THE GOSPELS

In this section:

MATTHEW 10:28

MATTHEW 10:32-33, 26:69-75, LUKE 9:26, LUKE 12:6-10 & THE APOSTLE PETER

MATTHEW 10:22

In this section, we recognize the context of Christ ministering throughout the Judean regions, healing people, and doing miracles. In chapter 10, we read of how Jesus selects 12 students to go on the first missionary journey (while they were still under the Old Covenant). We read

"1 Jesus summoned His twelve students ..." (Matthew 10:1)

Jesus tells them to go where they are supposed to go, and announce what they are supposed to announce,

"5 ... Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 10:5-7)

The above section is in Messiah's further directions to His students that we are about to examine. Jesus says, what is interpreted according to the NEST, to be a sentence that means that those who are eternally spiritually saved in Christ's New Convenient of the cross and resurrection, are not really eternally saved after all. To get into the flow, we notice that Jesus calls his students to Him, and we read of the list of who they are, and then Matthew clarifies. When he gets to the last student on the list, we find the clarification;

"... and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him." (Matthew 10:4)

This is a very important point. Keep it in mind at this time. Next, we read that Jesus starts to teach the students, saying;

"16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." (Matthew 10:16-22)

According to the typical interpretation of the NEST, this encouragement of Jesus concerning the deliverance that occurs to the one who has endured to the end, is that Jesus really means that people who are actually saved will not endure to the end, and so they will be damned forever in eternal spiritual lostness.

The NEST is wrong, so let us analyze why the theory is wrong.

As a primary consideration, it is important that we notice that Matthew already gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is talking to. Jesus is talking to all those He is talking about. Consequently, all those He is talking to, of which He is talking about, are those who endure. Jesus is talking about the eleven men who endure to the end who will be saved in the New Covenant blood of the soon coming cross. Judas Iscariot, is already identified as the one who is not one of the ones who endure to the end. Remember, Matthew starts this section out with,

"... and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him." (Matthew 10:4)

Notice that Jesus says that He is sending the students out as sheep in the midst of wolves, (Matthew 10:16). Jesus prophesies, saying that men will hand them over to courts, and scourge them in the synagogues, verse (Matthew 10:17-18). His prophecy also includes the fact that they will be brought before governors and kings, but listen to the proclamation of the security in endurance that Jesus proclaims. He says that they will be there before the rulers in the persecuting situation,

"for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." (Matthew 10:18)

Jesus knows which ones are His true witnesses, and which ones are not. Judas was never delivered over to anyone for Messiah's sake. Nevertheless, Jesus has ordained that those who are His true followers, will stand before the rulers to be "a testimony." Jesus tells His students all that must happen as Jesus reveals events that are coming after the establishment of His New Covenant, which demonstrates that some will eternally persevere by not betraying Him. Then Jesus says more,

"19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." (Matthew 10:19-20)

Jesus knows which ones are once saved in eternal spiritual salvation, (cf. John 17:9, 18:9) and so He tells His students what He knows about their future. He knows that the Holy Spirit of their very Father in heaven is Who speaks in them. Judas, on the other hand, is the prophesied son of perdition, (cf. John 17:12), who was a thief and betrayer of Jesus, and, who was elected for that end. We have no record that Judas ever went on to stand before anyone to give a testimony by the Spirit of the Father. The rest of the students know God as their Father, and will receive the promise of the Spirit (cf. John 14:26, 15:26). None of the other students know the wickedness of Judas at this time; only Christ knows the dark lostness of Judas' heart. This is why we read in John 6:67-71;

"67 So Jesus said to the twelve, 'You do not want to go away also, do you?' 68 Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.' 70 Jesus answered them, 'Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?' 71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him." (John 6:67-71)

Clearly, Judas is a devil, who is of his father the devil. He can not persevere in anything but the tyranny of His cursed damnation. Continuing through Matthew 10, Jesus goes on to explain to the students who are true followers of His, about the hardship they will endure. It is the endurance that He wants them to expect so, that when it comes, they will be encouraged by Christ's foretelling revelation. So Christ says,

"21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." (Matthew 10:16-22)

Jesus is comforting those eleven who endure to the end with the fact that they "will be saved" in eternal spiritual glory, though they will be hated, and even killed, in temporal life. Judas, on the other hand, demonstrated that He did not endure until the end, and so he, likewise, demonstrated that he was never elect unto eternal spiritual salvation. Judas was never saved. Judas was never given to Jesus by the Father. On the other hand, "the one who has endured to the end" who will be saved, is any one who truly belongs to Jesus, of which Jesus says he lost not one (cf. John 18:9). In other words, He does not, and can not lose what endures. This is the fact that Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17 concerning all His faithful students, which do not include Judas, where Jesus says,

"6 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word." (John 17:6)

In other words, His true followers were sovereignly elected and given to Him to persevere and endure. Continuing with Jesus' prayer concerning His elect, (which is a prayer that does not include Judas) in John 17:9, Jesus says,

"9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;" (John 17:9)

Jesus is praying concerning all the eternally spiritually saved students. These are the enduring ones that the Father truly gives Jesus in cosmic rescue, and since they are ones that are also the Father's, then we know that they are elect unto eternal spiritual salvation. Next, Jesus prays,

"12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled." (John 17:12)

The son of perdition is Judas. Those guaranteed to endure, (that the Father truly gave Messiah), Messiah kept and guarded. Judas, on the other hand, was preordained, as Scripture bears witness, to not endure. Judas necessarily had to betray Jesus so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, and he did. A little later, Jesus gives the finalized statement concerning those who were given to Him that were elected to endure. He says,

"9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, 'Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.'" (John 18:9)

Of course Jesus "lost not one." Judas was never a "one." The bottom line is that of all those 12 in the group that Jesus was talking to, Judas was the only one who did not endure as a student. He was not given to Messiah as per Messiah's prayer which was prayed after Judas went off to betray Him that fateful night. Those who are meant to endure, do endure, and their endurance is simply a demonstration of the fact that they were indeed elect to eternal spiritual salvation.

