Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I want to speak to you this morning
on Peter's denial of Christ. You're probably familiar with
the fact that the Lord told him that He would deny him, and He
did. I'd like to begin, though, by
reading Mark chapter 16, verse 7. Go your way, This is the angels speaking to
the women who first came to the tomb of the Lord. Go your way,
tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into
Galilee. There shall you see him as he
said unto you. Go tell his disciples and make
sure you tell Peter. Now why would he have said, make
sure you tell Peter? Because I don't have any doubt
that Peter did not believe himself to be a disciple any longer.
He remembered the words of the Lord, whosoever shall deny me
before men, Him will I deny before my Father, which is in heaven.
And I have no doubt that Peter thought it was all over for him.
He thought he denied Christ. Whatever he had experienced was
all wrong. It was not real. He was thinking,
I'm nothing more than a hypocrite. I've been cut off. And he thought
he was no longer a disciple. So the Lord says to those women,
you go to my disciples, and especially to Peter. and tell them, I go
before them." Now we are introduced to Peter in John chapter 1. I'd like to begin reading in
verse 40. One of the two which heard John
speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And he
findeth his own brother, Simon, and said unto him, We have found
the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him
to Jesus, and he didn't say to the Lord, this is my brother
Simon. No, the Lord already knew his
name when he was brought to him. We read, and when Jesus beheld
him, he said, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. I know you. Thou shalt be called Cephas,
which is by interpretation, a stone. You see, the Lord already knew
Peter. The Lord already knew Peter's
name because his name had been inscribed by the Lord in the
Lamb's Book of Life. You see, Peter's existence began,
or Peter's person began, way before he was ever born. He's
one of God's elect. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Christ beheld him
and knew that somebody he came to represent and he knew that
he came to die for this man. Now Peter is a man we can all
identify with. He was not a brilliant man like
Paul was. As a matter of fact, he said
concerning the writings of Paul, which he believed to be scripture,
he said, even as our beloved brother Paul speaking in them
of these things, of which some things are hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do
also the other scriptures to their own destruction. Peter
was not the man Paul was as far as gifts and brilliance, and
in many ways he was a man of great contradictions. Let me show you that. Sometimes
he could demonstrate such genuine humility. In Luke 5, verse 8,
when he saw something of the power and glory of Christ, he
said, Depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. You don't want
to have anything to do with somebody like me. The best thing you could
do is just leave me alone. I'm no good. And then on another
occasion, he demonstrated such mock humility. when the Lord
was ready to wash his feet. He said, you'll never wash my
feet. I guess he's thinking I'm far too humble to let you do
something like that. That was just mock humility.
And then what arrogance and pride this man could demonstrate. When
the Lord said, one of you shall betray me, he said, though the
rest of this bunch will do it, I'll never do it. One of you,
you'll deny me, I'll never deny you. The rest of this bunch may
do it, but I'll never do it. What pride and arrogance he demonstrated
at that time. There were times when he displayed
such courage. I think of the day of Pentecost
when he stood, men of Israel, as he stood preaching on the
day of Pentecost, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by signs and miracles and wonders,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also
know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken and with wicked hands have crucified.
and slain. What courage he demonstrated
during that sermon. This God hath made this same
Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. And yet what
fear of man he displayed. It was a little maid that said
you were one of them. And he was scared to death of
that little maid and her confession of him. Somebody says, well,
that was before Pentecost. Well, I can show you that after
Pentecost, he was still controlled by the fear of man. What about
in Galatians chapter 2, where Paul rebuked him for denying
the gospel? calling into question the truth
of the gospel because he moved tables from the Gentiles to the
Jews, scripture says, fearing them who were of the circumcision.
He was so afraid about what they thought that he, I don't know
if he realized he was doing it at the time, but he was actually
compromising the gospel and saying Christ is not all in salvation
when he moved to the Jews table from the Gentiles table saying
you're better off being a Jew than you are a Gentile. That's
what he implied by that. And Paul publicly rebuked him. When we have Peter walking on
the water. Lord if it be thou bid me come
to thee on the water. And what faith he demonstrated
when he put his leg over that ship and stood on the water and
walked toward the Lord Jesus Christ. But yet what unbelief
he demonstrated when he looked at the waves and the winds and
began to sink crying Lord save me. And the Lord reached out
and caught himself thou of little faith. Wherefore didst thou doubt?"
