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Fear Not: Be Not Afraid Part 4
(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)
Introduction
This is the final lesson in our series on fear. In the first three lessons, we discussed fear from the viewpoint of how damaging it can be when we allow it to take hold of our lives through our emotions. We also discussed how God has called us not to walk in fear but in faith in Him. While we recognize that there are times when we experience fear as a natural part of living on this earth, fear should not be the foundation from which we interact with the world around us. Fear, when present, should represent momentary, immediate responses to situations of danger before we shift to remembering who we are in Christ. Remember, fear is a natural emotion that we must constantly keep in check as we walk with God. In this lesson, we will look at fear from a more “positive” perspective in that we are to fear the Lord. This fear is about reverence and respect.
Psalms 111:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.”
The fear of the Lord is the reverence for God; respect for His law, His will, His government, and Himself. It is the fear of offending Him, which leads us to do right. This fear is not that of a slave; it is not mere dread; it is not terror. It is consistent with love and springs from it. It is consistent with calmness of mind and promotes such calmness. It does not produce terror, but rather delivers from it, and preserves the mind from alarms. Think of it this way: we love God so much that we don’t want to disappoint Him. When I was a child I feared my parents. There were things that I would not do “out of their presence” because I “feared” their responses. This fear was not based on being scared of them. No, on the contrary, it was based on my love and respect for them. I did not want to disappoint them by doing something they would not approve of.
The word rendered “fear” in this verse is a noun of the same origin as the word rendered “reverence.” The suggestion in the mind of the psalmist was that the “name of the Lord” was to be “revered,” was to be respected, and introduced this thought that such reverence is the very foundation of wisdom. The foundation, origin, and the commencement of being truly wise begin with our fear of the Lord. There is no true wisdom that does not recognize the being, the perfections, the holiness, the purity, the righteousness, and the claims of God. The highest wisdom is that a person knows and honors God. This, in capability in exercise, makes one man wiser than another and when it springs up in the soul, makes a man wiser than he was before.
Solomon confirmed this when he wrote, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) We have an example of this from the story of the ten plagues in the book of Exodus. If you recall, during the seventh plague of hail God told Pharaoh what was going to happen. When word spread of what was coming, some of Pharaoh’s servants took heed. Exodus 9:18-21 records,
(18) Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
(19) So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.’
(20) Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses;
(21) but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.”
Verse 20 records that those of the servants of Pharaoh who “feared the word of the Lord” brought their servants and livestock in from the field so they could be saved. They had learned from the previous plagues to fear/reverence the God of Israel. Those who did not fear the word of God (fools who despise wisdom and instruction) lost both servants and livestock. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” Also the book of Job records, “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:28)
Our fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – the place we must start if we want to receive His wisdom. It is the place we must start if we want to receive His knowledge. It is the place we must start if we want to receive His instructions. Our decision to yield to the Lord, to allow His will to become our will, to allow His desires to become our desires, is where our access to all that He has given to us begins. If we don’t come to the Lord with loving fear and reverence, it will be impossible for us to receive His wisdom, knowledge, and instructions. Let’s continue with this thought for a moment.
Proverbs 3:7 says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Solomon wrote that we should not be wise in our own eyes. This is self-conceit! Think about it. A person who knows himself will not be conceited. They have considered their knowledge in comparison with what could be known and then their knowledge in comparison with what they should have known. The person who believes they are wise will encounter a situation and believe that what they know about it is sufficient for them to make an informed decision and therefore they are not open to considering other possible solutions.
This is a dangerous position to be in and it is a subtle trap of the enemy. So, to avoid this, Solomon uses all of his authority and eloquence to exhort us to search for wisdom. We should be open to the possibility of doubt about our understanding of God’s will in a particular situation so as to actively, and on purpose, seek His wisdom. When we truly fear the Lord we are willing to turn away from evil. Before Barry discusses the next section, I want to say something that we will repeat throughout this lesson: we fear and revere the Lord because He is our Father, and we love Him, and we want to please. Our love for Him, and nothing else, is why we fear and reverence Him. Barry.
Fearing God Means We Don’t Envy Sinners
Let’s look at how our fearing God helps us to see why sinners, those who don’t know God, prosper and help us see their prosperity the way God sees it. Proverbs 23:17 says, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always.” In the Hebrew, the word envy goes beyond just being envious or jealous. It means “jealous anger.” Some Christians, while they are trying to turn away from evil – to give in to the temptations that are all around them – because of their fear of the Lord, they sometimes become envious of the “good things” happening in the lives of sinners, who are not even trying to live for God and who don’t really care about Him. They remember what their lives were like before they got saved and the lifestyle that they “gave up” to walk as a child of God.
