Are You Loyal?

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Matthew 26:31-35

Much of what we do in life is influenced by our loyalties. Oftentimes our loyalties shape our decisions, guide our activities, & give purpose to our lives.

ILL. Shortly before the collapse of the old Soviet Union, Jerry Whitworth, who had sold secret military codes to the Russians, was convicted of treason.

In sentencing him, the judge stated that in a time of war, his betrayal could have caused the death of thousands of soldiers & sailors, & have made the difference between victory or defeat for our nation.

ILL. It was Sir Walter Scott who wrote,

"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said, 'This is my own, my native land!'

It's hard for us to understand how anyone could actually betray our country the way Whitworth & some others have done since then.

But there are many ways to betray our country. And one way is simply to forget or ignore the ideals & principles that made it great in the first place. And I’m afraid that is the desire of some in leadership roles in our country today.

I presume that even mentioning that possibility may bother some of us because we consider ourselves very patriotic, & the idea of loyalty to our nation is important to us.

ILL. Again, most of us have what might be called "family loyalty." Loyalty to our husband or wife, to our children, & to our parents, is vital for a happy home.

And most young people feel a strong school loyalty, too. Win or lose, they cheer their school teams on.

PROP. We have all kinds of loyalties. But there is one loyalty that should stand in a class by itself. It is a loyalty that can permeate & add even more meaning to all other loyalties. This is loyalty to Jesus.

As we continue on with our study of the Bible we find ourselves with Jesus & his apostles in Jerusalem, in the upper room, celebrating the Passover, & eating the Passover meal together.

Matthew 26:21 tells us, "And while they were eating, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." Well, as you can imagine, this created quite a commotion among the apostles. And in the midst of the commotion, Judas leaves the upper room.

The meal is over - they sing a Passover hymn, & leave for the Mt. of Olives.

I. PETER EXPRESSES HIS LOYALTY

As they are walking along, Peter tells Jesus, 'Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.' Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.'

"But Peter declared, 'Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.' And all the other disciples said the same." (Matthew 26:33-35)

A. Did you hear the loyalty expressed in the words of Peter? "Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You." Those are thrilling words! And his loyalty was contagious. Did you notice? Matthew says, "All the other disciples said the same."

APPL. Now compare that scene to the times when we come together to worship Jesus & to partake of the Lord's Supper. Here, with other Christians we draw close to Jesus, & we, too, feel like saying, "Lord, I'd die before I would deny You."

B. But Peter failed the loyalty test, for just a few hours later he is saying, "I don't know what you are talking about. I don't know the man." Twice he says this about Jesus, & the third time he emphasizes it with oaths & curses.

It’s the same Peter, but his words are so different. What happened?

Well, his environment has changed. Peter is now in the midst of the enemies of Jesus. Here, among people who want to destroy Jesus, Peter denies Him again & again. You see, the environment he was in made all the difference!

II. WHAT ABOUT OUR LOYALTY TO JESUS?

Now, how about us? What effect does environment have upon us? What about our loyalty to Jesus? How would we react if our environment changed?

A. If I were to ask young people, "What causes you to say that you will be loyal to Jesus?" Perhaps some would answer, "My parents expect me to be loyal. If I weren't a Christian it would break their hearts."

But what if your parents didn't care?

What if they didn't care when you came in at night, where you had been, or what you had done? Would you still be loyal to Jesus? What if it didn't matter to them where you spent eternity? Would you still be loyal?