This is the Most Important Question You'll Ever Answer

What's the most important question you'll ever answer? 

Some options might come to mind. "Where should I go to college?" "What career should I pick?" Or maybe you even think of, "will you marry me?" 

But no. Those things aren't a matter of life or death. 

The most important question you'll ever answer is the question Jesus asks his disciples in Matthew 16:15: "Who do you say that I am?" 

It's impossible to overstate the importance of this question. This is a matter of life or death—Jesus's identity is of cosmic importance. 

Why is it so important? Because your answer will show your heart. 

Do you really believe the truth? Then you have eternal life, joy, and peace. 

But if you don't, your heart is still dead in your trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)

Who do you say that Jesus is?

 

A Good Teacher

The Bible is like a self-help book—a really good one. There's good stuff in there. We can pick and choose what to agree with; we like the command to give to the poor, and we love Philippians 4:13, but the Old Testament stories about the judgment of God are really uncomfortable. We listen to many people for advice, and Jesus is one of them.

That might be what you believe. Frankly, I doubt it, because if you've spent any time on this blog, you probably already believe that the Bible is the holy Word of God and therefore qualitatively different from a self-help book.

But it's possible to live like Jesus is just a "good teacher," even if we don't believe it. 

What kinds of books do you read? Who do you listen to? Who do you trust? 

I've been convicted in the past about listening to secular sources more than the Bible. It's easy to see kernels of truth in a secular message and forget the untrue worldview it's coming from. 

Jesus didn't claim to be just a great teacher, though he certainly was one. He claimed to be God. He claimed to be the only way through which humanity could be saved. (John 14:6)

If you're thinking of Jesus as a good teacher, you're completely missing his message! The Gospel doesn't just improve your life. It revolutionizes it. It gives you new life where you didn't have any before.

Jesus is not a mere teacher. As C. S. Lewis so famously said in Mere Christianity, "He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

 

My Parents' God

You've grown up in the church, and you've never done anything really bad, so you assume you're saved. You've never given it much thought. You (usually) pay attention in sermons, and you might volunteer at VBS, but you haven't fully committed your life to Jesus. You're still holding on to the world.

It's a modern tragedy. So many children and teens grow up in the church without true saving faith of their own—they assume they're saved, but their faith is just nominal. 

That was me. That was many of my friends. And it still would be if it weren't for the grace of God.

If that describes you, please take this seriously! Life isn't a game. Faith isn't a game. What you believe about Jesus is the singular most important decision you'll ever make in your life. 

Please don't do life halfway. Don't be lukewarm. Don't be one of the goats who believed all his life that he was a sheep. 

If you don't take your faith seriously, it doesn't matter what your parents believe. Your salvation is your own. 

If Jesus isn't your Savior, you're not saved. 

 

My Lord and My God

You understand the gravity and importance of the Gospel in your life. You k now that Jesus has personally saved you from destruction, and you're so, so grateful for that. Your desire for your life is to glorify God in all that you do.

This is who Jesus is. This is who he says he is. 

"Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of heck shall not prevail against it.'" (Matthew 16:16–18)

Jesus is God. And Jesus is the Christ, the one promised to come and save us from our sin. 

Is that what you believe? 

I hope and I pray that it is. If you're in Christ, not much else matters. 

None of us are perfect this side of heaven, so we won't glorify God the way we should. That's okay. God's grace is greater than our sin. 

But if you've been saved, that's your desire: to glorify God with your life. 

If you're in Christ, you have been rescued. You have been found, when once you were lost. You have been given mercy far above what you deserved. 

If you aren't, there's hope! 

In Revelation 3:20, Christ says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."

The Lord is merciful. The Lord is loving beyond measure.

Who do you say that Jesus is?