For some people, it remains a struggle as they continue to grow and mature and embrace God and His Word. But Solomon warns us that we should not look back; we should not envy sinners, but we should live in the fear of the Lord always. There is a great temptation to envy sinners, otherwise, why would Solomon give us this warning if he saw no danger? Think about it. People who are living in sin and have no relationship with Christ are often prosperous. Solomon is reminding us that, as sons and daughters of God, we are not to compare our lives to those who don’t know God. We are to trust God; that He will provide for us, and that He will give us the knowledge and instructions we need to operate in the wisdom we need to live our lives.
David wrote in Psalm 73:3-7 –
(3) For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
(4) For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.
(5) They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.
(6) Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
(7) Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish.”
What David witnessed in his interactions with heathens and sinners is also what we see today. Based on what he could see, sinners were prospering and the righteous were suffering. This perplexed David. Sinners also take forbidden paths with impunity and, when they break the law, there are times when they are not arrested. Thus they attain their ends by means not available to the average person. Sinners enjoy wicked pleasures. They are pleasure seekers. Thus, at a superficial glance, they appear to have sources of happiness from which those who are faithful to living righteously seem to be excluded. This is why some Christians struggle with the fear of the Lord – they want to fear the Lord, but they also want to “enjoy” what they see as some of life’s finer pleasures, as described by the world’s standard. This is not the life that we are called to live. Solomon was correct when he wrote, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always.” (Proverbs 23:17)
Now, does this mean that God does not want us to have things in this life, things that we need, and nice things? Jesus answers this question in Matthew 6 when He talks about how His Father takes care of the birds of the air. In the latter part of verse 26 Jesus says, “…. Are you not of more value than they?” And then He talks about the lilies of the field and how they grow and how God clothes them. Now let’s read verses 30-33.
(30) Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
(31) Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
(32) For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) But seek first the kingdom God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Ladies and gentlemen, when we seek God first, when fearing Him and reverencing Him is “our beginning”, as we read Psalms 111:10 and Proverbs 1:7, no good things will be withheld from us! And we see this in Psalms 84:11: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Fearing God Vs. Fearing Man
Let’s look at the question that the Lord asked in Jeremiah 5:22. We will begin at verse twenty.
(20) Declare this in the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah, saying,
(21) ‘Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not:
(22) Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
The prophet, having already rebuked the house of Jacob for sin and threatened the judgments of God against them, was once again sent to them to persuade them to fear God. God told Jeremiah to tell the people that they were foolish and without understanding – having eyes and yet they could not see; having ears and unable to hear. Then God asked them the most important question: “Do you not fear Me?”
It is said that man considers himself to be “the lord of creation.” He alone of all creatures was created in the image of God. Yet there are things in nature that Jeremiah says should remind Judah of Who is to be feared and Who is to be revered. Nature is always obedient to the laws of God while man, who was created by God, alone is disobedient to the Law of God. God asked the people, based on Who He was and what He does, why they did not fear Him. Imagine the Creator of all things asking you if you fear Him. Our knowledge of God, understanding Who He is, is the beginning of wisdom because it forces us to take a step back and understand who we are.
Let’s look at what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Fear has a place in life, but the common mistake that most people make is to put it in the wrong place. We have dangers, but not where we commonly look for them. There are needless fears which should be discouraged, but there is a necessary fear which must be cultivated. In this verse, Jesus was addressing the fear that man has of men. The apostles were sent out as sheep among wolves. The gathering opposition of the authorities of Israel against their Master was likely to turn against them also if they showed themselves zealous in advocating His cause. The fear of the disciples under these circumstances would be a type of worldly fear.
With us it is not the dread of martyrdom; it is a horror of ridicule, a terror of being despised by others for believing and standing firm in that belief. There was a real danger to the apostles as they were subject to being killed for walking with Jesus. Men can kill the body, and Jesus does not deny this obvious fact. So Jesus tells His disciples not to fear man who can kill the body “only” but to fear God who can kill the body and destroy the soul in hell after the person rejects Him. The body is a small matter, in comparison with the soul. Temporal death is a slight thing, compared with eternal death. He directs them, therefore, not to be alarmed at the prospect of temporal death; but to fear God, who can destroy both soul and body forever. This passage proves that the bodies of the wicked will be raised to be punished forever.