Therefor we properly recognize that this passage does not remotely teach that one who is eternally spiritually saved according to the New Covenant of the crucified and resurrected Messiah, can lose one's state of eternal spiritual salvation that one already has.

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MATTHEW 10:28

Coming into this Matthew 10:28 passage, we need to recognize the contextual flow. Jesus is continuing on with his instruction to His students that He has been teaching through chapter 10 and tells them that He is coming back again before they finish running from city to city. Jesus says,

"23 But whenever they persecute you [His students] in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 10:23)

There are some scholars who think that Jesus is making a reference, at this point, to much later in the future, when He, in His sovereignty, comes to Jerusalem in AD 70, to destroy the apostate Jews who rebelled against Him and His gospel; and to destroy the last vestiges of the Old Covenant system. Then Jesus says,

"24 A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the student that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!" (Matthew 10:24-25)

Jesus is talking about the rejecting Old Covenant Jews, who did not call Jesus Immanuel, according to the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, (cf. Matthew 1:22-23) which means "God with us," but rather they (mainly the religious leaders) committed blasphemy and called Jesus Beelzebul, (literally "Lord of the flies" where in the Old Testament period, it designated the Canaanite god, Baal; cf. 2 Kings 1:2-16).

Jesus continues on in chapter 10, and it is in what He says next that we find the passage that has been interpreted by some people in accordance with the NEST. Jesus says;

"26 Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:26-28)

What is suggested according to the typical NEST interpretation, is that Jesus is telling students, who are elect to eternal spiritual salvation, that they are to fear God because they are in danger of losing salvation, and end up going to hell.

The NEST is wrong, so let us examine why the NEST is wrong.

Jesus has been teaching on the intense persecution that His students are going to be going through, and rather than a warning to those who are elect of what can happen to them, this is a contrast of who should actually be feared, which is the Sovereign of the universe who has the authority to do things that are worse than killing people, like destroy both souls and bodies in hell. In other words, Jesus continues stating the persecution that must happen to the students in verse 23, by saying, "whenever they persecute you in one city; flee to the next" and He explains that the students will not finish going through the cities of Israel, (being chased down) until He, Messiah, comes. In the meantime, they, as elect members of Messiah's household must expect to be maligned by the rejecting Israelites like the head of the household is maligned. So, their Messiah says therefor, "do not fear them," (verse 26). So, it is with all of that, that Jesus gives the encouragement to preach openly what they learn privately from Jesus, and in the midst of the preaching, Jesus says,

"28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:26-28)

This encouragement is that, in comparison to the true Jehovah that these students serve, the temporal (soon passing) persecutors are not to be feared. Death is ominous; death is not fun, and being persecuted hurts. This is why these faithful servants need to be encouraged. The point is that no mere man can kill both the body and soul. Since Christian hating Israelites are not soul killers, and can not be, they are mere nuisances compared to the One who does have the power to kill both bodies and souls in hell. The very same God who will fearfully destroy those same persecuting, (Matthew 10:23) maligning, (Matthew 10:25), and rejecting men in terrifying wrath, is really the only being to be intentionally feared in the universe. So, we see that Jesus is simply stating a fact.

Therefore, we recognize that this passage does not remotely teach that one who is eternally spiritually saved according to the New Covenant of the crucified and resurrected Messiah, can lose one's state of eternal spiritual salvation that one already has.

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THE APOSTLE PETER

AND

MATTHEW 10:32-33, 26:69-75, LUKE 9:26, LUKE 12:6-10

In this section, our primary concern is with the apostle Peter in respect to some things that Jesus teaches about those who deny Him before men. We will start with Matthew 10:29, and look into a passage that is used along with Matthew 26 to build upon the philosophy of the NEST. There are some who hold to the NEST, who use these passages together with one another to try and prove that Peter lost his salvation. The first passage we will read is out of Matthew 10, starting further back in context, where we find Jesus teaching. Christ says,

"29 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:29-33)

Continuing with the passages used by the NEST, we read Luke's account of the same teaching, where Jesus says;

"6 Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 8 And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him." (Luke 12:6-10)

Luke 9:26 has similar language, and so we see Jesus saying,

"26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26)

To see where the NEST philosophy is applied by some people, we must read these passages together with Matthew 26:69-75. In doing so, we will better understand how the NEST connects all of these passages to Peter. We read in Matthew 26, starting in verse 69;

"69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, 'You too were with Jesus the Galilean.' 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, 'I do not know what you are talking about.' 71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.' 72 And again he denied it with an oath, 'I do not know the man.' 73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, 'Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.' 74 Then he began to curse and swear, 'I do not know the man!' And immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, 'Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly." (Matthew 26:69-75)

The interpretation of all these teachings, and events, according to the NEST, is that when Jesus says "whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven" Peter, just chapters later, denied the Lord three times, (cf. Matthew 26:73-75) therefore, it is assumed that Peter lost a theoretical NEST defined kind of a state of salvation. The theoretical state of salvation is philosophically said to be an in between state of testing where one is in danger of losing the salvation, then regaining it, then losing it, then regaining it; depending upon one's strength, and skill, one must muster up in persevering. It is an unbiblical definition of salvation, but, nevertheless, it is a NEST definition. The security concerning Biblically defined salvation (which is to be Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation, OSIESS) then, is shifted to a volatile contingency of humanism, which relies upon self and self's efforts, rather than upon the actual substance of salvation, which is the work of God as a miracle. According to this particular NEST interpretation method, this Old Covenant event with Peter is showcased as a benchmark for proving that people under the Biblical New Covenant, who are eternally spiritually saved, can lose actual salvation by going in and out of spiritual salvation in random insecurity.

