Fear is a big topic. Almost too often we are told fear is a bad thing to have in our lives. We are taught fear is a hindrance to us and we should be fearless. Why, then, does scripture so frequently talk about fearing God?
Some Christians are quick to skip over fear and move straight to grace or love. It is as if Christians consider fear of God irrelevant because "God is love." "For God so loved the world he gave His one and only son..." God becomes a teddy bear. Love, love, love. Grace, grace, grace. It is all bright and happy, but it often leads to complacency.
If I believe God is love and that is all there is to Him, am I wise?
No. On three different occasions, the Bible says, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge/wisdom"? Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, and Proverbs 9:10 all say this. If there is one thing I know about Hebrew writing style, it is that repetition signifies importance. Saying something three times means it is a big deal.
Not only is God love, He is so much more. He is the creator of everything we understand and everything yet to be discovered or understood. He is a grand mystery. If we wish to even begin understanding God and his mysteriousness, we should start by fearing Him.
Some theologians will tell you the church is like a pendulum that swings slowly between underscoring God's grace and underscoring God's holiness. God's grace emphasizes His love and our freedom but God's holiness emphasizes His power, majesty, and in turn, demands our reverence and fear.
In 2 Timothy 4, Paul warns Timothy that people will begin to choose teachers according to what everyone wants to hear. The preachers will preach to scratch the people's itching ears even if it compromises the truth.
I do believe this is happening today. Churches these days love to talk about our freedom in Christ. Yes, we have been set free from our sins, but God demands so much more from us than what we are currently giving Him. He demands our everything. So, in a sense, we are not free. (Rom. 6:18) If we are truly saved, we will be taken captive by conviction and a compelling of the spirit of Jesus. (Rom 8:1-11)
I hope our church will not become a product of a culture that idealizes attractiveness. I hope we will not become a church focused solely on growth in numbers and appearing attractive to outsiders. We are often so focused on pulling in new believers we compromise the whole truth. For example, grace is an attractive topic. Love is also attractive. People want to hear about these things and I do believe they should be preached. At the same time, the fear of God should also be taught. We will be held accountable for every single thing we do. We do have to stop sinning. We do have to take God seriously. God is not a teddy bear.
If the church is supposed to swing like a pendulum between holiness and grace, I would say it is too often stuck preaching grace. Grace and love are baby food. We always need them because we always screw up. However, once a believer knows about God's grace and love, the church better teach him/her about God's holiness. This is very important because, if you truly love someone, you want what is best for them. If the church is truly looking out for one another, there better be warnings, rebuking, and admonishing going on.
One way this is seen is through discipline. Hebrews 12:4-10 says, "The Lord disciplines those He loves." "If you do not undergo discipline, you are not legitimate." "God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness."
Ultimately, there are things I can do with my time that are fine. I could go watch a half decent movie when I have some free time and there would be nothing wrong with that per se. But these are what I call grey area actions. They are things not necessarily bad for you but they are also not necessarily making you or anyone else better. In a sense, gray area actions will destroy you. Gray area actions are almost always distractions. They take away from your precious little time here on earth. They might be fun and lighthearted but remember we have a lot of work to do.
We live in the information age. We are surrounded by knowledge, and with that comes knowledge of problems, pain, and things that need Jesus. Because we live in a world where travel is easy and knowledge of sin is inescapable we are held more accountable for the actions we do carry out. Therefore, our gray area actions become worth a lot more but we know a lot of sin and we choose not to fight against it.
"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." James 4:17
If you are like me, I am most often attacked spiritually in a subtle way. The devil, in stealth mode, tries to fly in under my radar. Thoughts sneak into my head and they are very convincing, "You can read the Bible later. Don't worry, its not going anywhere- it will be there in a few hours." Or "You can live for Christ in the long term, you don't have to live for Him right now. You don't have to do that right now, you can do it later." Suddenly, we push God and His priorities back just to allow a gray area activity take His place.
"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." Ephesians 5:16
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