Peter began his journey with the Lord Jesus very early on. As one of the 12 disciples, he was privileged to be able to enter into the many private moments that Jesus shared with His closest friends. He was present at the transfiguration, he walked on water, and he witnessed the feeding of the five thousand, what a honour to have. Peter was characterised by his enthusiasm and energy, and also for saying things without really thinking about them first. He was so excited and interested in the Lord that this sometimes cam across in a very blundering manner! Perhaps Peter, out of all the characters in the Bible is one that Christians can identify the most with. A person with a genuine love for the Lord, and yet one who constantly ‘puts his foot in it’!  Yet, when we come to read about him, in John 18, what a different character. Gone is the confident and enthusiastic Peter and instead we have another side to him, again one I think we can all identify with! How many times can you remember, when you have been asked, “Are you a Christian?”, have you denied it?

 

It is hard to stand up for Christ, it is not a nice feeling knowing that if you answer positively that you will probably get laughed at, but Jesus will honour those who honour Him! Now this is a sorry scene for Peter, and I’m not going to try look at it with my rose-tinted glasses (I can’t find them anyway!) But one good thing comes out of this. 

 

Look up and read

 Matthew 26:73 

 

Okay, so there it says that Peter’s accent gave him away. The way Peter spoke gave him away as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Can the same be said for us? Does the way we speak show that we are Christians? Or do we join in with crowd, with the dodgy jokes, with the swearing, with all the talk about whatever it was we saw on telly last night. When we finish our meetings on Sunday, do we quickly revert to talking like anybody else? If somebody came in after a meeting and listened to our conversations would they realise we were Christians (bar the fact we are in Church of course!) People will listen out for your language, if they know you are a Christian, they will have a certain standard that they expect you to meet. The world doesn’t expect Christians to swear or do certain things, and in a very small way respects them for doing so. How will your testimony work, if you are joining in the all the lads or ladies with the dirty jokes, the swearing or whatever else, and then one day turn round and say actually I’m a Christian! They didn’t believe Lot when he warned the people of Sodom and Gomorra to get out, because Lot hadn’t been living a life in accord with his beliefs. Watch your language, people will be watching it for you!

 

Again, happily, the story for Peter does not end there either. He is fully restored and is given a prominent role in the early Church. What an encouragement! We all deny the Lord, and while it is never the right thing to do, we can be assured that the Lord will forgive us and will restore us to himself. When we are faithless, he is always faithful. He can’t deny himself! The Lord will always reward those who stand up for Him down here. It’s not just a question of getting brownie points, but its vital for the spread of the Gospel. How will people hear unless there are those who talk about Jesus or show Jesus in their actions? 

 

We cannot all be preachers, we are not all super evangelists, we are not all Billy Graham, but we are all Christians, and we a required to stand for Christ. Whether that is not going out clubbing and telling people you can’t because you are a Christian, not going to watch a dodgy film with your friends, or something simple like that people will take account of your walk, but more importantly so will God. 

 

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

1 Peter 3:15