Why is confessing Jesus as a savior not enough to be saved?
Text: Matthew 16:13-17:13
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2024 CrossTalk Global
Brian: There is no question that our world is sinful. All you have to do is surf the Internet or pay attention to the news. The truth is that you and I are members of that sinful human race. Everyone has moral regrets about decisions they have made in the past. In thought, word or deed, we have all fallen short. That's the bad news. But the good news of the Gospels is that Jesus atoning death on the cross has made forgiveness possible. The cross and the empty tomb have provided a path that all humanity can walk to salvation and enjoy a personal and eternal relationship with Jesus of Nazareth. That is what Jesus has done for us. That's his part. But the question before us today is how can we access this grace? What do we have to do to be forgiven of our past and assured of an eternity with him in the future? I think the best person to ask is the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ himself. Join Kent Edwards, Nathan Norman and Vicki Hitzkes as they listen in and reflect on some unvarnished conversations Jesus had with his disciples on what everyone must do to enjoy his salvation in Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13 to chapter 17, verse 18. Welcome to Crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitskes and Nathan Norman continue their discussion through the Gospel of Matthew. And if you have a Bible handy, turn to Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13to chapter 17, verse 13. As we join their discussion.
Kent: Nathan and Vicki, you've probably experienced some people who are very abstract in their communication style. In fact, sometimes it can be so vague that you walk away wondering what they were saying at all. But have you ever appreciated it when someone has a. Has had a direct, straightforward, perhaps even a blunt conversation with you?
Vicki: I have when I'm in a hurry. When you said that, it reminded me of this gracious guy. I have a mentor named Larry Moyer, and he is he. If my dad would call him a prince of a guy. And he is. And he's just tactful as he can be. And so when he is trying to correct me, he'll. He will, he will say something like this. Vicki, one thing I appreciate about you is you can take criticism. I've always admired that about you. Vicki, I can tell you something, and you'll and you'll. And accept it. A lot of people can't accept it. And he just goes on. And I'm like, larry, just tell me. I want this better. Just tell me. And I can take criticism, especially if I want it. That's what I'm there for. But he's so gracious. And my dad could be blunt, but he would often say to me, this is about changing the talk. He would say, what if you said something like. And then he would change it. He would never go, well, that's terrible. But what if you said something like. And then he'd change it, and it would just be magnificent.
Kent: Well, he could also be direct. I remember when I first started working for your father at Gordon Conwell Seminary, and he said, I don't care when you work. I mean, you can come in anytime you want and do whatever, but you can never miss a deadline. That was blunt.
Vicki: You know, that's funny to me, because I'm blunt. Everybody tells me I'm blunt. That didn't sound blunt to me. I'm like, okay. I mean, it doesn't sound blunt to me at all. It's like, those are the ground rules. Work whenever you want, but be sure you get that work done.
Kent: And I was no way offended. But he was clear.
Vicki: Yeah, he's clear.
Kent: Very clear. He said it with authority. I knew that I could have lots of freedom, except always had to deliver what he needed on time. It had to be done. Had done well. And on time. Other than that, your time is your own.
Vicki: Yeah.
Nathan: Excellent. Yeah. It's interesting. My middle son, he just kind of beats around the bush to try and butter you up in order to ask whatever he wants to ask. And I'm just like, just ask the question. Right. Versus his mother, my wife, who she's a very blunt person. She just says what she wants or observes something. And usually after a sermon on Sunday, she'll say, you know what I think the big idea was? And then we go around arguing about it. But along those lines, one of my friends, Don Thompson, who's gone home to be with the Lord recently, just really appreciated him. He could be so utterly blunt to the point that it was offensive to a number of people. But it was helpful when we were talking about finances or we're talking about decisions that we had a very definitive or short timeframe on. And he just kind of said what he said. And sometimes it was maybe a little too strongly or forcefully, and he'd have to come back and make amends or apologize to somebody. But it was so helpful for him to cut through the niceties and just say, this is the situation. We're facing. These are the decisions we have to make. We don't have other options. We have to make this decision. And the reason we have to make this other decision is, let me tell you why. One, two, and three. And it was really helpful because it oftentimes, I think, cut through maybe some of the personality conflicts you might have and just plainly lay out the situation.
