Christians Persecuted

          During the time of the persecutions, Christians would be asked if they believed in Christ, and if they responded yes they would be killed, thus becoming martyrs. This is what a Christian should do, because you must never deny your faith. Denying your faith means that you are denying Christ, and denying Christ means that you deny the Redemption brought about by Christ. There were probably some people who simply were born into Christianity or just chose to become Christian but choose to deny the faith under pressure just so that they could live. Obviously, that is extremely wrong and God should be always first in our lives. What truly matters is communion with God. Our life on Earth is short, while our life after Earth is eternal. On Earth, we either choose God (heaven), away from God (hell), or desire God greatly but are not fully ready to live with him in heaven (purgatory, which is a cleansing state in which you eventually go to heaven). What I am wondering is what the teaching is about those who denied their faith to live, but then proceeded to live saintly lives and greatly help others, which they could have not done if they were dead.
          The Church has no clear answer to this and the topic is up for much debate, but according to the Bible, one should never deny Christ and in John, Galatians, Matthew, Luke, Romans, and many others it encourages being persecuted for the faith. This makes perfect sense, as your life is the greatest thing one can offer to another. For sure, denying the faith is a grave sin. Another question is what about Reconciliation? Also, when under great pressure, everyone is human after all, and we make mistakes. Even Peter, the rock of the Church, denied Christ three times in a row. God is an all-loving God, and if you are truly sorry for your sins and repent, God will forgive you. Ultimately, we cannot judge others as God is the only one who can judge us as he is the only one who knows what is going on in our hearts. The only things that can be said with certainty are that denying the faith is a sin and requires repentance and that martyrdom for Christ and not for the fame of being a martyr is looked upon greatly by God.