"I Am Afraid Of You"

Galatians 4:1-14

"I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain"

After Israel beheld the fearful phenomena which manifested the presence of Jehovah upon Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, Moses informs them that a fear of God needs to be before them that they sin not. A fear of the almighty power of God is a great deterrent to sin. We are commanded in the word of God to fear God. Leviticus 25:17 says "thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God." Hebrews 12:28 tells us that we are "to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Proverbs 23:17 states that we are to be "in the fear of the Lord all the day long." Proverbs 16:6 informs us that "by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." The reason sin is paraded openly today is because there is no fear of God.

The Bible is clear in its statements that a fear of God is healthly. "The fear of the Lord tendeth to life." The only time we should fear men is when those men represent God’s authority. For example, Leviticus 19:3 says, "Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God." Romans 13:4 talks about the government when it says, "He is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." God has given the sword to the government, and with it authority to punish and even to execute.

We are not to fear our enemies. Psalmist stated, "In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." When Joshua and Caleb spake to the children of Israel after the other ten spies had given an evil report, they said, "Rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not."

But our text verse states that Paul was afraid of the Galatians. No scripture should ever be interpreted without its context. What Paul was saying from the context was that he was afraid for them. He was afraid of them for the danger to themselves not for danger to him. He feared as to whether these people had truly received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Paul was not apprehensive with respect to his own interest or his fruitless labours, but with respect to the spiritual welfare of these Galatians.

It is like a father who observes his son attempt some dangerous stunt and remarks to the son, "You scare me to ." Now he is not afraid of the danger the child might do to him, but he is afraid of the danger the child might do to himself.

People who scare me

I. People who reject salvation scare me

"Knowing the of the Lord, we persuade men"

"And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

Either bend before the throne now or be broken before the justice of almighty God then. Knowing the majesty and the holiness of God, knowing the necessity and awfulness of punishment in Hell, we persuade men.

Paul feared for those who were not saved because he was aware of the Great White Throne they would face (Revelation 20:11-15)

Knowing the appearance of it

Knowing the sentence of it

A. Torment in hell is so fierce

1. Certainty of it

2. Crowd in it

3. Character of it

Hell

HELL! The prison house of despair,

Here are some things that won’t be there:

No flowers will bloom on the banks of Hell,

No beauties of nature we love so well;

No comforts of home, music and song,

No friendship of joy will be found in the throng;

No babies to brighten the long, weary night;

No love nor peace, nor one ray of light:

No washed soul with face beaming night;

No mercy, no pity, pardon nor grace,

No water; O God, what a terrible place!

The pangs of the lost no human can tell,

Not one moment’s ease - there is no rest in HELL!

HELL! the prison house of despair,

Here are some things that will be there:

Fire and brimstone are there, we know,

For God in His Word hath told us so:

Memory, remorse, suffering and pain,

Weeping and wailing, but all in vain;

Blasphemers, swearers, rs of God,

Christ-rejectors while here on earth did trod;