The Nest is wrong, and so let us explore some very important considerations to help us recognize why the NEST is wrong.

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As a First consideration, for one to die in the sin of denying that Messiah is their Lord and Savior, is to die lost. This is not to say that people who are eternally spiritually saved right now because they do not deny the Lord, but who had denied the Lord at some time in their past, must necessarily go on into the future, to die lost. Denying the Lord in the past is not an attribute that saved people continue in during their salvation at physical death. People who do not deny the Lord, die in eternal non-perishing life (cf. John 3:15-16, ie. "not perish"). Not perishing life is the opposite of temporal life. It is life that continues. Therefor they do not lose it. Further, all eternally spiritually saved people were elect by God in His sovereign determination to "not perish." No person who is elect for eternal spiritual salvation, and no one who is actually eternally spiritually saved, can possibly lose salvation. Such people die confessing Messiah as Lord and Savior. Therefor, nobody who is elect to be eternally spiritually saved, or is actually eternally spiritually saved, will die denying Messiah as their Lord and Savior. The main point is that for one to die in the sin of denying that Messiah is their Lord and Savior, is something that lost people do. It is not something saved people do; making themselves become lost. We read this same thing being repeated under the New Covenant scriptures in 2 Timothy, where Paul quotes a proverbial "saying" of truth that is familiar to the early Christians. Paul quotes the adage this way,

"11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

This creed, or poem, or most probably a type of catechism, expresses the fact that anyone who endures, is logically demonstrated as one who was, is, and will be, eternally spiritually saved. To die confessing, is to die believing, and to die believing is to die enduring. On the other hand, according to the catechism, if anyone denies Christ, then Christ will deny that person. The saying is simply stating the way it is. The unsaved die in denial of Christ. The saved do not die in denial of Christ. Likewise, Jude says that the unsaved are marked out for condemnation as those who deny our only Master, which is the Father in the Trinity, who is also Lord, who is also Jesus Christ in the Trinity (cf. Jude 1:4). The fact that they deny Christ, and continue to do so through death, is what marks them out for eternal spiritual condemnation. They were always marked out. Clearly then, they were not "in" eternal spiritual salvation. They were not purchased. Their value is damnation; not salvation. In a confirming statement, John says,

"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." (1 John 2:22)

The liar is the one who continuously denies that Jesus is the Messiah. If the person quits denying that Jesus is the Christ, then the person quits lying concerning the facts. On the other hand, a continuous act of denial is a demonstration that the one who dies denying, is not, and never could have been, eternally spiritually saved. They were, are, and will remain perishing as antichrists. We see a demonstration of this in the Asian city church in Philadelphia of Revelation 3:7-8. As true believers, they were made manifest as such by not denying Christ's name, and in keeping His word; as we read,

"7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: 8 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept [observed, heeded] My word, and have not denied My name. 9 'Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie--I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. 10 'Because you have kept ["obeyed"--tereo in the Greek] the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." (Revelation 3:7-8)

The Philadelphian church observed and heeded Christ's "word" according to 3:8. They "observed" Christ's word, as the Greek word tereo is translated in Matthew 23:3, Matthew 28:20, and Acts 15:5. The same Greek word is translated as "heed" in Revelation 1:3, and 22:9. Not only have they kept, observed, and heeded Christ's word, but they have [tereo] kept, observed and heeded the word of Christ's perseverance as a matter of obedience, and so Christ says that because of this, He will keep them from the hour of testing which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. This is a wonderful declaration of salvation, perseverance, zeal in devotion, and surety in security for all eternity. The little power that this Philadelphian church possessed in the first century, are their deeds in spiritual impact. Their deeds are that they have kept Christ's word. They have not denied Christ's name among the rest of the Philadelphians. They have kept, as in obeyed, the word of Christ's very own perseverance.

The point is that truly saved people do not deny their New Covenant Lord and Savior by rejecting Him. On the other hand, it is safe to say that lost people die every single day, and when they do, they die in the state of denying Christ and His New Covenant gospel before God and men. By the same token, it is not safe to say that Peter died denying Christ before God and men, nor was He ever in danger of doing so.

At the beginning of this first consideration it has been pointed out that to die denying Christ is to be lost. This is such an important statement. By way of reminder, it has not been pointed out that to deny Christ at one time somewhere in one's past, before one dies, means that the person has not been elect unto eternal spiritual salvation, or has lost eternal spiritual salvation, or will never be eternally spiritually saved. This also an important consideration. People deny Christ all the time. Some of those people continue to do so. Some of them do not continue to do so. If they are, in fact, truly saved through the gospel of God's grace, demonstrated through personal faith, then the blood of Jesus cleanses them from all sins, including any past denial. Saul of Tarsus is a classic example of this. He, as a Benjamite (an Israelite according to the promise), denied Israel's Messiah one moment. Messiah blinded Paul the next moment. Saul, (called Paul) no longer denies Messiah in the next moment, and so we who believe in being once saved in eternal salvation under the New Covenant, fully expect that Paul died in a state of not denying Messiah (cf. 2 Timothy 4:8). We also expect this of the apostle Peter, but there are still some more following considerations to examine in respect to that expectation. Nevertheless, this is the first consideration: for one to die denying that Messiah (Christ) is their Lord and Savior, is to die lost, and no one who is elect to eternal spiritual salvation dies lost.

