The attitude that says, “I will never sin” is negligent. “I will never lust.” “I will never lie.” “I will never shame my Lord.” “I will never be a coward.” “I will never gossip.” “I will never cheat.”
Paul warns of this overconfident spirit when he writes, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12, ESV). And no one better illustrates the importance of this warning than our beloved apostle Peter.
Never Say “Never”
Upon hearing Jesus tell His disciples for the first time about His imminent death (Matt. 16:21), Peter quickly replied, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (v. 22). Jesus rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan!” and then demanded absolute dedication, saying, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Putting limits and what the Lord can do and where He can lead us is tantamount to denying His Lordship and refusing to follow Him.
When it was Peter’s turn for Jesus to wash his feet, he said, “You shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8). Peter could not fathom the idea of a Lord who came “not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 10:45). Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me” (v. 8). Peter was essentially denying the Lordship of Christ.
On the night of His death, Jesus warned His disciples that each of them would leave Him because of cowardice. Peter emphatically answered, “Though they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away” (Matt. 26:33). In unchallenging times it is easy to deny what seems unimaginable. But when the situation becomes unimaginably difficult, the unthinkable can quickly become reality. Peter couldn’t imagine denying Christ when he thought no one could murder the Son of God or His disciples. “After all,” he must have thought, “the Kingdom is almost here!” But within the next few hours the unimaginable happened and Peter cowardly committed what he thought was unthinkable.
Are You A Peter?
“I will never be unfaithful to my husband,” thinks the woman during the peak of her marriage. But then the sunny days end and her husband becomes more emotionally distant. She begins enjoying the support and affirmation of a male co-worker. And one day, the unthinkable stops being so unthinkable.
“I have never struggled with drugs or alcohol in my life, and never will,” thinks the man at the height of his health. But then he is struck with sickness and unknowingly becomes addicted to prescription drugs. He develops an insatiable appetite for his fix once the doctor refuses to write any more prescriptions. And one day, the unthinkable stops being so unthinkable.
“I will never cheat or lie or steal,” says the comfortably paid man at the high point of his career. As David said, “I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved’” (Psa. 30:6). But things get serious when he suddenly loses his job. Desperation sets in on how to make ends meet for his family. And one day, the unthinkable stops being so unthinkable.
“I will never leave the Lord’s church,” says the young person raised by godly parents. But now a college student, she is unprepared to handle the spiritual challenges of her peers. She fails to surround herself with equally godly people and starts allowing postmodernism to influence her thinking. And one day, the unthinkable stops being so unthinkable.
Peter’s flaw was that he was more confident in his own resolve not to sin than he was in the Word of God (cf. Matt. 26:39). He should have been less satisfied in his own righteousness and more faithful in Him Who had power over temptation (Matt. 26:41).
And we are no different than Peter. We must draw our strength from God and on Him who has the power over our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).
It is tempting to look at the sins we don’t struggle with, and develop a smug attitude about ourselves. But situations change, and so can our strength to deny sin. Let us draw power from Him who knew no sin and has the power to cleanse us of our own sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 1:7).
It Takes Longer For Some
Later in Peter’s life – after seeing the resurrection of Christ and the start of His church – he had a vision from God of something like a great sheet descending from heaven full of “clean” and “unclean” (cf. Lev. 11) and told three times to “kill and eat” (Acts 10:13). He answered, “I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean” (v. 14), implying that never would eat anything common or unclean (or treat Gentiles equally, for that matter).
Not only can our self-righteousness keep us from relying on God’s Way and Will, but so can our prejudice. We must always be willing to change if it is God’s Will. Peter was when he said, “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean” (Acts 10:28).
Stop being overconfident in your own righteousness, and start depending on the power of God and His Word.
Have something to contribute? Leave a comment in the comments section below. However, please keep your comments relevant to the article. For my full comment policy, click here.
The post Are You Overconfident In Your Righteousness? appeared first on PlainSimpleFaith.com.
