Did it ever occur to you what a pathetic force there is in Peter's
picking out that word 'denying' as the shorthand expression for all
sorts of sins? Who was it that thrice denied that he knew Him? That
experience went very deep into the Apostle; and here, as I take it, is a
most significant illustration of his penitent remembrance of his past
life, all the more significant because of its reticence. The allusion is
one that nobody could catch that did not know his past, but which to
those who did know it was full of meaning and of pathos:--'Denying the
Lord, as _I_ did on that dismal morning, in the High Priest's palace. I
am speaking about it, for I know what it comes to, and the tears that
will follow after.'
But what I desire to press upon you, dear friends, is just this: That in
that view of the lives of people who are not Christians there is
suggested to us the essential sinfulness, the black ingratitude, and the
absolute folly of refusing to acknowledge the claims of Him to whom we
belong, and who has bought us at such a price. You can do it by word,
and perhaps some of us are not guiltless in that respect. You can do it
by paring down the character and office of Jesus Christ, and minimising
the importance of His sacrifice from the world's sins, and thinking of
Him, not as the Owner that bought us, but as the Master that teaches us.
You can do it by cowardly hiding of your colours and being too
shamefaced, too sensitive to the curled lip of the man that works at the
next bench, or sits at the next desk, or the student that is beside you,
or somebody else whose opinion you esteem, which prevents you from
saying like a man, 'I belong to Jesus Christ, and whomsoever other
people serve, as for me, I am going to serve Him.' And you can do it,
and many of you are doing it, by simply ignoring His claims, refusing to
turn to Him, not yielding up your will to Him, not turning your heart to
Him, not setting your dependence upon Him. Is it not a shame that men,
whose hearts will glow with thankfulness when another man, especially if
he is a superior, comes to them with some gift, valuable, but nothing as
compared with the transcendent gift that Christ brings, will yet let Him
die for them and not care anything about Him? I can understand the
vehement antagonism that some people have to Christ and Christianity,
but what I cannot understand is the attitude of the immense mass of
people that come to services like this, who profess to believe that
Jesus Christ's love for them brought Him to the cross, and yet will not
even pay the poor tribute of a little interest and a momentary
inclination of heart towards Him. 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that
pass by,' that Jesus Christ died for you? He bought you for His own. Let
me beseech you to 'yield yourselves' servants, slaves of Christ, and
then you will be free, and you will hear Him say in the very depth of
your hearts, 'Henceforth I call you not slaves, but friends.'