Fear of God

Fear of God

By Dave Davidsen

I was thinking about the scripture in 1 Jn. 4: 17-18 and how perfect love casts out fear. My concept of fear is of being scared or afraid and that just doesn’t fit with the Bible saying we need to fear God but then saying perfect love casts out fear so I want to explore the topic of fear. God says there is no fear in love, God says he came to save not to condemn, God says fear Him and love Him. We all know people that rule by fear and they control those around them by fear. But when they are not around that person or out of their influence they don’t do the things that that person tells them to do if they don’t think they will get caught. That is the way we relate to God many times we just do the minimum to get by or we think that God doesn’t see us when we aren’t in church or around religious people. But the truth is God always sees us and always knows when we do something right or wrong. So God wants us to come to Him from a position of love not fear. When a person is married and they are in a compromising position with someone that is not their spouse what keeps them from doing it? Is it the marriage license or contract that they signed? Maybe but not in most cases. Is it the ring they may or may not have on their finger? Probably not. It is Love. Fear will drive us to keep the rules and break them when we won’t get caught. Love will lead us to keep the rules because we want the best for the person we love and don’t want them to be hurt in any situation. Fear rules and drives, Love leads and guides. Fear doesn’t give choices, Love lets us choose. Romans 6:14 says we are no longer under the statutes of the law, which includes the 10 commandments. So how do we keep from sin if we don’t have all the rules that we have to follow? It goes on to say that sin will not have dominion over you because you are under grace. I know that goes against the grain for what most people have been taught that we have to keep the 10 commandments and be good to get to heaven but that is just not true. God provided His grace to save us and to keep us safe from sin. The law has its place the New Testament, it tells us that it is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law does show us that we are sinners but more importantly it shows us that we can’t come to God by our goodness, good deeds or our own works. Jesus is the only way to God and it is only by His finished work on the cross that we can come to Him. If you look at the Bible you can see that God has always wanted to have a relationship with man that is why we were created. And He has always made a way for us to be able to have relationship with Him. In the Old Testament they were “saved” by the blood of bulls and goats in the New we are saved by the blood of His Son Jesus. This is not cheap grace it cost Jesus his life. But God loved us so much that he would rather die than to live without us. He wanted to have unrestricted fellowship with us like He had with Adam and Eve in the garden and the only way to do that was to remove the barrier that their sin had set up between us and Himself. Over and over the Bible talks about Fearing God and Loving or serving God. If doesn’t seem that those two fit together but when you look closer the fear that God wants us to have is not a fear of punishment but a reverential fear and awe of God’s power and majesty. He doesn’t want us to be afraid to come

Fear of God

By Dave Davidsen

before Him. He invites us to fellowship and to talk to Him. He desires for us to seek Him so He can show Himself strong towards us. He has thoughts and plans for good and not evil for us. He has given us everything we need to live a life of godliness why would He ever want to hurt us? If you are laboring under the idea that God requires us to be afraid or scared of Him or you are a Christian because you are scared of hell you need to repent, which means to change your thinking, do a 180 degree turn. Fear of what God may do to you may scare you into following Him but it is only when we have a revelation of His love for us that we can really follow Him and be free from sin, sickness and lack. We need to let God show us His love and then let the love He gives us flow out to others around us. 1 john 4:19 We love because He first loved us. Fear may keep us from hell but it is a hard taskmaster God’s love will set you free to follow out of love. His love will take you to new levels of grace and peace that you can’t attain by following God because of fear. The Bible says anything that is not of faith is sin. Following God out of fear rather that accepting the grace from the finished work of Jesus is no faith at all. It is another of man’s ways to come to God by his own works and righteousness. Jesus did it all and we can add nothing to it by anything we do and can’t take anything away from it by anything we do. John 3:16-17 says 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. God’s desire is for us to allow Him to touch our lives so we can live free of fear and condemnation. Put aside the religious teaching that says you are not good enough or that you have to clean yourself up before you can come to God. Through Jesus everything you need has been made available. Jesus paid the price for every sin or wrong that you ever did or will commit. Ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you so He can have that un-restricted relationship with you today. Jesus death and resurrection purchased your salvation, healing and provision for every area of your life. The fear of God, awe and reverence of him as creator and sustainer of the universe draws us to Him, and His love provided a way for us to come through Jesus. Come to Him today and give Him your pain and brokenness and He will make you a new creation in Jesus. Come to Jesus today accept His finished work of the cross and rejoice for he has forgiven you. Jerimiah 30:31, 1 Timothy 4:10, Romans 6:14