Jesus asked… ”Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Jesus asked: “But who do you say that I am?”
“Peter answered… ,”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
“Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:13-19).
Jesus said that he would build His Church. It would be built upon the faith in the Son of God. It is a living organism! It is a blessing to the world. The Church was born on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus shed His blood on the Cross. He ascended back to the Father, and sent the power needed to build His Church…The Holy Spirit! There is no way “the gates of hell can prevail against it.”
When a person declares in His heart and verbally to Christ “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” You are then a member of His True Living Church and your residence changes to a mansion in Heaven.
There is only one door into the Church… Jesus Christ…“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, (John 10:9).
The devil’s gossip today is that there are many roads to Heaven, and he has organized many evil groups, cults etc. who want to try to destroy the Church, the Cross, The Ten Commandments and of course the Christian. Satan has a short time and is bent on destruction of what Christ has done… shed His blood for the sins of man and made a way for man to be saved from Hell.
Why do men and women fight against Christ? They want the Cross out of sight, the churches burned, the Christian persecuted and sometimes to point of death. This changes nothing!
There must be something about Christ that so reminds them of their wickedness. Well, it is His righteousness and His love that sends them behind the closed “gates” of planning, but they will never “prevail against” the Church. One day all will bow before Christ and the Church.
The world of wickedness does not like anything that reminds them of God’s Laws, Love and authority. They want to do their own thing. They love sin!
Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, He represents righteousness and all who reject Him are of the wicked and according to Jesus, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:18-22).
Why does man reject Christ? Because of Who He is, and all that He is brings, conviction to their hearts and instead of repentance, they reject in hatred. The Cross, the local church building and the Christian is a constant reminder of Christ, Heaven and Hell. They are reminded of God and they hate it. They want to live in sin and continue in their wickedness “For everyone practicing evil hates the light.”
Are you a “rejecter?” Why do you continue to fight against God and His Church? Jesus has said: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Wise up! For the beginning of knowledge is to know Christ personally as Savior. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
Trust Christ today! Be a winner! Amen!
