Stake Your Claim

{Mark 8:27-30} v.29 "And He said to them, But whom say you that I am?" And Peter answers and said to Him, "You are the Christ."

The name of Jesus is not unfamiliar in this nation. Statistics are always telling us, that most believe that Jesus actually "existed." Name recognition, however is quite a contrast to "every knee bowing before Him."

I always explain it like this: I know or "recognize" who the president of the United States is, but I don't actually know him, personally. A personal relationship with Christ is what it is all about, not just knowing of Him or that He exists. It's claiming Him for yourself, as your Savior, your Lord, your Rock, your Everything. Yes, it is very personal.

In Jesus' time, there came a point when He asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I am?" (Mark 8:27) This being because He knew there was controversy and gossip about who He was, due to the way He spoke, taught and of course performed miracles. So, some of His disciples answered Him, And they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets." (Mark 8:28) Jesus knew what His disciples were thinking. He didn't ask them this question for His benefit, rather it was for theirs. He wanted them to see that it didn't matter who everyone else thought or said He was, because they did not know Him, nor did they try to. But what did matter, was who they professed Jesus to be. They walked with Him, talked with Him, were taught by Him, prayed with Him, dined with Him and witnessed His many miracles. If anyone could be a witness for Jesus, it was His disciples, who followed Him, wherever He went, even later to the cross. It was showing them the difference between those who did not follow Jesus, and what those people had to say, as opposed to those who did follow Him, His disciples, and what they had to say about the Jesus, the true Jesus they knew so intimately.

Today, perhaps we as believers in Christ, should be asking ourselves the same question: Whom do you say Jesus is?

We are individually responsible for that answer. We can't hang on someone else's coat tails, nor be Grandfathered into heaven. We have to remember what Romans 10:9 says: "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." It doesn't say, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus exists..." That is just the beginning. Faith in Christ is a live-long journey, of doing the will of God. Christ made it very clear in Matthew 7:21: "Not every one that says to Me, 'Lord, Lord', shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven." By His grace alone, we are able to "walk the talk." He gives us what we need to be a true disciple.

 Reality is, the true confession of your mouth as to whom Jesus is to you, does not only have temporal consequences, but eternal consequences. He knows our hearts. Hold fast to Christ, in this evil age where people create another Jesus other than the one you know to be as Lord of all, the Son of God i.e., Jesus the Ascended Master, Jesus the Prophet, etc. The Truth will not only set you free, it will keep you safe from the wolves in sheep's clothing.

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well be persuaded."-The Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)