Mat 14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a
mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
Mat 14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves:
for the wind was contrary.
Mat 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them,
walking on the sea.
Mat 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were
troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
The disciples (who had just witnessed a miracle) were crying out in fear just a short time later. Interesting...
Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer;
it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me
come unto thee on the water.
Now here it was really good for Peter that it was, in fact, Jesus.
Mat 14:29 And he said, Come . And when Peter was come down out of the
ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Peter walked on water by faith. How many of us had the faith to walk on water?
When Peter walked on water by faith it was before he became a Christian and was converted to salvation. Think about that now. He had enough faith to walk on water but he was not yet saved.
We have many people today claiming to be converted or "saved" without ever obeying Acts 2:38/John 3:5. None of them spent time with Jesus. Peter spent quite a bit of time with the Lord and obeying Him. You need to see the empty claims of the false christian for what they are.
Yet, we see that Peter was not "converted" or "born again", even though he obviously "believed" enough to walk on water. We see that Jesus told Peter that WHEN he was converted (future tense). We should also notice that Peter even denied the Lord after this conversation:
Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired [to have] you, that he may sift [you] as wheat:
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both
into prison, and to death.
Luke 22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this
day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
The only major conversion event that happened to Peter besides baptism was when he was filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in other tongues in the Upper Room. He never denied the Lord after that. The Holy Ghost speaking in tongues is the "re-birth of the Spirit" that Jesus mentioned in John 3:5. It was in the Upper Room that Peter was "born again of the Spirit."
Many today make great swelling claims of Christianity, and claim to be Christian even though they don't even believe in "tongues". But, just as Peter was wrong when he said that he would never deny the Lord....Are also these others wrong, when they claim to be "Christian" without the baptism of the Holy Ghost (with speaking in tongues) and Jesus name water baptism.
The only way to be "converted" is to obey Acts 2:38/John 3:5.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be
that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Those who have not the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ) are none of His.
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Be baptised in Jesus Name to have your sins remitted.
Rev. Steve Winter