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.”
In the midst of this sermon, Dr. Mohler told about a time he was in Washington, D.C. to debate a liberal. Throughout the whole debate he had kept his cool, but at the post-debate Q&A someone finally riled him up. This someone identified himself as a leader in NASA with a PhD from an Ivy League school. He asked Dr. Mohler a question (that wasn't really a question). He said that he didn't agree with Dr. Mohler at all. He insisted: "I don't want doctrine! I just want Jesus. I don't want doctrine! I just want Jesus Christ."
To which Dr. Mohler responded: "Sir, are you under the impression that Christ is His last name?" Mohler pointed out that "Christ" was not on a Galilean mailbox with a ", Jesus" following it.
"Christ is His title," Mohler said. "It isn't His last name! You can't have Jesus Christ without doctrine because you are making a propositional theological statement. When you are saying 'Jesus Christ,' you're saying Jesus is the Anointed One, the King, the One who sits on David's throne."
Christ is not His last name. It is His title. It means "Messiah" in the Hebrew, translated "Christ" in the Greek. It means that He has come to save His people. It means that He is God, He is Saviour.
Don't make the mistake of using Christ as Jesus' last name. Realize that when you say that word, you're making a doctrinal statement. You're saying that He is the Messiah. He is the one and only Christ.
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