Self-Reliance vs. God's Grace
Chapter 1 Prior Chapter
Imagine the patience the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit) have during times of our spiritual blindness. For example: The Disciple Peter's thinking repeatedly focused on the "here and now." Such thinking failed to take into account “God’s will” which includes a perspective of His creation throughout time.
- Matthew 14:22-33 Peter loved and trusted Jesus with his life. None of the other disciples got out of he boat in rough seas to walk on the water.
- Matthew 16: 21-23 Jesus explained to his disciples that He must suffer, be killed, and that He would be raised on the third day. Peter rejected this teaching and rebuked Jesus Christ for saying it. Peter’s “humanistic thinking” refused to take into account “God’s agenda.”
- Matthew 17:1-8 The God of the Universe even tells Peter to listen and take into account what Jesus is teaching.
- Matthew 26: 31-35 When self-reliance motivated Peter to pledge his loyalty to Christ, Jesus informed Peter that he would deny Christ three times that same night.
- Luke 22: 54-62 Upon the third denial, Christ looked straight at Peter. Peter left and wept bitterly. This incident brought Peter’s self-confidence to an all-time low.
Peter’s denial was a symptom. His recurring problem involved Peter not allowing God into his decision-making process.
Chapter 2: The degree of God's Love