Essentials of Faith

008 The Fear of the Lord

Psalms 97 and 99 both begin with the glorious truth that “the LORD reigns” over all things. The response of the people of God is to rejoice (Psalm 77:1, 8), and to be glad (Psalm 77:1, 8, 12). This is in stark contrast to how the wicked responded to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. After stating that God is enthroned in the heavens, and is the Sovereign Ruler and Judge of all things, the Psalmist tells us how unbelievers responded to this doctrine: They are put to shame (Psalm 77:7) and tremble in fear (Psalm 99:1).  Because God is Sovereign, unbelievers have no way to escape His wrath on the day of Judgment. Not only does this cause shame, fear, and trembling but it explains  why there is so much hatred directed against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.  If this doctrine is true, then there is no hope for the unbeliever of escaping God’s judgment.

Psalm 34 offers a lesson in the fear of the Lord.  In verses 1 through 6 we are given the Psalmist’s personal testimony. In verse 7 we are told the Lord protects those who fear Him: "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them.”  In verse 9 we learn that nothing more is needed for the believer than to fear the Lord. In verse 11 we are given insight into the first lesson in the school of wisdom - “I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”  The psalmist asks a the question in v12 “Who is the man who desires life, and loves length of days that he may see good? “ In the remainder of the psalm the psalmist answers his own question as he explains how it is the fear of God that leads us to a righteous life.

The scriptures are filled with reasons why we should fear God. The God who has revealed Himself in Scripture is a “terrible” and “awesome” God, i.e., He is the kind of God who inspires either reverence or terror in the hearts of men (Deu 7:21) The authors of Scripture single out various attributes of God as inspiring fear of Him. We should fear God because of: His Greatness (Deu 7:21);  His Sovereignty (Psalm 33:6-12); His Holiness Rev 15:4); His Jealousy  (Deu 6:13-15); His Justice and Righteousness (2 Ch 19:6-9); and His Judgment against His enemies (Joshua 2:9-13).         

We are told the that even God's great and glorious names are reason enough to fear Him. Nehemiah tells the Israelites that it should be a delight to fear God’s name (Neh 1.11.) In Psalm 86.11 the psalmist asks God to “give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Moses warns the people in Deu 28.58-59 that “If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name -  the Lord your God - the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

We are told God’s name is holy and awesome (Psalm 111:9), that we should glorify the name of God (Ps 86:12), that the great and awesome name of God should be praised (Psalm 99:3) and that even unbelievers, the nations, will fear the name of the Lord (Psalm 102:15).   In Malachi 1.14 God says “. . . My name is to be feared among the nations.”  This is the thought behind Ex 20.7 where we are told that God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name. Today it is common for many to take God’s name in vain unaware that this is blasphemy and will result in swift judgment. It is further proof, that today.

A second major reason why people should fear God is the Word of God. The Bible should be the object of our awe and reverence because it is the written Word of God. Psalm 119.161 tells us that his “heart trembles at your word.”  It is by reading and study that we learn what it means to fear God in the Bible just as described in Deu 17.18-20.  “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”

God’s works are another reason to fear Him.  His mighty deeds through out history should motivate us to fear Him all the days of our lives. His works are truly “awesome” and even Heaven itself is filled with praise for all that He has done. In heaven note the song that the angels sing "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." (Re 15.3-4) Should our song be any different? We should sing of God’s mighty deeds because they are: marvelous, righteous, true, many wonderful, great, and truly awesome.

Four of God’s works in particular are singled out as promoting the “fear of God.”
1) Creation - The fact that God made us means that we belong to Him and thus owe to Him our worship and obedience (Psalm 33:8-9).
2) Sovereignty - we should be in awe of His sovereignty (Psalm 33:11).
3) Judgment -  We should fear the judgment of God more than the judgment of men. Man can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But God can cast us body and soul into an eternal hell according to the Lord Jesus (Matthew 10:28).
4) Forgiveness - God forgives our sins that we might fear Him (Psalm 130:4).

