Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Our subject perhaps is an unusual one. It's about failure in the Christian life. We're going to read about Peter's failure, about a man. A leader.
A strong spiritual man we would have thought. Who ends up denying? The Christ Let's open our Bibles to John. The fourth gospel. John chapter 18.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Have you ever made a mistake that was so damaging, so disgraceful, that you felt you could never recover? Maybe you're still living under the shadow of failure.
Well today, John is showing us that our failures aren't final. And that through true repentance, we can find restoration in Jesus Christ.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled Denying the Christ. Today, we continue our series, Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of John. We're looking at a man who'd encountered Jesus many times, a man who knew Jesus well. a man who witnessed his many miracles. But now This man is turning his back on Jesus.
Yes, I'm referring to Simon Peter. Peter failed very badly. This may surprise you, but we're learning that anyone, even the spiritually strong, can fall. Peter's story is a warning to us. and he fails in the very area of his strength.
He had neglected prayer. and was following Jesus at a distance. What will be the reaction of Jesus? Is this the end of his relationship with Peter? Praise God that failure for the Christian is not final.
We're going to learn that failure in the Christian life. First of all, is not uncommon. Failure in the Christian life is not uncommon. Peter, obviously. failed very badly.
Jesus is being inside questioned while Peter is outside. Inside, Jesus stands firm and denies nothing. Outside, Peter falters and denies everything.
Now Peter is really the last disciple we would have expected to deny the Lord. He's the leader of the twelve. He's a tough fisherman. He's a man's man. He's at the front.
We don't think of Peter being a coward, yet he fails the Lord. And when it came to the test, he fell. and he fell very, very badly. And he denies the Lord not once, that would have been bad, not twice, but three times. times.
Failure in the Christian life is not uncommon. Consider some of the biblical characters who fell into serious sin. Noah got drunk. Abraham lied. Jacob deceived.
Moses killed. David committed adultery. Jonah the prophet ran away from the Lord. Do you consider yourself spiritually stronger than them? The reality is that all of us in certain circumstances may make foolish, impulsive and and indeed sinful choices.
Failure in the Christian life. is not uncommon. Secondly, Failure in the Christian life is often not unexpected. Failure in the Christian life is not unexpected. Peter's failure was not unexpected when you think of it.
Spiritual failure. Contrary to what sometimes people argue as they try to justify their position, spiritual failure rarely happens all at once. Usually there is a downward drift. Usually there are warning signs that we have ignored. Peter was warned By Jesus.
Several times. When we're ignoring godly warnings, failure in these circumstances is not unexpected. Peter's failure was not. Unexpected. Also, Peter was following Jesus, but following at a distance.
Look at Luke chapter twenty-two, the third gospel, Luke chapter twenty-two. Verse fifty four. Here's Luke's account. about the rest of Jesus? Having arrested him, they led Jesus away and brought him to the house of the high priest, but Peter.
who said he would lay down his life for the Lord is right at the Lord's side. Yeah. Peter is following. At a distance. Instead of being close to the Lord, Who's he close to?
the enemies of the Lord. He's warming his hands. at their fire. Instead of standing close to Jesus, he is now standing close to unbelievers. Let me ask you who you're standing with.
He said, well No. As Christians, we're meant to be lied and salt, and we're meant to mix with unbelievers. I understand that, and we are to do that. We are to be lied, and we are to be salt. But let me ask you this.
Is the company you're keeping, is it helping you spiritually? Or is it weakening you spiritually? Do you find yourself strengthened spiritually? Or do you find You're on the uneasy slopes. of compromise.
You see, in the Christian life, you never know when temptation is going to come. Peter didn't realize that this little girl was going to say to him, Aren't you one of them? Didn't you follow him? Tomorrow the enemy may throw one of his fiery darts at you. Be ready.
Always. Keep close. To the safeyard.
So when the temptation comes. It is clear That you're on the Lord's side and that you're close to the Saviour, that you are not following at a distance. The further you are from the Master. The further you are away from the Lord, the more likely your failure. Isn't that the case?