I think of Peter's great confession in Matthew chapter 16 when the
Lord said, And then he said, Whom say ye that I am? And Peter
answered, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
the Lord said, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood
didn't reveal that to thee, but my Father which is in heaven,
and thou art Peter, and upon this rock your confession of
me, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. I can almost see Peter's chest
going out when the Lord said that to him. And in that very
same chapter, Matthew chapter 16, he said to Peter, this same
one who he just said, you're Peter, and upon this rock, this
confession of me, I'll build my church, to this same man,
he said, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savorest not
the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. I
remember reading about the Mount of Transfiguration where the
Lord was transfigured before Peter and James and John. He
brought them on that mountain in Matthew chapter 17 and was
transfigured before them. His deity at this time burst
through his humanity. And Moses and Elijah appeared
with him talking. And we know what they were talking
about. They were talking about the decease which he should accomplish
in Jerusalem. Now, Peter said, the scripture
says, then answered Peter. Nobody asked him anything, but
still he had to say something. Then answered Peter, Lord, it's
good for us to be here. Let us build here three tabernacles,
one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing
what he said, not knowing the foolishness of that statement.
And then I think of his memorial confession in John chapter 6
when the Lord was watching the disciples leave. There claimed
to be his disciples, 5,000 of them, and he looked at his disciples
and said, will you also go away? Doors open. Will you also go
away? And Peter said, Lord, to whom
shall we go? It's not like we have a choice. Thou hast the
words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou
art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, Peter, He's a man. He's a man of contradictions. He's a man who loved the Lord
Jesus Christ. He was a man who ended up dying
for Christ. And it's easy to see his contradictions
and his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in Luke chapter 22,
beginning in verse 34, he said, I tell thee, Peter, this is the
Lord speaking to Peter, I tell thee, Peter, The cock shall not
crow this day until thou shalt thrice deny me. Let's go back
up to verse 31 of this same chapter. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you
as wheat. And that's literally Satan has
asked permission to have you. You see, Satan can't do anything
without God's permission. Satan is God's devil on God's
chain. And he may not realize it, but
all he is doing in every wicked act he does is fulfilling the
purpose of God for the glory of Christ. Everything's going
to end up glorifying Christ. God hath made all things for
himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Now the
reason Satan asked for Peter is because God moved him to do
it. You see, God is completely sovereign
over the free and uncoerced actions of men, angels, and demons. He's in control of everybody
and everything, and He moved Satan to ask for permission to
sift Peter as wheat. You see, this is going to be
for Peter's good. It's going to be for the good of the church.
Peter needed this. Now, notice what he says next.
He says in verse 32, But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not. He didn't say, I've prayed for
you that you won't fall. Peter needed this fall. It would
end up being for his good. It's going to teach him something
about the gospel. But he didn't pray that he wouldn't
fall. He said, I prayed for you that
your faith fail not. Now Peter's going to fail, but
his faith is going to remain intact. And in this, we see exactly what
true faith is. So I hope you listen real carefully
as we go on considering this message. We're going to find
out what faith really is. I remember as a young man thinking,
I would believe if I knew what it meant. What does it mean to
believe? What is faith? Well, we're going to have that
question answered through Peter's fall because his faith did not
fail. Now, and I said, I tell thee,
Peter, No, here's Peter's response, and he said, Lord, I'm ready
to go with thee both into prison and to death. I'll go to jail
with you. I'll die with you. And he said, I tell thee, Peter,
the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt three times
deny that you even know me. Now, in John chapter 13, in John's
account of this, this is a very important passage of scripture.
