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| We all need a SECOND CHANCE - some of us know it. |
54 Then took they him, and led him,
and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of
the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 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. 57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58 And after a little while another saw him, and said,
Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 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 Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not
what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 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. 62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke
22:54-62)
I have often reminded all who will hear me that the Bible is a mirror to our
souls. We see in it the absolute righteousness and justice of God on the one
hand; and the absolute unworthiness and depravity of our own souls, on the
other. If this circumstance were allowed to stand, we would all be doomed to
the well-deserved fires of Hell. But our Lord is a God of second chances (and
it is by no means by chance that we come to His Throne of Grace). He makes us
into new creatures altogether when we are drawn to Him in faith. “Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.”
(2 Cor 5:17)
I apologize if I burden you too often with the same scriptural quotes, but
these are the salient points of grace and mercy to me. If you tire of them,
then go out and write your own little devotion.
Do you see your own failure in that of the courageous Peter? He was no
wimp, but a strong man of the sea – much like John Newton. But at the very moment
of greatest trial, Peter failed miserably. And to make matters worse, the Lord
turned and looked Peter squarely in the eyes at the moment of this horrendous
failure. Peter went out and wept bitterly in shame and disgrace, hurt and
misery. He wept for three long days until the Word came to his longing ears of
the resurrection of His Lord. That made repentance possible. Unlike Judas,
Peter did not go out and commit self-murder. He waited in sorrow and sadness
and contrition. Then came that wonderful morning by the shores of Galilee!
Every repentant sinner has his great morning by those blue-lined shores. The
Angel of the Garden Tomb had told the women to go and tell the disciples, and
to “tell Peter’” of the Lord’s resurrection. “But go your way, tell
his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there
shall ye see him, as he said unto you.” (Mark 16:7) Do you wonder at this choice of
words? The Lord was aware of Peter’s failure and subsequent misery, so He sends
word to Peter that he can be forgiven and restored from his betrayal on the
night of the Lord’s trial.
Do not look at me with those pious eyes thinking that you are better than Peter
– you are not, and neither am I. Peter was always faithful until parted from
the physical presence of the Lord, but afterwards had the Holy Ghost as his
Guide and Compass. He never failed of courage again. We all have our “Peter
Moments” do we not? We all have our “Jonah Moments” as well. We all – every one
of us – have our “Moments of the Woman Taken in Adultery” for we all are just
as surely that Woman as the one that the Lord forgave. We have all been caught
red-handed in our sins and can utter not a word in our defense just as the
Woman could not.
I am inspired by the lives and writings of many men and women, but I am only
inspired by their words and examples insofar as those works point me to Christ.
Among my heroes are Robert E. Lee; Bishop J.C. Ryle; Matthew Henry; Charles
Pettit McIlvaine (2nd Bishop of Ohio & Chaplain of the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point); a lonely Christian in Kenya; a widowed or deserted lady
of small children; numerous clergy in our church; a fellow clergyman,
businessman and soldier in California; an isolated Christian in Wisconsin; and
a loyal staff; but these all have inspired my thoughts by their Christian lives
and teachings. I am, as well, inspired by the great hymns of the Church –
not because of their simple beauty of expression – but because these are filled
with cardinal points of the Light of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am often bitterly disappointed at myself, however, in failing to live up to
the Standard and Ensign the Lord has raised before my eyes and set before me on
the Battle-line of Life. I have even been inspired by those that I once
considered villains, but the change the Lord Jesus Christ has wrought in their
lives has inspired me to know that God is able to change us – to make us over
into new creatures – and to realize that this has been possible for me as well.
I share the ground of the Rev. John Newton of England (author of Amazing Grace
and hundreds of other great hymns) who wrote for his epitaph: “John Newton,
Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by
the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored,
pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to
destroy." My friend and brother, Mr. Newton also penned this line as
well in his declining years: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two
things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour."
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| Like many of us, Jonah wasn't looking for a second or even third chance. God gave His Grace. |
After considering Peter, I look to Jonah. Even JONAH inspires me! Jonah did not
desire a second chance, but got one anyway. Jonah had a fine Conception of the
Lord. “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and
of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” (Jonah 4:2) Jonah was like many modern Christians
who possess an excellent knowledge of the Word, yet fail to act upon it. Jonah
was a Bible scholar. He had learned the above character of God from Holy Writ:
1.
The Grace of God – “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful
and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Ex 34:6)
2.
The Mercy of God – “For the LORD is good; his mercy
is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)
3.
God is slow to anger – “The LORD is merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)
4. God’s
great kindness – “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips
shall praise thee.” (Psalm
63:3 and 5) the Forgiveness of God – “But there is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” (Psalms 130:4)
Even in his rebellion, Jonah continued to know and
preach the truth of God.
Jonah, once forced to accept a second chance, went to Nineveh – that wicked
city – and preached precisely what the Lord told him to preach. How many
preachers are doing that today fearing to offend society or the government
– never condemning the cardinal sins of our day such as abortion-murder and
homosexuality? What did Jonah do at Nineveh? “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that
great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose,
and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an
exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the
city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown.” (Jonah
3:2-4) Now this was not your average, politically-correct message was it?
Moreover, these people had a reputation for being mean, but Jonah preached it
because the Lord had told him to preach it – against the people, its government
and its king. For my timid Baptist friends who believe in the so-called “separation
of church and state,” allow me to say that such a devilish doctrine is
neither in Holy Scripture nor the US Constitution. Yes, the state should not
interfere with religion, but when religion stops interfering with the ungodly
rule of despots, we are in great trouble.
Jonah was not ashamed to confess who he was and in whom he believed: “I am
an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and
the dry land.” (Jonah
1:9) I wish every clergyman of the AOC was as courageous as Jonah – even in
his rebellion.
Jonah, like Paul, paid his own way, even in his attempt to escape God. “But
Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went
down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare
thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence
of the LORD.” (Jonah 1:3)
Jonah did not blame others for his failures. He admitted to the seaman what he
had done and who he was – even in the face of certain death. Cranmer, Ridly,
Hooker, and Hus come to mind, as well as the Maid of Orlean, Jean d’Arc – all
martyrs to the faith once delivered.
Jonah knew how to pray when he got in over his head, and the waters of the
Mediterranean Sea were definitely over his head. “Then Jonah prayed unto the
LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine
affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I,
and thou heardest my voice.” (Jonah 2:1-2) Do we know when and how to pray?
Jonah took heed of the Words of the Lord when they came to him the second time.
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go
unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid
thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.”
(Jonah 3:1-3) You may
be smugly thinking, “Silly man!” but at least Jonah obeyed the Lord on the
second reminder. How about you and me?
