To all my brothers and sisters in Christ, I want us to consider something about fear. What does fear lead us to? Where does it come from? How can fear impact our walk with Christ?
There are those out there who use fear as a trap for us. Fear becomes a snare, a crutch, a distraction from the awesome power of our God. Fear causes us to become confused, conflicted, angry, condemning of self and others—and so very much more.
I encourage you to challenge all fear.
But, wait…
What about fear of the Lord? Fear of the Lord is wisdom, is it not?
There is a healthy fear of the Lord, no doubt. But, there are many who twist this idea into something that is not of God. There are many believers who stumble, as I have, at what this really means.
For one, consider the duality of God.
God is severity. God is also mercy. God is a lot of things, and really, anything we think we know about Him is just a shadow of something much, much bigger. But, He does have a soft side towards His children.
Many in this world refuse His softness, and they will have to deal with His severity. Even His children catch glimpses of this at times, as necessary for correction so that we can learn and grow.
But, we do not fear His severity as it pertains to those prepared for judgment. Though, if we are wise, we will respect it and we will not take His softness towards us for granted—lest we become like the original Israel who became puffed up in their election, just to become (many of them, not all of course) blinded to the truth of Christ.
Think about it. Should we use the grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ as a cushion for living a sinful life? Should we sin more so grace can abound? To that question, Paul the apostle said, “God forbid!”
Many who carry the name of Christ are doing just that. They take what they “seem to have” for granted. They do not seek the truth. They are conformed to a world that is set for destruction. They have rejected the grace of God by their traditions. They take His grace and manipulate it, and they will one day see the severity of God as a result along with all who are blinded to the truth and have gone after fairy tales, idolatry, witchcraft and the like.
Many who carry the name of Jesus point to this or that wrong-doing, and are so sure that they are saved, though they live in hypocrisy, decadence, self-righteousness, lies, manipulation and lack of love towards others—and they will be cut off if their hearts are not changed by His grace.
So, for those of us in Christ who seek the Truth, should we too become high-minded in our assurance of salvation? No. But, we should not despair either. There is a healthy level of fear of the Lord. That’s what I’m getting at.
We do not take our salvation for granted, and we certainly do not take the TRUE grace of the Lord for granted—which is His promise’s to heal us from sin—not just forgive then condone us to continue in it. He does forgive. I don’t downplay that at all. But, there again, there is a truth to this that many are not taught because churches for the most part have departed from truth. For more on freedom from sin read, Jesus Can Heal You From ALL Sin and The Gospel Truth.
But, we do not so despair over our sin as some would suggest, that we begin to stumble into things like doubt, depression, and becoming so obsessed over perfect obedience that we forget that His blood really is sufficient. He will complete His work in us, and remember, not all fret themselves over sin. If it bothers you and you want to be freed, you will be. Believe that and don’t let those who would cause you to despair (as I have) make you stumble. There is a line here – a straight and narrow truth to this “fear of the Lord” thing. I hope I’m making that clear.
As those who read Kindling Truth might have noticed, just as there is a duality to God, there is a duality to things I write about. I’m realizing a balance here. On one hand, there is some duty to speak to the falsehoods out there so that those who can hear the truth will come out of them. But, I don’t want to spend too much time on that. I’d rather spend most efforts on helping the true body of Christ grow. There is a need for both, but I’m still learning how to speak to God’s severity so that readers might turn from sin, but then also speak of His softness so they do not become ruled by fear.
I have other things to write on fear, and it is my hope that all who are in Christ that read these things will start a journey towards freedom from fear, so when fear causes the rest of the world to faint and give into darkness, we will stand strong because we know that in Christ, there is no fear!
To come:
KindlingTruth 