Throughout the Bible record, people who got close to God trembled with fear. Many simply fell on their face. On their way out of Egypt at Mt. Sinai, the Children of Israel were so afraid of what they saw and heard that they begged Moses to intercede with God for them. Moses did not chide them for their fear but reinforced it by telling them that their God is a consuming fire. The context of that dire statement was a recital of the law and the consequences of disobedience. There are times when it is right to fear God.
Often though, the Bible records God saying, “Fear not.” An
obedient person, like Mary who found favor in the Lord’s sight, was told not to
fear. That is somewhat ironic because it was Mary’s righteous fear of the Lord
– the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 9:10) – that brought her into favor. Here we see
the difference between being frightened of God and having healthy respect for
God. The person who has trusted Christ does not need to be frightened because
God sees only the righteousness of Christ when He looks; His
perfect love casts out fear.
Sadly, fear is evident in many modern Christians, but I
don’t think it is godly fear; it is fear of people. Too many Christians are
afraid of what people might think of them if they stand up for what they
believe. They have lost the boldness evident in the lives of the first
Christians. A.W. Tozer points out: “Whatever else happened at Pentecost, one
thing that cannot be missed was the sudden upsurging of moral enthusiasm. Those
first disciples burned with a steady, inward fire. They were enthusiastic to the
point of complete abandon…. The low level of moral enthusiasm among us
[Christians] may have a significance far deeper than we are willing to believe!”[1]
Few Christians today exhibit that “complete abandon” Instead, they hide inside
a holy huddle on Sunday and seldom rock the boat outside the church.
There is another type of fear that can be seen in Christians
today: fear of dying for Christ. I am not referring to dying a martyr’s death
but dying to self in heartfelt submission. The Apostle Paul reminded
the Romans if they died with Christ, they would also live with Him. We
portray that death and resurrection in the waters of baptism, but there is
another meaning that must be played out in a believer’s daily life. Jesus said
that His true followers would be required to take
up their cross daily. The cross He spoke of is meant for the crucifixion of
the old self. Paul
explained to the Colossians that they had, “taken off the old man together
with his deeds, and [had] put on the new man that is being
renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.”
Tozer hits the nail on the head again: “Do you realize that
many, many persons now take it for granted that it is possible to live for
Christ without first having died with Christ? This is a serious error, and we
dare not leave it unchallenged! The victorious Christian has known two lives.
The first was his life in Adam which was motivated by the carnal mind and can
never please God in any way.” (Rom. 8:5–8)…. The second life of the Christian
is his new life in Christ (Rom. 6:1–14). To live a Christian life with the life
of Adam is wholly impossible. Yet multitudes take for granted that it can be
done and go on year after year in defeat. Worst of all, they accept this
half-dead condition as normal!”
“Another aspect of this attitude is the effort of many to do
spiritual work without spiritual power. David Brainerd once compared a man
without the power of the Spirit of God trying to do spiritual work to a workman
without fingers attempting to do manual labor. The figure is striking but it
does not overstate the facts. The Holy Spirit is not a luxury meant to make
deluxe Christians…. The Spirit is an imperative necessity. Only the Eternal
Spirit can do eternal deeds!" The fear of dying to self leads to powerless Christianity – if it can even be
called that.
Another fear that hobbles the church is fear of the past. All Christians have past failures to one degree or another. The Apostle Paul denied Christ and murdered His followers until he saw the light – literally. But he said he didn’t focus on his past; he looked to the future. Tozer again: “Spiritual life cannot feed on negatives. The man who is constantly reciting the evils of his unconverted days is looking in the wrong direction. He is like a man trying to run a race while looking back over his shoulder! There is an art of forgetting, and every Christian should become skilled in it. Forgetting the things which are behind is a positive necessity if we are to become more than mere babes in Christ.”
Babes in Christ are like literal babies who are frightened
by their own shadow. Believers who want to mature in their faith must leave the
baby bottle behind and move on to solid food as
the writer of Hebrews counsels. The “meaty issues” of God’s Word push us to
train our faculties to distinguish good from evil. There is good fear; it’s the
fear of the Lord leading to wisdom. Then there is evil fear leading to stunted
spiritual growth and powerless witness. Our enemy wants us to be afraid. Our
God calls us to be strong and courageous. Don’ be a scaredy-cat.
Related Posts: The
Faithful Have Vanished; Wise up,
America; I’m
Not Afraid to Die; Do I Really
Believe?
[1] A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015)
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