Kent: Certainly Jesus valued direct, blunt communication. And his disciples had the opportunity to enjoy some of those statements in Matthew chapter 16 and 17. The conversation with them. Jesus, conversation with them begins with a question in chapter 16, verse 13.
Vicki: Okay, here's what that says. It says, when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of Man is?
Kent: Okay, before we get too much deeper, what in the world is the Son of man? Nathan, have you ever explored that?
Nathan: Yeah, to some extent. And it's an interesting thing to look at, because if you are referring back to the Old Testament, the Old Testament does have multiple uses of the Son of Man. So Ezekiel uses it in reference to himself, which is not what Jesus is referring to here. It's more of the reference in Daniel and the vision Daniel had in Daniel, chapter seven, which also coincides with Revelation, chapter one. But there it says, Daniel had a vision. He said, in my vision, I looked and there before me was one like a Son of man. Which at first you're like, oh, that's a terrestrial thing. Right? Men are having children all the time. No. Coming with the clouds of heaven. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All nations and people of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. So very divine title.
Kent: Yeah, I mean, coming with the clouds from heaven, given authority and glory over all nations and a kingdom that will never pass away. I don't think he's talking about any ruler, that human ruler that we're aware of.
Nathan: No. The way Americans treat elections, we feel like it's that, but it certainly isn't.
Kent: So this is obviously a messianic reference. So when Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of Man is? He was asking, who fits Daniel's description. If this is a real person, who is the Son of Man? And how did they respond?
Vicki: Well, they had a bunch of answers. They said, well, some people say it's John the Baptist, and others say it's Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
Kent: And those are certainly big names in Old Testament literature. They were significant John the Baptist more recently. But Jesus doesn't beat around the bush. He gets very personal.
Vicki: He goes, but what about you? Who do you say that I am?
Kent: Why is that such an important question?
Vicki: Because that's always the question. Not, what does your mother think? What's your grandma think? What does your pastor think? Who do you think that I am?
Nathan: Yeah, the popular opinion isn't so much as important as the personal opinion. And this is important too, because this was a collectivist society. So oftentimes people would kind of go along with the crowd. And here Jesus is breaking the norm, and he is saying, you have to make a decision, you whether it goes along with the society's understanding of me or not.
Kent: And it's an important question because almost everyone, even today, has some opinion of Jesus. He's one of the most historically popular people of all time. But this is getting to the root of the question. Not do you know of him? But who do you say I am? How did Peter respond?
Vicki: Well, it's interesting that it was Peter that spoke up, because he was the one that denied him later. And he said, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.
Kent: That's a powerful, a very powerful statement, especially when you consider the geographic location where this took place. Remember, right back in verse 13, it said that Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi. I think that has huge significance because that part of the world, that city in ancient times was associated with BAAL worship, then the worship of the Greek God Pan, the God of nature, which went on for many years, which even continued up until the Roman times. And more recently, Herod the Great built a temple there for Caesar Augustus Emperor worship. So this was a hotbed of religious activity. And what Peter is saying is that all those previous gods were dead and forgotten, But Jesus is the son of the living God who came from heaven with power over all nations, not just some, to forge a kingdom that will never pass away, unlike those other religions who did pass away. That's a radical claim, isn't it?
Nathan: It is.
Vicki: It is a radical claim and it's an amazing claim.
Kent: In fact, it was so radical that Jesus responded in verse 17.
Vicki: He said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Kent: Hmm. It seems that the ability for someone to examine Jesus actions and character and out of that study discover Jesus true identity, that's not a human accomplishment. Salvation, the knowledge of who Jesus is, is a gift of God, isn't it? This was not revealed to you. Jesus told Peter by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Nathan: Yeah. It's interesting because one of the apologetic arguments for the existence of God and that Jesus is the Son of God because of the resurrection, all that stuff. The philosopher Alvin Plantiga makes the argument that you don't need. He's not against apologetic arguments, but he says you don't need them, though, because understanding of who Jesus is is a properly basic belief. The old hymn, you ask me how I know he lives. He lives within my heart, right? So you don't need to tell me that I'm breathing. Right? That's a properly basic belief. You don't need to tell me that I'm me. Right. And not Vicki, because I know that I'm me and not Vicki. That's a properly basic belief. I don't need any arguments for that. And his argument is, because we are so overwhelmed with knowledge of who Christ is and the Gospel, it's a properly basic belief. And that's what's happened with Peter. As Jesus said, this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Peter innately understood. Just as he knew I'm me and I am breathing, he knew Jesus is the son of the living God.