The fear of God is not to be viewed as something which led to our conversion and then is dropped. The fear of God is the GOAL of God’s plan of salvation!  God’s wondrous nature, name, Word and works should be motivation to fear Him. God is an awesome God, a great and glorious God, mighty in judgment, compassionate in mercy. He is working all things according to His sovereign will.

When we analyzed how the word “fear” was used in Scripture, we found the word “fear” as applied to God has over 20 different meanings. The fear of the Lord is a very broad subject. The word “fear” has so many different meanings because we have to deal with such a wide range of human emotions and how human beings respond to God. The fear of the Lord will have many different meanings corresponding to all the different kinds of emotions that are born in the hearts of sinners as they are forced to have dealings with God. Terror is an example of those emotions.

The subject of the terror of the Lord, like the fear of the Lord, is for the most part neglected today. The first reference in the Bible to the terror of the Lord is found in Genesis. When God asked Adam why he was hiding, he answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."(Ge 3:10).  We find this terror expressed in those three little words, “I was afraid.” The Hebrew word which is translated “afraid” refers to the kind of terror and dread that makes one physically tremble. Adam was literally trembling with terror at the very thought of coming into the presence of God. This terror caused Adam and Eve to run from God. It caused them to hide from His presence; to avoid confrontation with the living God. Adam and Eve experienced sheer, naked terror at the thought of being exposed to the all-seeing eye of God. Instead of running to God for the remedy to their sin and guilt, terror, fear of the Lord, caused Adam and Eve to attempt to escape confrontation with the Righteous Judge of all the earth.

The last thought in the mind of a sinner is to come into the presence of God where his or her their sins can be exposed. Jn 3.20 tells us that "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." But just as there was no escape for Adam, there is no escape for sinners today. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb 4.13)

When man sinned in the Garden, sin and guilt became part of the human condition.  The eyes of Adam and Eve were “opened,” and there was a new dimension in their lives. Before they sinned, Adam and Eve were naked because they lived in a garden where they did not need any clothing. There were no thorns or thistles. The weather was perfect. There was no pain or shame. But once man sinned, they became embarrassed. They felt shame for the first time. This shame was rooted not in their naked bodies but in their sinful souls. Guilt over their sin led to shame over their own bodies. While they could cover the shame of their nakedness with fig leaves, they had no way to cover their guilt and sin before God. They tried to use fig leaves to hide from God. Up to that point, Adam and Eve had never experienced the dread or terror of the Lord. They had nothing to fear from the creation or the Creator. But now they were seized with fear, terror, dread, anxiety and worry. 

Just like Adam and Eve, we are still running and hiding from God because of our sin and guilt before Him. When Adam heard the voice of God, he was forced to remember who God was and who he was. He had to think about the consequences of his accountability to God. Adam’s conscience was aroused with guilt and shame over his sin. Abject fear gripped him because he knew that: God was a holy God; that he was accountable to God; that God would punish sin with death, and that there was absolutely no way to escape the judgment of God once the process began.

What was the outcome of man’s attempt to hide from God and His judgment?  It failed! Did they remain hidden from God? No! There is always a day of Judgment. Try as we might we can not avoid God's judgment.  As the writer or Hebrews says in 9.27 "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
Like the attempt to hide from God, the cover-up also failed. The fig leaves didn’t fool God. And like that first cover-up all our cover-ups will also fail and our lives will still end in judgment. Adam and Eve’s sin was exposed and there was nothing they could do about it, and there is nothing we can do about ours. Like Adam and Eve, we will all be held accountable. Our sin will be exposed on the Day of Judgment. There will be no way to escape.  For Adam, Eve, and Satan,  all got the judgments they deserved, to each one, according to his deeds, a righteous judgment was exacted.  The punishment for sin was death.  Now the process of physical death began the very day they sinned, but a punishment worse than death was also laid on them. As Isaiah 59.2 tells us “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

From the beginning of the Bible let’s skip forward to the last book of the Bible.  In the book of Revelation we find a description of what will happen at the end of human history when mankind will experience the dread, fright, and terror of God. John shares his vision with us in Rev 6.12-17: “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand.’”  What a moment! Imagine the feelings, the emotions, that strike as the reality of their sin and rebellion against God now finally dawns upon them, as they realize that the Bible was true after all.

