He Cannot Deny Himself

 

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

—2 Timothy 2:12-13 KJV

 

 

Have you ever realized there are different denials? This word "deny" has a variety of meanings, ranging from "contradict" to "disavow" or "disown."

 

Look at Peter's denial of the Lord (Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62, John 18:15-17, and 25-27). Jesus certainly didn't deny Peter in return for denying Him. He forgave Peter and continued to use Him. Peter denied the Lord in a lesser sense and was not totally rejected by Jesus. The Apostle Paul called his denial of the Lord blasphemy. Still, he received mercy because of his unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13). We can see that the heart's attitude behind the action is critical.

 

In 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul sternly warned anyone who willfully and spitefully denies the Lord. He wasn't speaking of a simple failure on the believer's part. Paul was speaking of total rejection of the Lord. This is not speaking about those who struggle to be faithful to God. This is speaking of those who willfully resist the Lord. 

 

When we fail to believe as we should (2 Timothy 2:13), God is faithful to Himself. He has sworn that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and He won't. God will not be the one to reject us, regardless of how much we fail. To be totally rejected by God, we must declare we want nothing more to do with Him. We have to initiate the proceedings and "divorce" Him. 

 

Those who spitefully resist the Lord until they become so hardened they totally reject Him are called reprobate. A reprobate mind is a mind that has no restraints. There is no conviction. Those who are reprobate know they are wrong and don't care. Hebrews 6:4-6 says there is no repentance from total denial of the Lord. Even though Peter sinned and asserted he didn't know Jesus, God did not disavow, disown, or divorce him. Anyone who still cares and is concerned about the Lord's opinion of them is not reprobate.

 

Many Christians are haunted by the fear they have denied the Lord because of some sin they struggle with. They live in fear and shame that God has totally rejected them. However, God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Regardless of their action, if there is still a place in their hearts where they honor Him, God will not deny them. To totally deny the Lord, we must begin the proceedings and divorce Him. 

 

Our covenant of salvation was not directly made between God and us. It was made between God the Father and Jesus the Son. We accessed their covenant through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We participate in the covenant they made between themselves. If we choose not to believe in our relationship with the Lord, we begin measures to remove ourselves from partaking in the covenant. We finally separate ourselves from Jesus' grace. We totally reject what Jesus has done for us.

 

"If we believe not, yet he stays faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13, American King James Version).

 

Failing to believe in the Lord is not the same as blatantly choosing not to believe. Even if we fail to believe, the covenant still holds because of the oath the Father made to His Son. If the Lord rejected us for failing to believe Him, it would be like God denying Himself. We must do more than fail to believe to remove ourselves from this covenant. Before the Lord will deny us, we must disown and divorce Him.

 

There are Christians who live in fear of that one sin that makes the Lord deny them. They have trouble believing Jesus looks on their heart and says, "What sin?" The finished work Jesus has accomplished for the person who believes in Him cannot be denied by Him. He is faithful. Jesus saw Peter's heart. He saw Paul's heart, and He sees the heart of His child who is struggling. Your heart is only hardened to Him when you get to the point where you have become totally numb to His conviction, you know you are wrong, and just don't care.

 

If you are dealing with the fear that the Lord has totally rejected you, He hasn't. The fact that you care and are concerned about what He thinks of you means you wish to honor Him. Don't give up. He will empower you to overcome through faith in Him.

 

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9).

 

 

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