Jesus’ goal is restoration and as we saw in Part 1, He plans this even before we fail. He warned Peter that he would deny his Lord three times. While giving this warning, Jesus explained what would happen when Peter returned. Today Jesus, through His Spirit, continues to warn us before we stumble and continues to restore us after we fall. This is part of His response to us but it is not the entire picture.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that Peter denied being with or even knowing Christ three times over the course of an hour. As the words were leaving his mouth for the third time, he heard the rooster crow. At that moment Jesus turned and looked at Peter. It’s not clear from the text if Peter knew that Jesus was looking at him or if he met Jesus’ gaze. What is clear is that Peter comes under conviction, remembering the warning Jesus had given him before the soldiers came to arrest our Lord. Under this conviction Peter goes out and cries.
God sees all and our sins are not hidden from Him. Fortunately our sins were transferred to Jesus, Who carried them to the cross. But while our sin debt is paid, I believe that under the gaze of the living God we come under conviction about our sins. Here we must recognize the difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction is a very strong internal belief about what is right and what is wrong. When we sin we come under conviction where we realize that we have done something wrong and we respond according to the strength of that conviction, like Peter weeping bitterly. Condemnation, on the other hand, has to do with someone else pointing out our wrong and setting a burden or punishment upon us because of our sin. Self condemnation is when we beat ourselves up over that sin, trying to increase our burden in order to pay for failure.
All too often the god of today’s Christianity seems as if he prefers condemnation. He’s angry and wants nothing more than to make us pay for our sins. If this were true of Jesus that look would have been something totally different. His look would have struck Peter down with leprosy or lightning, ending Peter’s story without any chance of reconciliation. Keep in mind that Jesus had the power to do a great number of things to Peter in order to punish him for his sins. Instead He chose a look that brought simple conviction, nothing more.
The Bible tells us that, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.” (Romans 8:1) Peter was not condemned for his denial of Christ because if he were, Jesus could not have spoken of his return. I believe Peter felt conviction about his denial and about the fact that he did not keep his promise to never deny his Lord. From there his convictions would help him become the Peter we know in the Book of Acts, one who boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus even under threat of condemnation at human hands.
As followers of Christ we must understand that God does not condemn us when we stumble. Instead His Spirit works to help us understand what we have done and to bring us to a point where we feel a strong conviction when it comes to our sins. His goal is to restore us and to bring us to a point where our behavior, guided by our personal convictions, reveals a heart of obedience growing within us. This is the work of God’s Spirit within the believer. Are you willing to let Him work in your heart?
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