Great Mysteries of the Faith
How can I be God’s friend when I am supposed to fear Him?
Colossians 2:1-8
When I was in elementary schools, one of my favorite things to do in class was to solve a mystery. Several of my teachers and the library contained a series of books entitled “2 Minute Mysteries” in which a scenario is given in which you have two minutes to come up with an answer. Here is a sample.
“The museum was having a special exhibit,” the proprietor said. “It was a slab of stone dated 40,000 years ago made by Cro-Magnons. It was the first piece of literature. A team of 200 scientists made an exact replica and each took a different part of the one cubic meter stone to decipher. We kept the original.”
“Is that all you know?” Detective Nick Wray asked. “Tell me, who was the guard on duty when it was stolen?”
“There were many guards,” the proprietor said with a puzzled look on his face. “Oh, I suppose you mean the guard in that area. Jenkins was in the South Wing.”
“Thank you for you time,” the detective said. Then, he went on to the South Wing to talk with this particular guard. With a yawn, the guard got up from the chair in which he was sitting. “Jenkins, I presume,” said Detective Wray.
“That’s me, Howard Jenkins,” replied the guard.
“Tell me what happened three hours ago.”
“Well, I went to the washroom and when I came back, there was a guy running towards the doors. I tried to catch him, but he had a big head start.”
“What did he look like?” Nick asked.
“He had dark brown or black hair. I couldn’t really see him that well because the lighting was bad.”
“So was your story, Jenkins. You are under arrest.”
How did Detective Wray know that Jenkins was the culprit?
Answer: The man that Jenkins described would not be able to outrun him or run at all with a stone the size being the size that it was.
Now, these little mysteries served many purposes in the classroom. They were a great break from bookwork, got us to use our heads in problem solving ways, and they worked great to help with reading comprehension and listening skills. We looked forward to these activities, and it was a great honor to be the student who was the first to solve the mystery.
The Christian life is like one of these books. It can be full of mysteries that need to be looked into. The only problem is that most of the mysteries that we come in contact with are going to require a bit more than two minutes to look into and solve. And, if the mystery seems too hard, we often times just let it go unsolved and we don’t think twice about it.
This summer, I want to get us thinking. I want to get the church to examine some of these unclear and sometimes seemingly contradictory aspects of the Christian life so we can build up our knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. This summer, I want you to turn on your thinking cap as we take a look at some of the mysteries of the Christian faith from a Biblical standpoint. This is nothing new. Paul, when writing to the church in Colosse, desired that they do a very similar thing. Let’s check out Colossians 2:1-8 out to see what I am talking about.
I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Basically, Paul is telling this church that all of his labor and hard work is so that they may have complete understanding and that they may know the mysteries of God because once they do, they will have found the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. Also, once they know this, they will be strengthened in their faith and will be able to discern true and false teachings. That is my desire as well. As we travel through the summer months, I hope that there will be tremendous treasures of knowledge and wisdom revealed to you that will strengthen you in your walk with God. This morning, I want to touch on our first mystery. How can I be God’s friend when I am supposed to fear Him?
The Fear of God
A pastor once told a story to his congregation about growing up in the country. He used to hear scary stories about a snake called a black racer that would chase you. These stories used to keep him very alert as he walked up and down the gravel roads where he lived. One day, his mother asked him to go to the neighbor’s house and borrow an iron because theirs was broken. He started up the road with a watchful eye on each side of the road with the weeds grown up along the way. He just kept imagining one of those black racers laying back in the shadows just waiting to slip up on him and biting him. He borrowed the iron and started back down the road toward home when he sensed something was following him. He quickly looked back over his shoulder and sure enough, there in the road behind him was a snake just raising up to bite him. He took off with all the speed he could muster. He ran almost to the house and was unable to breathe when he looked back to see where the snake was. To his amazement, what he thought was a snake was actually the iron cord dragging behind him. He had almost ran himself to death thinking that the iron cord was a snake.
How many of you are have a fear of snakes? How about spiders? How about rats? How about meeting a bear in the woods? Chances are, there is some kind of creature that strikes fear into you. When you come in contact with them, you tense up and terror can overwhelm you. Basically, you fear these things because of the danger they pose to you whether it be real or not. Now, one of the main tenets of the Christian faith is that we are to fear God. It does not take long to come across a passage in the Scripture until you come across this topic. After all, the King James Version of the Bible contains at least 189 verses that deal with fearing God. So, when we come in contact with God, are we to yell, get up on a chair, and try to beat him with a broom like we would a spider? I don’t think that is what most of the Bible passages are getting at.
Now, when you read the Old Testament, you can point to many places where you may want to show this kind of fear. After all, God does destroy cities with fire and brimstone. He also destroys almost all mankind when they turn their back on Him by sending a flood. Before his conversion, Martin Luther would read these passages, and he became so petrified by God that he nearly grew to hate Him. He began to see God as a wrathful judge waiting to squash him. It was also said that members of Jonathon Edwards’s church the Sunday he delivered the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” could be seen trembling and grasping onto the pews for the fear that they would fall into the very pit of hell right there on the spot. In these instances, these individuals were literally afraid of God – but should we be? First, we must look at God’s character to see if we should be afraid of Him.
