I Believe — I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord

Text: Romans 1:1-7; I Corinthians. 1:9

Theme: The second great confession of the Christian faith is that Jesus is the Son of God and the believer's Lord of life.

His name was Arius. He was born in the mid-third century in modern-day Libya. His contemporaries described him as, “a tall and lean man, of distinguished appearance and polished dress, mannerly and intellectually gifted.” Raised in the Church, as a young man he was ordained a pastor, and became one of the most popular and influential preachers in Alexandria, Egypt. We know of him because his theology about the nature of Christ almost changed the course of the church. Arius was at the center of what is known as the Arian controversy. It was the most significant theological conflict in the early church, and the reason behind the calling of the very first ecumenical Council of the church — the Council of Nicaea. The debate dividing the church was simple — “Is Jesus eternally divine?” Arius said No, he was not. He believed that “There was a time when Christ was not.” He believed, and taught, that Jesus was NOT one with the Father, but was the first and greatest of all of God’s created beings. The Father alone, he said, is infinite, and eternal, and Almighty. If the Father created the son than the son is lower then, and eternally subservient to the Father. The preaching of Arius, and his supporters, popularized the theology and it became widespread throughout the church even though the Council of Nicaea denounced it as a heresy. The controversy spread, and all over the empire, Christians could be heard singing a catchy tune that championed the Arian view: "There was a time when the Son was not." In every city, wrote a historian, "bishop was contending against bishop, and the people were contending against one another, like swarms of gnats fighting in the air." It was a heresy that denied the Trinity, reduced Jesus Christ to merely a demigod, and undermined the Christian teaching of redemption. Only the prolonged courage and preaching of a young pastor named Athanasius saved the day. It’s a long and involved story, but suffice it to say orthodoxy won out for which we can be thankful.

Why this brief history of a heresy which occurred 1,700 years ago? Because heresies die hard. A religious survey, released in August 2020 reported that 52% of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more. In an increasingly secularized culture that statistic does not surprise me. What is more disconcerting is that in the same survey the majority (65%) of evangelical Christians agreed with this statement: “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” It reveals that American evangelicals are deeply confused about one of the core doctrines of the Christian faith — and the fourth century heretic Arius would be pleased. To quote baseball great Yogi Berra: “This is déjà vu all over again.”

What do you believe about Jesus Christ? That seems like such a silly question to ask a bunch of Baptists, but in light of this recent survey the question takes on new meaning. “What do you believe about Jesus Christ?” is the most important question any man must answer in his life. Get it wrong, and your eternity is at stake. Jesus thought it an important enough question to put to his disciples.

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”” (Matthew 16:13–16, ESV)

Who a man thinks Christ to be is still a fundamentally important question. Was he only a great teacher? Was he just an eschatological prophet? Was he simply a revolutionary? Was he merely a Galilean rabbi? Was he a cosmic spirit guide? Or is he the “ ... the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NIV84)

Just like a good foundation is the key to a solid structure, so the identity of Jesus is foundational to our faith. If we deny either the humanity or deity of Jesus, we destroy the whole structure of Christianity. That Jesus is the God/Man is foundational to the Christian faith.

Who is Jesus Christ?

I. HE IS THE SON WHO IS GOD FROM ALL ETERNITY

1. the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord

a. Jesus is called the Son of God 40 times throughout the Scriptures

2. though our Lord never referred to himself as the Messiah or the Christ, he made it clear to all who listened to him that he had no doubt as to his own identity

a. in one of many conversations with the religious leaders of his day, Jesus told them

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” (John 8:56–58, ESV)

b. now then, some of you are familiar with that innocuous little title I Am

1) wh]en Moses asked the voice speaking to him from the burning bush, “Who shall I tell the Hebrew slaves is sending me to them?” the voice responded, ‘Tell them ‘I Am’ has sent you.”

c. I Am became the personal name for God in the Jewish faith — Yahweh

1) when Jesus said I am, he was claiming to be Yahweh in the flesh

ILLUS. Seven times in John’s Gospel we find Jesus purposely confessing “I Am”.

3. the Jews knew exactly what Jesus was asserting about himself and they sought to kill him for it

"For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." (John 5:18, NIV)

a. if you ever hear some pseudo-intellectual say, “Well, you have to understand, Jesus never claimed to be God,” just dismiss them as the uninformed idiot they are and go your way

A. JESUS WAS TRULY HUMAN

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Ro 1:1-7, ESV)

1. in this opening statement in his letter to the Christians at Rome, the Apostle Paul asserts that ...