Therefore, make sure you are following Jesus closely. Later in life, a wiser Peter is going to write. What we call 1 Peter chapter 2, and remind his readers that Jesus calls us to follow in his steps. That's what we're to do. If someone were to ask you, are you a believer in Jesus Christ?
you would say, of course I am. They would say, Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? You would say, Yes, I am. But the truth of the matter is, although you are following Christ, You're following at a distance. and you're getting further and further away.
From the Lord. In fact, you may be involved in serving Christ. But service for Christ without a growing relationship with Christ and communion with Christ is a disaster waiting to happen.
Now how are you doing in this regard? You answer it. Today. Think of this past week. You keeping close to the Saviour?
Or have you been following at a distance? Are you taking a stand for Christ? Or are you on the uneasy slopes of compromise? Are you close to Christ? Or are you closer to the world?
Warming your hands. the world. Peter is following. But he's following. at a distance.
And haven't you learned I certainly have that when you follow Jesus at a distance, Things Begin to go. Wrong. And also, of course, Peter is away from home. He's from Galilee, and now he's down in Judea, in Jerusalem. And when we're away from home, We are much more susceptible to temptation, aren't we?
Look at Matthew chapter 26 to see this. Matthew twenty-six, verse seventy three. And a little later, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Surely you two are one of them. How did they know that? His accent.
Give him away. For the way you talk. gives you Away. What do they mean? Peter was a Galilean.
He was a northerner. And he's now in the south. He's now in Jerusalem. And the problem is whenever i he opened his mouth His Galilean accent was detected. It's like as if I in Charlotte was trying to pretend that I'm a southerner.
The problem is, my accent tends to give me away unless the people are completely deaf. But there's good news.
Someone gave me a book the other day. called How to Speak Southern. And I've been practicing real hard. Um I want to give you a few words. Which would also be a help to those of you from the north, and I'm really from the north.
Here's one. I always thought the word was Baptist, but here in the South It's Baptist. Baptist. It is a religious denomination whose members are found in great profusion throughout the South. Court.
I hear the Baptist preacher Run off with the qua director. I want to say that's not going to happen in this church. And here's another one. Honky tonk. It's a southern bar or tavern, also known as a duke giant.
Court Don't you stay out all night at some honky-tonk Okay. I'm trying, I'm trying. And uh Then, when I moved here, I thought the town was called Charlotte with an R, but apparently not. It's S-H-A-L-O-T, Charlotte.
Okay. And the book says it's the biggest city in North Carolina. Quotes, people who live in Charlotte are called Charlotteans.
So I'm learning. And then the number that comes after nine, which in the rest of the world is ten T yen, here in the south of Parmley, it's T-E-Y-U-N-T-N. This is. Quote He's broke all the ten commandments, but one. And that's just 'cause he couldn't figure out how to make graven images.
Yeah. Which I thought was pretty good. And then and then the last one. Yankee. Yankee.
A Yankee may be calm An honorary southerner. But a southerner can't become a Yankee. Assuming any certain I wanted to. And here's the quote: quote, Mama. Can a Yankee go to heaven?
Don't ask foolish questions, son. Of course not. Which goes to prove that the theology in the South is really bad, and I guess that's why the Lord sent me. But anyhow. Here is Peter from the north.
And I don't know whether or not he was trying to speak southern in Jerusalem. But if he was trying like me, it was pretty bad. And it was detected Yes, you're not from here. Because Jesus was brought up, although he was born in Bethlehem, just outside Jerusalem, he was from Galilee. Our Lord would have spoken with a Galilean accent, and Peter is speaking with a particular accent, and so they know you are from away, you're from the north.
You're not. from here. And Peter didn't want to be known as a follower of Jesus. He was trying to blend in Trying to look and sound like everyone else. He was drifting from Jesus.
He was in the company of those who were opposed to Jesus. And in these circumstances, Peter, like us, is very susceptible to temptation. My grandmother spent virtually all of her life in the same small village in Scotland. Everyone knew her. They knew her values, her beliefs, her family, everything about her.
Difficult in that situation to fall into serious sin. Not impossible, but it's difficult. Modern life is very different. My life is very different from my grandparents. I travel, I move, I go to places where no one knows who I am.
Modern life takes many of us away from home where no one knows us and away from home. All of us. are more vulnerable to temptation. Students?
