FBC Daily Devotional – July 14, 2021

Well, good Wednesday morning to you.

Let me ask you this.

Have you ever Felt like maybe because you've denied Jesus at some

Critical juncture that he's going to deny you as well.

And maybe that question has come up because there have been some times when you know, you had an opportunity

to witness for Christ and you didn't do it or you were in a group of

People and there are some other believers there with you and they are obviously Christians by what they're saying what they're

doing but you kind of distance yourself from them because they're getting a hard time from the rest of the group

and you don't you don't want to be lumped in together with them and you kind of deny Christ.

And that denial.

Then leads you to wonder when you read our opening verses in today's reading.

Make you wonder is Jesus going to deny me in heaven because listen to what he says.

He says I say to you whoever confesses me before men him the Son of Man also will confess before the

angels of God.

But he who denies me before men will be denied before the before the angels of God.

So if I've denied Jesus, well, he denied me before the angels of God.

Well, let me encourage you from this.

With just a couple of observations from this passage.

One of them has to do with the matter of confessing.

What does Romans chapter 10 tell us right.

Romans 10 verses 9 and 10 if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord you confess

with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

You will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Have you have you by God's grace come to that place.

Has God so worked in your heart that you by faith truly believe

that Jesus is Lord and you confess him as such.

You've confessed him as such he is my Lord and my Savior and you've called upon him to save you.

And if push comes to shove if you had to stand in a court of law and and

You were confronted.

To confess whether Jesus was your Savior your Lord, you know, you would would you do that you would do that.

You've done that before men if especially if you have Been faithful enough to join

a local church.

You have confessed before that congregation that Jesus is Lord.

You've confessed with your mouth.

Now what about the matter of denial the passage says he who denies me it's in the present tense.

Denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

That's a that's an ongoing thing that one does.

So the best way to understand this I think is to illustrate it with two people who denied Jesus

but in different ways.

One is Judas Iscariot and the other is Peter Judas.

He demonstrates a settled denial a settled rejection of Christ as his Lord and

Savior.

He was done with him and he denied him.

He rejected him.

It was a done deal and It was a it was therefore a perpetual thing.

And there was for him no forgiveness.

Peter on the other hand his denial was a temporary.

Distancing himself from Christ out of sinful unfaithful

weakness.

But it wasn't a terminal condition.

It wasn't a perpetual thing.

He didn't keep on denying Jesus when he was confronted with his denial.

With the eyes of Jesus looking at him.

What did he do?

He went out wept.

Repented he wept bitterly and he was later therefore restored.

So, I just want to encourage you with that with that today that that this passage is not talking about those

moments of weakness when Those of us who are truly followers of Christ and we do confess

him as our Lord and Savior when in those moments of sinful faith unfaithful weakness.

We.

We shy away from owning him like we ought to and We

often will later feel awful about it.

We will turn from that sin and repent of it and God graciously forgives.

But for the person who's settled in his rejection who is ongoing in his denial

Well, he will be denied before the angels of God.

So I trust you're one who has confessed Jesus is Lord and you will not

deny him.

Especially on a permanent ongoing basis and if you have You're gonna look back and you reflect

on some of those things.

I trust that you know by God's grace You will seek his seek his forgiveness.

He's faithful to give it.

May we do so?

So our Father and our God help us to be faithful in our in our witness for Christ

and our identification with Christ and Those of us who are truly Christ will be sensitive

about that and I pray that we will.

So bless us as we are faithful.

Give us the strength and courage to be faithful.

Ongoing Testimonies for Christ we pray in Jesus name.

Amen.

All right.

I'll have a good rest of your your Wednesday and I trust the Lord will bless you richly in

it.