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s long-time Messianic promise that came through the prophets and the holy Scriptures

Jesus is a flesh-and-blood descendent of King David

Jesus is, by declaration of God Himself, the only begotten Son of God, and this is attested to by his miracles, the Holy Spirit and the resurrection

Jesus is Christ the Lord

2. Jesus, of course, is our Lord’s proper name

a. growing up, he would have been known to the home-town folks simply as Yeshua bar-Yossef, Jesus the son of Joseph

b. in Matthew and Mark’s Gospels, we have the account of Jesus returning to his home town of Nazereth where he began to teach about the Kingdom of God

1) the Bible tells us that his former neighbors were both astounded and offended by the things he said

“And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”" (Mt 13:53-56, ESV)

3. the name Jesus identifies Him as an historical person, not an imaginary pious figment of the early church’s conjuring as some secular historian contend

a. it was a name that was a prediction of his ministry and work

1) it means God saves

"But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20-21, ESV)

4. the name Jesus reminds us of His full humanity

a. any time Jesus’ humanity is either denied or misconstrued heresy soon follows

b. to deny his humanity is to nullify his redemptive ministry

1) without Jesus’ humanity we do not have a sympathetic Mediator

2) without Jesus’ humanity we do not have a redeemer who perfectly obeyed the law so that he might become a spotless sacrifice for us

3) without Jesus’ humanity we do not have a bloody sacrifice that covers the sinner’s sin

c. Jesus was fully human, but there are definitely points of discontinuity between His experience as a human and ours

1) Jesus never sinned

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb 4:14-16, ESV)

2) this is a condition beyond our pale of understanding ... this side of Heaven we will never know what sinlessness is like

5. Jesus’ humanity is absolutely essential to His work as a Savior

a. to say I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord is to confess that Jesus was fully human, but totally sinless

B. JESUS WAS FULLY DIVINE

1. in this morning’s text the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus Christ four times in the first seven verses

a. if you are not careful, and many Christians are not, you might think that Christ is Jesus’ surname

1) it is not!

ILLUS. If you were living in Nazareth in the early first century, you would not have found a mail box with the name Jesus H. Christ on it.

2) Christ is His title

b. it’s a significant title — it tells us that Jesus is God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior-King

2. the apostle John goes even beyond that

a. he tells us that Jesus was and is the eternal Word

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1, NIV)

ILLUS. If Arius and his followers would have correctly understood that verse it would have saved the Church a lot of heart ache!

3. in that verse, the Apostle John makes it clear that God the Son is as fully God as is God the Father

a. Christ did not, as Arius believed, come into existence at some point in eternity past

b. the Christ was and is and always will be eternal

4. just as with Jesus’ humanity, if His deity is either denied or misconstrued heresy soon follows

ILLUS. Athanasius, in his response to the Arian heresy, wrote a book intitled, On the Incarnation. His thesis was simple: If Jesus is not fully divine, then you are still in your sins. If Jesus is not truly the unique, the eternal Son of God, coequal with His Father and the Holy spirit, then our salvation is compromised and lost. Because His divinity is necessary for our salvation. How else can He pay for the sins of the world?

a. Athanasius was right — the deity of Christ is the hinge on which Christianity turns

“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:2–3, ESV)

5. when I say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son,” I am affirming the fullness of the deity of Jesus Christ

a. God the Son is as much God as is God the Father

b. when you confess, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son,” do you know what you’re confessing?

C. MANY PROFESSING CHRISTIANS REMAIN DEEPLY CONFUSED ABOUT JESUS

1. now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Pastor, you’re talking about a heresy the church faced 1700 years ago. How is this relevant today?”

a. it’s relevant because old heresies never die — they just periodically reinvent themselves and get slapped with a new name

ILLUS. There is a temptation in the body of Christ today that proclaims that all we really need to confess about Christ is "I love Jesus." There are many in the world who say they love Jesus, there are many who say they know Jesus, there are many who say they follow Jesus who we do not believe are Christians. I immediately recognize that to some ears that sounds arrogant, audacious, judgmental and intolerant. But is it enough to say "I love Jesus" or "I believe in Jesus" with that alone being the extent of your theological confession? In the Church today there is a superficial Jesusology without much content.

b. the Apostles Creed helps us deal with the danger of theological minimalism

1) one of the greatest challenges to the Christian church was just how little can one affirm about Christ and still be considered a Christian?

ILLUS. I’m sorry, but “I love Jesus” by itself is not enough. Jehovah Witnesses say, “I love Jesus,” and Mormons say, “I love Jesus,” but their theology will lead followers to a Godless hell because they deny the deity of Christ.

2) the Apostles Creed provides the minimal statement of our faith, and it begins with I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord

2. to confess I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord is to assert our faith in a supernatural Savior

a. we know Jesus is a supernatural Savior because we have a supernatural revelation

1) to a good number of people, that means we are to be discounted as unlearned and ignorant

b. in a world committed to materialistic naturalism, that is the scandal we must bear

c. Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, did not leave us any other choice as to his identity

ILLUS. C. S. Lewis wrote in his book, Mere Christianity "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 wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic, on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg, or else he'd be the 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. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him or kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

... He Is the Son Who Is God from All Eternity

II. HE IS GOD WHO BECAME A MAN FOR OUR REDEMPTION

“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,” (Philippians 2:6–9, ESV)

1. only in Christianity do we have the story of a sinless God, who became a sinless man in order to become sin for us on the cross so as to save sinful men in order to bring them into his Kingdom as sinless citizens

A. THE ETERNAL GOD CHOSE TO DWELL AMONG US

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ..." (John 1:14, NIV)

1. this verse is a unique and interesting statement

a. it literally says that Jesus "tabernacled" among us

1) John's Jewish readers knew immediately that the apostle was referring to the Tent of the Tabernacle which served as the Israelite's temple during their wilderness wanderings

b. to paraphrase what the apostle John is saying, we could translate the verse as:

"The physical presence of God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ pitched His tent among us."

1) it's as if God moved in next door!

2) I like that

2. it tells me that I have a God who took the initiative to come and experience life as I do in order that He might judge me more fairly and provide me with what I need most — the opportunity to get to know Him personally

B. THE ETERNAL GOD CHOSE TO DIE FOR HIS ELECT

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18–21, ESV)

1. theologians call this the great exchange

a. in this great exchange, Christ took upon himself what he did not possess — sin — that we might gain what we did not possess — righteousness

... He Is God Who Became a Man for Our Redemption

III. JESUS IS A SAVIOR WHO IS LORD OF ALL

"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Co 1:9, KJV)

1. one of the popular misconceptions in the church today is that you can take Jesus as your Savior, but treat His Lordship as an option

a. the Scriptures do not give you that option

2. the fundamental confession of faith for the Christian in the New Testament, is not “Jesus is Savior”

3. the fundamental confession of faith for the Christian in the New Testament, is “Jesus is Lord”

"That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Ro 10:9-10, NIV)

a. the confession of the Lordship of Christ is the fundamental Christian confession

b. and it is a confession that will get you in trouble

ILLUS. In the first century, if you stood in a public gathering and cried out, “Jesus of Nazareth is God!” no one would have been upset. But if you shouted, “Jesus of Nazareth is Lord!” you may well have started a riot, and you certainly would have been arrested. You need to understand: Rome did not persecute Christians because they believed in the deity of Christ or that Jesus was the promised Messiah, or that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Rome did not kill Christians because they said Jesus is the only way of salvation. Those were “religious beliefs” that did not threaten the state. But when Christians declared, “Jesus Christ is Lord” they were perceived as making a political statement. They were claiming that Jesus was the primary authority in their lives, and that Caesar was not. Rome believed that was treason, because only Caesar had ultimate authority in a man’s life.

c. saying Jesus Christ is Lord, especially saying Jesus Christ is MY Lord is still a statement that will get you in trouble

1) in every totalitarian nation in the world today, to have a “Lord” other than the state or the dictator who rules the state, is considered a crime against the state

4. living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ must make a difference in the everyday decisions of life

a. we must be willing to pay the price of discipleship

ILLUS. Jack Eckerd was the founder of the Eckerd Drug chain. In 1983, after months of prayer and witnessing by his good friend Chuck Colson, Jack Eckerd committed his life to Christ, and almost immediately the Holy Spirit began conforming his mind, and convicting his heart. Several days after being born-again he was walking through one of his drugstores. Going down the aisle with the magazine display he saw copies of Playboy and Penthouse sitting on the top shelf. He'd seen them in his stores many times before, but they never bothered him ... until now. Now he saw them with new eyes, with born-again eyes.

Although Eckerd was retired from active management, he went back to his office, and he called in his president. He said, "Take Playboy and Penthouse out of my stores." The president said, "You can't mean that, Mr. Eckerd. You make three million dollars a year on those magazines." He said, "Take 'em out of my stores."

He remained firm in his objection, and he prevailed. The offensive magazines were removed from all 1700 Eckerd drugstores. When Chuck Colson asked what motivated him to take this action, Eckerd replied, "God wouldn't let me off the hook!"

After that, Eckerd's Drugstores were flooded with people coming in to buy things at their stores because they'd taken Playboy and Penthouse out. In short order People's and then Revco and then Dart Drug all removed them from their shelves too. Finally, the chairman of 7-11, who sat on Jack Eckerd's board, also gave in and 5,000 7-11 stores removed them, too.

Now, while all this was happening, in Washington D.C. the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography was debating over what to do about pornography. They were trying to come up with recommendations that Congress could pass and the President could sign into law. They debated and argued and sweated over proposals that produced a nice report but very little action. While Congress debated, in a period of twelve months, 11,000 retail outlets in America removed Playboy and Penthouse, not because of a presidential commission, not because someone passed a law, but because one man understood what it meant when he confessed “Jesus is Lord”.

"What do you believe about Jesus Christ?" is the most important question any man must answer in his life.