Kent: It reminds me a little bit of Jesus comments in John 10.
Vicki: Okay. It says, in John 10:24, the Jews said, if you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you did not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, but you did not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.
Kent: So to fully understand who Jesus is, that's a gift. That's a gift from God. And because Peter accepts that Jesus is the Son of man, God intends to use him in some really significant ways, doesn't he?
Vicki: He says, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Kent: Wow. That's a pretty significant kind of ministry, isn't it?
Vicki: Yes.
Kent: So the first requirement for salvation is to respond to God's initiative by understanding, by truly believing that Jesus is the Son of man, just as Daniel described. Yeah, but then the story takes a turn, doesn't it?
Vicki: It says, from that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go on to Jerusalem and suffer many things, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord. He said, this shall never happen to you. And Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.
Kent: Wow, that's quite a turn in that mood, isn't it?
Nathan: Went from great praise to great condemnation. And he just. He calls him Satan, right? He doesn't even. He's not even, like, doing an exorcism. Like Satan's in you or influencing you. He's. You're Satan embodied before me right now, Peter. Whoa.
Kent: So he's saying what you just said is Satanic, right?
Nathan: Yeah.
Vicki: Yeah.
Kent: Wow. Wow. A couple of things stand out to me here. The first is his rebuke of Jesus. Right? I mean, he took Jesus aside.
Nathan: At least he took him aside. Right. He had enough forethought to do that instead of doing it in front of the whole group. This might have saved him some embarrassment, although it made it into the Bible. So. Well, everybody knows now.
Vicki: And he said, never. That is not going to happen.
Kent: So that is highly unusual. I don't know of anyone in that day or even today that is a learning from. A master would take the master aside and rebuke the master. Like that is. Right.
Nathan: You complain about him behind his back to the other students is what you do. No, but you don't go and say, yeah, you're wrong.
Kent: Yeah. So it's highly offensive, what Peter's conversation with Jesus. But we learn also that Satan used Peter as a stumbling block to keep Jesus from accomplishing God's purpose in his life. What's a stumbling block?
Vicki: It's something that keeps you from hitting your goal.
Kent: Right. It's an obstacle that you fall over and your progress stops. Right.
Nathan: You think of the Dick Van Dyke show. And he would. Because that's a very contemporary image right there.
Kent: Yeah, yeah. You're not giving away your age.
Nathan: But he would always. It was long before my time.
Kent: Okay.
Vicki: Yeah.
Nathan: Reruns of reruns. But he like his shtick. He would come into his house and he'd always trip over, usually like the ottoman or something, or the footrest that was in the way. That's a stumbling block.
Kent: So the temptation here is that. The stumbling block. The temptation here is that Peter's implying that Jesus can make his life better by not suffering on the cross. Right.
Nathan: And who doesn't want that. Right. Like, we know Jesus and his humanity didn't say, yes, I will love to sign up for pain and torture.
Kent: Right, of course. And you know, there's no question when he's in the garden before the cross, he sweat great drops of blood. Right?
Nathan: Like, if there's any other way of pain. If there's any other way, any other.
Kent: Way, I'm up for it. God. And frankly, it almost worked. This temptation almost worked on John the Baptist. Do you remember back when we looked at chapter 11, John the Baptist was in prison.
Vicki: When John, who was in prison. I look back at it already. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, are you the one who is to come, or should we expect somebody else?
Kent: And why do you think he asked that question?
Nathan: Because he was the messenger of the Messiah and he's in prison.
Kent: He's suffering.
Nathan: He's suffering because of the whims of a horny old man, and it was.
Kent: Hard for him to believe. Why? If Jesus was the Messiah, then why would he have John the Baptist suffering?
Nathan: It's the problem of pain. If God really loved me, why am I suffering? Which is a question we all ask.
Kent: And how did Jesus respond to him?
Vicki: He said, go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.
Kent: Yeah, here you have that phrase again. Don't stumble. It involves suffering. Following Christ is not easy. Nobody likes difficult ministry. Nobody enjoys pain. And Satan tempts us like he did Jesus to step outside of the painful ministry. God may have called us to walk. And like John the Baptist, we don't want painful ministries. So verse 24, Jesus continues.
Vicki: And Jesus said to his disciples, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. And whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Kent: Those are hard words, aren't they?
