“Not Ashamed To Own My Lord”

Friday, November 01, 2013

In Mathew 10:33, it states, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven".

What is the exact meaning of this?  Peter denied Jesus three times.  I'm sure that Peter is in heaven.  I'm confused.

Sincerely,
Denial Dilemma

Dear Denial Dilemma,

Denying God is like all other sins, it will keep you from heaven unless you repent of it.  Peter did deny Christ, but he later wept over it (Mk 14:72) and proved himself to be one of the most outspoken followers of Christ (Acts 2:14, Acts 5:29).  If a christian won’t verbally stand by God, he has shown a weak and cowardly faith – a faith that isn’t backed by actions (Jas 1:22).  Denying Christ is a sin, but it can (and should!) be repented of (Acts 3:19).  It is that repentance that saved Peter.  As Christ said, Peter was sifted like wheat… but he returned to Christ (Lk 22:31-32).

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