by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
There were various opinions about who Jesus was to those considering Him in the first century (Matthew 16:13-19). All opinions and beliefs were not equal.<\/p>\n
Today, various religious beliefs are not equal to the truth. When some held the opinion that Jesus was a prophet but only a prophet, their opinion was wrong. There was only one <\/b>correct belief: “You are the Christ<\/em> (Messiah), the Son of the Living God<\/em>.” If you answer the question any other way, you will be wrong, and you will have nothing substantial to build your faith upon, and you will waste your life as one who builds a house on the sand. Only the truth can set us free and provide a solid foundation for living this brief life. The rock <\/b>on which Jesus would build His church was the truth Peter uttered.<\/p>\n We need a rock <\/b>for our faith to have substance, and we need a fellowship (the church Jesus built) to help nurture and keep us accountable. Jesus provides us\u00a0with the substantial\u00a0rock\u00a0<\/strong>to stand upon and the significant\u00a0fellowship\u00a0<\/strong>to nurture our faith, giving us a spiritual family to edify and be edified in. We need to settle the first question: who Jesus is, and then ensure we are devoted to the spiritual family (the church) Jesus built on that Rock. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church<\/em>.” Stand on the rock and be added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:41-47). Don’t be deceived regarding either the rock on which to stand or the church that is supposed to be built on that rock.<\/p>\n First, who do you say Jesus is? Is your answer correct?<\/p>\n Secondly, are you standing on that rock with Jesus’ people, His church?<\/p>\n Don’t leave these questions unanswered!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton There were various opinions about who Jesus was to those considering Him in the first century (Matthew 16:13-19). All opinions and beliefs were not equal. Today, various religious beliefs are not equal to the truth. When some held the opinion that Jesus was a prophet but only a prophet, their opinion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[51,73],"class_list":["post-87714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-confession","tag-jesus"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":81573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/specific-beliefs-either-matter-or-they-dont\/","url_meta":{"origin":87714,"position":0},"title":"Specific Beliefs Either Matter or They Don\u2019t","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Nobody has all the answers to every question of the Bible, but get specific; some are right, and some are wrong on certain topics. For example, unbelieving Jews are not wrong about everything, but they are wrong about Jesus. Among those who claim to believe in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44604,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/truth-or-free-thinking\/","url_meta":{"origin":87714,"position":1},"title":"Truth Or Free-thinking","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton To the modern man, it seems wrong to believe that you can actually \"know the truth\", and therefore be in a position to \"answer\" the false religious claims of others. While an open mind is indeed a good quality, that open-minded nature ought to eventually settle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/open-mind-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59556,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-criticize-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":87714,"position":2},"title":"Should We Criticize Others?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The nature of truth is that it exposes error. In a world fueled by a politically correct presentation of non-offensive language, criticism is not accepted. This is especially true when this criticism speaks of religion. Challenging the teachings and beliefs of others is perceived as a personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84508,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-facts-in-faith-only\/","url_meta":{"origin":87714,"position":3},"title":"How Many Facts in \u201cFaith Only\u201d?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Those brethren who now teach that salvation is at the moment of faith before repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins (they say that is \"faith plus works\") never seem to get around to telling us what all is included\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18358,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-preachers-wife-have-to-attend-the-same-church-as-her-husband\/","url_meta":{"origin":87714,"position":4},"title":"Does a preacher’s wife have to attend the same church as her husband?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it wrong for a wife of a preacher (who is not a pastor and does not have his own church) to attend a different church, even though they both believe in the same faith (Jesus the Christ)? 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