Author: Richard Bargas

Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:13-17 ESV

Jesus asked his disciples to tell him the various opinions of the people about who they thought he was. I want you to notice that all of the opinions were positive in nature, all are men of God and all are prophets. So, overall, the identification of Jesus was not a negative, but a positive one in the eyes of the people.

Today, the views of people about Jesus are still very positive. Most people have good things to say about Christ. If Jesus were to ask us the same question, how might some people answer? Here are a few answers we might hear:

Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, also known as the “Moonies”, whose membership is estimated to be 1-2 million worldwide said this:

“Jesus, on earth, was a man no different from us except for the fact that he was without original sin. Even in the spirit world after his resurrection, he lives as a spirit man with his disciples….Jesus is not God himself.” (Divine Principle, 212)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons whose worldwide membership is estimated at 9 million members with 4.5 million members in the United States alone, believe and teach among other things that:

  1. Jesus was born as a spirit-child of heavenly parents
  2. Jesus was the first born of all other spirit children, including Lucifer, Adam and all humanity.

“The appointment of Jesus to be savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning….This spirit brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the savior of mankind.” (Milton Hunter, Gospel Through the Ages, 15.)

Freemasons who number at about 2.5 million master masons in the U.S. stated in their publication “New Age Magazine,”

“If every man were a perfect imitator of the great, wise, good teacher, divine or human, inspired or only a reforming Essene, it must be agreed that his teachings are far nobler than those of Socrates, Plato, Mohammed, or any of the other great moralists and reformers of the world.” (Feb. 1943; 719)

Hinduism with over 700 million followers in India alone is 13% of the world’s population. This polytheistic religion is so varied that it is difficult to find any one person who can speak for it as a whole. In general, Hindus believe that Jesus was  a great religious leader.

“The great masters of India mold their lives by the same godly ideals that animated Jesus. Freemen all, lords of themselves, the yogi-christs of India are of the immortal fraternity.” (Yogananda)

Islam,  has an estimated worldwide following of about 23% of the world’s population or 1.57 billion people. Listen to what the Quran says about Jesus,

“O people of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter naught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and his word which he conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from him. So believe in Allah and his messengers, and say not “Three”—Cease! (It is) better for you!—Allah is only one God. Far is it removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son.” (4:171).

So, to sum up these opinions, Jesus is

  • A spirit man
  • A son of God among many
  • A noble moralist and philosopher
  • A yogi-christ
  • A messenger of Allah

And I have not even mentioned the opinions of Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, New Agers, or Scientologists, to say nothing of humanists, agnostics and atheists. But you get the picture!

I want you to see that none of these groups deny Jesus’ goodness or existence. They are all affirming and positive, just like the opinions of those in Jesus’ day. But to those who have walked with Jesus, His disciples, he addressed the question about who THEY thought that he was.

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

1. He is the Messiah (Christ).

Although Jesus was careful when he used this title, he did not deny it. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean, “chosen one.” Because of the misunderstanding that so many had about what the Messiah would come and do, Jesus did not readily identify himself as “the Christ.” But to his little band of followers he would allow it.

The Old Testament gave evidence that the ideas about who the Messiah would be and what he would do was much fuller than the popular idea of a conquering king.  The Old Testament points to a much clearer picture of the Messiah than most were able to see, but Peter saw a clearer picture of Jesus than most. Jesus was clearly the Messiah of the Old Testament.

2. He is the Son of God

Not “a son of god” as a polytheist might believe.

Not a created being as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims believe. 

He is THE Son of God. The Only Son. The Jews understood this. When Jesus claimed to be God’s Son in John 10:24-39, they attempted to stone him to death because, they said, he being a man made himself out to be God.

3. He is the Son of the Living God

Not Vishnu, Ganesh or Buddha. Not Allah, Krishna, or “the god of your own understanding.”No! He is the Son of the one, true and living God. This is over and against all false and imaginary gods who ALL find their origin in the pit of hell!

Peter had seen and heard what many other Jews had seen and heard, but he and the other disciples had come to a different conclusion.

How did he see what so many others had missed? First, it was not a human revelation. Peter had not discovered this on his own, nor was he taught these truths from a human teacher. Secondly, Peter’s spiritual sight was a product of divine intervention. Jesus said that God, his Father in heaven had revealed or uncovered this great truth for him.

