Matthew 26:69 – Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.

Matthew 26:70 – Now But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

Matthew 26:71 – And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthew 26:72 – And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

Matthew 26:73 – And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.

Matthew 26:74 – Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Hello readers, happy weekend! I’ve seen something in Peter’s denial of Christ which is incredible to me. I’ve often read this part about Peter denying the Lord Jesus Christ and picture him vehemently denying that he knew Christ… and that’s all I ever got out of it. Here is Peter trying to keep track of Jesus Christ after his betrayal, having pledged allegiance to Christ and promised to follow him to death. And he’s outside the judgment hall warming himself by the fire and there are other people there as well. And three people in a row accuse him of knowing Christ. Hey you were with this guy! I’ve seen you with him, I know you know him! You’re one of his disciples!

And I’ve been thinking… that was a pretty good problem to have wasn’t it. Peter ended up having to disprove he was a disciple of Christ. You know, there are a ton of professing Christians out there who wouldn’t cop the same accusation. Because they haven’t been seen with Christ, nor do they speak like they’ve been with Christ. Ask yourself… honestly, if you claim to be saved… to how many people is it readily apparent that you know Christ? To these people that were there… they could tell, hey this guy Peter is “one of them”. Are you a Christian… are you one of “those” in this world? Hey it’s getting to become pretty hot to be one of those just like it got pretty hot for Peter that night.

But I mean, think about it… there is an absolute gold hidden in plain sight in this story. But it’s gold which really asks a hard question of my own life first of all. Is it evident to people I am saved? Have I been identified with Christ? Is it evident to others by my speech and manner that I’m a follower of Christ? The fact they had “been with Jesus” is what made these guys what they were in Acts. Do you know Christ? Peter knew Christ… that was the “problem” Peter had. Peter’s problem was that he could not hide the fact he knew Christ. But for many of us, does this world know that you know Christ? How many of our lives show we are saved? Peter’s speech betrayed him as a Christian… does your speech betray you as what exactly? A fake Christian?

It should be evident to this world that we are Christians. If your salvation is a reality… how can that honestly be hid? How can Christ in you be hid from this world? And yes, Peter denied Christ… three times in fact… which of us have not? I’ve denied him constantly in my life, and in this world. Man, when that sting of reproach came, I ducked for cover, I didn’t want to be identified as one of them. But in Peter’s defense… think about this… at least he could not hide the fact he had been with Christ and knew him! Peter had been seen with Christ, identified with Christ… and he spoke like a Christian. Ask yourself this question, could you or would you ever be accused of being a follower of Christ because it’s so evident to this world that you are “one of them”?

Peter was trying to fit in with a crowd that he did not fit in anymore. If you got saved, you won’t fit in with that Christ rejecting crowd. You can’t, you won’t. They know you’re not one of them, when will you know you’re not one of them? Maybe once in time past Peter would’ve fit in that crowd… but now he doesn’t. And now he’s here being forced to vehemently deny Christ because it’s just so obvious the change that Christ has made in his life.  By the way, if you ever have to deny Christ to “fit in”… that’s not a crowd worth fitting in with. And then ask yourself this and this is really the point of this whole blog… which one would honestly be harder for you… proving you are a Christian or proving you are not a Christian?

If you are truly saved, it should be pretty darn hard to hide Jesus Christ who dwells in your heart by faith. How can you hide the light of the world in you from shining in your life? Jesus said in Matthew 5:15 ” Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” If you’ve received light, how can that light not shine for all to see? And yeah, we do manage to hide it, but if you are saved, it’s about hiding it to fit in, not about trying to prove it’s shining when it’s not.

If you are truly saved, it should be harder to prove you are not a Christian than that you are a Christian. That might sound a bit funny, but think about it, Peter was trying to prove he wasn’t, not that he was. When I think about Peter denying Christ… I think about him having to try and prove he wasn’t saved. And I ask myself… Is it evident to this world that I am saved? How many people are able to ID me as a Christian? Is it possible to be an undetected Christian? Hardly. If you’re really fitting in, it really is time to check whether you are in the faith. Because if you are saved… Christ in you makes the difference, and he makes you different. You don’t have to try… you just are… and this world knows that… they know you’ve been with him, and you speak like one of his.

We’ve got a bunch of people out here claiming to be Christians who are not different to this world. They have to try and prove they are… because they are not. Peter was the opposite, he had to try and prove he wasn’t… not that he was. He’d been seen with Jesus, he knew Jesus, Jesus had changed this man’s life forever, and he spoke and acted like a follower of Jesus Christ. But these Christians out here, they wouldn’t have been out of place where Peter was, they wouldn’t ever be accused of being a Jesus Christ follower… you know why? Because they don’t know him. And they never knew him. And he doesn’t know them. That’s the truth.

I just cannot believe I’ve not seen this earlier. Is it harder for me and for you to prove you are a Christian… or that are not a Christian? Which is more obvious and evident about who and what you are? It was harder for Peter to prove he didn’t know Christ than that he knew Christ. What a good problem to have when you think about it. The truth is… and get this… honestly… how many people are there who call themselves Christians who you just wouldn’t identify as having been with Christ. There’s no trace of Christ in their speech and action. They don’t live or speak or do like true Christians do. If they didn’t tell you they were… you wouldn’t know they were. Compare that to Peter, who had to tell you he wasn’t, because it was so evident he was! Crazy!

Peter had a track record of following Christ. Peter had forsaken his nets, he’d forsaken all to follow Christ. He’d been with Jesus, he had made following Jesus Christ his life. And Jesus had changed him. Peter had to tell you he wasn’t a Christian, whereas where are we at? How many people know you’re saved? Where’s the proof? Where’s the track record? Is it evident to this world that you have made Christ number one in your life as Peter had?

If we are saved, this world should be able to know that you’ve been with Christ and that you’re one of “them”. You’re one of those… a blood washed, born again, Bible believing Christian. Yeah… one of them. They know those aren’t one of them. And if you have to deny Christ to fit in… it ain’t worth fitting in. Why would we ever choose denying Christ in our lives to earn our acceptance with this Christ rejecting and truth hating world. So this was Peter’s silver lining… yeah he denied Christ… but that was because this ungodly crowd had made him as a Christian. He’d been seen with Christ, they knew he knew him… and Peter could not hide it.

If you are at that fireplace that night… would’ve you slotted in seamlessly because there’s no trace in your life that you know Christ? Does your life show that you’ve not been with him, you’ve not been for him and you do not know him? This world is choking to death on fake Christians who do not know Christ. Their lives, their speech… it betrays the fact, just as much as Peter’s life and speech showed that he was a saved man. For us, it’s a time for honest self evaluation… if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged after all… because if you are saved, it should show, and it should be harder to prove you’re not a Christian than that you are a Christian.

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