Peter: Man Of Commitment Series

Christian, how committed are you to the Word of God? Are you committed to reading it daily, meditating upon it, memorizing it, and living according to it? Do those around you see you as a person of one Book?

III. He Was Committed to the Work of Christ (John 21:15-19)

While Jesus was alive on earth, Peter was committed to doing everything the Lord had commanded. He obediently went where and when the Lord commanded him.

However, denying His Lord three times and watching Jesus crucified and buried seemed to take some of the starch out of him. Then there was some revitalization when he heard Jesus was alive, and an amazement to actually see Him!

He still seemed to have some issues, and so the Lord took him to task, testing his commitment to the work he was called to do. In John 21:15-19, we have an interesting exchange between the risen Lord and Peter. Jesus queried him three times about his commitment by asking him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Grieved that the Lord would ever question him about his commitment to Him, each time he responded with, “Lord, you know that I love you.” For each of Peter’s responses, the Lord’s instructions were, “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep” respectively. Then Jesus ended it with the same command He had issued to him some 3+ years earlier, “Follow me.” This seems to have been a reminder to Peter to be faithful in what he had been called to do.

And faithful and committed he was! His sermon on Pentecost garnered 3000 souls for the kingdom. His healing of the lame man gave him an audience with the Sanhedrin. Later, Peter would be used to demonstrate that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well as he was commissioned to the home of Cornelius. Because he was so committed to the work of Christ, it earned him a martyr’s death on an upside-down cross.

God has called each of us to a life of commitment to Him. Our will must be wrapped up in His will, our work must be the work of God.

Robert Calhoun, in his book God and the Common Life, said, “Commitment does not stop with contemplation. It seeks issue in work. For the God discovered thus is a God at work, reconciling the world to Himself.

Brothers and sisters, are you so committed to God’s work? Is your desire to see souls saved for the Kingdom of God? Are you dedicated to the work of God’s church?

CONCLUSION

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their commitment resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.