GodReflection: Guardrails for Living
“Just as it has taught you, remain in him.” – John the Apostle
John was there. He witnessed Peter’s declaration of fidelity, the sad three-time denial, and the pain that followed. He witnessed the repentant Simon, the forgiving Savior, and the restoration by Jesus.
Most likely the apostle John—with guilt of his own—saw far too much of himself in Peter’s story. He too was in the court yard of the high priest with Peter as Annas started the interrogation. He too denied Jesus—not verbally but in his silence.
John, like Peter and the other disciples, stood at the center of Jesus prediction, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me” (Matt 26:31).
It was John who outran Peter to the tomb and was the first to see the grave clothes of the risen Lord.
My guess is that John could not remove from his mind that it was he who ask the question shortly before the crucifixion, “Lord who is going to betray you?”
Little did he imagine that he too would turn his back on the Son of God.
A lifetime later John writes to the younger generation who faced their time of decision.
Is Jesus really the Messiah from God or was he only an insightful teacher?
One answer affirms his identity—the other response is betrayal.
So John pens these words:
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. (1 John 2:20-25)
For most of my life I bought into the scientific method of truth.
Truth was a proposition to be proven. Often what I set out to prove was dead wrong. However, the idea was if I could line up enough verses from Scripture (context wasn’t considered) and enough arguments (even those made of straw) then I could prove a proposition to be the truth.
It was late to dawn upon my little brain that Jesus defined truth as himself. He claimed to be truth. Jesus said that HE IS THE TRUTH rather than some proposition to prove.
Could John really be saying . . . all of you know the truth Jesus, I do not write to you because you do not know the truth Jesus, but because you do know it him and because no lie comes from the truth Jesus?
For John to deny Jesus is to deny THE TRUTH.
I suspect John wrote with red-hot conviction confirmed through his witness of Jesus resurrection. He did not want one child of the faith to deny the Lord.
In so doing he places another guardrail to keep me safe as I walk on my earth road toward the eternal—Don’t Deny Jesus.
So here I am a twenty-first century follower of Jesus. I too must take care not to deny Jesus.
Thus far my decisions haven’t been influenced by Roman crosses, death threats and impending mobs.
My denial comes in subtler forms.
When I find myself treating Jesus more as a historical character rather than as the current risen Savior who intercedes in my life I deny his power.
There were times when I should have taken a bigger step toward making the reign of Jesus available to others. When I overlooked Christ’s promise to be with me if only I would go—my lack of trust through lack of motion was no less than an indirect denial of Jesus.
Thankfully, Jesus forgives inopportune denials when they are the exception and not the tenor of my walk.
I want to live life with assurance that God and His Son takes pleasure in me. I want to honor the guardrail of the elderly apostle Don’t Deny Jesus.
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection on Don’t Deny Jesus.
God Reflection 