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It was no surprise, except to Peter, that Peter denied Christ three times shortly before Jesus was crucified. Peter had indicated the shallowness of his relationship with the Lord when he:
- failed to recognize the implications of his profession of faith in Jesus, the Messiah and "the Son of the living God" (cf Mt 16:16 and Mt 17:4, 24ff),
- denied that Jesus would have to suffer (Mt 16:22),
- did not judge "by God's standards but by man's" (Mt 16:23), and
- lacked the faith to free a boy from demonic possession (Mt 17:16ff).
When the mass apostasy occurs at the end of the world (2 Thes 2:3), if we suffer severe temptations before our deaths, or if we face being martyred, will we accept God's grace and rise to the occasion, or will we sin, compromise, and be manipulated into denying Christ? Right now, we are showing signs of faithfulness or unfaithfulness. It probably shouldn't be a surprise what we will do when the pressure's on. What does the depth of your faith in the present say about the strength of your commitment to Jesus in the future? |
