Fear: Luke 12:5

Fear is one of the most dreaded of emotions, and yet...apparently, God demands it. Why?

Let's discuss...

 At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like...

Fear

"But I will tell you whom you should fear: Fear Him whom, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" Luke 12:5

This is a daunting statement. But since it begins with the word, "but," one would be wise to find out just exactly what might come before such an impetus declaration. And here it is...

"And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." 

The word fear, in this context, comes from the Greek "Phobos," which indicates terror. Putting these two verses together and then extracting a simple translation using the Greek meaning, we could say the following: 

        Let me tell you something, my friend. You see people being killed by other people, and you are terrorized by this. It causes the deepest of fears in your heart; know this, that once they have killed someone, they've accomplished their evil objective, and there is nothing more that they can do. Don't feel terror over THEM, but rather tremble with terror over the ONE and only who, after having killed, then has the power to throw what remains, the soul, into hell. Yeah, THAT is justification for a sense of terror.

So much has happened in the world over the past two years that has arguably caused more worldwide fear than at any time in history, but the kind of fear that people are sensing varies from one person to another, depending mostly upon perspective. If I fear that my tax rates will increase due to the corrupt governmental structure of the time, my fear, while justified, is minor. If I fear, however, that my ability to provide for myself and my family will eventually be impossible as a result of the overarching authority of a corrupt government, my fear treads a bit closer to the kind of terror found in Luke 12. If I fear that an authoritarian government is at any time going to send a representative to my door as a result of my unwillingness to submit to their authoritarian demands, I am then experiencing terror. This is a horrible emotion; a nightmare kind of experience, and yet, God expects us to experience this about Him, and in fact, advises us that this kind of fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10).

When it comes to a reaction to the natural inclination to disobey God, we have a choice to either fear Him as one who keeps us from the sin that we so naturally desire, or to FEAR Him as the One who could send us to hell, which in turn, results in repentance. The first, though it is a kind of fear, does not induce terror; the second one does. John Jortin, an English church historian from the sixteenth century said this about the former:

He fears Him as his worst enemy; he fears Him as a righteous and inflexible judge who will not spare the guilty. This fear is indeed well-grounded and rational and natural; yet, producing no good effects, it hath no virtue in it, it is no act of religion. 

And then Jortin says this about the latter:

But, if it deters him from sin, it is then to him the beginning of wisdom, and it becomes another kind of fear, and truly religious...

I can't help but wonder why it is that God, the one who IS love, requires that his followers experience such horrible fear. Why can't he just ask us to simply trust him and leave it at that? I really don't think that some things can be answered, but read the words of John Piper, teacher and founder of DesiringGod.org, on this topic:

Isaiah 66:2 says, 'This is the one to whom I will look, he who is humble, and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.' Fear is corresponding with humility and lowliness and sensitivity of the heart. The sheer majesty of God, as well as the holiness and justice and wrath of God, cannot be approached in a cavalier spirit. It would be insane to think that we could just stroll up to the creator of the universe and have a cavalier spirit. We're blind if we think we can do that.

It's about the approach that Piper speaks here, and while the answer to the question of 'why' is a difficult one to fathom, it makes sense that the awesomeness of everything about God requires the deepest of fear and respect. And the motive of the requirement of this kind of fear with regard to our relationship with God is a motive for not turning away from Him. Our sinful nature is so attractive, so powerful, that anything BUT a strong fear would not be enough to convince us to obey Him. This obedience, as a result in part of our fear, leads us to seek safety or refuge in order to avoid His terrible wrath. And there is danger in NOT knowing ABOUT the fear of God. The danger lies in the obvious: If we don't know about the terror that we are asked to experience, we will fall prey to our sin. And this is why a mere love message about God is not enough. It's not enough that humans know about the love of God. That alone may lead to a temporary change of emotion, but it can't lead to a permanent change of heart. Just like so much else in this life, a balance leads to peace. In this case, a balance of His deep love and our terror of His greatness. 

And that's today's talk. I hope that at least something I've said has been impactful, meaningful, worthy of contemplation. Please subscribe to my channel, and be sure to comment if you feel so compelled.

Thank you for listening. See you soon.

Take care.

Sources

https://biblescan.com/searchgreek.php?q=fear

https://biblehub.com/text/luke/12-5.htm

https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/jortin/religious_fear.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r8WBAomcxk



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trust: Proverbs 3:5

Image
"I trust you," is a very impactful phrase. It accompanies vulnerability, doesn't it? In trusting, we decide that the one or ones within whom we put our trust won't let us down. But at what point does one determine trustability? Let's discuss... At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like... Trust " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 The word for "Trust" in this verse in Hebrew (Batah) means to have a kind of careless confidence. In other words, it isn't necessarily a trust that's earned, like "I trust that you'll get that job done since you've proven reliability in the past," but rather a kind of blind trust: I trust you because you are asking me to trust you, period.  According to Pastor Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church in Georgia, "Trust is reliance on the integrity, the strength, the ability, the surety of God. It is a confident expe...
Read more

Prayer: 1 Timothy 2:1

Image
Prayer is supposed to be an integral part of a Christian's life. We're urged to pray on a regular basis. A lot of questions could be asked about prayer: Why should I pray? How often? For whom? And more. But these are trivial compared to this: Does God hear my prayers? Let's discuss...   At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like... Prayer "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men," 1 Timothy 2:1 "Proseuche" is the Greek word for prayer, and in addition to personal communication with God, it also indicates an exchange of wishes! So in this, the purpose of prayer is to exchange wishes with God. Throughout the Bible, we're reminded of the many ways that God favors us; the wishes that he has for us. I found a really comprehensive, moving, and effective Youtube video on this topic. I hope that you'll take a few minutes to watch it (see Sources). Here are just ...
Read more

Hope: Psalms 130:7

We all hope for one thing or another every day. This is human nature. But did you know that there is more than one meaning to the word HOPE? More importantly, did you know that God desperately hopes for our hope?  Let's discuss...   At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like... Hope "Oh, Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is loving devotion, and with him is redemption in abundance." Psalms 130:7 Yakhal The word 'hope' in the Hebrew language often translates to what one might expect, i.e., to wait, to tarry. This type of hope is "Yakhal" in Hebrew. It's thinking about something, be it a thing, a person, a condition, and sort of without a plan, attempting to wish it into being. This kind of hope is usually directed toward the uncontrollable, and it is very closely related to optimism. When I was a kid, Don Williams was a popular country music artist, and one of his most popular songs, "Lord, I Hope This Day is Go...
Read more