The World that Seduces Us

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed” (John 18: 25-27).

 The Holy Spirit moving through the pen of John the Evangelist returns our attention to Peter. He followed Jesus into the courtyard of Annas, the unofficial high priest of the Jews. Peter missed the Savior’s replies to Annas’ probing questions because he remained just outside the door of the house, in the courtyard, warming himself by a fire in the company of the officers and servants of the Jews… ”Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself” (John 18:18). Peter’s distance from the Lord and comfort in the presence of the Lord’s enemies led to his threefold denial of the Savior. Each accusation was more piercing than the one before, with the final attack coming from an eyewitness, a relative of Malchus, whose ear suffered a blow from Peter’s sword in the garden arrest. Each denial was easier and more forceful than the previous one. The Spirit moved the Apostle Mark to record that Peter actually lied and spoke a curse on himself in his final denial… “But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know this man of whom you speak’” (Mark 14:71). John noted the crowing of a rooster immediately followed Peter’s third denial. Our Teacher, the Holy Spirit gathered all these facts together in this scene to show us the danger of the world that seduces us.

It’s not easy striving to live a holy life in this unholy world. Every honest disciple will admit we have given in to the strong temptation of the world around us… “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Though they may be fewer and farther between as we are maturing in our walk with Christ, we can remember moments of doubt and perhaps even a few times when we have denied being a disciple. Honest reflection on these times will often reveal that like Peter, we were seduced by the world.

The world seduced Peter with warmth and comfort. Because we are creatures of the flesh, the natural world feels very familiar and comfortable to us. It is only as we grow older that we begin to look forward to leaving this natural world and going to our real home in heaven… “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21). Until then we must guard our hearts against the attractive lure of this natural world.

The world seduced Peter with lies and doubt. Peter had once been so sure of his faith in Christ that he promised he would die for his master… “Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’” (Matthew 26:35). But on this dark night it was not the promise of the disciple but the prophecy of the Master that was fulfilled… “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times’” (Matthew 26:34). Why did Peter believe the lie that he was not a true disciple of Christ? Peter was not yet strong enough to resist the temptation of the enemies of Christ. The Spirit moved Luke to record that even as Peter yielded to the seduction of the world and confessed the lie of Christ’s enemies, Jesus came close and confronted him with a look of love and compassion that convicted his heart and would lead him to repentance and forgiveness… “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times’. And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). The world will relentlessly attack our faith by telling us we are not real disciples at all. The world will plant doubt in our hearts by pointing to our failures and weaknesses as we strive to live for Christ. But if we stay close to Jesus and confess our sins He will always be quick to forgive and restore us as our faith matures… “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

As we grow up into Christ, staying close to Him, our faith matures and we experience victory over…

The World that Seduces Us.