Confessing or Denying

If anyone confesses Me before men, him also I will confess before My Father who is in heaven.
But if anyone denies Me before men, him also I will deny before My Father who is in heaven.  (Matthew 10)

But ...
but ...
but we do deny Him.

If we don't curse and swear that we don't know Him (as did Peter), we still deny Him every single time we sin or doubt or be selfish.  And then that verse can be scary.

Pastor invited us to cling to the first half of the verse.  It is a promise of God.  It is true!  He will confess us before the Father! 

We are sinners.  We do deny Him.  That's abominable.  But in the face of our sin, we continue to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. 

Peter denied Jesus.  Peter also confessed Jesus. (It's that whole "simultaneously saint and sinner" thing.)  Peter is in heaven. 

God's mercy and love and forgiveness is even bigger than our sin.  That's some pretty big mercy!