“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night,
before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
Matthew 26:34
Denying Jesus can be so easy, so effortless. All it takes is a missed opportunity or a decision to serve one’s self rather than someone else. Denying Jesus does not have to be a vocal denial of belonging to him. It can be something far less obvious. When we are among unbelievers, do they think we are just like them? When someone tells a dirty joke or gets a conversation to veer into an unwholesome topic, do we steer it back to cleaner waters or send that conversation farther out to sea?
Jesus stated that if we deny Him before men that He will deny us before His Father. So, what does this mean to the ordinary Christian? What will it look like? Does this mean that if we deny knowing Jesus to someone that we will not get to enter Heaven? Does this mean that if we do not own up to our Christianity at every opportunity, that we will lose out in our adoption as God’s children? These are tough questions. But it’s better to be safe now than sorry later.
This is not to say that everyone will not experience a moment of fear when sharing the gospel. But, really, why should anyone fear to spread the gospel? Are we afraid of people looking at us differently? Maybe we should be thankful to our Father in Heaven that people do look at us differently. Maybe they look at us differently because they see God in us. Or maybe it’s because they see something in our lives that they wish they had in their own. Don’t be fooled by this world. Our faith is not a private thing. The gospel is called the good news because it is meant to be shared.
* A disciple never denies Jesus before men
Application: Have you denied Jesus this week? Will you deny Him again?