How the New Testament Addresses Fearing God
How does the New Testament address fearing God? As Christians, how do we show our fear for God? How do we show our reverence for Him? First and foremost, by loving Him and obeying Him. Now, let’s take a look at a few verses beginning with Second Corinthians 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
There are three words in this verse that point us to “the fear of God” – promises, beloved, and holiness. The promises referred to in this verse are found in the latter part of chapter six. Second Corinthians 6:16b-18 records
(16) …. For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people.’
(17) Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.’
(18) ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Chapter seven begins with “having these promises” from God: (1) He will welcome us, (2) He will be a father to us, and (3) we will be His sons and daughters. And because we have these promises, this is part of our ability to fear or revere God. The word "beloved" means that God “esteems us, sees us as dear to Him, and sees us as worthy of love.” And because of how He sees us, this is another part of our having the ability to fear or revere God. The third word is holiness, which means “moral purity”. The verse says perfecting holiness. When we are born again, we are born holy. But we still have a soul and a body that must be trained to live holy. Living a holy lifestyle is another part of our having the ability to fear or revere God.
We also see holiness as part of our ability to fear or revere God in First Peter 1:14-17.
(14) As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
(15) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
(16) because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’
(17) And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.
Each verse that we have read up to this point adds another “something” that contributes to our ability to fear and revere God in the way that He desires to be feared and revered. In verse 14, we see obedient children as another contributing behavior to our ability to fear or revere God. The words indicate a “complete submission” to what the Father desires and, in this case, He desires for us no longer to live after our old life – the one filled with sin – but after our new life, which includes living holy just like He is holy.
In Ephesians chapter five, we find a verse that, if taken out of context, can cause a great deal of difficulty. Let’s read the verse and then its context. Verse 21 says, “Submitting to one another in the fear of God.” By itself, the verse says we are to submit ourselves to one another in or because we fear God. But that is not what this verse is saying. Let’s go back to verse 15 to pick up the context.
(15) See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
(16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
(17) Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
(18) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
(19) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord….
(21) submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Keeping verse 17 in its setting, we see that we are to submit ourselves to the men and women who are walking circumspectly – walking accurately according to the right doctrine – and as a result, are considered wise. What we see in verse 17 is God’s instruction for us to submit ourselves to the men and women who have proven themselves wise in the way that they handle God’s Word and by how they live as a result. And we submit to them because we fear God, a fear or reverence that comes from our love for Him.
Another example of the role obedience plays in our ability to fear and revere God is found in Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
God had warned Noah that the rain was coming and that it would wipe out every single person and every single animal that breathed. God told Noah to build an ark to save his family and the animals that He would send to him. The verse says that Noah “moved with godly fear.” The phrase could have easily read “obeyed with godly fear.” Noah believed God and acted in faith. I believe that one of the greatest acts of faith recorded in the Bible was when Noah delivered the first blow of his axe to the gopher tree.
What else did Noah do out of fear and obedience to God? The verse says that he “condemned the world.” The word condemned means “to give judgment against.” How did Noah issue a judgment against the world? Turn to Second Peter 2:5. “And (God who) did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.” Noah preached the righteous judgment that God had pronounced on the world of the ungodly for 100 years, and yet no one believed, not even members of his family. Noah’s obedience and submission stand as a testament against the disobedience and rebellion of the ungodly who died in the flood.
Close
As we close out this final lesson on fear, what types of behaviors or decisions would we see today in Christians who are living a life of fear of God and reverence for God? Let’s begin with Psalm 15.
(1) Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
(2) He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart;
(3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
(4) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own heart and does not change;
(5) He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
Turn to Proverbs 23:15-18.
(15) My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice – indeed, I myself;
(16) Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things.
(17) Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day.
(18) For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.”
Now look at Isaiah 11:3. Although this verse is a prophecy about Jesus, it is also applicable to us as God’s sons and daughters in our interactions with people. “His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears.”
Do you remember what Jesus said in John 5 about His relationship with the Father? We should have the same relationship. “(19) Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’ …. (30) I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:19, 30) The Father sent Jesus into the world. Jesus sent us into the world as we read in John 17:18 – “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
Having a genuine fear of God, one that reveres and respects Him in love is borne out of our desire to please Him. We recognize His love for us and that we are nothing without Him, so in turn we yield to His love. We accept that He chose us, cleansed us of our filth, and claimed us as His own. We accept that had He not done this through His Son, we would be destined to spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire. This understanding is wisdom and walking in this wisdom leads us to fear the Lord. Do you fear the Lord? Do you believe His word? Do you listen when He speaks to you or is His voice drowned out by the noise of the world? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and without it, we cannot establish a true relationship with God. Let’s close with prayer.
