Evening star., 1927-04-30
Sunday School Lesson

the Master by a heinous lie at the
very hour when Christ needed a friend
was followed by two other denials.
The sins, which ought to have served
as correctors for him, carried him
down deeper into the mire. His first
denial may be charged to his being
asked the unexpected question by the
maiden, but his second and third can
be traced to his first denial. His sec
ond was a deliberate lie and the third,
by his use Of profanity, showed how
he was slipping back into former and
older methods of speech that he used
before he commenced to follow Jesus.
In view OF his privileges as an aSso-
clate and close friend of the Master,
w''om he had acknowledged as "the
Christ, the Son of the Living God"
and Peters repeated profession OF 10y
atty to Christ, the great apostle failed,
although he had been warned by the
Lord. The denial of Peter should
serve as warning to every Christian
to remember the words of Paul, Let
him that thinketh he standeth take
heed lest he fall"
This spirit OF overconfidence was
seen in the great missionary enter
prises of the various denominations
Immediately at the close of the great
World War, with the result that they
have failed to come up to the stand.
ards of giving that marked their pro
grams and projects Of those days
when, flushed with victory, we has
tened to make democracy safe for the
world through missionary endeavor.
fnHT kr~ L til
calling of God appear as denials of
the Master to the nations which are
pleading for missionaries. Christian
ity' faces a testing time in connection
with our work in China at this mo-
ment. The crisis lis an opportunity
as well as a temptation" If by our
failures we have been denying the
Lord Jesus. let us. like Peter, repent
and do the task Christ calls us to do.
Peters Repentance.
When Christ turned and Ills eye
caught the look of despair in the eye
of Peter, the apostle must have seen
something in the Masters look and
face that filled him with a spirit of
repentance The cock crew just as
Peter caught the Lords appeal and
assurance of confidence in His apostle.
which he would never forget as long
as he lived. The look of the Lord fin
ished the work of repentance with
Peter just as the rising sun was be-
ginning to break over the city. Out
into the narrow streets and over the
valley Of the Kedron, where in the
garden the Master had frequently
prayed the broken-hearted Peter went,
overcome by the knowledge that he
had denied his Lord. There was
%I,f t.1
assured the weeping apostle that Jesus
knew how tired Peter was, as well as
the mental and emotional causes for
the apostles denial. There was no
sign of reproof or reproach for his
failure, but a loving look, calling upon
him to repent and become the rock
like man that Jesus had predicted
Peter would become
The restoration Of Peter after his
denial Of the Christ assures us that.
although we have failed and denied
our Savior by our lives and labor,
we can find forgiveness if we seek it
in the spirit Of true repentance. The
grace of our Lord has bridged the
Chasm of sin and re-estahlished the
fellowship that our sin had broken
and destroyed. The fact that Peter,
who denied the Master, became so use
full in the Lords service in the estab-
fishing of His church and developing
His kingdom is an encouragement
that the Lord will use us if we truly
repent and seek forgiveness from the
One who knows our weaknesses and
worth.
The lesson teaches us that all who
sin can through Gods grace "come
back and make good in the work of
Christ and His church. 1t is encour-
aging for all of us to know about the
Masters sympathetic knowledge of
our lives and the capacity that still
exists in every soul to become of