We have heard it said; “Never say never.” This is absolutely true, and for good reason because anything can happen at any time, to anyone in any place, and in any situation.
For the Christian, it is only by the wisdom, grace, and mercy of Almighty God something will be prevented from actually taking place.
Here is a noteworthy example. The Apostle Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ three times. It started just after Jesus had instituted “The Lord’s Supper.”
Jesus and His disciples, including Peter, went out to the Mount of Olives. The Bible says, “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (Mark 14:27,28).
Here is Peter’s response: “Peter said to him, “Even though they all will fall away, I will not” (Mark 14:29). Peter’s response to Jesus sounds very resolute and convincing, as if he sincerely meant it.
However, Jesus knowing all things, thought otherwise about Peter’s response, and therefore said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times” (Mark 14:30).
In his response to Jesus, Peter seemed to have spoken in a more intense manner when he said: “If I must die with you, I will not deny you” (v. 31). Carefully note Peter’s words, “I will not deny you.”
There are times when it seems that we are trying to present an image of ourselves that is not altogether sincere and genuine. We cannot know exactly what was actually passing through Peter’s mind during those times.
One thing we do know for certain is that the Lord Jesus spoke absolute truth to Peter as the text reveals.
As Jesus was being brought before the high priest after His arrest; the Scripture says, “Peter was below in the courtyard when one of the servants of the high priest looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.’ And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed” (Mark 14:66:-68). Here, Peter becomes somewhat cowardly in the courtyard.
When the servant saw Peter, she said to those standing around: “This man is one of them.” But again Peter denied it. And subsequently, even the bystanders said to him again, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean” (vv. 69,70).
At this point Peter “began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept” (vv. 71,72).
Finally, it begins to dawn on Peter that he was very wrong from the outset of his conversation with his Lord, why he broke down and wept.
In reading Peter’s denials of the Lord Jesus, perhaps we may be able to look back at past situations where we tried to avoid being identified as a Christian, and what we learned from that experience.
It is of the utmost importance that the Christian life is characterized by humility, that is, having only a modest view of our importance. Also, it is definitely human to fail. However, failure should not be regarded as “final.” God is the God of another chance, because He forgives.
Jesus was most humble in His human experience. He declared of Himself: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly [humble] in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus’ greatest act of humility occurred when He hung on the cross. “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
Weakness exists in all humans, including Christians. It is unavoidable. However, when we fail to do what God sets forth in His Word, we need to confess and seek God’s divine forgiveness and turn from it. The Bible says: “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Feeling remorseful and penitent leads to repentance.
At first, Peter lacked humility and failed to act in a righteous way toward His Lord. But Peter was remorseful — his fist step to restoration — when “he broke down and wept” (Mark 14:72).
Peter was eventually forgiven and restored by Christ. This is recorded in John 21:15-17). In response to the Lord asking Peter three times; “Do you love Me?” Each time, Peter’s positive responses were, “Lord, you know that I love you.”
It’s interesting that Peter wrote two letters (1st and 2nd Peter) in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. This demonstrates the greatness of God and His forgiveness.