Gun to Your Head, Will You Deny Christ?

00:00:00.000 | [Music]

00:00:02.000 | Podcast listener Amber in Doylan, Louisiana writes in to ask this.

00:00:09.600 | "Pastor John, the Oregon shooting recently really shook me up.

00:00:14.000 | I turned my life over to Christ a little over two years ago.

00:00:16.800 | I've learned a lot, but I have a lot to learn yet.

00:00:19.000 | I'm trying to strengthen my faith, but in the meantime, I asked myself,

00:00:23.000 | 'What would I do?' My response was scary.

00:00:25.800 | I'm not sure I could say I'm a Christian if a gun is pointed in my face.

00:00:29.800 | Especially if my children are with me.

00:00:32.000 | I know that Jesus warned us not to deny him on earth,

00:00:35.000 | but I can't help but wonder if doing it to save our life,

00:00:39.000 | even though we don't mean it, is it punishable?'"

00:00:42.000 | Pastor John, what would you say to Amber?

00:00:44.000 | Well, I love honesty, so let's deal with it.

00:00:47.000 | Jesus said, "Whoever denies me before men, I will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

00:00:53.000 | And I think the only situation he has in mind is the one where we're being threatened.

00:01:01.000 | Otherwise, the issue of denying him doesn't come up.

00:01:04.000 | A few verses later, he says, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

00:01:10.200 | And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

00:01:16.200 | Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

00:01:21.200 | Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

00:01:29.200 | So that's the context of losing your life instead of denying Jesus.

00:01:35.200 | So the Christian, he says, loves me, loves Christ, so much that denying him is more fearful than death.

00:01:46.200 | Of course, saying that is one thing, but actually having the wherewithal to do it in the moment of death is another,

00:01:57.200 | which is what she's saying, rightly.

00:02:00.200 | When I personally, John Piper, have worried that I may not have strength or power to suffer or be tortured or die for Christ,

00:02:16.200 | I've been helped by pondering 1 Peter 4.14. It says this, "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed,

00:02:27.200 | because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."

00:02:34.200 | Now, doesn't that text, even though it's only talking about an insult, doesn't the principle hold that in extraordinary situations,

00:02:42.200 | the reason you can be blessed in the moment of being assaulted, insulted, criticized, or threatened with death,

00:02:51.200 | the reason you can be blessed is because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you?

00:02:58.200 | And I take that to mean that God shows up in a way in that moment, which he doesn't elsewhere,

00:03:09.200 | which means my sense of ability to endure it at this moment, sitting here at my table, may not be all that I'll have when I get there to that moment.

00:03:23.200 | And I don't know how many of our listeners are familiar with Corrie Ten Boom and her story, who was in a concentration camp,

00:03:34.200 | and before she was taken there, knowing that she might someday have to pay with her life, which she didn't, it turns out,

00:03:42.200 | she asked her father how that would be, how could she have strength.

00:03:48.200 | And the story is that her father said to her, "When I send you on the train to go somewhere,

00:03:56.200 | do I give you the ticket a month ahead of time, or do I give you the ticket as you get on the train?"

00:04:03.200 | And the point she was making is, "God will give us what we need when the train of suffering and death arrives in the station."

00:04:14.200 | And that's been very helpful to me, because I think that is what 1 Peter 4:14 is saying.

00:04:20.200 | Now, in the meantime, I think there are things that we all should be doing to get ready,

00:04:26.200 | that the Holy Spirit will make us, will use these things to help us be ready when the hour of our testing comes.

00:04:33.200 | And let me just mention a few of these.

00:04:35.200 | One, cultivate a regular attentiveness to the other world, to heaven, the world of heaven, where Christ is and His rewards are,

00:04:45.200 | where all the saints are, where all the sorrow will be taken away,

00:04:49.200 | and where we'll be sinning no more, and where pain and depression will be over.

00:04:56.200 | 2 Corinthians 4:18, "We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

00:05:02.200 | For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

00:05:07.200 | We should cultivate a mindset that is heavenward.

00:05:12.200 | Second, ponder often that there are far worse things than death.

00:05:19.200 | Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.

00:05:25.200 | Fear him who can cast soul and body into hell."

00:05:28.200 | There's way worse things than death.

00:05:31.200 | Third, ponder often that the truth that Christ already died for you, He did it so that you might live and die for Him.

00:05:43.200 | 2 Corinthians 5:14, "The love of Christ controls me because we have concluded this,

00:05:50.200 | that one has died for all, therefore all have died.

00:05:55.200 | And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves,

00:06:02.200 | but for Him who for their sakes died and rose again."

00:06:07.200 | Fourth, keep it clear in your mind that suffering and death for Christ are not surprising in this world.

00:06:15.200 | They are normal and expected.

00:06:18.200 | 1 Peter 4:12, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is coming upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you."

00:06:28.200 | So develop the mindset that such tests are not extraordinary.

00:06:33.200 | They are biblically ordinary.

00:06:36.200 | Do not fear what you are about to suffer.

00:06:39.200 | Revelation 2.10, "Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you in prison that you may be tested,

00:06:45.200 | and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

00:06:54.200 | So when it happens, it's not a punishment for us, it's a reward of faithfulness.

00:07:00.200 | Fifth, meditate regularly on the truths of Philippians 1.21, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

00:07:08.200 | If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

00:07:13.200 | Hard pressed between the two, my desire is to depart and be with Christ."

00:07:20.200 | Pray that into reality every day.

00:07:23.200 | Six, keep clear and firm in your mind and in your heart that the Lord will take care of your children if you die.

00:07:33.200 | No matter how you die.

00:07:35.200 | You might have a heart attack this afternoon.

00:07:38.200 | My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

00:07:45.200 | And oh, what a need we feel that our children be cared for.

00:07:49.200 | And when it comes to legacy, think deeply on this.

00:07:53.200 | When it comes to legacy and impact, remember, your death for Christ could be the greatest possible gift you could give to your children.

00:08:06.200 | And the seventh thing I would say, last thing I would say, of course, this is beyond us.

00:08:13.200 | None of us in ourselves will die for Jesus.

00:08:16.200 | This is a gift of grace if we are able to trust Him and love Him in that moment.

00:08:22.200 | So pray. That's the main thing here.

00:08:25.200 | Pray that you will not be like Peter who boldly said, "I'll never deny you."

00:08:30.200 | And then he fails three times.

00:08:32.200 | We need to pray, "Oh God, don't let me boast as though I could do this.

00:08:37.200 | Help me to depend utterly on you."

00:08:40.200 | Thank you, Pastor John, for those wise words of preparation for such a day.

00:08:45.200 | Should we be called on to pay this price?

00:08:47.200 | And thank you, Amber, for the excellent question.

00:08:50.200 | Send your questions into us via email at AskPastorJohn@DesiringGod.org.

00:08:55.200 | We are going to break for the weekend.

00:08:57.200 | If you missed any of the episodes from the week, catch up at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn.

00:09:03.200 | I'm your host Tony Reinke, and I will see you on Monday

00:09:06.200 | when Pastor John offers words of counsel for parents of rebellious teenagers.

00:09:10.200 | We'll see you then.

00:09:12.200 | [Silence]

Gun to Your Head, Will You Deny Christ?

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