‘Not so, Lord’

On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. - Acts 10:9-16

    The Lord God let down a sheet from heaven 'wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to Peter, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord.' Once more impetuous Peter made a terrible blunder. We must not be judgmental or censorious of him in his error. Who are we to put ourselves in the place of judgement over God's saints? (See Rom. 14:4). Few men are half the man Peter was. But he was a man, and his errors as a man are written in the Scriptures for our learning and admonition (Rom. 15:4). I do not doubt that Peter meant well, though he did wrong. His words were not intended by him to suggest all the evil that others have seen in them. Still, his error was significant enough for the Lord God to rebuke him sharply (10:15-16). The Lord God told Peter to do something and Peter said, 'Not so, Lord!' The simple fact is that all God's people in this world have a constant struggle with sin, rebellion and unbelief, because we all still live in the body of flesh. No believer is the servant of sin (Rom. 6:17-18), but no believer lives without sin (1 John 1:8-10). Though redeemed by the blood of Christ, called by grace and robed in righteousness, God's saints in this world are sinners still. Sin is mixed with and mars all we do. David was a man after God's own heart, but he still had a great struggle with personal sin (Ps. 32:1-5: 51:1-17; 73: 1-26). Paul was perhaps the greatest of all the apostles, but his warfare with sin was real (Rom. 7:14-24). Peter was a man who died for Christ, but he too was a sinner until he drew his last breath in this world. We would be wise to learn from his mistake.

    1. Though he is in Christ, the believer still bears the image of Adam

    Though we have a new nature created in us by the work of God the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the old nature has not been eradicated. Though Christ lives in us and reigns in our hearts as King, old man Adam still lives in us. He has been nailed to the tree and crucified, but he is a long time dying and struggles hard to gain supremacy. Believers are new men in Christ, but we are still men and sin dwells in us. We are saved sinners, redeemed sinners, sanctified sinners, forgiven sinners, but we are all sinners still! As it was with Peter, so it is with every believer—our struggle with sin is both real and constant (Gal. 5:17).

    Peter was saved by the grace of God, but he was still Peter. If I had never read this passage of Scripture and someone related the story to me, without telling me who had spoken so rashly to the Lord, I think I would have recognized that it was Peter. Who else would have openly said, 'Not so, Lord'? Yet, we are all very much like him. Though grace reigns in us, the beast of sin still rages in us. There is a new man created in us, but the old man is still there. The inclinations to evil are not dead. We shall, each of us, have to struggle with the peculiar weakness of our old nature for as long as we live in this world. It is true, even among God's saints in this world, 'The very best of men are only men at best.'

    This was not the first time Peter rebuked his Lord in ignorance (Mark 8:31-33). This was not the first time he impulsively refused his Master's command (John 13:8). We are all too much like Peter in this regard, saying, 'Not so, Lord,' foolishly imagining that we know better than God what ought to be! When we argue with God's providence, question his Word, or do not obey his will, we are saying, 'Not so, Lord!' In our hearts we know that the Lord knows best. Yet we often speak and act as if we knew best! Neither was this the first time Peter flatly, almost arrogantly, contradicted his Lord (Matt. 26:31-35). Like other believers, Peter was redeemed, regenerated and filled with the Spirit and, at the same time, he was rash, impudent, impulsive and sinful.

    Yet Peter did have his good points. Grace was evident in this feeble man's heart. Grace was the ruling principle in him. This is evident in the fact that Peter acknowledged his fault. Luke would not have known what happened in Joppa if Peter had not told him (Acts 11:4-9). Peter was rash, but he was real too. He was blunt, but he was bold. He was hasty, but he was honest. There was no cunning or craftiness about him.

    What should we learn from these things?

    1. A person may have many faults and yet be a true believer.

    2. As our Lord was patient and longsuffering with Peter, and as he is with us, so we ought to be patient and longsuffering with one another (Eph. 4:32-5:1).

    3. Though we are in Christ, we must guard against the evil tendencies of our old nature (Col. 3:12-17; Rom. 6:11-14). The flesh is never dormant!

    2. Though we are saved by the grace of God, our flesh still rebels against grace

    Peter's 'Not so, Lord,' was the response of his flesh to the great principle of the gospel that God had just set before him—the total abolition of law worship. Peter had to learn that we are not under law but under grace (Rom. 6:14-15), and it took him a while to learn it (Gal. 2:11-16).

    Legalism is natural to man. Our flesh kicks against the glorious free grace of God in Christ. It is the spirit of legalism remaining in us that causes us to lose our assurance or gain it by the evil or good we do. It is the spirit of legalism that causes us to neglect our duties and responsibilities (prayer, the Lord's Table, etc.) because of personal inadequacy . It is the spirit of legalism that sets up rules of life for others to live by, which God has not given in his Word. It is the spirit of legalism that tries to motivate believers with threats of punishment and promises of reward. It is the spirit of legalism that causes men to set themselves up as the judges of God's saints. When will men learn that Christ is the end of the law? (Rom. 10:4). We are not under the law, but under grace! We are not slaves, but children in the house of God. God's elect are not lawless antinomians, but we are no longer debtors to the law to live after the law. Christ fulfilled the law for us, and we are free from the law!

    Peter also had to learn that all men and women are equal before God (10:34). God has no regard for those things that separate men and women from one another, and neither should we have (James 2: 1-9; Acts 17:26).

    3. Though we are new creatures in Christ, the believer's old nature shows itself in many ways

    It does so by rebellion against gospel doctrine; by rebellion against revealed duty; by murmuring against God's providence; by proudly despising our place of service! Let us ever put off these things of the flesh and put on Christ!

    So long as we are in this body of flesh we shall have to struggle with sin. God will not eradicate, or even alter, the evil tendencies of our flesh. Yet, though we are weak, fleshly and sinful, God's grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:3-9).