Some of you are going to be leaving home. You're going to meet a whole group of people. That's going to be very exciting. An exciting time of your life. You're going to meet people who know nothing about your values, about your family, your church, or your beliefs, and they don't really care about it.
I will make a prophecy. you will be tempted. The question is, how will you respond? If you are wise, you don't wait until you get there to make that decision. You make that decision now, you make that decision today.
Are you going to go along with the crowd and do what they do? Are you going to warm your hands by their fire? Or are you going to keep close to Jesus Christ? Are you going to compromise? Perhaps one little step at a time.
But after your first semester, you're really far away from the Lord. Or are you going to stand close? to Jesus. Will you make that decision now? Today You're going to be offered alcohol.
No.
Someone's gonna try and give you some drug. No.
Some young man, some young woman is trying to get into your bed, or they want you to get into their bed, you're going to say no. Don't wait till you get there. Make that decision now that you're going to keep your eyes on Jesus, you're going to keep close to the Savior. Many of you travel a lot. In business, in your profession.
And the hotel and the entertainment industry create a false artificial intimacy. You're away from home, you feel tired, perhaps you're a bit bored, perhaps you're a bit frustrated, the deal didn't go well, the people you're dealing with are impossible, and you're in a town, in a situation, and no one knows who you are in that situation. It is very, very easy to fall into sin. to start drinking. To watch a pornographic movie in your hotel room.
to strike up an inappropriate relationship, be warned. Away from home, like Peter, you are particularly vulnerable. Ahead of time, set up standards when you're away from home, have accountability. Every day, I will call my husband, my wife. I will speak to my children.
I will speak to my friends. I will have a plan of action that when I'm away from home, I will study the Word of God. This week, when I'm away, I'm going to study the book of Philippians. I'm going to saturate myself in Ephesians. I'm going to spend time every evening in the Word of God, in a Bible study, reading a Christian biography in prayer.
You see, if you fail to plan. Failure will not be unexpected. There's a third one, and praise God for it. Failure in the Christian life is not uncommon. Failure in the Christian life in certain circumstances is not unexpected.
Third, failure in the Christian life is not final. Praise God for this. Peter was restored and recommissioned by Jesus, Lord willing, we'll see that in a couple of weeks. Here, Peter is brought face to face with his sin. His life collapses round him.
The awfulness of his sin confronts him. In spite of being warned by the Lord, he is denied the Lord, not once, not twice, but three times. He's failed the Lord. But praise God in the Christian life failure. is not.
Final. God is a God who restores the fallen. It was David who had fallen into a terrible sin, who in Psalm 23 writes, He restores my soul. David knew what he was speaking about. He knew the wonderful restoring grace of God in his own soul and in his own life.
There is no pardoning God like our God. Paul writes, this is a faithful saying and worthy of everyone's acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, says Paul, and I'm number one, I'm the chiefest of them. And your failure is not final. You say, What did I do, John? I've really blown it badly.
If you knew how bad I was, you would throw me out of church.
Well, I don't know about that, but listen to this. Acknowledgement of your sin is essential. We are masters, masters of rationalizing our sin. Finger pointing, making excuses, minimizing our personal responsibility. When you fall, admit your wrongdoing.
Say, I was wrong, I sinned, I have denied my Christ. Realize that your sin has offended God. Don't make excuses. I know there's always mitigating factors. Don't make excuses.
Don't point the finger at anyone else. Have true spiritual repentance. That's a supernatural work of God. You say, how was that supernatural work of God in the life of Peter? His heart must have been hardened that he would have denied the Lord three times.
How was it that he repented? Two basic things. First of all, The Lord looked at him. Luke 22, verses 61 and 62, and the Lord turned. This is after Peter denies the Lord.
The Lord turned. and looked at Peter And Peter remembered the word of the Lord. And he went out and wept. Bitterly. I wonder how the Lord looked at Peter.
I wonder what was the expression in the Lord's face as he turned and looked at Peter. Peter certainly saw that. And this morning Jesus is looking at you. He sees your sin. He knows you've blown it.
Don't try and cover up. Don't try and pretend. Don't try to impress us. Don't try to be more spiritual than you are. You have blown it, and Jesus is looking at you.
