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Et tu, Brutus? Those are some of the most famous words ever spoken, and they were said by Julius Caesar as someone he trusted took his turn to stab him to death in an organized assassination.
Long before Julius Caesar cried out those last words, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was forced to ask His disciples a similarly tough question. John 6:67 - “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
That inquiry arose because many disciples turned away after He taught them that His flesh and blood would give them life (John 6:53-58). His audience didn't understand the symbolism of what we now know as Holy Communion. They likely believed He was encouraging them to consume human flesh and blood, both of which were not permitted by the Laws of Moses.
As people walked away, He asked if those closest to Him would do the same. One man answered on behalf of the rest in John 6:68 - Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Jesus is equally asking us if we will be with Him through the long haul. Will we remain faithful disciples even when He tells us things that don't make sense? What about when things get hard? Will we throw a tantrum and threaten to leave? Will we return to the world that He saved us from with His blood?
We each have to make a true commitment to Jesus and, in so doing, to His Father. Remember, Jesus said no man can access God except through Him (John 14:6). Thus, we are required to commit to Jesus no matter how our faith is tested.
Moses was regularly insulted by his people, and their pestering led him to miss the promised land. Despite that, he served the Lord all the way to the end. Job experienced pure suffering. Not once did he curse God and walk away. Paul arguably endured more physical agony than Jesus, and still chose to serve the Lord.
Can we do the same? Can we, like Simon Peter, truly say we have no backup plan and that we have decided to follow Jesus all the way? Will we opt instead to backslide and go back to living the way we did before we accepted Jesus into our lives? Or will we renege on our pledge to make Him our Lord and Savior?
God wants an unwavering commitment from us. A promise to never turn back from His Son and thus never turn away from Him. He wants this because it's the very commitment He and His Son have made to us. He is in a covenant to bless and love us forever. A covenant He takes seriously.
This covenant impacts every area of our lives. The devil hates it and attacks, believing that if it applies enough pressure, we'll see God as a liar and struggle to see how He helps us, focusing on the challenges instead. God, however, is pouring into His covenant with us and keeping satan from achieving its objective of destroying our souls. He does that even when we don't give Him the glory He deserves and commit sin, which acts as a rejection of Christ's sacrifice, in many ways.
Still, the choice is ours - will we dismiss the price paid for our souls and agree with satan’s lie that choosing God isn’t worth it? Or will we agree with God - that although the road won’t always be easy, we will still cling to Him, confident He’ll send His angels to lift us so our feet strike no stones?
I pray none of us will backslide and walk away from the Lord into a life of spiritual adultery, idolatry, the occult, and wickedness. I pray that we will don the armor of God and keep standing in faith. I declare satan's schemes to drag us from the Lord have failed. And for anyone who has backslidden already, today is the day of the Lord's salvation. He wants you back and desires a close relationship once again. Tell Him you want Him. Take His hand. He's ready to welcome you into His embrace, IJN Amen.
PS: Due to a prior commitment, I likely will not be active during fellowship hour. Please be sure to share your praises and prayers for people. The Lord will help us all. God bless you!
As you await fellowship at Noon EST, consider reading the Altar Call below and the following previous P&P messages:
