The Place Where We Got In

Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.
—Proverbs 24:1

A little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night identified the cause of his fall this way: “I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in.”

It’s the same reason we fall away spiritually. We stayed too close to the place where we got in. That is what happened to Peter, and he ended up warming himself at the enemy’s fire.

Peter was trying to go undercover as a disciple. Matthew 26:57–58 says, “Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard” (NLT). The Gospel of John tells us the guards in the courtyard were standing around a charcoal fire, “and Peter stood with them, warming himself” (18:18 NLT).

At this point, Peter was worn down, defeated, weak, and vulnerable. Yes, he was following Jesus. But it was at a distance. As a result, he was attracted to the warmth of the enemy’s fire.

Why was he even there? The rest of verse 58 gives us the answer: “He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end.”

Peter had forgotten all that Jesus had said about His resurrection from the dead. He simply waited for the end—the end of Jesus’ life, the end of his dream, and the end of everything he held dear.

But it was not the end. It would be a new beginning.

Here was Peter’s problem: He was in the wrong place with the wrong people, and he was about to do the wrong thing. And that is what happens when we fall into sin. We are always in the wrong place with the wrong people. And we do the wrong thing.

When we hang out with the wrong people at the wrong place, then it is only a matter of time until we do the wrong thing. We need to wise up.

Psalm 1 says, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (verses 1–2 NLT).

Have you ever noticed the progression in these verses? First, there is the following. Then there is standing around. And then there is joining in.

Have you ever tried to be an undercover Christian? It’s like the man who only went to church on Christmas and Easter. The pastor greeted him at the door and said, “You know, I only see you about twice a year. You need to join the Lord’s army.”

The man leaned forward and whispered, “I’m in the Secret Service.”

Is that you? Are you a Secret Service Christian?

For Peter, the problem wasn’t the fire itself; it was the people around the fire. He was trying to warm himself there. In the same way, when the passion in our hearts begins to die, the fire that we had for Christ will grow cold. And then we’ll look elsewhere for warmth.