He's looking at you. He's longing for you to repent, to come back. He's looking at you in love. And biblical repentance is not just remorse, it's not just humiliation or self pity or tears or regret or being sorry for the consequences of our sin. It is a brokenness and a contrition before a holy God.
But Psalm fifty one. I've seen, says David, And against you. I have Repentance is an understanding of the awfulness of sin. And a turning from that sin. But for those who humble themselves, In repentance before God, there is forgiveness and there is restoring grace.
Romans 5, that I read at the beginning of the service, where sin abounds, grace superabounds. God's grace is always greater than our sin. You say, how can that be? Because of the cross of Christ. God never minimizes our sin.
And before our Lord could look at Peter, and grant him forgiveness he knew As he had been praying in the garden of Gethsemane, that he was going to go through the horror of the cross of Calvary. God is too holy, too pure to look upon sin, but he sends his Son, the Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world. And on the cross, my sin and your sin, your denials and my denials are paid for. All of our sin, paid for by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ rises from the dead for our justification.
Now, if you confess your sin, He's faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God's grace is extended to the weak, to the broken, to the fallen, to you and to me. Legalists operate out of their supposed strengths, out of the law. Grace is offered to the weak. to the needy, to the fallen.
to the broken. to the failure. to the sinner. to you. And to me.
Failure. My dear brother, My dear sister, In the Christian life is not final. God's grace is always greater than our sin. This message is a warning to us all. If Peter, the leader of the disciples, fell, you too can fall.
Beware of holy, unholy attitudes and tendencies in your life. Beware of that dangerous relationship which is about to unfold. Be very careful. Take action. Always keep your eyes on Jesus every day.
Keep close to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Keep in the Word. Keep praying. And listen. to the warnings.
Yeah. Perhaps you've fallen in sin and you're full of shame and guilt. Don't allow that failure to paralyze you. Learn from your failure and move on. Thomas Edison's business was damaged by fire.
And as you looked at the disaster, he said, There is value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up.
Now we can start again. Are you ready to start again with Jesus Christ? It begins with repentance. It begins with turning from your sin. It begins by you looking to Jesus for His grace, for His restoration, for His forgiveness, for His renewal.
Will you do that? Isaac Stern was playing Mozart's violin concerto number three in G with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He was halfway through the first movement when he had a lapse of memory. He just couldn't remember the music, and he could have kept on going, improvising and vamping, but he did something very unusual. He stopped.
He went over to the orchestra, went over to the conductor and asked if he could start again. He then turned to the audience and apologized for his mistake and said he would begin again. He didn't blame the orchestra, he didn't blame the conductor, he didn't blame the audience. He said he'd blown it. He stopped.
admitted it was his fault. And began in Okay. Will you do that? Will you admit your failure, your sin? Then turn to Jesus.
Afresh encounter His amazing grace, that grace which forgives, that grace which restores, that grace which grants a new beginning, that grace which is always Greater. Then our sin. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and the final part of a message titled Denying the Christ. But don't go anywhere just yet, because John will be right back with his closing remarks for today's programme.
In our current series called Encountering Jesus, we're focusing on what it's like to have a real life-changing relationship with God. But perhaps you've been reluctant to put your trust in Christ. Maybe you don't understand why trusting God will make any real difference in your life as you face difficult issues or struggle with failures of your own past. That's why John has written a guide called Trusting God in Tough Times. Be encouraged by biblical evidence that God is in control and He can be trusted.
And today, we'd love to send you a free copy of this helpful booklet. Just go to our website at theverdict.org and request your free copy of Trusting God in Tough Times. And if you're looking for ways to impact others for the gospel, will you consider playing a part in this radio ministry by making a one-time donation? We've made it quick and easy to give through our website at theverdict.org. Don't forget to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast.
Find us on all major podcast platforms or visit theverdict.org. And then we also want to invite you to join us for Sunday morning worship at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the verdict. To find directions or to worship with us via our live stream online, just go to theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson.
Well, what's your verdict? Don't you love this story? I marvel at the grace of our Lord Jesus. If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Peter had to repent of his sin and ask Jesus for forgiveness.
Later in this gospel, he is recommissioned. Make sure your heart isn't hardened. Be humble before God no matter your past. have a fresh encounter with Jesus. And don't miss next time.
when we look at another disciple who was overcome by doubt. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
