Day 19 - Too Good to be True

Written by: Nathan Boyd

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Matthew 16:21-28
21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. 22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[l] Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

DEVOTION
Just the other day I was watching a Youtube video, when the video was interrupted by an advertisement promising instant weight loss. The man in the video was supposedly a doctor that had discovered the secret to weight loss. All you needed to do was drink a magic shake once a day and you would see the pounds melt away. He even claimed that you didn’t have to worry about exercise or changing your eating habits, just take the shake once a day. Like the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This is how all modern advertisements work, promising something great that doesn’t cost you anything significant. This isn’t just the way marketing professionals operate but this is also the way our great enemy, Satan, works as well.  

In our scripture passage this morning we see Satan use one of Jesus’ most trusted disciples, Peter, to perpetuate his lies. Jesus has just announced that he must go to Jerusalem and there he would suffer and be killed, for this is the entire reason that he came to earth in the first place. Peter, the bold disciple, pulls Jesus to the side and reprimands him. Can you imagine reprimanding the Son of God? Peter says, “Heaven forbid, I will never let you be killed.” Peter's intentions might have been noble, but he was a tool being used by the enemy. The enemy was trying to say, “There is an easier way, you don’t have to bear the sin of mankind, you follow me and I will give you the kingdoms of this world” (Matthew 4).

Jesus rebukes Peter in the harshest way, saying, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Just a few verses earlier Peter is being praised for his confession of Jesus being the Messiah, and now Jesus is calling one of his most trusted companions, “Satan.” Jesus speaks boldly and firmly to the young follower because He knew that the message Peter was speaking went against everything the Father had called him to do. 

The same way the enemy attacks Jesus in this passage is the same way that he attacks us today. Satan wants nothing more than for us to believe that it is easy being a Christian and it doesn’t have to cost us anything. He wants us to believe in salvation but no sanctification. Conversion but no commitment. The wide, easy road rather than the narrow, hard road. Satan is thrilled if he can make us believe that heaven is attainable through praying a prayer, walking an aisle, and getting wet in a baptistry. These lies have pervaded the American Church today and have created nominal believers that compromise the truth of God’s word for the comfort of our culture. 

Jesus gives us a radically different way of living. If you are going to be his followers you must “give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Jesus says that the path of following Him is through the cross. Discipleship to Jesus is not about gratifying the flesh but rather denying the flesh. Satan will try to convince us that true life is found through enjoying the pleasures of this world, but Jesus says in order to find life we must lose our life, dying to oneself. 

ACTION STEP
Today, take the road less traveled and do hard things. Prayerfully consider areas of your life where you have allowed yourself to compromise the truth, believing the lies of the enemy. Once the Spirit has revealed areas of compromise, spend time confessing and repenting your sin, and ask a trusted friend to keep you accountable. 

PRAYER TIME
Lord, I thank you that you didn’t take the easy way out and settle for Satan’s lies. Thank you for going to the cross to pay the punishment that I deserved to pay, through your sacrifice I have been reconciled to the Father. Help me to not compromise but willingly do the hard things to bring glory and honor to you.