His Mercy Extends
We often discuss the irony of Paul's call to bring the gospel to the Gentiles in spite of his former position as a Jewish zealot who killed Christ followers. We are in awe of how God used Paul after all he had done prior to believing in Christ. However, what we do not discuss as much is that Peter, a disciple of Christ chosen to spread the gospel to his own people, also had a significant rap sheet even as a believer. Not only was his faith a bit shaky, he also denied Christ three times even after the time he'd spent ministering with Him. Reflecting on when Jesus told Peter he would deny him, it's important to note that He didn't tell Peter to deny Him he just said that he would. God's foreknowledge of our sinful actions does not exempt us from the consequences or our responsibility of those actions, but our love for God and desire to live for Him does not eliminate our sinful nature either. Peter loved Jesus and didn't want to deny Christ, but he did so an