When you and I were incapable of saving ourselves while we were yet undeserving of saving. He loved you so much.

He came to Earth. He became a man. He suffered as a man. He died on the cross to pray the price for sins of mankind. And he did it all out of love for you.

Will you receive his offer to be saved today? He already died for you. All you must do is receive it by faith. Receive him by faith and as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name. For John three eighteen says, he that believeth on him is not what?

Amen. Is not condemned. Praise God. I am worthy of condemnation but I stand here today not condemned. Why?

Because Jesus Christ took my place and has accepted me into his family. By his grace through faith and he will do the same for you. Will you receive him today? Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord.

For what you did for us. For it is all about Jesus. Lord, we thank you for your salvation and we pray Lord if there be one here today that is unsure. I pray Lord that you would touch their heart and that they would receive you by faith as their Lord and savior before it is too late.