There are many cultural wars being fought in our country today. The issues change over time, but there is always strong divergence of opinions in our vast land. Abortion seems to be taking center stage at this time. As summer draws near, the media will probably give more focus to “climate change”. (These stories just don’t seem to make much of an appearance in the throes of frigid Januaries!)
Decades ago, the “crisis” started out as an impending ice age, as the older generations remember. Then it changed to global warming, and now it is classified as climate change. What I want to draw out is what they call those who don’t accept the bombastic premises of climate change: deniers.
The dictionary defines denial as stating something to be not true which others declare or believe to be true. The most familiar Bible story on this topic is Peter’s three denials of our soon-to-be-crucified Lord.
For the first occurrence in the Bible, we have to go back to Genesis. Here Sarah, at 89 years of age, denies the angel of the Lord’s prophecy that she will have a son (Gen. 18:15). It’s interesting that she “laughed” at this news, and her child was named Isaac, meaning laughter.
In the New Testament, Peter and John healed a lame man in Jerusalem, who then entered the Temple “walking, and leaping, and praising God” ( Acts 3:8 ). What a wonderful miracle and testimony! When the people gathered around, Peter told the crowd that they had recently “denied [Jesus] in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just…” (Acts 3:14-15). I’m glad that when it comes to Jesus Christ, we’re not deniers — we’re believers! We have personally accepted Jesus Christ’s claims of being God and our Saviour as true.
In our Christian life, we must be careful not to deny Christ. It is certainly possible for us to commit this very deed. Jesus cautions us when He says, “He that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God” ( Luke 12:9). As opposed to Peter, who swore he didn’t know Christ, we ought to be proud to be a believer. Because of what Jesus tells us, we had better confess that we know Him to those around us! Imagine the shame upon those whom Christ denies in heaven. God forbid that that be us.
There is one that we are to deny constantly: our self. To His followers, Jesus says, “If any will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mat. 16:24). Our old flesh likes to rear its ugly head and distract and detour our walk with the Lord. It gets in the way of serving and especially sacrificing for Him because our flesh desires to have the preeminence. We must, with God’s help, subdue our flesh by following the ways of the Lord and seeking to do *His* will, as opposed to our own.
As you go to work or to doctor’s appointments or the grocery store, let others know you’re a Christian by giving them a tract. When sinners entice you to join them, refuse the offer and let them know that you follow the Lord and don’t want to sin. Don’t be afraid to talk about the Lord with family and friends. Live your life so that Jesus could say to you what He said to the church at Philadelphia, “Thou… hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name” (Rev. 3:8)!