Luke 22:54-62

(Luke 22:54-62)

 

Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.  And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.  But a certain maid beheld him as he sat 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. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilæan. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.  And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

 

Faith is different from the faith that arises within me and the faith that God gives. The faith built up by humans is the same as building a house on sand. Despite the tremendous miracles and experiences of Jesus' disciples for three years, they all ran away from the cross. Even though Peter had the faith to risk his life walking out of the boat and walking on the water, Jesus was telling Peter that he would deny me. The environment changes, and you can experience miracles in the belief that you can risk your life. But the Lord says that the faith that leads to salvation is not such a faith.

 

Regarding being born again, Jesus said, "A man must be born again with water and the Holy Spirit." Those who are not born again are nothing more than believing in themselves like Peter. Humans never change unless they are reborn with water and the Holy Spirit. Because he is an old man who is a physical being. Faith that is born again is faith that is united with Jesus, crucified to death. The faith that is united with Jesus, who is crucified, requires that the inner old man also dies. The old man must die because he came from the temptation of Satan. There is no way to die except in Genesis 3:15.『And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 』

 

Here, Satan's head is broken by the death of Jesus. So, the old man must also die on the cross. The head of the idol of greed within me is broken. Today, many church people don't even know the meaning of being born again unless they realize the meaning of dying. Trusting in yourself (the old man) ultimately means trusting in Satan, and you will be the one who wants to kill Jesus. If God doesn't shed light, you don't realize it. Others say they believe in Jesus well, but unless the old man dies, he is only a follower of Satan and a man who tries to kill Jesus. Others may be told that Jesus is the Lord and lives for Jesus, but if he is not born again, he will eventually live for himself. This is what has the effect of being against God.

 

In Romans 1:17, ``For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. You will be saved only if you lead from the faith that I believe in, through the faith that God gives you through regeneration. Only by being born again can we obtain the righteousness of God. To be born again, the old man in the depths of the flesh must die. So the Bible keeps telling us to repent. If you think about confessing your sins today and tomorrow without knowing the meaning of repentance, you are not born again. Repentance is a life of self-denial. If you repent, heaven will come to those who repent.

 

Repentance begins with the realization that “I cannot follow the Lord”. That's why it is something that has to die. If you don't realize your identity, your religious life will be nothing more than a religious act. If you don't realize your identity, you haven't even started repentance. In Luke 22:31-32, 『And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 』Satan legally claims Peter. The Lord prayed that Peter's faith would not fall, but he did. So, if you don't turn back, Jesus says, everyone will fall from the faith. Peter, after following Jesus for three years, says, "Return." What to turn around?

 

If the Lord tells so many churches today, ``Return,'' you might say, ``What do you mean to change?'' The word ``to convert'' means be converted (Greek). Jesus told His disciples If you don't turn back, you're saying that everyone will run away from the cross. Peter said energetically, "Never deny Jesus." Jesus said, "Return", but Peter is confident. The result was a run away from the cross.

 

Everyone in the church can give their lives to the living Lord, but can they give their lives to Jesus who died on the cross? Few people hold onto the dead Jesus Christ, who is forsaken by people and no matter how much they call. The kind who holds up Jesus who died on the cross is the one who realizes that Jesus' death died because of the evil within him. That's why I confess that I am the evil one, too. I am the one who confesses that I am dead in transgressions and sins before Christ who died on the cross.