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1 John 4, Fear, Jesus, Joy, Kindness, King David, Love, Matthew 10, Peace, Psalm 27, Wise Sayings
I have a number of things I am afraid of. God is God and Jesus is working with me to iron those things out. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is not going to let me fears hide in the dark. Jesus brings them out into the light.
The Master (aka Lord) is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Master is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid? | Psalm 27:1
What is fear? It is an attitude of anxiety or distress, caused by concern over a threat to my future. Scripture provides numerous examples of situations in which fear is experienced. It declares, however, that God alone is to be feared, and moments of human fear can be opportunities for deepening faith in him. God and Jesus are constantly reminding me to “fear not”!
Matthew 10:29–31 (NASB) — “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.“
There is no fear in love. If I am afraid, I don’t really believe that God is good and in a good mood. I’m afraid that God is going to punish me. I have to let the love of Jesus drive that out of me.
1 John 4:18 (NASB) — There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
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Thanks for the wisdom Michael. You’ve been teaching on the fruits of the Spirit and it is greatly appreciated. One of the gifts of the Spirit is “fear of the Lord.” How do you see that gift in line with the “no fear in love” teachings?
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Brother Tim, now that is a very important question. Love it.
Here is some of my unpublished research. I think I will speed up talking about it. Thanks for the encouragement. Of course, some of my thinking me evolve as I get further into it and the Spirit of God provides insight.
There is a great conundrum around the issue of fear. God says that I should fear Him and that I should “fear not”. So what is up with all of this? Jesus lays it all out with this: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) Almost immediately after that, Jesus says “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” The Greek word in Matthew 10 is phobéō – meaning to fear, withdraw, flee from, avoid.
For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.
Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.
Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him as Master, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.
As a slave of Jesus, I know that as long as I obey Him, I have nothing to fear because of His love for me. If I don’t obey Him, there is much to fear. He is able to destroy me — both soul and body in hell. Yikes!
More to come …
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Thanks! Awe and reverence. Got it.
In any loving relationship, we should fear acting in a manner that damages that relationship.
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Love that! Yes!
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So … if “in perfect love there is no fear” then when I am in right relationship with God I am exhibiting perfect love, reverence and awe for my Creator. Having been perfectly created but not yet perfect, my fear of the Lord is my checklist, if you will, toward that perfect love. It is not, as you have said, a fear of punishment. Rather, it is a desire for that perfect love.
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Amen to this post. It’s taken me a long time to learn to pray rather than worrying, to bring my fears to the Lord, no matter how silly they seem. He cares for us and He wants us to share our heart with Him. I often didn’t want to bother Him with small stuff, a crazy idea indeed.
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