Many a time fear has been bandied around as
something negative. But fear has its positive side as well.
When
my children were toddlers, my wife and I had this fear that they might hurt
themselves at home. Knives had to be safely kept away. Furniture with
sharp corners and those made of glass were excluded from our shopping list. A
gate with latch had to be installed to keep them from falling down the stairs.
We
wanted them to discover the world around them. At the same time, we made sure
they could explore the home in a safe setting. And because we were proactive,
they were preserved unharmed.
Some
say we need not fear: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love
casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and
whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18).
Well,
that is true to a certain extent. But we also have to consider the other side
of the coin. We need to have reverential
fear of God.
“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true
wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).
Scripture is replete with examples showing us the
positive aspect of fearing God. Because they feared God, the midwives obeyed Him—rather
than the King of Egypt— and spared the lives of the Hebrew babies (Exodus
1:17). Pharaoh brought disaster on his nation because he did not fear God (Exodus
9:29-31). Job was a blameless and upright man who feared God (Job1:1).
Cornelius was a devout centurion who feared God, gave alms and prayed constantly
(Acts 10: 2). And he was rewarded when God arranged for Peter to preach the Gospel
to him.
Jesus says: "Don't be afraid of those
who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can
destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
“But I will show you whom you should fear:
Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into
hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” (Luke 12:5).
In other words, Jesus warns us to have a “healthy
fear” of hell. And to avoid going to hell, we need to fear God. More on avoiding hell: http://bit.ly/16wwPsK
Yes, we
are grateful to God for His mercy and grace and, for that reason, we serve Him
with joy. But we also need to have the fear of God in our lives to keep us on
our toes, spiritually-speaking.
The apostle Paul exhorts in Philippians 2:12: “Work hard to show the results of your salvation,
obeying God with deep reverence and fear.”
We get the hint from the same Paul that he
fears that he might be disqualified in the race if he is not disciplined
enough: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete
exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable
wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do
not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”(1Corinthians 9: 24-27).
Some
say that since “we are under grace” and are no longer living in Old Testament times,
we need not give much thought to ‘fear of God’.
If
that is so, they have clearly ignored the following references in
the New Testament:
“For it is time for judgment to begin with
God’s household; and if it begins
with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And
if it is hard for the righteous
to be saved, what will
become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1
Peter 4:17-18).
“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” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
“Though you already know all this, I
want to remind you that the Lord at
one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those
who did not believe” (Jude 1:5).
“We should
not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three
thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written
down as warnings for us, on whom the
culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are
standing firm, be careful that
you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:8-12).
We
should not be coming to God cowering in servile fear but with boldness and
confidence—as we have been cleansed, forgiven and made righteous through faith
in Christ. Nevertheless, we need to have a reverential fear of God.
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SNATCH FROM THE FIRE
Feel free to share this post, BACK FROM HEAVEN AND HELL, to help save some by snatching them from the fire. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/16wwPsK
Feel free to share this post, BACK FROM HEAVEN AND HELL, to help save some by snatching them from the fire. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/16wwPsK
“Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh” (Jude 1:22-23).
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Do we have to work out our faith after we have been saved?
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