Part One: The Car Crash, Instinct, and Four-Letter Words.
Peter gets a bad rap, can we all agree?
But can we just be real for a moment and also agree that what Peter does is bad. It’s really bad.
J.I. Packer says this, “All the Gospels record this incident, showing how deeply it impressed the mind of the early church. It is a testimony both to human weakness and the greatness of God’s mercy.”
Wow. So let’s begin with this statement:
Be wary of the human instinct for survival, it can cause you to betray yourself.
Looking at the passage as a whole, do you think that Peter’s denials were pre-meditated, or a survival instinct? (take answers)
I would argue that at least the first of the three denials seems to be a survival instinct type reaction from Peter, and, if so, that makes sense. Remember WHERE Peter is (and where the other 10 apostles are NOT.)
There is also some interesting differences between the three denials themselves:
- The first is instinct.
- In the second Peter swears an oath
- In the third he just flat out swears.
All of that we will deal with in detail next week, but the vibe of what’s going on here in Peter’s heart and mind is what I want to use as the foundation as we build into next week’s lesson.
Now, you guys all remember Nate Harrison, who spoke for us last month? I want to share a story about a conversation that Nate and I had in my formative years that Nate probably doesn’t know had a lasting impact on me.
The Story begins with a question:
How many of you, after becoming believers, have ever sworn? Used a curse word, etc? Okay, I want you to think of a specific time when this happened, when you “let one fly” so to speak. I’m going to spare all of us the embarrassment of asking what you said, but here’s the question I’m wondering if you would answer for me: What was the situation, what caused you to swear?
(take answers)
Well, here’s my story: I was once in a near miss car accident while in college. Someone ran a stop sign and I had to slam on my breaks to narrowly avoid an accident. This was of personal trauma to me, because when I was in high school, I actually was in a horrible accident where an elderly grandmother DID run a red light as I was passing through the intersection and I T-Boned her with her granddaughter in the car with her. They spun into a ditch and it was quite awful. I was very shaken by it. (They ended up being fine, by the way) but it really shook me up.
So, a few years later, when I was in college, I had almost the exact same thing happen. Someone ran a stop sign, I stood on the brakes, I barely missed them, and then…yeah, I let one (maybe even more than one) fly. It was a four letter word party in my car and everyone was invited.
Well, shortly after that event, maybe a week later, I was having a discussion with Nate Harrison about the event and I asked Nate the question: Was that really a sin for me to swear. It was total instinct, total gut reaction.
And Nate’s answer has stuck with me to this day, and I see it reverberated all over the account of Peter in the courtyard which we are examining today.
Here was Nate’s answer: Not only do I think it’s sin if it comes from a gut reaction, I also think it’s a particularly telling sin…because it reveals who and what we really are. Our flesh is so evil, so conditioned to evil, that our survival instincts, in all of their glory, kick in and are on full display in that moment of crisis.
That stunned me. I don’t think I agreed with Nate at that time. In fact, I believe I argued that if something is pure instinct you are excused from it, because you had “not control” over it. I used the similar example of sweating after hitting your thumb with a hammer.
Nate just grinned and said nothing. (I really hated when he did that. Because I knew it meant he was right, and some day I would come to realize that.)
And the more I studied, prayed, and thought about it, the more Nate’s reasoning sounded scriptural.
Now, I’d love to tell you that I’ve never sworn since, but I can’t…but here’s some evidence that I can share. I have, several times, exploded by shouting a non-sensical word (usually at the TV, usually during sporting events with teams based in Cleveland). Lately the word “BISCUITS!” has become a favorite. I have, through discipline, conditioned my instinct to say something non-sensical, instead of something much more damaging.
My POINT: If God is changing your heart, you will see evidence in at least two ways:
- When your fleshly instinct creeps us, your honed, biblical discipline will slap it back down.
- But even more awesome: Your instincts themselves will certainly begin to change, and that is evidence of sanctification.