The word confidence means “to have a firm belief, trust, or certainty in someone, yourself or something. Peter thought he had confidence in Jesus and in himself, until he didn’t. We saw this when Peter briefly walked on the water. Matthew 14:25 “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Another time Peter said Matthew 16:16 “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And then 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” He would continue to have human concerns. Peter was confident in his commitment to Jesus. Mark 10:28 “Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” John 6:60 “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
In Peter’s mind he had the confidence of a very committed disciple, but as we see before Jesus was crucified, Peter wasn’t as confidence as he believed himself to be. Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” Matthew 26:33 “Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” 34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” 35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.” Though confident, Peter and all the disciples disowned Jesus.
After Pentecost, we see a different Peter. After Peter and John healed a man and proclaimed Jesus rose from the dead, they were put in prison but fearlessly proclaimed the gospel. Acts 4:1 “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. 5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.” The words “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus,” are powerful words. Not only had they been with Jesus, but they were also filled with the Holy Spirit and these men did as Jesus did.
There are many in the church who are confident in what they believe, but one day that confidence will be shattered as it was with Peter because their confidence is not in Jesus but in doctrines of man and demons. The question is will you still be standing when God allows satan to sift you. Most draw their confidence from their leaders and the doctrines and theology they have given their lives to such as Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Reformed etc. And many will die confidently believing the other gospels that they have been taught by powerfully persuasive influencers. Some are so confident in their denominational distinctives, they will confidently reject what the bible clearly states. For example, when it comes to healing, the bible says yes disciples will have the power to heal as part of God’s plan for the church, but many have been taught that they cannot (cessationists) as that power ceased with the apostle Paul. If you have been unknowingly deceived by false teachers, the best thing that can happen is for your confidence to be shattered when you are still alive. You do not want to find out on Judgment Day that you placed your confidence in the wrong person, doctrine or gospel. There will be many in agony when they hear the words “I don’t know you.” Luke 13:22 “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!” Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Most people who call themselves Christians have been deluded and deceived by false teachers who have led them to a different jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4) and have taught them other gospels (Galatians 1:6) and millions confidently believe what they have been taught to be truth. They go through life saying as Peter said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” The problem is there have been many who have died thinking they were actually following Jesus, but they were in fact following a different jesus. They had already disowned Jesus and didn’t even know it. Having confidence in a different jesus leads to disaster in the present and eternally. Those who have been deceived are not actually following the word of God, Jesus, but are following man and their words about God. Jeremiah said Jeremiah 17:5 “This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” For many the deception and delusion are so severe, they cannot tell the difference and for many it will be to late when they find out.
As Jeremiah said, “blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Paul said 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” The word of God is where you draw your confidence. Acts 21:10 “After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” Another example of confidence is Job. God had allowed satan to sift Job and the destruction to his life was devastating. He lost everything, including his children, his possessions and his body was shattered, but he remained faithful and was confident in His God. First, he said, Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” After he became sick, Job 2:9 “His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” Job 19:25 “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job remained confident in his God and never turned away, even though his wife and friends and others tried to persuade him to turn away. Job 42:10 “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” James 5:10 “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
It is crucial to ask yourself where your confidence comes from. You do not want to be like Peter and find out you have placed your confidence on man instead of God when sifted by satan. Paul said 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” The problem is many are holding firmly to the wrong jesus and false gospels and their confidence is in vain. But if like Job your confidence truly is in the word of God, Hebrews 10:35 “do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” Hebrews 3:6 “But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
