PETER Imperfect Understanding
JESUS ASKED HIS DISCIPLES one of the most significant questions any person can ever be asked: “Who do you say I am?” (16:15). Peter’s answer got an A+: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16).
But then, almost immediately, Peter tried to correct Jesus’ prediction that he was going to die in Jerusalem and be raised from the dead. For this response, Peter received an F and a sharp rebuke! Peter’s first declaration was better because he did not learn this truth from any human being but from God the Father. His second response, however, was a “dangerous trap” because he was looking at things “merely from a human point of view, not from God’s” (16:23).
Many of us are like Peter, having true insights from God sometimes and yet at other times speaking from a worldly perspective. When you are under pressure, you especially need to discern between these two viewpoints. Not everything another believer says is true, even if it sounds like good advice at first.
Discernment is important when listening for truth
A person’s perspective should only be embraced when it comes from our Father in heaven and is compatible with the revelation of Scripture. Lots of well-meaning people will counsel you “from a human point of view,” just like Peter. He didn’t want Jesus—the conquering King—to go to Jerusalem and die on the cross, so he declared that it wouldn’t happen. But our views of what is good and necessary are often limited. We need God’s perspective.
Some believers want desperately to assure you that things will get better—that God is going to bring miraculous physical healing if you have enough faith. But they may not have any substantial biblical truth to stand behind these assertions. The Bible teaches that full and complete healing will occur when Christ—who conquered death—returns. He has promised to “wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4). God promises hope and healing, but it is according to his timing. We must exercise care and discernment when listening for truth, so that we are not led astray by worldly thinking but are instead encouraged by biblical truth.