"fear (Part 1): Understanding Godly And Ungodly Fear" Series

Today we will begin our sermon series on “The Bible and Emotional Problems.” The first topic we’ll talk about is “Fear,” which will be discussed in two sermons. Psychologists tell us that we are born with two fears: falling and noise, but we soon develop many more. Members of a psychology class asked 500 people, “What are you afraid of?” Those 500 people listed 7,000 fears!

Besides fear, there is a phobia, excessive fear, or anxiety related to specific objects or situations out of proportion to the actual danger they present. According to therapists, below are the top ten phobias:

- Social phobia.

- Claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). It is believed that about 5% of the population suffers from claustrophobia.

- Zoophobia (an umbrella term that involves an extreme fear of certain animals).

- Brontophobia (fear of thunder and thunderstorms).

- Acrophobia (fear of heights).

- Blood, Injury. and injection (BII) phobia (trypanophobia - fear of receiving an injection).

- Odontophobia (fear of visiting a dentist).

- Aerophobia (fear of flying).

- Atychiphobia (fear of failure).

- Thanatophobia (fear of death).

- Nosophobia (fear of developing a disease).

Recently there is a new phobia call nomophobia, or a fear of being without a cellphone. The good news is, according to therapists, phobias are pretty common and treatable mental health conditions.

What does the Bible say about fear? According to Stuart Scott in his book, “Anger, Anxiety, and Fear,” there are two kinds of fear: 1) Godly fear and 2) Ungodly fear.

1) Godly fear has two parts: A) the fear of God and B) reasonable fear of danger or difficulty. When our fears fall into these categories, we are not sinning.

A) The fear of God is an acknowledgment of and awe of who God is, which causes either complete and glad submission to His loving will or terror of His judgment. We are all commanded to fear God (Deuteronomy 13:4 - It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him). The one who loves God and delights in His will fears God as he should. This kind of fear is holy and wise and will keep us from ungodly fear. This kind leads to: - Holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1 - “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”) - Working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12 - “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”) - Evangelism (2 Corinthians 5:11 - “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.”)

B) Reasonable fear of danger or difficulty is our bodies’ normal reaction to actual danger or disaster. For example, when we are sleeping, and suddenly our bedrooms are shaking because of an earthquake. Or robbers come to our house and threaten to harm us. In those situations, it is normal to fear. Proverbs 22:3 advises us, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”

2) The second kind of fear is the ungodly fear that we are commanded not to have because Jesus says in John 14:1, 27 - “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me … Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” This is synonymous with dread, alarm, fright, terror, apprehension, anxiety, perplexity, and distrust. This kind of fear is forbidden. This type of fear is not to be confused with caution. For example, fear of being run over will cause one to look both ways before crossing the street. Also, fear of Covid-19 or other viruses will cause one to take the vaccines. These types of fears are normal and reasonable.

Ungodly fear is an intimidating and often paralyzing fear. Research has shown that 85% of men's emotional and physical ills are brought on by fear. Any time we cease to focus on God and others because of fear, we are experiencing ungodly fear. When we do this, we are focused on ourselves. Whenever we fail to do what we should do just because we are afraid of what might happen, we are fearful in an ungodly way like “The Parable of the Bags of Gold” in Matthew 25:14-26. We are also fearful in a way that displeases God when we, without basis, are convinced that something dreadful will happen. And more than that, when we give in to ungodly fear, we are calling God a liar because we do not believe that He will fulfill His promises (Numbers 23:19 - “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”)