Matthew 26:69-75 NKJV

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” 70But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” 71And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

73And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” 74Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Do you know that there are many ways in which we can deny Jesus Christ? For not all denial is verbal, and not all denial says expressively, “I do not know the man!” For we can deny him by our lifestyles, by the choices that we make, by the things that we view and by the things we listen to. We can deny him by ignoring him and his teachings and his instructions to us as we go our own way, instead. And we can deny him by refusing to speak the truth of his gospel to the people of this world, out of fear of rejection.

We deny Jesus when we put ourselves and our desires in first place instead of putting Jesus Christ and his desires and his commands in first place in our hearts and minds, which is evident by the things that we do and say. Like Peter, we can deny Jesus out of fear of what other people are going to think about us or say about us or do to us. And that is because we put self first, and not Christ Jesus first and foremost in our lives. And this happens when our desires fit more with the world than they do fit with our Lord’s desires.

Anytime we are aware of the Lord drawing us in a particular direction, and prompting us to say something or to do something or to write something, but we ignore his promptings out of fear of rejection, we are denying Christ. And if our Lord calls us to a specific ministry, but we know this is going to mean rejection and persecution and false accusations charged against us by the ignorant, and so we ignore his calling because we don’t want to be considered odd or off balance or whatever, we are denying Jesus Christ.

Like, if the Lord says to me, “Get up and write,” and I am certain this is what he wants me to do, but I want my sleep more, I am denying him. And I will tell you here that the Lord does not have me on a set schedule. I do not have a 9 to 5 job, five days a week. He has me writing all different times of the day or night, and every day of the week. And even when I am sick or I have a fever he will tell me to get up and write. And I must obey him. And I know for certain I have not missed a day in over 5 years; all glory to God.

But I am not claiming that I have never denied him, that I have never asked for more time, or to be excused this one time. But by the grace of God, and in the power of God, I do make it my practice to not deny him, to follow his lead, to do what he says, and to write when he asks me to write, even if it is on subjects that I know are going to get me hated and rejected and mocked and ignored and thought crazy or even banned from a site. And I am not teaching rebellion here. We should submit to authorities, but not ever to sin.

So, anyway, the point here is that denial of Christ doesn’t have to be verbal only, as it was with Peter, for it to be denial. We don’t have to do or say anything in particular, but we might still deny Jesus by what is stored up in our hearts and by our attitudes and by our actions and our reactions. And we might deny him purely by our silence. For Jesus didn’t call us to be silent. He called us to be his servants and messengers in spreading the good news of the gospel with the people of the world, no matter the consequences.

So just be aware that Peter’s denial of Christ is not the only way in which any of us might deny our Lord. For denial includes refusing, disallowing, blocking, preventing, forgoing, and/or declining to hear the Lord, to listen to him, and to obey him. When we know he is speaking to us, and we know he is leading us in a particular direction, but we end up snubbing him out of selfishness, we are, in essence, denying him. When we put our own self-interests in place of his will for us, we are denying our Lord in some way.

So, don’t be someone who denies Jesus by your refusal to bow down to him as Lord and to follow his lead and to do what he says. Don’t put your own self-interests above God and his will and purpose for your life. Surrender your all to God, to Jesus Christ, to do his will, to go where he sends you and to say whatever he gives you to say to the people, even if you are hated, rejected, and persecuted in return. And if you have been living in denial of Christ, weep as Peter wept, repent, and obey your Lord from this day on.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Not Be Silent

Based off Psalm 30
An Original Work / December 3, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

O Lord my God, I’ll exalt You.
I called for help,
And You healed me.
O Lord my God,
You brought me from the grave.
You spared me from hell.
Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;
Praise His holy name today.
Weeping may remain for a night;
Joy at break of day.
Our debt He did pay!

O Lord my God, I said, “I will
Ne’er be shaken.” Secure, I felt.
O Lord my God, You forgave me.
Confident I stand in You.
When I could not see
Your face I was dismayed.
I called to You. O Lord,
You are my help.
You were merciful to me;
By Your grace set free!

O Lord my God, I’m so thankful for
Salvation through my Jesus.
You turned wailing into dancing;
Clothed me with Your joy today,
That my heart may sing
To You and not be silent.
Praise Your name. O Lord my God,
I will give you thanks forevermore.
My Lord, I adore!

The Denial of Jesus Christ
An Original Work / May 7, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love