You’re in Denial

Peter said…yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
(Matthew 26:35)

This is the familiar story of Peter and his three denials of Christ. There is an important lesson to see here about the presumption of faith. Our flesh is certainly never as strong as we believe, and cannot be a replacement for our humility. The strong self will, as mentioned in the last passage we dealt with, must give way to a sense of humility. No matter how long we have been a Christian, no matter what we have experienced, no matter how deeply committed we are to the Lord, it is by His grace that we can do anything, and we are not to presume our own faith.

Notice that the rest of the disciples said they would be there till the end also. Of course they all left but John. This type of herd mentality can get you into real trouble in a revival meeting. You may make commitments you aren’t ready to keep, and you might just allow yourself to be seduced by a spirit not of God. Don’t always go with the crowd, especially just for the excitement’s sake. This leads to the boom and bust spirituality so rampant in American Christianity these days.

Did you ever wonder how riots get started? Ask yourself a question: have you ever went along with something you were unsure of, just because some of your peers were doing it? Think about this and you will see how the chain reactions seen at some revival meetings are more about sociological factors than spiritual phenomena.

If you are a dispensationalist, that is, you believe in a literal great tribulation period, project this idea forward. Imagine if you will the people “left behind” and the pressure to take the mark of the beast. What if there was no pre-tribulation rapture? If you believe that believers will be gone when the great tribulation starts, and yet it doesn’t happen, how easily would you be duped into taking the mark? If you believed you wouldn’t be here, then you couldn’t possible take the mark so you would be safe, or so you might think, but what if? Food for thought, indeed.

In any event: don’t deny Christ by going with the crowd.