by Israel Wayne

The bravehearted Christian must endeavor to never do anything in word or action that will in any way bring a reproach upon the name the Lord. How many of us, in the face of peer-pressure have been too afraid to share our faith, or even worse, have denied our convictions because we didn’t want to “offend” someone? Are we here to serve Christ, or the world? Let’s look at what the Scripture teaches about denying Christ:

Matthew 10:32-33 (NASB)

“Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Denying Christ is not merely to deny that He exists, but it is to deny our relationship with Him. Simon Peter faced this temptation. Peter was so confident in himself. Jesus had told His disciples that they must deny themselves (ironic isn’t it), take up their cross daily and follow Him. Peter, however, didn’t want to go to the cross.

Matthew 16:21-25 (NASB) 

    “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.’ Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.’"

Just before He died, Jesus told Peter specifically that he would be tested. The Bible has informed us, ahead of time that we will also be tested in our faith and allegiance to Christ.

Luke 22:31-34 (NASB) 

    "’Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!’ And He said, ‘I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.’"

What a blessing that Christ prayed for Peter! Don’t you wish that Christ would pray for you? The Bible tells us that He does. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that our risen Savior ever lives to make intercession for us! Having lived in a human body, as do we, our Lord understands what it is like to be human. He knows our weaknesses. He does not condemn us for our weakness, but He left us an example of overcoming sin, so that we too may overcome.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB) 

    “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”

Rather than looking to Jesus’s example, Peter tried to be strong in his own flesh. This will always bring failure.

WHAT IF WE HAVE FAILED?

Luke 22:54-62 (NASB) 

   “And having arrested Him, they led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. And after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a certain servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and looking intently at him, said, ‘This man was with Him too.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’ And a little later, another saw him and said, ‘You are one of them too!’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ And after about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed. [61] And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, ‘Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”

How foolish is the human heart?! How unwise our sinful motives?! Peter was willing to deny the Lord of glory to gain the approval and acceptance of an obscure slave-girl! Can you imagine how he must of felt when his best friend and Lord turned and looked at him?

The good news is that the story does not end there. Even though Peter denied Jesus three times, because of his repentance, Jesus did not deny Peter before His father in heaven.

John 21:15-19 (NASB) 

    “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ (Note from Israel: I believe this is referring to the fish that Peter had just caught and Jesus had just cooked, and the fishing occupation to which Peter was engaged when Jesus called him and the work to which he returned when he thought he no longer had a part in Christ’s ministry.) He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’  He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.’ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’"

Three times Peter denied that he knew Christ. Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” one for every time Peter denied Him. Jesus restored Peter to fellowship and leadership in His kingdom. What a merciful Savior! He does not seek to condemn, but to restore!

THE SWORD OF JESUS

Matthew 10:34-39 (NASB)

   “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.”

I believe the reason Jesus made this statement: “Do not think I came to bring peace,” is because that is exactly what we are inclined to believe. He is the Prince of Peace, after all. The fact is, however, that His word is like a double-edged sword (Hebrew 4:12). Truth is by it’s very definition, exclusive. What I mean by that is that for something to be true, the opposite of that truth must necessarily be false. For example, when Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was THE way, THE truth and THE life, He was saying that all others who claim to be those things, are lying and are impostors. The gospel is something that divides. There are those who humble themselves and accept it, and those who refuse to bow their knee and submit themselves to it. The gospel forces every person to make a conclusion, one way or the other about its claims. Each person must decide for themselves where they stand: with Christ or against Him. That decision to choose Christ naturally places them on the other side of the line from those who choose to reject Him.

EMBRACING REJECTION

When we reject the blood, the cross and the way of Christ, we are not worthy of Him. Yet the temptation is there to throw away all of these eternal treasures for the mere acceptance of a person: a father, a mother, a spouse or a child. Let me assure you that denying Christ will never help that loved one to come into a right relationship with Christ. It is only the gentle rebuke of your obedient life in following Christ that has the ability to reach them. Your fear and insecurity never can.

Matthew 10:40-42 (NASB)

    “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.”

The Lord knows those that are His (2 Timothy 2:19). He honors His faithful servants. He blesses those who receive His servants in Jesus’ name. He gives special blessings to those who give open hearts and open fellowship to those who labor in His kingdom. When you are serving Jesus faithfully, if someone rejects you, they aren’t really rejecting you, but rather they are rejecting Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:11-13 (NASB) 

    “It is a trustworthy statement:

        For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him;

        If we endure, we shall also reign with Him;

        If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

        If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”

The confession above was something the early church would quote to remind themselves of the fact that they were a persecuted people.

Jesus Christ has not called us to enter a popularity contest. He has called us to participate in the struggle of the Kingdom of God. We are at war against the carnality of the world, our own sinful flesh and the devil himself. We must remember that we are bought with a price and therefore we must glorify God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). There is no greater blessing in life than to live faithfully for our Lord!

Editor’s Note:  Israel Wayne is one of the nicest guys I know, and yet he writes articles like this one.  God’s given this guy a grand poetic heart, and yet Israel simply refuses to back down when it comes to the hard realities of Scripture.  It’s my opinion that we need more men of this “strange” recipe - Godly softness mixed with Godly firmness.  As an accomplished author and popular conference speaker, Israel is making a very real impact on the Christian community.  And I say, “You go guy!” (Okay, that didn’t sound very manly).  To learn more about this bravehearted oddity named Israel, you can visit him at www.WisdomsGate.com where he serves as Marketing Director for Wisdom’s Gate Publishing, or you can take a more personal peek at www.IsraelWayne.com.

Please email your thoughts, questions, and encouragements to Israel Wayne