The most important question you will ever be asked was asked by Jesus, recorded in Matthew 15:16. It is this:
“Who do you say that I am?”
How you answer that one question determines where you will spend eternity.
The unbelievers of His time asked Jesus, “Who are you?” (John 8:25). He said He had told them many times, and if they did not believe He was the Messiah, God in the flesh, they would die in their sins and go to hell.
The Bible promises, “It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead together with him, we also shall live together with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign together with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us” -- II Timothy 2:11-12
Pay special attention to this: “If we deny him, he will also deny us.” Christ says if you reject Me, I will reject you. That means you will spend eternity in hell.
Make no mistake: The Bible also teaches that suffering in hell lasts forever. If you reject Him, in hell you will be as conscious as you are right now—but suffering in unimaginable horror without end.
In John 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die.”
And He asked, “Do you believe this?”
Do you?
“Who do you say that I am?” That is the most important question you will ever be asked.
And everyone has to give an answer.
How do you answer His question? Who do you say Christ is? At best, was He a charismatic preacher?
He didn't give us that option.
The Jewish leaders wanted to kill him. Why? Because they clearly understood what He was saying. They didn’t believe he was some charismatic preacher. They knew that He claimed to be God. They said to Him, “you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:33). They knew that Jesus said He is God. In fact, over and over again, Jesus used the sacred name of God, Yahweh, or “I Am,” and applied it to Himself. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He also said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
You cannot get around it: Jesus Christ said He was God. Do you believe Him?
Faith is a gift, not something we create in ourselves. Ephesians 2:8 says that faith is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God.
The Bible also says that when we die we either go to heaven or hell, and where we go depends upon whether we believe in Christ in this life or not.
What does it mean to believe in Christ? It means you believe everything He said about Himself. It means you believe everything He said about anything, including the trustworthiness of the Bible. It means that you believe that He died and was resurrected and lives today and forever, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” —Romans 10:9-11. It means that you believe He is the Lord of your life, and act accordingly.
Notice what the Bible requires you to believe in order to be saved: that God raised Christ from the dead (which will also make you confess Him publically). Belief that Christ actually rose from the dead in human history is central to salvation. You cannot be saved without believing it.
“But God shows his love toward us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” —Romans 5:8.
What does it mean, “Christ died for us”? It means that he took the punishment for every one of our sins, past, present and, yes, future, upon Himself: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” —Galatians 3:13.
“Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, And that he was buried, and that he arose the third day according to the Scriptures.” —I Corinthians 15:4
“He died to save His people from their sins” —Matthew 1:21.
Christ said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” —John 5:24
If you don't want to believe what He said about Himself, you have two options. You can believe He was lying. Or you can believe He was crazy. Believing He was just a great spiritual leader, a remarkably evolved man – He didn't give you that option. He never meant to.
Do you dare to say that He was a liar? Or that He was crazy? If you think you dare, be very, very careful. If Jesus Christ is God, you are calling God either a liar or a lunatic.
Perhaps you are saying to yourself, I don't want to call Him a liar or a lunatic, but I just can't believe He is God, that He was raised from the dead and lives eternally, that I have to believe in Him as my Lord and Savior in order to be admitted into heaven. I just can’t believe it.
You can do one thing right now. You can ask God to reveal the truth to you and give you a gift: the gift of faith.
Fall on your knees and beg Him for faith in Christ.