There IS a Judgment Day and God IS going to judge all mankind! Many will feel the full weight of their guilt before God and they will try to escape by calling upon the mountains to fall upon them. The mountains, the rocks and the caves cannot hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. Mankind will be assembled for the great Judgment Day and the books of life will be opened and we will be judged! Rev 20.15 tells us that “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

There are many different ways we attempt to hide from God.  But none of these ways will succeed anymore than Adam’s fig leaf did. People can call the mountains to fall on them or people can hide in bomb shelters hollowed out deep inside of granite mountains to escape the great and terrible Day of God, but nothing they can do will allow them to escape the Day of Judgement. Jesus, himself gives us a glimpse of what we can expect on that day. Mt 25.41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And Mt 25.46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  Where will you be found - buried under a pile of rocks or standing on Mt Calvary?

How Should We Then Live?

Beginning on November 11, 2007 we will explore Francis A Schaeffer's book and file series "How Should We Then Live?"  Our study will give us a perspective on the development of the history of the West and trace the impact of a Christian Worldview on the surrounding culture, beginning with the time of the Romans. The following review taken from Amazon.com provides a brief summary of what we can look forward to as we journey through history with Francis Schaeffer as our guide.

To order the book click "How Should We Then Live?"

 

A Christian Who Engages Culture, July 4, 2005       

      

       

By	Jokim Schnoebbe  - See all my reviews

      

The idea of the project How Should We Then Live?, both as a film documentary and as a book, was conceived in 1974 and completed in 1976. In the Acknowledgments, Francis Schaeffer writes about the idea behind the project: "Using my study, over the past forty years, of Western thought and culture as a base, we could attempt to present the flow and development which have led to twentieth-century thinking, and by so doing hope to show the essential answers." The subtitle to How Should We Then Live? is "The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture." Starting from ancient Roman times, tracing man's development throughout the Middle Ages, going to the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, he shows the steps which led to the modern era.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Chapter One-Ancient Rome
The finite Graeco-Roman gods were not a sufficient inward base for the Roman society: Rome crumbled from within, and the invasions of the barbarians only completed the breakdown.

Chapter Two-The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages were the post-Roman age: a time of uncertainty in which there were great advances of the church but also great distortions of Biblical truth, eventually leading to the Renaissance and the Reformation.

Chapter Three-The Renaissance
Although the Renaissance revived the realization that man and nature are important, it went overboard by making man the measure of all things-and by that destroyed the importance of man.

Chapter Four-The Reformation
Like the Renaissance, the Reformation sought to bring freedom to man, yet unlike the Renaissance it did not lose sight of the Bible and absolute values.

Chapter Five-The Reformation-Continued
The impact of the Reformation on society at large was the opportunity of freedom without chaos.

Chapter Six-The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment believed in the perfectibility of society, and sought to bring it about mainly by the means of revolution.

Chapter Seven-The Rise of Modern Science
Modern science could only have arisen from a Christian foundation: namely, that man is not part of a closed system but can observe and act into the system.

Chapter Eight-The Breakdown of Philosophy and Science
The foundation in Philosophy and Science was changed from antithetical thinking to dialectic thinking-and because of it reason became more and more pessimistic.

Chapter Nine-Modern Philosophy and Modern Theology
Due to the pessimistic view on reason, Philosophy and Theology started to seek meaning in the irrational.

Chapter Ten-Modern Art, Music, Literature, and Films
What began in Philosophy now made itself felt in the Arts: the abandonment of reason and increased fragmentation.

Chapter Eleven-Our Society
We have come full circle, since our society has become like the declining Roman Empire of old: it is marked by the love of affluence, a widening gap between rich and poor, an obsession with sex, freakishness in the arts, and an increased desire to live off the state.

Chapter Twelve-Manipulation and the New Elite
Because our society stands on the verge of chaos, we are in danger of coming under an authoritarian elite which will increasingly manipulate our lives.