Perhaps no one has captured the character of God better than C.S. Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia which was recently made into a movie by Disney. In the books, Lewis portrays Jesus as a lion as the apostle John does in Revelation 5. The lion is a figure that is fierce and powerful, yet tender. His splendor is dazzling, but his wrath is terrible – yet, his love and tenderness are infinite. To be in his presence is awesome. Lewis writes this:
“As the lion passed by they were terribly afraid he would turn and look at them, yet in some queer way they wished he would. Then, the question was asked, ‘Is he safe?’ ‘Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’”
I have to admit that it would be a bit disarming to come face to face with a lion. I’ve seen the nature of the lion by watching animal planet. I know what they are capable of. But, notice the response. The one who knows the lion admits that the lion is not safe, but he is secure in their relationship because he knows that the lion is good. That is how we should approach God. We know what He is capable of, but we also should know that He is a good King. Our fear should not be so much a being afraid of Him – it should be an awesome respect or reverence growing out of the greatness and power of God. If we belong to God, we have nothing to be afraid of, but we know that he is still worthy of receiving our reverence and awe. I think we forget how awesome He really is.
Donald McCullough has said, “We should speak of God like a high school sophomore about vectors to a Nobel prize winning physicist.” He is too much for us to attain, so we must stand in awe. We must give Him respect. And, this type of fear will lead us to obedience as told to us in Ecclesiastes 12:13. “Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Notice, we must start with fear – a reverent and respectful fear. That is the start of our duty as man.
Friendship With God
Let’s switch gears for a moment and look at the other side of the mystery. Do you believe that you can be a friend of God? If you are familiar with Scripture, you know this is true. In James 221-24, this truth is laid out for us. “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see, a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”
There it is plain as day. Abraham was called God’s friend, so if one person could achieve it, the rest of us can do it as well. We can be friends of God, but what does that mean? Webster defines a friend as someone who is known and liked by another. So, it is possible that we can be one who is known and liked by a great and glorious God. That is almost overwhelming to me.
The University of Northern Iowa once offered an art course that included an unusual exercise. The teacher brought to class a shopping bag filled with lemons and gave a lemon to each class member. The assignment was for the student to keep his lemon with him day and night, smelling, handling, and examining it. Next time the class met, without warning, the students were told to put their lemons back in the bag. Then, each person was asked to find his lemon. Surprisingly, most of the students did so without difficulty. Why was this easy for them? They had spent time with the lemon and got to know the intricacies of their lemon. Also, most of the students had developed a bond with their lemon and could point out several features that they liked about their particular fruit. And, that is what friendship is all about. We spend time with people to get to know them inside and out. Then, that knowledge leads to love. This is the kind of relationship we can have with God according to James. We can spend time with Him and get to know more and more about Him everyday. That leads to a more intimate love with the creator of the universe. That is great news.
How Does It Come Together
Now, when we have fear of something, you tend to keep your distance from it. If you are afraid of spiders, you try and stay away from them.
However, sometimes having the fear we just talked about can cause us to keep our distance as well. When I went to the Grand Canyon is high school, I was blown away. I began to see what this kind of fear was all about. I am not afraid of holes in the ground. I have never come upon a ditch and become terrified. However, when you come across something as astounding as the Grand Canyon, you begin to respect it. As I stood near the edge, I became aware of how small I was and how much power this ditch had over me if I were to slip and fall. Because of this, and the wind gusts that blew from time to time, I had to keep a little distance between myself and the canyon wall out of reverence for the greatness of the canyon. And when we put ourselves next to the greatness of God, we have to realize how small we are and how magnificent He is. And, because of this, we tend to keep ourselves at a certain distance from Him out of reverence.
Then, we read about the fact that we can be a friend of God. Being a friend means being close. Being a friend means getting to know the intimate details of the other person’s life. Being a friend means that we spend time together in each other’s presence. So, if we are to fear and respect God, which keeps us at a distance, how can we be God’s friend which requires us to be close to Him? In a word, we must be obedient.
As you look at the passages of Scripture in Ecclesiastes and James, you will see one main theme pop out. In Ecclesiastes tells us that we need to fear and obey. In James, Abraham was considered righteous and a friend of God because he obeyed the command of God to sacrifice his only son. The common tie is obedience. We show our fear and reverence to God by obeying His word, and we show Him our friendship by obeying his commands. After all, it was Jesus who told us, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
The lion of Judah is not safe, but He is good. The consuming fire has not been reduced to a candle flame. We can trust Him and get as close as we want to Him in friendship, but we must never forget the power that He holds in his right hand. We should not fear Him like one fears a snake, but we should respect Him by following His commands; and that, in turn, will show Him how much we love Him and will result in friendship with God. Friendship and fear are only opposites when obedience and action are absent. But, when we are obedient, we have an almighty friendship awaiting us. That is great news, and it’s no mystery. Let’s pray.