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As a second consideration, according to the NEST interpretation, when Jesus gave His warning that He will deny people who deny Him in Matthew 10:33, it is merely asserted that Jesus was referring to the truly saved, (which according to the NEST, must necessarily be His 12 students that He was teaching his lessons to). It is with that assumption, that the suggestion is made that if Jesus is directing this teaching to His twelve students in particular, then Jesus thought that He might lose those whom the Father had given Him, (cf. John 6:37-40). Those who believe in the NEST philosophy, base this upon the fact that at the beginning of this discourse we read,

"1 Jesus summoned His twelve students and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. ... 5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them ... 7 as you go, preach, saying ..." (Matthew 10:1-7)

Accordingly, those who believe in the NEST feel that Jesus thought He could lose these students in addition to the predestined, and prophesied traitor, Judas Iscariot (see footnote 1 below). The reality is that Jesus did not lose anyone whom the Father had given Him, as Jesus actually says in John 6:37-40 concerning these same students,

"37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. ... 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:37-40)

Jesus knows who the elect are. He knows that all that the Father gives to Jesus by His sovereign hand will not be lost. Jesus is not worried about truly saved people theoretically losing the salvific state that they are already in, with the fear that denying Him can happen as the last state of one of His elect. Jesus demonstrates from every context available, that He was not concerned with the truly saved leaving salvation, and then possibly failing to get back into a state of salvation fast enough to barely escape eternal spiritual damnation at physical death. Reading on further, we find clarifying details to help us properly interpret these passages. Further in chapter 6 of John, Jesus says,

"61 But Jesus, conscious that His students grumbled at this, said to them, ... '64 But there are some of you [students] who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him [Judas Iscariot]. 65 And He was saying, 'For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.' 66 As a result of this many of His students withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, 'You do not want to go away also, do you?' 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." (John 6:61-68)

In reading this, we must be mindful that Peter is among those who recognize and believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Further, Peter is one of those who has "come to" Jesus (John 6:65). Additionally, it was the Father who "granted" that Peter do this (John 6:65). Further, in chapter 17, Jesus says to His Father in heaven in a prayer, once again that the 11 students (which includes Peter) were given to Him and He will lose none of them,

"6 I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ... 11 I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled." (John 17:6-12)

The men whom the Father gave the Son out of the world, is the group of the 11 elect students that were predestined for glory in eternal spiritual salvation, and Peter is among them. But, back in Matthew 10, those who believe in the NEST also fail to recognize, concerning Jesus' whole teaching thrust concerning people who deny Christ, that though Jesus is in fact talking to His students, Jesus is also talking to His students about the very important subject of other people who are not students! This a very important detail concerning context, and proper relevance of any Biblical interpretation, concerning what Jesus is talking about. The important fact is that Jesus is clearly teaching His students concerning other people who can deny Him, are denying Him, and will deny Him. A simple reading of the text demonstrates that Jesus is not talking about the elect, as we see starting in Matthew 10:1, where Jesus mentions unclean spirits and other people--people who need healing. Jesus mentions Gentiles and Samaritans in verse 5. Jesus mentions Lost sheep of the House of Israel in verse 6. Jesus mentions the sick, the dead, lepers, and demons in verse 8. Jesus mentions villages, and houses in verse 11. Jesus graphically mentions some who are not worthy, in verses 13-15. He says,

"13 If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city." (Matthew 10:13-15)

Jesus continues, and mentions those who deny Him as being "wolves" toward His students in verse 16. Jesus mentions more sinful rejecting Israelites in verse 17, saying

"17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." (Matthew 10:17-18)

At this point we notice the important detail that Jesus says that these students that he is teaching about deniers, are students that will be brought before other people. They will be brought before rulers for His sake, which, as we have seen demonstrated in the historic fulfillment of this prophetic revelation, are other people who deny Him. In verse 21, Jesus goes on to mention others who, along with the predestined and prophesied betrayer, Judas Iscariot (see footnote 1 below), are those who deny Him; as we read,

"21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. (Matthew 10:21)

Then comes a very revealing and NEST shattering sentence, where Jesus says,

"22 You will be hated by all because of My name, ..." (Matthew 10:22)

If in fact, "all" will hate "you" being the students, because of Christ's name, then we can be assured that this "all" that hate His students, are people who deny Christ. As has been demonstrated, with a little study this is not difficult to figure out. So, the point is already made that Jesus is not warning any students that the Father has actually given to Him, of which He said He lost not one, (cf. John 6:39). Rather, Jesus is speaking of any lost person, Including Judas the fake, who, in fact, was a man who rejected Jesus as Messiah to make some blood-money, and apparently went on to commit suicide while in his sin of rejection. Those other people, in Jesus' long teaching, are the deniers. They, as the true deniers, are not falling in and out of anything, because they are not elect, and they certainly are not saved. Though it would seem at this point, the false interpretation of NEST has already been manifest as being defeated, we shall continue with our verse to verse exegesis. Continuing, will edify us in this consideration, by helping us to get the fuller picture of the context of Jesus' immediate teaching. Jesus refers to the deniers again as coming against those who are elect to eternal spiritual salvation in verse 25,

