4- Can a True Christian Deny Christ Before Men?

The other day, "Keith" asked, "What is true repentance? Does Jesus have to be Lord of your life in order to be a Christian? Can a true genuine Christian doubt his or her salvation? Can a true Christian deny Christ before men? What does Jesus say about all of these things? Can church history help us out as well?"

Because answering these all in one post would result in a really long answer, I've decided to answer them all individually.  Today, we look at Keith's 4th question:

Question:
Can a true Christian deny Christ before men?


My Reply:

This is an interesting question.  CAN a true Christian deny Christ before men, in the sense of asking if they're able? Technically speaking, yes, they can.  I think the question though is WILL they.  I don't believe a real, true Christian wants to, or has it in their heart to deny Jesus before men (not on purpose, anyway).  To use another relationship example, let's say you're a Christian, engaged, you go to a bar with your buddies, and a pretty girl begins flirting with you. If you're fully committed to your fiance', then even the idea of giving this girl your number or doing anything with her should cause the Holy Spirit to burn within your heart.  Fully committed to your fiance', you'd let the girl know you're happily engaged, and not interested in her advancements, regardless of what your buddies might think of your actions.

In the same way, if you're a true Christian, the LAST thing you want to do is deny Jesus before men.  If anything, you want to PROMOTE Him to everyone.  

But now if we look again at "Can" a true Christian deny Christ before men, then I believe the question is missing another part.  For if we look at Jesus' words about this, He did say that, "Whoever publicly acknowledges me, I will also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven. But whoever puclicly disowns me, I will disown before my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

So CAN a Christian deny Christ before men without damaging his/her relationship with Jesus Christ?  My answer to that is "no", they can't.  But then if they do, and the Holy Spirit inside them burns from within, then they have a chance to reconcile with God with by means of True Repentance.

---Pastor Andy