Without God, man is doubly blind to the truth. His own sin blinds his and so does Satan, the god of this world.

Therefore, we should not be surprised when people call for so-called tolerance of all religious viewpoints, even when they are contradictory and mutually exclusive.

We should not think that we can simply say out the truth with forceful argumentation and people with be saved by the sheer force of our arguments. Spiritual blinders must be removed by God—through prayer and gospel witnessing.

Religious pluralism is incompatible with biblical Christianity. The truth claims of the Bible are rigid, exclusive and unbending. This is very unpopular in our day and if you stand for the truth you may be labeled as a bigot and intolerant. 2Tim 2:3 reminds us, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! Therefore, he suffered, bled and died for us, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God Almighty. And he is coming again! Let us preach his gospel until he comes (Acts 1:8). Let us stand firm, steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (1Cor 15:58).

Do You See the Signs?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

One afternoon while we were camping in the sequoias last month, we started to notice that the clouds were beginning to look a little heavy and ominous. As evening began to fall, we started feeling a drop of rain here and there. As somewhat experienced campers, Wendy and I knew that we needed to take a few precautions before we went to bed for the night. We folded up our camp chairs and put them into our car, and then we took down all of our towels and clothes off of our clothesline and put them into the tent. We made sure that anything that could be damaged by the rain was in a safe and dry place. There’s something romantic about being in a tent while its raining, but there is nothing fun about having to run out in the middle of the night in a rain storm to cover and move things out of the rain.

In Matthew 16:1-12, Jesus spoke about observing the signs of the weather, and the activities that are affected when we are good judges of what will occur. Even today, we still read signs. We read the stock market to see whether or not stock prices will go up or down. We forecast the trends of politics and the real estate market. Some people are involved in watching the trends of fashion and technology.

But, what about the big picture? What about the signs of the times that point to the end of the world? The only person the world sees warning about the end of the world is the homeless guy in the movies who holds up a sign warning of the end of the world. The unbelieving world demonstrates its willful unbelief when it can read the signs of the culture while rejecting the signs of the end of the ages.

Of course, Jesus’ comments were to unbelieving Jews who were absolutely rejecting the Messiah and the clear signs that he had been sent from the Father. But as I meditated on how I could apply this text to myself, I realized that we, even as Christians, sometimes can demonstrate willful unbelief much like the Jews did. How do Christians demonstrate our willful unbelief by rejecting those same signs?

Three Ways in Which Christians Can Demonstrate Willful Unbelief Despite the Signs of the Times, so that We Can Get Back on Track While There Is Still Time.

  1. 1. By Failing to Live Holy Lives-2Pet 3:10-13

Like practical atheists we can say we believe that Christ is returning, but act like his coming is a long way off–probably beyond our lifetimes. Peter recognized that since the day of the Lord is assured, his coming should affect our striving after holiness and godliness.

  1. 2. By Failing to Live For Heaven instead of Earth-1Cor 3:10-15

Paul instructed the Corinthian church to stop living for worldly pleasures and to think ahead to that day when they would stand before the Lord and give an account for the sort of life they lived. Would their efforts burn down and blow over like the straw house of the three little pigs or would it stand the refining fire and come forth as refined jewels? Everything that we do in this time frame we have been given will count for eternity–and for some Christians, they won’t have much to count.

  1. 3. By Failing to Evangelize the Lost-Acts 20:24-27

Paul was pretty sure that he was heading for rough times when he headed for Jerusalem. He stopped in to say goodbye to the Ephesian church elders on his way back, and he felt that this might be the last time he would see them. He wasn’t thinking about Jesus’ return as much as the fact that he might go to see Jesus first. So, when he assessed the effectiveness of his time with these brothers in Christ, he was confident that he had done everything that a faithful servant of Christ can do, including preaching the truth of the gospel without any reservations. Paul’s conscience was clear, and his hands were clean.

Jesus’ return may come before we die, or after we die, but what’s the difference? We’ll still be called to give an account as stewards of the gospel treasure. How will you fair?

The signs that Jesus spoke of regarding the end times are true. As Jonah illustrated, Jesus died and rose again. But that isn’t where the gospel ends. He is coming back. Do you believe that? Can you read the signs around us that show us that it will be soon?

Do you have enough sense to get out of a storm?