"... If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! 26 'Therefore do not fear them, ..." (Matthew 10:25-26)

Jesus encourages His students, and calls the deniers, "they." Then again, Jesus gives more encouragement to not fear the deniers. He says,

"28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

In other words, Jesus is saying to rather fear the One who has the greater power. It is only logical to fear the one who is "able" as Jesus says, to do far greater destruction than any mere human persecutor. It is an ability issue. It is not a warning to those who are elect for eternal spiritual salvation to consider that they may possibly lose what is eternal. The point is that, of course, we should fear the great Jehovah of the universe, rather than mere men who are the created, and, who are the futile deniers. Further, since Jesus is encouraging everyone of His students except Judas, we are not surprised to find these beautiful words of comforting support, where Jesus finally says, to "not fear,"

"31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:31)

Fearing Jehovah over mere human deniers, is Jesus' point, but He immediately comes back with the fact that His students are to not fear for a reason. The reason is because of the inherent worth God has given them. Sparrows are valuable to God, but these people whom the Lord elected out of Israel to be these particular students, He loves unto salvation in eternal glory, and so He gives them their value that makes them worthy to be saved once and forever. This value that God gives, is value that pushes aside any reason for His authentic followers to fear death.

Moving along now, we come immediately to that important passage where we find that Jesus gives the now famous warning concerning those who are not more valuable than many sparrows. This is an important passage because this is the one used according to the NEST concerning Peter, and by fallacious extension, to suggest that New Covenant Christians can lose the salvation that they already have. The warning is concerning those who reject Jesus as Messiah. We Look at verse 32 again;

"32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

Those who deny Christ, will be denied by Christ before the Father because, they, like the pagan nations of old, have a value that essentially amounts to nothing. We read the consistent principle in Isaiah, where the nations,

" ... are as nothing before Him; they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless." (Isaiah 40:17)

Now that we have gone to context, we have clearly seen that Jesus is talking about a wide range of people. Then He continues to mention even more people who are not His students,

"35 ... I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man's enemies will be the members of his household." (Matthew 10:35-36)

Finally Jesus makes this very clear statement that proves He is talking about other people being deniers, rather than His students, where we read,

"40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whoever in the name of a student gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:40-42)

Therefor, the argument, that Jesus is talking to His 12 students about His twelve students, fails miserably. Further, the rest of the argument that says that Jesus means that any of His other 11 students can do as Judas Iscariot was predestined to do, and can deny Him in such a way that Jesus will deny them before His Father, is null and void. The fact that Peter went on to demonstrate that He was indeed one who embraced and confessed Christ before men, demonstrates that the denial three times that he did on that fateful night in weakness, was not a denial where Jesus must necessarily deny Peter before the Father.

/3/
This leads to a third consideration, and that is that Jesus is talking to the students about sending them out on their first journey (as primary apostles) to announce His reign, which is His kingdom. The important point here is that in this first missionary outreach commission, Jesus has His lost sheep of the house of Israel in mind. These are the people He was sent to in the Davidic promise, so He, likewise, says to His students,

[a]
"... but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew, 10:6)

Jesus is sending His students as He was sent. This is important, and so we must remember, these Israelites are the people Jesus was sent to from the Father in Heaven to announce that He is the promised Messiah. He said,

[b]
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)

Jesus, in like manner, tells His students to only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, as this is the Old Covenant apostolic mission that is meant to announce to Israel the arrival of the Messiah King. Israel is to whom the Messiah was promised, and so, in the respect of the promise, Israel owned the covenant promise, and with it, they owned the promise of the kingdom inheritance of the reigning king to come on David's throne. The kingdom of heaven, which is also the kingdom of God, is being announced to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. To reject, refuse, and disown, the reign and rule of Messiah, is to deny Him as the true promised Messiah. This disowning reflects the NIV's interpretation of the Greek verb arneoma as "disown" in respect to having previously owned Messiah according to covenant promise, and then, later giving up that ownership through rejection. Reading from the NIV, helps make this point clearer. Instead of putting "deny," the NIV puts disowns, and states,

"32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33 NIV)

Israel, as a nation, owned their promised Messiah only in the respect that they possessed the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David concerning the Davidic line of kings. Likewise, Messiah owned Israel as a covenant nation. They were the keepers of His Old Covenant Law. They were the keepers of His temple. They were His chosen blood line for His covenants and promises. Nevertheless, only a remnant of them are saved in eternal spiritual salvation, (cf. Romans 9:27). The reason all of these details are being brought to the forefront at this time in our analyzation, is because the NIV translation is somewhat esoteric, and so it can be looked at in such a way that an English reader may think that Jesus is talking about people who are elect for eternal spiritual salvation. In other words, the NIV translation is another thing that people who believe in the NEST like to use to build a case for the false philosophy of unsurety in insecurity. For example, this particular interpretation has stimulated one man who believes in the NEST to ask this loaded question based upon the Matthew 10 passage:

"Would it be possible for Jesus to disown us if we were never owned by him first through salvation? ___Yes ___No"

Other than committing what is called in formal logic, the "either/or" fallacy, (which means that the options for the correct answer are artificially reduced to two when there may really be other alternatives) we notice that the question is also misleading in another ways. The question, which is purported to be in connection to the Matthew 10:32-33 passage, injects a detail into the actual passage that is not there. Namely that Jesus owns certain people "through salvation." The fact that Jesus owns certain people in, and through, salvation, is true, yet it is true later on after this instruction in Matthew 10. Christ only owns certain people in eternal spiritual salvation through His New Covenant, in that Christ effectually and certainly redeemed, purchased, as in bought, all those whom He wrote in His New Covenant Book since before the foundation of the world. We who are truly eternally spiritually saved, are indeed owned by Christ through His blood in His New Covenant business deal alone; by grace, through faith. Christ, in establishing His New Covenant, died for sins according to 1 Peter 3:18, and also Christ's sacrifice is the "offering for sin," according to Romans 8:3. In theological language this is called atonement and propitiation. In other words, Christ's New Covenant sacrifice is the the satisfaction God requires for

1.) the unholiness of sin, where sin is covered, in a sense by Christ's blood, ie. atonement;

and

2.) the penalty for sin, which is death, where the penal action against sinners was received in the body of Christ in His crucifixion.

