I have submitted this same truth in the past, but a different message.
In our Church, we do the congregational singing from an open hymn book, and all the preaching from an open Bible. One of the songs we sing often is “The Solid Rock.” The chorus goes like this, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus is instructing his disciples concerning the founding of His Church. I will not be able to finish this lesson today but will just cover the introduction to the truth that Jesus is implanting into the hearts of His disciples.
He teaches this truth by first asking questions to see where they are in their spiritual understanding of who He is. In verse 13, “He asked His disciples, saying, whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” This is a general hear-say question; “Who do others say that I am?” “What is the world saying?” This question requires no personal belief and no accountability on the disciples’part. They are just asked, “What are others saying about me?” They answer the question according to what they have heard through the daily conversations of others. Verse 14 is their answer, “And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.”
He does not try to correct them on their answer, because what others believe about Him will not affect them. He just asks another question, and, this time it is pointed, personal, and revealing. In verse 15, the next question is asked, “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” The answer to this question makes all the difference in the world, and eternity hangs in the balance. We will not stand at the judgment and be judged for what others think of Christ; it will be individual and personal. Romans 10:9,13 puts it like this, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Peter answers this question, and it revealed his heart belief. In verse 16, we see the answer, “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The question as to the identity of Christ is an age old question that has been asked down through the centuries. Who is Jesus Christ to you? That is the question that Jesus is asking you today, “But whom say ye that I am?” Other people’s beliefs or opinions do not matter. It is a personal thing between you and the Lord. Your belief concerning Jesus Christ has eternal blessings, or eternal consequences. In Acts 8, Philip has preached Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch who then asks “what doth hinder me to be baptized?” In verse 37 Philip says, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Philip baptized him upon that profession. Salvation is for everyone, but only those who believe with all their heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God receive it. “But whom say ye that I am?” The answer is up to you!