Vicki: Those are hard words.
Kent: To follow him means that we not only believe who he is, but we're willing to deny ourselves, take up the cross, as Jesus will take up the cross and follow him. God does not call us to a life of ease. He does call us to a life of significance. And that's not easy. Is being a faithful pastor or missionary easy?
Vicki: It is not.
Kent: Why? What makes it so hard?
Vicki: There's so much involved in those jobs. I'm telling you, Guys like you don't know. But you've got to marry, you've got to bury, you've got to faithfully preach, you've got to counsel. And then people die unexpectedly. They get sick, they have marriage problems, and it's during the time you need to prepare. It's a tough job. And then the whole time, Satan's dogging you, and he knows exactly how to go after you.
Nathan: And the pay is not great.
Vicki: And the pay isn't great. Yeah. No.
Kent: And let's just be blunt. Honest. There's no retirement plan. Right? You get a job with the state and you can be set for life in retirement. That's not true. When you're a pastor, at least in any domination I've been close to. I had a professor in Bible school who said being a pastor, a missionary, is the easiest job in the world or it's the hardest. It all depends on how seriously you take your calling.
Vicki: If you do it well, it's hard.
Kent: It is, but. Okay, let's back up a little bit. We remember the Sermon on the Mount that we spent some time looking at is being salt and light. Being a person who keeps the meat from going bad is the person who is the light of the world. Someone who not only lives the gospel, but speaks the Gospel. Is being salt and light as an accountant, hairdresser, airline pilot, or Olympic athlete. Is that easy?
Vicki: No, none of those. If you stand up for Jesus Christ, you're going to come under attack.
Kent: Yeah. That's the final. That's the eighth Beatitude. Right. If you are a Beatitude person, you will be persecuted. Persecution is a mark that you are different from the world. It's not easy to. To come as an agent of righteousness in an unrighteous world. Our desire for holiness, our commitment to speak truth, to power, to live sacrificially so the kingdom can thrive, is not easy. The easy way is to keep our heads down and increase our net worth until we retire to the golf course. The Christian life for all people, whether you're a professional or a lay person. It is equally challenging and equally difficult. And Jesus says, yeah, buckle up, whoever wants to be my disciple. How does he end that phrase?
Vicki: Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me.
Kent: Yep. Welcome to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is not just written for professional Christians. It's written for everyone. What he's saying is, you can't be a 75% follower of Jesus, and if you try, it won't end well for you. It's all or nothing. As Jesus makes painfully clear in verse.
Nathan: 26, he said, what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Kent: So the second requirement for salvation is to respond to God's initiative by dedicating our entire life to Him. It means you can't split your time and attention between Christ and your career, Christ and your grandchildren, Christ and anything else. No, he's perfectly clear when he says in verse 24 and 25, whoever wants.
Vicki: To be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Kent: Wow, that's counterintuitive, isn't it?
Nathan: Yes, that's hard because you want to hold on to everything that you have. And we want to have a comfortable, drama free life to the best of our ability. And Jesus is saying, no, you're not going to have a comfort filled, drama free life. In fact, I want you to have an uncomfortable, difficult life. I want you to put skin in the game. And the more skin you have in the game, the more it's going to hurt.
Kent: So it's not our purpose in life, it's not our goals. Our purpose is his purpose, our goals are his goals. We don't measure our success the way a pagan would or a non Christian would. We measure success in terms of how am I contributing to God's agenda and growing his kingdom. That's a radical statement. In the Gospel of Luke. He'll say, unless you love me more than mother, brother, sister, you cannot be my disciple. You're either all in or you're all out. Think about that. He says, don't worry, because I will reward you in eternity. Your reward is not this life, it's in the life to come. He says that very clearly in verse 27.
Vicki: It says, for the Son of man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Kent: Okay, so I guess the question that people would ask, the skeptic might ask that I might ask in some moments, how do I know that's going to happen? I mean, that's a promise in the future. Which sounds great. How can I be sure that that will occur? Well, look at the first part of chapter 17.
Vicki: It says after six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and he led them up a high mountain by themselves. And there he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun. And his clothes became as white as the light. And just then, there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. While Jesus was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them. And a voice from the cloud said, this is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to him.
Kent: Why? Why did Jesus take his disciples up the mountain and introduce them to Moses and Elijah? And here, God the Father personally endorsed Jesus. Why is this significant?