Chapter Thirteen-The Alternatives
The only plausible alternative to authoritarianism is to align ourselves to a Biblical worldview-a worldview which produces freedom without chaos.

CONCLUSION
Whether or not one agrees with all of Schaeffer's points, his passion to be a Christian who engages secular culture has laid the foundation stone for much of Christian thinking in the past three decades.

To order the book click "How Should We Then Live?"

 

007 The Beginning of Wisdom

Read, study, and meditate on Psalm 111.

006 What's the Problem With the Church?

Read 1 Peter 2 and 1 Corinthians chapters 5 & 6.
Read the article: From George Washington to Vicky Imogene Robinson. This article describes some of the problems facing the church today.

007 The Beginning of Wisdom

“The Beginning of Wisdom” is the third part in a five-part series on The Fear of God that was recently given as a seminar in a maximum security prison.  This was by far the most difficult session to teach and likely sit through.  We spent a great deal of time in studying a variety of Old Testament Hebrew words that were used to describe and mean fear. For some of you who are students of Hebrew the following may seem elementary but for most of us this was a challenge.

Psalm 111 is entirely dedicated to the subject of the “fear” of the Lord. In Ps 111.10 David tells us that the fear of the Lord is the “beginning” of wisdom. In the Hebrew text, David uses the word re-sheet when he says that the fear of the Lord is the “beginning” of wisdom.  “Re-sheet” is translated differently elsewhere in the Bible. The word is used alternately in the Bible to describe the “best” fruit and animals, or to mean “foremost.” The word when translated as the “best,” means the highest quality, the chief, the choicest. Therefore, above all else in life, make sure you fear God, for it is the chief, the best, the choicest and the supreme part of wisdom.

In Proverbs 9:l0, Solomon used the Hebrew word te-chil-lah when he wrote the statement, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Techillah refers to the “first” item in a succession of things. Solomon is saying that the fear of the Lord is the FIRST thing you must do in order to obtain wisdom. It is the first step on the road to becoming a wise man or woman.

Do you desire God’s wisdom in your life? Do you really want to be a wise person? The very first thing you must do in order to obtain divine wisdom is to fear God. If you do not fear God, nothing else in life will make any sense.  The reason why the first step to obtaining wisdom is to fear God is that it is the chief part of wisdom. It is the soul and substance of our relationship to God and the sweetest part of walking with God. Without the fear of the Lord, there can be no true wisdom. To become a wise person who understands the ways of God and of man, the “first step” is to fear the Lord. It is not only the first thing in life that you should learn, but it is also the “choicest” aspect of your relationship to God. Without it, nothing in life will make any sense. The fear of the Lord is thus the chief aspect of wisdom, as well as the first step toward wisdom.    

In our day we hear quite a bit about God being a loving God and rightly so, yet we should never forget the importance of “fearing God.” The phrase “loving God” occurs 88 time in the Bible, 45 times in the Old Testament and 43 times in the New Testament. The phrase “fearing the Lord” occurs 278 times; with 235 references in the Old Testament and 43 in the New Testament.

We are told by Luke in Acts 9.31 that the Fear of the Lord is divinely appointed. That the fear of the Lord was the divinely appointed means the way by which the church experienced peace and growth. Luke also tells us that as they went on in the fear of the Lord, they experienced the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Thus the fruit of the Spirit is rooted in the fear of God. Do you want to see your church prosper in the things of God? - then learn to fear the Lord. All of these things happen as people live in the fear of the Lord.

What does the fear of the Lord mean? The fear of the Lord is the recognition that God is holy as well as loving, and He is to be feared as well as trusted. God is the Righteous Judge of all the earth who sits upon His throne judging the nations with equity. If we make the mistake of neglecting or denying this biblical view of God, we will suffer in our spiritual life. Since God has revealed Himself in Scripture, to worship any other God than the One revealed in Scripture is the essence of idolatry.

In dealing with the nature of the fear of God, the very first problem we face is the poverty of the English word “fear.” It does not tell us what kind of fear is in focus.  It does not indicate any specific attributes. This is in sharp contrast to the richness of the Hebrew language. The Old Testament uses seventeen different Hebrew words and one Aramaic word to describe different kinds of “fear.” These words are not simple synonyms.  They describe fear in different ways with different meanings. The English word “fear” is simply not precise enough to tell us how to relate to God. We won’t look at all 17 but it will be helpful to look at the most frequently used meanings of the word fear.

