I invite you to turn with me this morning to Matthew 16 as we read together verses 13 through 20. A familiar portion of Scripture which, if I said to you, mention Peter's confession of Christ, I suspect you would know exactly what I'm talking about for most of us. Matthew 16, and I invite you also to turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 19 to Lord's Day 12. Now, for those of us who have grown up in the Reformed tradition and Reformed churches, I suppose we would agree it's customary that when a new pastor comes to a church, that he has what we call an inauguration sermon. Maybe looking forward, talking about what he hopes to accomplish or how he sees his new role with that church. And when a pastor leaves, he has a farewell sermon. Not sure what really is supposed to go in that, a farewell sermon. But I had considered that as well, that I suppose I should have some sort of a farewell sermon. And I ordinarily preach the catechism, the Word of God summarized in the catechism at night, and since the last service for me with you is tonight, well, then I'll do the catechism in the morning and have a farewell sermon at night. But as I started to consider, we're up to Lord's Day 12, as you know, considering the names of Christ, or the names of Jesus, the various names. We considered the name Jesus before. And as I started a couple of weeks ago considering Lord's Day 12, got to the second question and answer there, 32, which says, but why are you called a Christian? I thought, well, maybe that would serve well as a farewell sermon because for myself, a farewell sermon, I do not want to focus on me. I want to focus on us and who we are and the tie that binds our hearts together in Christian love. So as it turns out, you can tell from the bulletin, there's a part one and a part two. Points 1 and 2 are this morning. Point 3, which will deal with question and answer 32, the Lord willing, will be tonight. So first of all, let's look at question and answer 31 of the Catechism. And again, this is a Lord's Day which draws from so many places in Scripture. It's hard to find one particular text to consider even this first question and answer. But I believe that Peter's confession of Christ serves well. But question 31, to which we will respond together, why is he called Christ, meaning anointed? Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance, our only High Priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of His body and who continually pleads our cause with the Father and our eternal King who governs us by His Word and Spirit and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom He has won for us. Matthew 16, beginning at verse 13, as we give our attention to the Word of God. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? They replied, Some say John the Baptist, Others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you, he asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then He warned His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. May God add His blessing to the reading and consideration of His Word this morning. Again, beloved, question 31 asks, But why is He called Christ, meaning anointed? And the writers of the Catechism follow that up then, understandably, But why are you called a Christian? Question 32. Now, that's a powerful question. That's a challenging question. A question which is directed at most, if not all of us here this morning, I suspect, because I suspect and hope that we would all here claim to be Christians. But the question is, why are you called a Christian? Is it because you are not a Muslim? is it because you are not a Mormon? Is it because you are not an atheist or some other form of heathen? Is it simply because you are not a Jew? You see, for many people, the answer is as simple as that. Because I am not. Yet, beloved, in their lives, sadly, there is no evidence of belonging to the family of God. And therefore, they are deceiving themselves. You see, one is not a Christian simply because they are not something else. Christianity, the Christian faith, is not simply a default category that one is put in because they don't seem to fit any other organized system of religion. And the answer to that question, but why are you called a Christian, is intimately, is unmistakably and unbreakably connected to Jesus' question to His disciples, which is literally, but you, who do you say that I am? To claim the name Christian is to claim by faith Christianity's only true namesake, Christ. And to believe about Him, what that name means. And therefore, very possibly, the real question ought to be, should you be called a Christian? Now, boys and girls, the name Christ is not simply the last name of Jesus like you and I have a first and a last name. My name is Philip Voss. His first and last name are not Jesus Christ. His first name is Jesus, to be sure. But Christ is his official title. He is Jesus, the One who is the Christ. It's an official title, a little bit like the title professor or lieutenant or governor or doctor or reverend or many sorts of titles that we have. But even then, His title fits Him perfectly. He fulfills it completely. It means Messiah. It means anointed one. And to be anointed in Scripture means to be commissioned, set aside for a special task or calling from the Lord. His personal name, given it to Him in His humanity, Jesus, we know, means Savior. And the content of His title, Christ, Anointed One, explains how He could be the Savior. And this is what the disciples needed to understand and embrace by faith clearly and fully. This is what they needed to understand and embrace by faith His true identity. Now, the crowds who were attracted to Jesus, Not those who claimed that he was from the devil. There were those too. But the crowds who were attracted to Jesus knew that he was no ordinary man. And they were impressed by his personality. They were impressed by his miraculous power. And they seemed not to doubt that he stood in some sort of special relationship to God. And therefore, there were various suggestions with regard to his identity. Suggestions that ought not be really surprising to us. We know that Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would return. In the Jewish tradition, they had expectations that Jeremiah would