Beginning in verse 36, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord,
whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I
go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
Peter said unto him, Lord, why can I not follow thee now? I'll
lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou
lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you,
The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice, let
not your heart be troubled." Now that chapter division is
man-made. Men made these chapter divisions
and these verses. We can pull out that chapter
division. It's really an unfortunate one, and it reads exactly like
this. The cock shall not crow till
thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. Now what's the Lord saying? You're going to deny me three
times. Let not your heart be troubled. Whatever you believe,
Regarding God, that's true. According to the scriptures,
believe the same thing regarding me. Do you believe that God is
all powerful? I'm all powerful. Believe the
same thing concerning me. Do you believe that God is absolutely
sovereign in control of everything and every event? Believe the
same things concerning me. Do you believe that God has the
ability to save you? Believe the same thing regarding
me. Now back to Luke chapter 22,
we read of the story of his denial. Beginning in verse 54, then took
they him and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house,
and Peter followed afar off. He wasn't right there with the
Lord. He followed afar off. He was afraid. And when they
had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down
together, Peter sat down among them, these people who were enemies
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he kept his mouth tight. But
a certain maid beheld him, as he set by the fire, and earnestly
looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he
denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. I don't know this man.
What are you talking about?" And even while he was saying
that, you know that he remembered that the Lord said, you're going
to deny me. And I imagine he was freaking out. Am I really
doing this? Yes, I am. He was so afraid of
that little woman. Let's go on reading. And after
a while, another saw him and said, thou art also of them.
And Peter said, man, I am not. He denied him again. He didn't
have the courage to be identified with the Lord. He thought, I
can't identify with him because I'll be killed just the way he's
going to be killed. He was giving in to cowardice.
Verse 59, in about the space of one hour, after another confidently
affirmed saying of a truth, this fellow also is with him for he's
a Galilean. And Peter said, man, I know not
what thou sayest. And we know from the other accounts
he did so with cursing and swearing to pepper it up, to make sure
they didn't identify him as with the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
know him. I don't know what you're talking
about. And immediately, while he spake, the cock crew and the Lord. Now remember, Peter
was a far off. The Lord was dealing with the
high priests at this time and the Sanhedrin when they were
questioning him. And he was, and when he heard that cock crow,
he knew what Peter was doing. The scripture says, and the Lord
turned and looked upon Peter. And I have no doubt at this time,
he gave him his full attention. He turned away from the Sanhedrin
and looked at Peter. Now what kind of look was this?
Was it a look of disgust? Was it a look of, I told you
you would do this, Peter. Was it a look of hurt? Peter,
how could you do this? How come you can't stand with
me? I have no doubt that it was the look of saving love. Peter, I'm going to the cross
to put away this sin you're committing and all your other sins and make
it so you will spend eternity beholding my face in glory. He looked at Peter. Peter's eyes
met with the Lord and he looked at him. Now you would think at
this time Peter would try to right the ship. You'd think at
this time Peter would say, I'm going to identify with him. I
was lying to you all. I wasn't being truthful. I know
him. I'm one of his disciples. I'm
going to confess him. I'm going to identify with him.
You'd think at this time, if he was going to, after that look,
he would right the shit, but he couldn't do it. He was paralyzed
with fear. And the scripture says in verse
62, And Peter went out and wept bitterly. He could not be consoled. He felt so horrible about him
being unable to confess Christ before me, and he was just unable,
and he couldn't right the ship. And he went out and wept bitterly. He thought, I've denied the Lord, and I can't make this right.
I've denied the Lord, and I remember his words, whosoever shall deny
me before men, him will I deny before my Father which is in
heaven. And Peter thought, it's over for me. I will not be saved. I cannot be saved. I've denied
Christ before men. Now, somebody may be thinking,
well, the Lord did say, whosoever shall deny me before men, him
will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. Well, didn't
Peter deny Christ before men? Not really. You say, what do
you mean? He denied that he knew him, but
he didn't deny him. He, through cowardice and fear,
denied that he knew the Lord, but he didn't deny the Lord. Now what do I mean by that? If you would have asked Peter
at this time, Do you think you're one of the elect, Peter? He'd
say, I don't see how I could be. Peter, have you been born
again? I don't think so. Seems like
I wouldn't be doing, I wouldn't have done that if I was. Peter,
do you believe that Christ died for you? I doubt it. I doubt it. I feel like I've
been cut off. Peter, do you believe you're saved? No, no. How could I be? Peter, do you
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Yes,
I do. You see, faith doesn't have anything
to do with what you believe about yourself. Faith has wholly to
do what you believe concerning Him. Do you believe that He's
the Christ, the Son of the living God? Peter would say, yes, with
all my heart I believe that. Now whether or not I'm saved,
I can't say that with confidence, but I do believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. You see, what we believe is predicated
on who we believe. He is God's Christ, God's prophet,
the one who brings the Word of God, the one who reveals the
Word of God. He's God's priest. If He prays
for me, I must be saved. If He represents me, I must be
saved. He's God's king, ruling, and
reigning. He's the Son of God. He's the
eternal, uncreated Son of God, the second person of the blessed
Trinity. While Peter was failed in every
area, there's one place he didn't fail because the Lord prayed
for him. He said, I prayed for you that your faith fail not.