Nine of the eighteen words that the Old Testament uses to describe different kinds of fear are used to describe man’s fear of God. The following is a summary of how these words are used in reference to our walk with God. The first Hebrew word that describes the fear that we should have of God is Goor.  "You who fear the LORD, praise him!  All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!  Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!" (Psalm 22:23.) In Ps 33.8 it says "Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him." In their respective contexts, this word means to turn aside from the normal pursuits of life and come into the presence of God. Once we are standing in His presence, our attitude should be one of wonder and reverential awe at the power and majesty of the Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe.  Goor emphasizes that we must stand before God with the right attitudes. Did you ever wonder why we stand so much during church services? Why do we stand to pray and stand to sing? The early Church understood that we needed to “stand in awe” of God and to worship Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The next time you stand in church, remind yourself that you are to stand in awe of the Great God whom you serve. 

The second Hebrew word is chool. The original root meaning of the word meant to whirl or writhe in pain. It is used to describe such painful situations as a woman giving birth. It also is used to describe the pain of the wounds inflicted by a weapon. It also described the inward dread, anxiety and terror that gripped the Canaanites when they heard the Israelites were coming.  See Deuteronomy 2:25. This word is used of man’s fear of God five times and is translated as “tremble.” See 1 Chronicles 16:30;  Ps 96:9 and Jeremiah 5:22.

The third word is ah-ratz, which means to be so terrified of or filled with dread of what is coming upon you that you physically shake or tremble. It emphasizes the external signs of fear such as trembling or shaking. It should be translated  “tremble in dread of.” This word is used of the fear of God three times.  In  Isa 8.13, Psalm 89:7, and Isa 29.23.  This word means that we ought to tremble at the very thought of coming under the condemnation of God. Why is it mistranslated in Psalm 89:7 and Isaiah 29:23? We don’t know why. Maybe the translator did not like the idea of “trembling in dread” of God. But the Hebrew word means “to tremble in dread of” the Lord.

The fourth word is pa-chad, which usually means to live under a fearful apprehension of a distant danger which keeps the mind in suspense. "You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life." (Deuteronomy 28:66).  It is used twelve times in reference to the fear of God. The word pa-chad implies a fear which is caused by an enemy or inflicted by God Himself. "The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel." (2 Chronicles 20:29).  It is used of things which come unexpectedly upon us and which startle us. The Hebrew word is also used as a name of God. The God of Isaac and the God of Jacob are both called by the name of “Fear” in Genesis 31:32 and 53.  The fear of the Lord was so central to Isaac’s concept of God that one of his names for God was “Fear”! 

The fifth word a-mah means to be frightened by something to the point of terror. It is used to describe the terror of darkness or death (Genesis 15:12; Psalm 55:4). It is used of the fear of God three times as in Exodus 15:16. A-mah is never used in the positive sense of reverential awe. It means that sinners should be in terror of what God will do to them in judgment for their sins. One of the consequences of not preaching the doctrine of hell is that unbelievers get the idea that nothing bad will happen to them after death.

The Aramaic word do-chal is a word that always means stark terror. It is used of the terror that Nebuchadnezzar caused in the hearts of his enemies in Daniel 5:19.   It is also used in the book of Daniel to speak of the terror of God. Daniel 6:26.  When was the last time you heard a sermon on the “terror” of the Lord? Could it be that we have emphasized the love of God to the exclusion of His terror?

The seventh word yah-re is the general word for fear in the Old Testament. It can have a positive or negative significance depending on the context. It is used for the “fear of God” 180 times.  In the negative sense, Moses was afraid to look upon God because he assumed that to see the essential glory of God meant instant death. Exodus 3:6.The word is yah-re translated as “trembling” in the presence of God. It means to be literally terrified of God. Have you ever been so afraid of God that you literally trembled? It is the emotional response that sinners should have when God warns them.