We need to respond to Christ, not out of fear, but out of faith. Jesus IS coming soon. We need to be prepared.

Seeking Wise Counsel

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

First Kings 12 tells the interesting story of young king Rehoboam and his inexperience as a newly appointed king. Rehoboam is quickly confronted with a dilemma and the need for wise counsel. As seems to be the case with many, Rehoboam had no shortage of people who wanted to give him advice (Who doesn’t like playing the game, “If I were the king”?). There were two groups vying for the king’s attention- those elderly men who had counseled Rehoboam’s father and Rehoboam’s younger friends whom he had grown up with. After listening to both sets of counsel, Rehoboam aided with the harsher, immature counsel of his friends, disregarding the ‘old school’ thinking of his father’s counselors.

Proverbs 13:10 wisely states, “By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.” Strife followed Rehoboam’s actions because although he followed his friends’ counsel, it was only because it so closely matched his own desires. Rehoboam refused to take the advice that he didn’t like, no matter how wise it may have been.

Friends, over and over again in Scriptures we are admonished to seek heavenly wisdom and counsel from God and his word. Personally, I all too often fail to seek counsel, or worse, like Rehoboam, I seek it from those most like me who will tell me what I want to hear.

Mediation on Scriptures along with conversations with the elders of the faith (both living and dead) will yield a rich bounty. Why reinvent the wheel or travel down a sorrowful path when we can avoid doing so by seeking out the truth? Brothers, let us not repeat the foolishness of Rehoboam!

Watching the Sprouts Grow

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

Yesterday I posted about the encouragement that I have felt when I read or hear about others who struggle in the good work of church planting. I don’t feel so alone when things aren’t going as I have planned them. I’m so thankful that I have other encouragements in church planting than the fact that others struggle. Yesterday more grace to continue was given to me by what I observed going on at church.

I strongly believe that formal discipleship is a major missing element in the church today, and I think I can back that claim up. And because of that, I have made extra effort to train the men and women of our church as is humanly possible. I believe that a biblically well-educated membership is a necessity to passing on the faith to others, so that I won’t be the only one making disciples forever. I need to be an equipper of saints who will go forward with the work of the ministry.

This year I have made an effort to spend 2-3 hours one on one with a brother in our church, and we have grown close because of this discipleship and friendship. But over the last few weeks, my disciple has been meeting with a disciple of his own. I watched them yesterday amid the VBS craziness sitting quietly at a table in the fellowship hall, sharing the Word over coffee and donuts. An investment of time and love is beginning to pay off spiritual dividends! Gospel multiplication at its best. Grace manifest to a little ministry like ours. God is so good. May His Kingdom flourish like this one-hundred fold.

A Church Planter’s Encouragement

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Church planting can be tough work. Scratch that, it can be soul-breaking work. I’ve seen enough casualties to know that I don’t want to become one. Three books are encouraging me right now–Timothy Keller’s Church Planting Manual for Redeemer Presbyterian in New York, “Church Planting is For Wimps” by Mike McKinley, a church planter from Mark Dever’s church (Capital Hill Baptist) and “The Trellis and the Vine” by Collin Marshall and Tony Payne. The first two are explicitly church planting books while the last fits into the genre perfectly for its helpful biblical insights.

There are so many good, satisfying and gut-checking things that I could say about these books, but what I want to mention here is the need for church planters to find refreshment for their souls. In Keller’s and McKinley’s books, I found hardship and some failure and set-backs, and that, funny enough, is so encouraging to me. Let me explain.

When I see and hear the success stories of ministry, I try to keep everything in perspective acknowledging that God is sovereign, and I am His to do with as He pleases, wherever He chooses and with whatever degree of success He sees fit. I honestly believe that biblical success is measured in faithfulness. Yet I also passionately want to see my little area of God’s vineyard flourish and abound with much fruit. And I think that this desire is right, if it keeps the perspective that all glory is for God alone. What was so encouraging in the set-backs I read about was the ring of truth I heard in them. Keller and McKinley were honest and they told of their struggles and hardships, even their own worries and doubts. Being a church planting pastor can be lonely at times. It’s men like Keller and McKinley and my pastor who remind me that plugging along, plodding faithfully with my hands to the plow and my eyes heavenward is what I must keep doing. Soli Deo Gloria!