return. Even John the Baptist was asked if he was the Christ or if he was Elijah. And we remember Herod who had John the Baptist put to death. He began to wonder, began to be concerned that maybe Jesus was indeed John the Baptist himself come back to life. there were various suggestions as to who he might be interestingly though that not one of those suggestions that the disciples give was that he was the Messiah that he was the Christ he didn't seem to fit that expectation of the people but notice here that the concern of Jesus was not really about who do people say that I am but the concern of Jesus was for his disciples understanding as the time came closer to travel that way to the cross Jesus had withdrawn from the crowds to be alone with the disciples for their specific instruction they needed to be fully confirmed in the true faith so that as Jesus faced suffering and death they would not be tossed around by various opinions because indeed it was their testimony by God's grace that would serve as the foundation of the church, as Paul says in Ephesians 2. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. And that foundation is summarized in Peter's historic confession. Peter, representing all of the disciples, his historic confession of who Jesus is. You are the Christ. the Son of the living God. With that simple phrase, Peter identifies both the person and the work of Jesus, confessing that this Jesus who stands before them was the ordained Messiah. Ordained, first of all, by His Father. Peter says literally, you are the Christ, the one and only, the Son, the one and only, Of the God, the one and only. The living one, the one and only. The definite article is there four times in the original. There is none other. And the living God versus the dead idols that so many worshipped. You are the one ordained by your Father. Ordained according to Scripture. Jesus was the one foretold by God. For example, in Psalm 2, where the Lord says, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill. Or Isaiah 42, verse 1, which says, the Lord says, here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I will put my spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. And Jesus applied Isaiah 61, verse 1 to himself, which says, the spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me. And he goes on to give a list of that for which he had been anointed. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism as the Holy Spirit came upon Him and God the Father spoke of Him and His credentials were declared and in His human nature, He was made qualified by the Holy Spirit to be the long-promised and awaited Messiah. And Peter's eyes and the eyes of the disciples were opened by God the Father Himself to understand this. And Peter recognized Jesus as one with God, as God Himself, very God of very God as we confess in the Nicene Creed, which He needed to be because the value of His work, dying for sin, depended on His identity. Because He is God, His death is of infinite value, able to take away sin. Peter's confession here is that this Jesus is the focus of all of God's promises. The focus of all of Israel's hopes. This Jesus was the ordained Messiah, the Christ for whom they had waited, secondly, for our redemption. A redemption accomplished through His threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. Again, it should not be surprising to us that He is prophet, priest, and king. And we are to understand that when Peter says you are the Christ, you are the Messiah, you are the Anointed One, that He knows His Old Testament Scriptures. He knows for what this One had been anointed to be prophet, priest, and king. And it ought not be surprising to us because that threefold office was included in the image of God with which man was created. We confess that as well in Lord's Day 3. Question 6 asks, did God create man so wicked and perverse? No, God created man good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God his creator, pointing to the prophetic office, love him with all his heart, pointing to the priestly office, and live with him in eternal happiness for his praise and glory, pointing to the kingly office. Man failed in that. Jesus is the perfect man, the God-man, who came to fulfill that which man had failed in, including the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. And as well, we know that in Old Testament Israel, those who were ordinarily set apart, anointed for special offices, were prophets, priests, and kings, which all pointed forward to Jesus. Jesus was ordained and anointed to combine those three in His very person for our complete redemption and to restore us as Christians to that three-fold office by which we might represent Him, by which we might show forth His glory, which we hope to consider more tonight. At every point, beloved, as prophet, priest, and king, Jesus meets our need before the face of God. First, as prophet. The Catechism rightly says He is our chief prophet and teacher who not only truly knew God as man was originally created to know Him, but also, as the Catechism says, who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance. The prophets came to man on behalf of God to speak the Word of God. Jesus, as prophet, was foretold by the Lord Himself through Moses in Deuteronomy 18, beginning at verse 15. the lord your god will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers you must listen to him for this is what you asked of the lord your god at horeb on the day of the assembly when you said let us not hear the voice of the lord our god nor see this great fire anymore or we will die the lord said to me what they say is good i will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers i will put my words in his mouth and he will tell them everything i command him, if anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. Jesus perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance. Words that we must hear. Words that we must heed. He perfectly fulfills our need before the face of God and He does so as a prophet. We needed such a prophet because man's treason against God darkened our understanding. It clouded our judgment. And therefore, with all of mankind, we walk in darkness. We cannot and do not know God, the world, or ourselves rightly. Apart from