Monday, March 30, 2015

Matthew 16:13-21
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, but others Elijah,
and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my
Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the
Messiah. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and
on the third day be raised.

The Good Confession

This passage contains one of my favorite parts of scripture. It is one that we Disciples cherish.
The simple statement of belief that binds us together as Disciples. "You are the Messiah, the Son
of the living God." That is the profession of faith that we all profess when we are baptized or
when we join the church.
As you have heard Pastor Bob say many times, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a
non-creedal church. What does that mean? Does it mean beliefs don't matter? What it really
means is there is no standard creed or statement of Faith that we all must agree upon to be a part
of this church. Belief does matter! I think that what matters as much as Orthodoxy (right belief)
is Orthopraxy (right action), how we live out our faith! Sometimes people get too wrapped up on
the correct belief and forget to follow the example set by Jesus.
Jesus asked "Who do People say that I am?" The answers were about the same as many would
profess today. A prophet, a good man, a moral teacher, but Peter nails it like no one else by
declaring: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." The word Christ denotes the concept of
Messiah and divinity. This is the one profession of faith that separates Christians from other
faiths who acknowledge that Jesus existed and was a prophet and great teacher.
As the Christian Church-Disciples of Christ we make the good confession before our baptism
and before joining the church. The good confession identifies Jesus and it is Jesus' example that
we are to follow. We may even understand God somewhat differently, some may understand
God in a Unitarian fashion, others in a Trinitarian formula and still others as Apostolic also
known as "Jesus Only. We may see a whole host of doctrinal issues differently, we as Disciples
encourage people to think, and learn and discover God in your own life! As Disciples may not
agree on a host of other issues of the Christian Faith, but the good confession serves to hold us
together as one!
Pastor Rick Modglin-Green

"YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD."