Our courage to represent the Lord can be missing at surprising moments. Shame can take hold of us when we least expect it. We may gird ourselves to face some difficult occasion when we know we are going to have to stand up for the gospel, and yet another far less significant situation comes which we did not expect, and suddenly fear takes hold of us and we are silent, when we have the opportunity to speak. The more we testify for the Lord, the bolder we become.
The first cock crowed– the first bell of conscience, you might say. This first denial should have pierced his conscience even then and he should have responded. When you sin, when your reactions are bad, when some word passes your lips that you shouldn’t have said, and the first pang of conscience comes – listen to it and repent immediately and stop. Otherwise, it will lead to repetition and even worse sin.