This purchasing Covenant is something that was needed the day that Jesus taught what is found in Matthew 10. But only Jesus knew this fact at the time. His students needed the New Covenant in His blood, as all the saint who had died previously throughout history also needed it (cf. Hebrews 11:40). Lost sheep of the house of Israel needed the New Covenant in His blood, but it had not yet come. Messiah knew the secret truth that He must be rejected, refused, denied, and disowned by Israel, so that He would fulfill the decretive plan, of being delivered up and killed, in God's providential sovereignty as the final sacrifice, and covenant, in His blood. Those aspects of the cross are so magnificent, but Christ's New Covenant of the atoning and propitiating sacrifice includes that other very important detail--His New Covenant work is also His work where He purchased people, and they are specific, pre-known, pre-valued people. As we read,

"... since a death has occurred that redeems [purchases] them [people] from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. [which would be the Old Covenant]" (Hebrews 9:15 ESV)

People are the valued vessels of mercy, which God prepared beforehand for glory, (cf. Romans 9:23). The writer of Hebrews is speaking primarily of Israelites here, who were under the Old Covenant. The main point is that people are what are bought. This fundamental truth is important to understand, because Christ did not purchase sin on the cross. Christ did not purchase the earth, or the "whole world," or the universe. Christ did not purchase salvation as the thing of His love. The Bible proclaims that Christ Jesus purchased people from their previous state of lostness, which is the transaction of salvation guaranteed. The faith that Christ gives those whom He has purchased, is what is manifested later on in receiving the Christ who already received them. Receiving the gospel by grace through faith is something that all who were effectually purchased must, will, and, in fact, do. It is called particular redemption, and the effectual call. By grace through faith is someone saved, and the effectual purchase of the someone guarantees that the someone will, in fact, have faith, and therefor manifest saving faith by the power of God's Holy Spirit. We see Christ's ownership in purchase of people demonstrated in many New Covenant passages,

"... shepherd the church of God which He [Christ] purchased with His own blood." [Christ particularly bought the church] (Acts 20:28)

"... for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." [that is particular men, by the way--not all men.] (Revelation 5:9)

"Christ redeemed us [people] from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13)

"so that He might redeem those [people] who were under the Law" (Galatians 4:5)

"... our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us [people] to redeem us [people] ..." (Titus 2:13-14)

". . . you [people] have been bought with a price:" (1 Corinthians 6:20)

"You [people] were bought with a price; ..." 1 Corinthians 7:23.

The point is that Christ owns certain people in His New Covenant, because He purchased them. He does not own everyone as per the New Covenant. He did not purchase everyone in the world. He only owns and purchases those whom He wrote in His New Covenant Lamb's book of Life before the foundation of the world. It is all according to God's immense plan, and His possessions in the plan are not going in and out of their eternal spiritual salvation. So, according to this contextual consideration, Jesus is not saying that anyone who is saved under the New Covenant purchase of the cross, can possibly disown Him. He is talking to those Old Covenant Israelites who are not saved in the New Covenant, but must be, if in fact they will be. They can not die rejecting, refusing, disowning, or denying Him, or they are lost and gone forever.

/4/
As a fourth consideration, when we look at the text, we see that Jesus plainly states one clear warning, and He mentions no remedy. The reason why this is an important consideration, is because this very same passage that those who believe in the NEST use, is also a passage that causes a real problem for the NEST philosophy if it is asserted that the NEST interpretation is being logically consistent in its philosophy. The way to demonstrate this, is by simply utilizing the same Bible interpretation method that those who believe in the NEST employ, yet going on to use their philosophy in consistent honesty concerning this passage. What this means is that if we were to look at this one warning, and clip it away, as the NEST does, and make a rule out of it, we could state the NEST rule this way,

Everyone who confesses Jesus before men, Jesus will also confess him before His Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Jesus before men, Jesus will also deny him before Jesus' Father who is in heaven. Peter denied Jesus three times before men, therefor Jesus denied Peter before His Father who is in heaven.

I have just demonstrated the interpretation, and the principle that those, who hold to the NEST, use for this verse. When such a philosophy is taken to its full extent, then Peter is said to be in a state of confessing Jesus at one moment, and then denying Jesus the next moment; then confessing Jesus the next moment, with Jesus following along and confessing Peter before the Father one moment, then denying Peter before the Father the next, and then confessing Peter before the Father the next. The theory is that Peter is falling in and out of salvation with the danger that he can be lost forever. Such an interpretation is based upon, and driven by a contrived definition of salvation, and so it is with this false presupposition that such an interpretation is made. Notice that in taking one of Christ's points in His statement by itself, a fallacious deduction is made that Peter's eternal spiritual salvation is lost, which is further deduced to mean that all who are born again by miracle under the New Covenant, are in danger of becoming unborn. The question is whether the NEST type of logic is consistently applied at this point. When we look at the rest of what Jesus says, we see that Peter also falls in line with the rest of Christ's words. Namely, Peter confessed Jesus before men. So, if we are to use what Jesus said as a premise of logic, and follow the same interpretation method of the NEST, (which really only means that we decide which part of Christ's sentences we like), then we could just as easily use the same premises and say this toward a conclusion,

Everyone who confesses Jesus before men, Jesus will also confess him before His Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Jesus before men, Jesus will also deny him before Jesus' Father who is in heaven. Peter confessed Jesus before men, therefor Jesus confessed Peter before His Father who is in heaven.

