Denial Is Crucial
“And Peter remembered the Word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” So he went and wept openly.”
- Matthew 26:75 (Read Matt. 26:69-75)
Have you ever gotten in trouble? (And don’t lie, of coarse you have.) I know a few times when I got in trouble, I would tell my parents, that I didn’t do it. Here’s one incident:
One day when my brother and I were younger, we were playing catch with a baseball in the living room. We knew we weren’t suppose to in the house, but since Mom wasn’t there, we decided to give it a try. Boy, was that a WRONG idea!!!
I threw the ball to my brother and he missed and it ended up hitting an angel ornament Mom had above the fireplace. I got scared, so I got some super glue and put the angel back together - (well, sorta). A few days later, Mom recognized the broken angel with glue all over it. She asked me what had happened, and I blamed it on my brother.
Even though I was the one guilty, I still denied the fact that I broke it by hitting it with the baseball. I knew it was wrong deep inside to lie about it, but I was so scared, I pleaded “innocent”. Just like me, Paul pleaded innocent in a way. Even though he was guilty, he lied to try to get out of it. Maybe he did it like me, because he was scared. I don’t know exactly why, but however you look at it, it’s still not right.
Like Paul, have you been denying Jesus? Have you been living the way He wants you to? It’s definitely something to think about. Maybe you have been doing what I’ve done in the past. Have you been denying your sin, to get out of punishment? Whatever the case, you need to give it all to the Lord.
Jesus wants you to be bold and to stand up for His name. He just wants you to love Him like He loves you. While He hung on the cross for our sins, He couldn’t lifted Himself off and denied us. Then we would never ever spend eternity with Him in Heaven. We couldn’t even have the chance to chose. But He didn’t deny us. He knew “we” were worth it. So, here’s the question for you: “Is your excuse for your own sin, worth denying the One who gave His life for you???” I DONT THINK SO!!!
Diving Deeper:
After you read the full passage in Matthew 26 about the 3 denials by Paul, here’s a question for you: In your opinion, why do you think Paul denied knowing/following Jesus? If you were one of the disciples back then, being honest, what would you have done? Now read Matthew 16:24-25. What does this verse say about denial? How can you follow Him in a deeper way? Pray about it. Ask for God’s guidance.
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