Nathan: Well, he just told them that you've got to live your life for me, and my purpose is instead of yourself. And like, okay, based on what? Based on Moses and Elijah. Based on God. Right. This is confirmation that what Jesus is saying is true and that it's worth it.
Kent: Right. He pulled back the curtain and allowed them to see into the eternity he was promising them. Your reward will be in eternity, he says. And he shows them people, Moses and Elijah, who were experiencing the first taste of that eternity. It's true. Look at what Moses and Elijah are enjoying because they listened to Jesus. I think it's absolute confirmation that when God promises us an eternal reward for a life lived in whole dedication to him, he keeps his promise. He's kept it in the past, he'll keep it in the future. So the first requirement for salvation is to recognize that Jesus is the Son of man. He calls himself the son of man 84 times in the Gospels. He is the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. We must, with the help of heaven, truly believe that Jesus is who he is. But it's not just belief. It's action. The second requirement is to live for him and not for ourselves. Our only agenda is his agenda. Our ambitions are his ambitions. And no sacrifice is too great for his kingdom. Our lives belong to him. Because, as Jesus said, what good will.
Vicki: It be for a man if he gains the whole world? And yet he loses his soul.
Kent: Yeah. And because the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with all his angels, and then he will. What will he do?
Vicki: He'll reward each person according to what they have done.
Kent: It seems that Satan wasn't so interested in stopping Peter's belief. He was interested in stopping his actions. Why is simply confessing Jesus as a savior not enough to be saved? If we only want Jesus to be our Savior and not an example of the sacrificial life we are to live, Satan wins. That was Satan's temptation to Peter, and it's Satan's temptation to us.
Brian: Why is confessing Jesus as a savior not enough to be saved? Because Satan wins if we only want Jesus to be our Savior, not our example. We often think that if we believe in Christ, we are saved. But in the passage we just studied, we saw that merely believing is not enough, in that a true belief changes us. If we only believe in Jesus, like Satan, who also believes and don't follow Christ as an example, then we have not truly been changed. Satan wins if we only want Jesus to be our Savior and not our example. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement to not just be hearers of the Word, but but doers together. Let's bring God's Word to life, to our lives. This week, the crosstalk podcast is a production of crosstalk Global, equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more or to support the work of this Ministry, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. as the year comes to a close, please consider supporting the work of crosstalk Global. We're getting ready to launch cohorts in the US And Kenya in the new year. All you have to do is click Donate in the show notes and make a donation of any size. You can also support this show by sharing it on your social media and telling your friends. Tune in next Friday as we hear from one of our instructors in Cuba. Be sure to join us.
Nathan: I'm now putting typos. I'm introducing problems.
Kent: Ken, you don't need to do that. I'm really good at that.
Nathan: Hey, before I share my thing, Vicki, can you turn off your heater?
Vicki: Yes.
Nathan: I know it's cold down there in the southern state of Dallas.
Vicki: It is cold. It's near the 30s, so get over here.
Nathan: Is it really in the 30s? I'm warmer than you.
Vicki: It's cold. Now it's. And now it's in the 40s jetstream or something. It's cold.
Kent: We're suffering at 60 degrees up here.
Vicki: Uh, oh, before I read that, when I hear Kent talk, there's a lot of echo. I don't have that with you. Do you hear that?
Nathan: I'm not hearing that. But you know what? Let me. Let me check the audio real quick.
Vicki: Okay.
Kent: It's because I'm saying such profound things.
Vicki: That's what it is.
Kent: It's resonating with you. That's it.
Vicki: Yes.
Nathan: And I'll blah, blah, blah while I take a second to open it up.
Vicki: I didn't want you to get to the end and think, oh, crud. Why didn't she say something?
Nathan: Nope. I appreciate it. We had the church growing up. We had this young man. His name was Dorian. And, man, he had this deep, deep voice, even as a kid. So whenever we needed to do, like, a play or something, and, like, God was speaking to Jonah, right?
Vicki: It was Dorian.
Kent: Dorian.
Nathan: It's like, why me? Why me? You know, like, mm.
Kent: Yeah. I always wished I had a deep voice. Your dad had a great deep voice.
Vicki: Yeah, he did.
Kent: Just. It just automatically gives you authority. Like, I don't know why that is, but it is.