In the positive sense of worship and reverential awe, the word arey" (yah-re) is used throughout the Psalms.  Indeed, Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." It also was used to describe the respect that people gave to political leaders such as Moses and Joshua. Joshua 4:14.  It also was used to describe the sense the people are afraid of God more than man. It is in this sense that the midwives feared God - Exodus 1:21. They did not obey Pharaoh’s command to abort the Jewish babies because they feared God MORE than they feared him!

The eighth word is yah-goor. It is used only once for the fear of God. Moses said that he was “horrified” by God’s plan to destroy the entire nation because of their wickedness. "I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me." (Deuteronomy 9:19).

The last word is re-ah-dah. It is used in Psalm 2:11 in the command, "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” This is the only time it is used in the Bible. It means that in our worship of God we should be trembling in awe of His greatness.

In the New Testament, all the different Hebrew words for “fear” are translated by the Greek word phobos and the verbs, adverbs and adjectives which modify phobos. The fear of God in the New Testament embraces all the emotions of the human heart.

Jesus' encouragement to the apostles to do what was right regardless of personal cost also provides us with an insight about the fear of God that is often neglected in our day. "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5.    The fear of God was and is an essential part of living a holy life. This is best summarized in Revelation 15.4 "Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." 
Do you wonder why there is so much shallowness in the church today? Why the church is seemingly so weak? The answer lies in the fear of God. The reason for many failings of the church, and the reason that many Christians are weak, is rooted in the fact that we do not fear God. It can be simply summarized as follows: The presence of the fear of God is His blessing; while the absence of the fear of God is His curse. Are you blessed or cursed?

006 What's the Church's Problem?

What’s the Church’s Problem? This is the second part in a five-part series on The Fear of God that was given as a seminar in a maximum security prison recently. The seminar participants were united in the belief that the lack of a fear of God was at the heart of many of the problems facing both society and the church today.  The seminar sessions were approximately two hours long and so to fit our blog format we have had to do some extensive editing. Forgive us if the flow is somewhat awkward as a result.

The most well-known verse in the Bible is  Jn 3.16. But there is another verse in that same chapter which is almost totally ignored Jn 3.36. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." What happens when a nation, culture or church no longer fears the Lord? What happens in the church when the wrath of God is ignored?

For many today the fear of God is a foreign topic that has almost been forgotten in the church. Why is the fear of God no longer preached or practiced today? Is it because the Bible is silent on the subject? No! As a matter of fact, one thing is abundantly clear, the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled with commands to fear the Lord. But this is not something that most of God’s people understand today.

In the Old Testament, the fear of God was viewed as the fundamental attitude of the believer to his God. The fear of God was honored and practiced by prophets, priests, and kings throughout the entire Old Testament. Indeed, King Solomon declared, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). When we turn to the New Testament, the fear of God is taught from Matthew to Revelation. It is not negated, lessened or down played in the New Testament in any sense whatsoever.

The fear of the Lord played a significant role in the life and teachings of Jesus (Mt 10.28). The fear of the Lord was preached as part of the early church’s proclamation of man’s duty to God (Ac 9.31).  Paul understood sanctification that is our being set aside for a special use or purpose, as taking place in the fear of the Lord (2 Co. 7.1). The Apostle Peter says it simply in 1 Peter 2.17. But note that in this verse the motive of obeying three of this commands comes from the fourth command: fear God. The book of Revelations tells us that Heaven is filled with the glorious hymn that all nations should fear the Lord (Rev 15.3-4).

Even a cursory reading of the Bible should reveal the fact that the fear of the Lord is absolutely necessary for the spiritual health of our nation, our churches, our families and our own lives. Any nation, church, organization, family or individual that ceases to fear, or refuses to fear the Lord will fall into a life of sin. The lack of the fear of God in our lives is the heart of the problem both in our culture and in the church.