Now all Peter was left with was his faith. Looking, he knew. who Christ was and is. And that is what faith is. It's believing that He is the
Son of God. Do you remember that Ethiopian
eunuch? After Philip had preached to
him, he said, See, here's water. What hinders me from being baptized?
And Philip answered, If you believe with all your heart, you may.
And he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, I realize that a lot of
people will say, well, I believe he's the son of God. Well, does
that mean you believe he's absolutely sovereign? Does that mean you
believe he's the creator? Does that mean you believe that
he never had a beginning? Does that mean you believe that
if he died for you, you must be saved? You can't be anything
but saved if he died for you. You see, if you believe the son
of God, you'll believe all those things. If you believe he is
the son of God. Now, Peter's faith did not fail. He was sifted as wheat, and he
failed completely. And do you think you'd, really,
really, now wait a minute, do you think you'd do any differently?
Do you think you'd have any more courage than Peter? I know that
if the Lord took his hand off me, I'd deny him right now. I
know it. I know it. The only thing that
keeps me from doing that is Him praying for me and Him representing
me. I would fall away, you would
fall away if He doesn't keep us. Are you saying a true believer
can fall away? If you can fall away, you will.
A true believer won't, because God saved him. Somebody says,
you believe in eternal security? Well, it depends on who does
the saving. If I have any part of my salvation,
no, I don't. I will fall away. But if God
does it all, I believe in my absolute eternal security. Now,
Peter, let's go back to Mark chapter 16 now, where we began
this passage of scripture. This is about the resurrection
of Christ. And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and
Mary the mother of James and Salome had bought sweet spices
that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came into the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, who shall roll
away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they
looked, they saw the stone was rolled away, for it was very
great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man
sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. And
they were affrighted. This was an angel. And he said
unto them, be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified? He is risen. He's not here. Behold the place
where they laid Him. Now Christ died. The sins of
God's elect became His sins. And He suffered the full equivalent
of an eternal hell on Calvary's tree. And He put away those sins. When he died, his body never
went through the process of decay because he rendered full satisfaction
to God, a perfect payment. All the sins that he died for
are put away. And God raised him from the dead
saying, I'm satisfied with him. I can't ask for anything more.
And I'm satisfied with everybody that he died for. That's what
the resurrection means. Oh, the power of the resurrection. But go your way, tell his disciples,
and Peter, the one who before men couldn't make any confession
of me, he denied that he knew me. He denied that he had any
association with me through cowardice, the one who failed so miserably. you go tell Peter that he goeth
before you, and there shall you see him as he said unto you."
Now, with regard to what Peter did, he put it away. Peter has no guilt. Now you think of Judas and Peter.
Judas betrayed Christ, Peter denied Christ, both great sins,
yet we know Peter was saved and Judas was lost. If Christ died
for the sins of Judas and Peter, what's the death of Christ have
to do with salvation or the blood of Christ have to do with salvation?
Nothing. Something Peter did that Judas didn't do. If God
loved Judas and Peter, what's the love of God have to do with
salvation? If Peter saved and Judas is not really nothing.
If God willed the salvation of Judas and Peter, and Peter saved
and Judas is not, what's the will of God got to do with salvation?
It really has nothing to do with salvation. Something Peter did
that Judas didn't do, but beloved, the difference between Judas
and Peter is grace. the love of the Father, the redeeming
work of the Son, and the regenerating work of God the Holy Spirit.
God did something for Peter, and he left Judas to himself. Grace alone is the difference
between the believer and the unbeliever, and we see that so
clearly in the case of Peter. This is Todd Kniper praying that
God will be pleased to make himself known to you. To request a copy of the sermon
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