Him, we are lost in sin, blind to the truth, never, ever, ever able to find the right way on our own. Even as believers, there are many things that are hidden from us. There are many question marks in our lives that we would like to know, aren't there? Trivial things to be sure, but also important things like, how long will I live? Or will I be called upon, will I get sick and be called upon to suffer in this life? And if so, will I get better? When will Jesus return? Many question marks in our life. But God has not revealed those things to us yet because we don't need to know them. But what we need to know about, crucially, most importantly, what we need to know about, God has not left us in the dark about. As Jesus perfectly reveals the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance, we can think of the counsel of God here as God's decree, God's determination to save, of His decision to save. And we can think of His will as the executing, the carrying out of God's plan through His Son. Think about this, beloved. God willed. Jesus, through His means, makes us to know that God willed, God determined, and willed our salvation and not our ruin. God determined that. Christ carried that out. He makes us know that that's Christ's provision as prophet. Showing the way of salvation. Making it plain. Making it plain. It's not difficult making it plain to the young and to the old alike. Making it plain to the simple and to the intelligent alike. Making it plain that there are only two ways. Either the way of eternal blessedness or the way of eternal wretchedness. Jesus reveals that. The Christ reveals that. He spoke through the patriarchs and prophets. He preached Himself in the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Old Covenant. He declared Himself to be the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. And beloved, He still comes today. He still comes today through faithful preachers and faithful preaching of His Word, always pointing to Himself as the all-sufficient Savior, shedding the light of His truth for our life. He speaks still today through faithful preaching and the gathering of believers. Is that how we hear Him? As those who come humbly? Able to overlook the warts and the blemishes and the weaknesses and the sinfulness of His preaching servants? Humbly expecting and believing that God Himself comes to us through His servants in His Word? Pointing us again and again to our only hope and the only way of salvation? Our Lord Jesus Christ still speaks to us. Still today. As He continues to gather His church. He is the ordained Messiah for our complete redemption as prophet, but also as priest. He is our only high priest who not only loved God with all His heart, again, as man was originally created to do, but also, as the catechism says, who has set us free by the one sacrifice of His body and who continually pleads our cause with the Father. Again, we cannot understand this apart from our need. Boys and girls, you know that it does not do any good to show the way to one who can't see that way because they are blind. Or to show the way to one who is not able to travel on that way because they can't walk. What good does it do? And that's us. We're blind. We cannot walk in sin. The way to God for us is closed because of sin in and of ourselves. We see that with Israel. Israel was God's chosen people, yet they were instructed, they were reminded again and again every single day that the way to God was shut from their side. They were instructed through the sacrifice for sin offered daily and especially on the annual Day of Atonement which was a vivid picture of that necessary offering of another and of the confession of sin that God called for and of His assurance of forgiveness for those who turned to him in faith. However, all those sacrifices could not and did not open the way to friendship with God, but instead pointed to Christ's provision. He alone opens the way as the perfect holy sacrifice. As the writer of Hebrews beautifully says in so many places, talking about the priesthood of Jesus Christ, that he did not have to offer a sacrifice first for his own sin and then for the sin of others, for that would not have been effective. But He is the perfect sacrifice in His blood alone. Not the blood of bulls and goats and sheep and doves, but His blood alone is spotless, perfect to pay for your sins and mine. As priest, He offered Himself. The Old Testament priests we know not only linked God and man through offering sacrifice, but they also communicated then back to the people God's blessing. We think of the blessing of Aaron. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. Jesus Christ offered the necessary, the needful sacrifice that removes our guilt before God. That removes God's wrath from us. Reconciles us with God. And blesses us. His blessing comes down upon us. blesses us with peace with God. Indeed, when we say that Jesus opened the way, it means that we are reconciled to God through Him. Not that we still have to somehow make our way down that path. But we are accepted by God in Christ. And you know what? He continues His work. The catechism is correct when it says He's pleading for us. He is interceding. He is praying for us. He is busy for us even at this very moment for you and me. Whatever those needs might be that you and I have. Interceding and praying for us. Cleansing our prayers offered in His name so that our prayers reach God's throne of grace perfect and pleasing to Him. Working, continually presenting Himself as the just reason for God to forgive us daily because indeed it is finished. His work is sufficient for all of our sins. There's no other way to come to God except through Him because the temple curtain has been torn. God accepts those who trust His Christ who has taken our sin upon Himself and given us His very own righteousness so that God hears our prayers for Jesus' sake. And that too ought to be so comforting for you and me. God hears our prayers. The world often asks for prayer in times of disaster, in times of disappointment. Sometimes we see that daily on the news. We hear that in times of tragedy, our thoughts and our prayers are with so-and-so. Or please pray for. But it's never mentioned who to pray to. It's never mentioned in whose name to pray. Because