As we can see, neither one of the two statements has been sufficient enough for a conclusion. They are both fallacious, so the point is that there is a fuller meaning to what Messiah is saying here that goes beyond trying to make a deductive syllogism out of just one aspect of His statement, and then try and prove that Peter fell in and out of some supposed salvation state. Falling in and out of salvation is found nowhere in the text, and, as is clearly demonstrated in this book, is not found anywhere in all of scripture. Even if those who cling to the NEST happen to object to these facts being pointing out, and go on to says something like, "Yes, but Peter later repented," then it could be easily pointed out that the repentance of Peter occurred because Peter demonstrated that he was elect to eternal spiritual salvation! Therefore, in our second consideration, we see that the NEST interpretation is a faulty interpretation method for analyzing the scriptural data.

/5/
This leads to a fifth consideration, and that is that no where in the scriptures do we find evidence that Christ denied Peter before His Father. If Christ denied Peter before His Father, then Peter was not elect to eternal spiritual salvation through the New Covenant. The fact is that we see the opposite concerning Peter's life, as is recorded in the rest of the Gospels, the Acts chronicles, Peter's epistles, and even in Paul's epistles. What we see is that after the New Covenant had been inaugurated in the cross and resurrection, that not only did Peter confess, acknowledge, and proclaim Christ before God and men, but he did it as His life's passion and ministry in the great commission he received from Christ just before Christ ascended to the Father. Peter was even imprisoned for this confession, and in the ultimate demonstration of refusing to deny Christ, Peter was executed as a martyr. All the facts, then, lead us to conclude that Messiah did not deny Peter before His Father. Nevertheless, Jesus said,

"33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:29-42)

"9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." (Luke 12:6-10)

"26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26)

With these passages in mind, we must conclude that to deny Christ before men, and to be ashamed of Christ and His words, is something deeper and more severe than what Peter did. We who understand eternal security, know what that deeper denial and shame concerning Christ really is. It is utter rejection of Jesus as the one true promised Messiah that comes from the hardened heart of one who is not elect to eternal spiritual salvation.

/6/
This leads to a sixth consideration, which is all the other details that were recorded about Peter concerning Peter's denial, and all the other details that were recorded about Peter being of the elect. For this consideration, we see in Matthew 26 that Jesus tells His students what their future is going to be. What is interesting is that Jesus gave this revelation to the prophet Zechariah hundreds of years beforehand. Listen to how Christ repeats the prophecy,

"30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, 'You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, 'I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.' [Jesus just quoted Zechariah 13:7. He goes on,] 32 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 33 But Peter said to Him, 'Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.' 34 Jesus said to him, 'Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. 35 Peter said to Him ["kept saying insistently," Mark 14:31], 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.' All the students said the same thing too. ["All the students" are the eleven minus Judas, because the other gospel accounts record that Judas left them by this time to go bring the Chief priests to arrest Jesus in a few moments cf. John 13:30]" (Matthew 26:31-35)

As we scrutinize the details of these events, we notice that Jesus tells the group what has been written. He tells them their future. He makes it clear that they will all fall away because of Him. His sheep will be struck down because of Judas and the other rejecting Israelites. Notice that Jesus is the shepherd, and according to the prophecy, the remaining eleven, including Peter who will deny three times, are His sheep. Next, notice that Jesus says that after He has been raised, He will go ahead of "you" to Galilee. Jesus is revealing the future of these people, and He is talking about Peter along with the eleven, as we will see in a moment. Next Peter, who loves Jesus, asserts his undying devotion. Peter is saying that He is willing to die with Jesus. But, Jesus knows the details of what must happen in these final moments of His pre-cross ministry, and also what must happen directly after He has risen from the dead. So Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny Jesus three times--something that Peter can not fathom because Peter truly loves His Messiah. We get more details when we look at Luke's account, where Jesus says to Peter, who is also called Simon;

"28 You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you [It should be you all here. The Greek states that Satan has demanded to sift all of you, so "you" is in the plural. When translated into Texan, it is "ya'll." So Jesus says Satan has demanded permission to sift ya'll] like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you [this "you" is singular in the Greek, indicating that Jesus is talking specifically to Simon Peter], that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.' 33 But he said to Him, 'Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!' 34 And He said, 'I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.'" (Luke 22:31-34)

Satan had demanded permission to sift all the students, including Peter, like wheat, and apparently God, according to God's biblically defined act of love, gave permission to Satan to do so. We may ask why God would do such a thing as give that cosmic rapist, Satan, permission to molest Christ's students. The overarching answer is because God wanted to do such a thing. But, there are other things that God wanted to do. God wanted Peter to eat and drink at Christ's table in His kingdom, and sit on a throne, and judge the 12 tribes of Israel. God also wanted Jesus to pray that Peter's faith would not fail. Peter was about to deny Christ in a few hours, but evidently Peter's faith did not fail, as that is what Jesus requested. Certainly Jesus, as God manifested in the flesh, can demand of Himself such a thing as unfailing faith for one of His sheep, and it is no small thing to answer Himself with doing so. After all, the cosmic rapist Satan demanded to sift Peter, and the same God, according to God's biblically defined act of love, was predeterminantly able to give permission to Satan to do so. Certainly, Jesus when he says "I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel," knows how to make His guaranteed grant come to fruition. Still, there are more details. Christ goes on to immediately demonstrate that He is in control of the whole situation by saying,

