Whom Do We Fear?

Part 1

Humankind experiences a wide variety of fears: fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown. For the first several years of my childhood, our house was without indoor "facilities." Mom always made sure that Junior made his way to the facility before he went to bed, at which time it was invariably dark! After watching a western movie filled with gunfire on T.V., I must confess, it was a traumatic experience for me to make the sixty feet trek to the rear of our property. In both directions I zigged and zagged, fully expecting to be shot at any moment. The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing,

While the above named fears are common to the human psyche, as Christians we discover sooner or later, there are both healthy as well as harmful fears, holy as well as carnal fears.

The Christian is to possess a holy fear of God. This is not the kind of fear that produces anxiety, consternation, trepidation or panic; but, instead, awe, reverence, obedience, love and worship.

What happens when we fear God?

When we fear God we will surrender even our dearest possessions and gifts to their rightful Owner. God commended Abraham for subordinating his will to God's will in the matter of relinquishing his son Isaac. "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:12). To cling to that which has been given to us reveals that we do not fear God. Since Isaac (as with all children) was God's gift to Abraham, Abraham must not take God's gift and turn him into an idol.

When we fear God we will run from sin. I'm not speaking here of involuntary failures in agape love, but of willful disobedience to the Word of God. Christians don't practice sin! Sinners are sinners because it in their nature to sin; they sin because they have no fear of God. "An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psalms 36:1).

At the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, the people of Israel were terrified by the attending phenomena: thunder, lightning, smoke, and sounding trumpet--they trembled with fear. "Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning" (Exodus 20:20). The devout Christian takes sin seriously because he takes God seriously. A holy fear of God issues in a healthy fear of sin. This fear restrains the Christian; he is given the grace to say "no" to sin by the God he reveres and loves.

When we fear God we won't abuse our power over people. One of the temptations Christian leaders face is to misuse their authority. The abuse of power is so subtle and common that the sheep have grown accustomed to seeing it. Servant leadership in the church is getting to be a rare commodity these days. Writing in his book entitled The Power Delusion, Tony Campolo observes, "It is important to note that the Bible gives ample evidence that even the best of Israel's kings could not resist the corrupting effects of power. Ultimately, each king in turn abused the power of his office and had to be called to repentance."

God admonished King David, "When one rules over men in righteousness... he rules in the fear of God" (2 Samuel 23:3). A Christian leader who has a holy fear of God knows his place and keeps his place. He will not take advantage of those under him; he will not play power games to get his own way; he will not use people to promote his own selfish ambitions. God has called him to lead--but to lead in the fear of God--knowing full well that God will hold him accountable for how he has used his power.

When we fear God we will give Him all the glory. We either take the credit for successes and accomplishments, or we give God the credit What braggarts we can be! Listen to the seventy-two disciples reporting to Jesus about their successful mission: "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven ... do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven,'" (Luke 10:17-18, 20). Though it may be obscure in print, the inflection in their voices did not escape Jesus. The "us" loomed larger than did the words "in your name." He warned them of pride which was Satan's downfall: "I saw Satan fall as lightning from heaven." It's possible to steal glory from God even while giving our ministry reports! We talk about how many were converted under our ministry, how many joined the church under our ministry, how much the church's income has grown under our ministry. Oh, we say we are giving God the credit, but some how we make sure the people hear that it was done through us.

One of the desperate needs in the church today is a fresh and mighty baptism of a holy fear of God. A fear that produces genuine surrender to His sovereign claims on our lives. A fear that restrains us from transgressing His holy laws. A fear that enables leaders not to abuse their power. A fear that spontaneously and perpetually offers to Him all the glory for all He has done--both through us ... in spite of us ... and without us.

Prayer: 0 God, we are unworthy of the least of Your mercies. We are a proud lot. Forgive us and cleanse us. We have taken Your gracious gifts and manufactured idols. We have carelessly and casually transgressed Your holy laws. We have manipulated people for our own selfish ends. We have gloried in deeds done in Jesus' name.

O God, You art high and holy and You dwell in a high and lofty place. But you also tell us that You dwell in the hearts of the contrite and broken in spirit We repent of our lack of fear toward You. We beseech You, allow Your unworthy servants to come near and low--and stay long enough until they will never fail to fear You again. Amen.