the world treats prayer like some sort of a lucky charm. If we all just pray to whatever God we claim to worship, then we're going to have our bases covered and this one ought to be alright. But you see, apart from Jesus Christ, prayer is empty. It is meaningless. It is even offensive to God because those praying don't know who Jesus is. They don't know His saving work. Our prayers can only reach the throne of God through Him who is the Christ. One with the living God. Ordained for our complete redemption as prophet, as priest, and also as king. He is our eternal king who not only lives with God in eternal happiness for His praise and glory again as man was originally created, how He was originally created to live with Him, but also as king He governs us by His Word and Spirit and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom He has won for us. We know that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the messianic psalms, and especially those royal psalms like Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, which we sang. The one who was to come with the expectation of destroying all opposition to God and with the expectation of establishing His kingdom of righteousness, which He has done. And as King, He has fulfilled, again, our need before the face of God. Our need is that we face constant attack from our three sworn enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh. The devil hates Christ and he hates his Christians. Make no mistake about that. Young people, we need to be reminded of that time and time again, don't we? Because the devil's temptations through the world are out there to make you and I think that the world is friendly, that Satan is friendly. Make no mistake about it. He is friendly because He hates you. And He wants to destroy you and me. And this constant attack includes this world which is no friend to God and no friend to grace. It includes ongoing temptations and trials that oftentimes seem too heavy for us to endure. And it especially includes the old man of sin that is still raging within me and within you. And therefore, at times, we might be tempted to cry out, well, is there really any assurance that we will one day appear before God in full glory? Praise be to God, the answer is yes because of Christ's provision. As prophet, as priest for our complete redemption, and as king, He guards, He keeps us by His Word and Spirit in the freedom that He has won for us. We are free from the grasp of Satan. We are free from his clutches. We are free in Christ. Christ's provision is that He guards and keeps us by His Word and Spirit because He is powerful. He is powerful over all, even His enemies, even the wicked world. If He wasn't powerful over all, the church would have been destroyed long ago. but in His grace, by the Holy Spirit, He makes us willing and ready to obey His Word. As our King, He protects us. He guides us safe along life's way. He fills us with joy and strength and hope, and He rescues us out of the hands of all of His and our enemies. In ourselves, we must confess that we remain weak and helpless, and we know that if left to ourselves, we would drift far, far away, but He has become our salvation. we are weak, but He is strong. He is our confidence as prophet, priest, and king. Jesus applied Peter's confession to the Christ's effectiveness by saying in verse 18, And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Now there is so much we could talk about with regard to that verse because there are so many different interpretations regarding different parts of that verse. Especially including the gates of Hades. What does that stand for? Well, I agree with those who say that it's not talking about an offensive action on behalf of Hades. But gates, closed gates, points to a defensive action. Pointing to the idea of a fortress or a prison with impenetrable gates where death is king and the dead are held captive. That's what Satan desires, to hold the dead captive. But it can't. Because Jesus is stronger than death. Jesus has conquered death. Death could not keep its prey with Him. It cannot keep its prey with us because in Him we have life forevermore. He is ordained and anointed for our complete redemption. He shows us the way. He opens the way and He guards that way of salvation. And therefore, our confidence in Him, beloved, is that the church is invincible. Our confidence in Him is that the salvation that He purchased will never ever be taken away from us. And He makes us His very own. We belong to Him. That's the short answer to why are you called a Christian? because I belong to Him. We belong to Him with His Holy Spirit living in us by whom He is to be represented. That's what we hope to consider tonight with the question, but why are you called a Christian? Yet, in anticipation of that, we can say, in answer to that question, I am a Christian because of Jesus Christ. Not because of myself, but because of Jesus Christ who has shown me the only way of salvation, who has opened the way and secured for me that only salvation and who guards and keeps me in that salvation. I am a Christian because my Savior is the Christ. He purchased me. I belong to Him. He will never let me go. And this is true for all who embrace by faith and follow Jesus, the Christ. Amen. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, indeed, Your way is amazing. We cannot help but to stand amazed as we consider Your love for us. That You had determined to save a sinful people for Yourself. Including us. And that not only have you determined and planned it, but you carried out that plan through your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And not only has it been carried out, but it is protected. We are protected. Forever and ever. Oh Father, we must confess that so often we doubt. But we pray that more and more that when we doubt in our weakness, You would drive that doubt far away from us. And continually lift us higher in the joy of knowing that we belong to you forever and ever. And help us, Father, indeed, to show forth our thanksgiving and praise by living a life of joy and gratitude to you. Father, we thank you and praise you for your mercies, which are new every morning, for your grace, which is indeed sufficient. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.