"32 but I have prayed for you, [Peter] that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.'" (Luke 22:32)

Christ knows that Peter will have a temporary lapse of denying that he knew who Jesus was. But, Christ is demonstrating His sovereignty in any, and all, people's salvation. Peter is one of Christ's elect, and so Christ declares what He has ordained to happen,

"... when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.'" (Luke 22:32)

Peter, is elect to eternal spiritual salvation, so Christ knowing that once Peter turns again, Peter is ordained to strengthen the other students who were also sifted like wheat, who are called his "brothers."

There are so many beautiful truths being conveyed by God in all of these events, but unfortunately the NEST interpretation misses them all because it approaches it all through the dark lens of insecurity. The NEST misses all the details of God's sovereignty, manifested in His comprehensive grace. Instead, the humanistic philosophy of the NEST focuses on Peter, as if all the events that took place were solely Peter's problem that Peter had to work out in humanistic definitions of man-centered perseverance, based upon wrong definitions of salvation. On this, the Nest fabricates a rule to apply to all who are saved in the New Covenant. The good news is that it is clear that the scriptures indicate that the perseverance that Peter had, was the perseverance that Christ sovereignly gave him in verse 32;

"32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.'" (Luke 22:32)

The momentary bad news is that Christ says in Matthew 26 that all his students will fall away because of Him that night, for it is written,

"I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered." (Matthew 26:31)

But then Christ comes back with more good news,

"But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." (Matthew 26:32)

Accordingly, the good news is that Jesus says that Peter will be the one to strengthen the rest. This, as a principle, is a beautiful truth to edify us today. There is always hope for God's children when we fail. The hope is in our Lord and Savior who loves us and has a plan for us. Peter's life is a huge demonstration of this hope, love, and plan. Finally, we find all of this, concerning Peter, confirmed in Matthew 28. In Matthew 28 we read the record of Christ's resurrection from the dead, and then of an angel telling Mary Magdelen and the other Mary who discovered the empty tomb, to,

"7 Go quickly and tell His students that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him;" (Matthew 28:7)

Remember, Peter just denied Christ three days earlier. Now Christ is raised. He even appears to Peter first, before He appears to the other 10, according to 1 Corinthians 15:5. Now this angel, at the tomb, is saying to the women to go to Christ's students, of which Peter is still considered to be, despite the denial. Mark records it this way,

"7 But go, tell His students and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'" (Mark 16:7)

The angel made a special reference to Peter, and is repeating what Jesus told the students about going to Galilee after He is going to be raised. The time had come; Christ is raised. The New Covenant had finally arrived, and so the angel is reminding the scattered sheep about what they were previously told would happen concerning Jesus going ahead of them. We will wrap up this section by quickly looking at the rest of the details. In the very next verse we read of what each Mary did next,

"8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His students. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me." (Matthew 28:8-10)

Notice that Jesus tells the women to do the same thing that the angel said to do, but notice that this time Jesus calls His students, "My brothers." Neither the angel or Jesus are referring to deniers. They are referring to Jesus' "brothers," which are identified as the eleven in verse 16,

"16 But the eleven students proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated." (Matthew 28:16)

The only one of the original twelve who was absent was Judas Iscariot; the one predestined and prophesied to be the betrayer. Remember, all of this was ordained to happen, and God knew it.

In closing, we see the touching details that the Spirit led John to remember in his chronicle of that fateful night. We also notice the same foreordained outcome being declared by Christ,

"36 Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, where are You going?' Jesus answered, 'Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.' 37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.' 38 Jesus answered, 'Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.'" (John 13:36-38)

Jesus knows that Peter cannot follow now. Peter, according to God's sovereign plan, must first be sifted by the cosmic rapist Satan. Nevertheless, Peter will follow later, because that is what was also ordained by God to happen in His great predestined cosmic rescue. Further, John records more details about what Jesus means, by quoting more words of Jesus that same night.

Therefore, based upon all we have covered, we recognize that Peter did not deny Christ and become un-elect. Peter did not gain eternal spiritual salvation, then deny Christ and lose eternal spiritual salvation, and then go on to gain eternal spiritual salvation later on in some in and out cycle of insecurity. Peter was not causing Christ to affirm, and then later deny, and then later, affirm, and then later deny, Peter before the Father, as if Christ was being manipulated by circumstances out of His control. Peter, and this Old Covenant event, then, is wrongly used as a benchmark for proving that people under the Biblical New Covenant who are eternally spiritually saved, can lose actual salvation. The truth of the matter is that Peter is God's priceless masterpiece created by His own hand to be showcased forever as a picture of His glorious grace, mercy, and expensive purchase. Peter did not lose the value that Christ placed upon him. Further, Matthew does not remotely teach that anyone can lose eternal spiritual salvation, gain salvation by self generated effort, or maintain keeping salvation secure through humanistic activity. The story of Peter is pure edification, for all Christians. It is a story that enlightens us to always realize that our hope is based on a security that is biblically defined. God spread out His arms on the cross for all of His true children in complete reception. Now, God wraps His arms around His children in complete security.
__________
FOOTNOTES
(1) See the section dealing with the apostle Judas Iscariot for further clarification.