Today, in our nation or sadly even in our churches, there is no longer a fear of God. God has become a good-time old rocking roll buddy or perhaps even worse just a spiritual Santa Claus.  Where is the fear of entering into?  His presence?  Are we not entering into His presence carrying strange fire? Are we not tempting His righteousness with our attitudes?  If we are not being struck down physically, we are being struck down spiritually – we, in the church, are in real danger of losing the “promised land.” The only real and lasting cure for violence and crime in modern society is a return to the biblical understanding for the fear of Lord.   

Many people think that the atheist or atheism is the enemy of the church - and they would be wrong. Deuteronomy 29.18 explains that the great enemy the church faces come from within the church itself.  The greatest enemy of the church comes not from those who deny the reality of God but from those who turn from God and worship false idols.  The church today rather than being used of God to help mold the world around us is instead being molded by the world.

Christians, today, are trying to worship God and the gods of nations. In doing so we are allowing the world to squeeze us into its mold and squeezing God out of our lives. This is the bitter root for the church and for many of us who call ourselves Christians, yet most of us continue to live our lives according to the world. When the world is more influential than God we need the fear of the Lord to brought back into the church. The same process has made it “out of place” today to preach on sin. The “popular” thing is to talk about various psychological sicknesses, addictions, and problems. Have you noticed that today people are no longer viewed as sinners? If you watch the TV talk shows, you will hear that adulterers, rapists, and child molesters are not sinners who need to repent, they are only sex addicts who need therapy! They are only “sick” — not sinful. They are the “victims” of society, racism, abuse, neglect, etc. What they need is a “twelve step” program - perhaps - but the fear of God in their lives might work better and last longer.

Our liberal culture has made strong doctrinal preaching “out of fashion” today. What has happened to the good old-fashioned concern for the Truth as it is seen in Jesus and taught by Him?  Instead of preaching the truth of God, too many pastors give “relational” sermons, which focus on the feelings of man. Any doctrine that might hurt someone’s feelings is either denied or ignored.

Another example of the world molding the church or how far the church has drifted from the fear of God can be seen in some of the abuses one might find in the church growth movement. This does not mean to condemn church growth but rather church growth advocates that believe that numbers, money, and buildings are the only goals that count; that believes the New Testament is irrelevant when it comes to the nature, structure and programs of the local church; that governs the church by taking surveys in the community asking nonbelievers what kind of church service they want and what sermon topics they are willing to hear. The questions we must ask: Are we building churches that reflect the counsel of the ungodly rather than the revealed word of God? Are we using the Bible as our rule of faith and practice, to guide us in building and structuring a church?

In many churches where the fear the Lord is no longer preached, we find what can only be called cults of happiness. Many Christians in the church do not seem to understand that their purpose in life is to glorify God. Instead, their own personal happiness has become the all consuming theme of the Christian life. Personal happiness has become an idol before whom all must bow. Anything such as the fear of God which would tend to make people feel unhappy at times is frowned upon. We have heard far too many sermons, which focused on “How Jesus can make you happy.” It is time for churches to expound the truth, to tell people the truth, that God is more concerned with their holiness than their happiness. Sadness and sorrow are good things if they bring you to repentance.

Instead of preaching that we exist for God’s glory and that we are His servants, we are told today that God exists for our happiness and He is our servant; that He is supposed to “fetch and carry” wealth and health for us whenever we “name it and claim it.” May God forgive us for this blasphemy.

We, in the church, need to again ask ourselves the question "What is the chief end of man?" We need to reflect upon passages such as Rev 4.11 and Psalm 73.25-26 looking to answer the question "What does it mean that the true Christian life is God-centered, not self-centered or world-centered?" If we can restore the fear of God to its proper place in our lives, we will once again see the church molding the world. But it all begins with the proper understanding of the fear of God.

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005 What is Man's Problem?

Please read Leviticus 9.1- 10.7; and Romans Chapter 3.
If you can find it, a great background work to this series is John Bunyan's The Fear of God. It is well worth the read if you can find it. if you cannot get the hard copy use this link to read it online or print it yourself:
John Bunyan: Fear of God

005 What is Man's Problem?

A personal note before we begin. This week's class and the next four or five sessions are based on a weekend seminar that I am doing in prison.  I say this because like the old movie serials, these are really sessions that are to be continued. Each session should stand on its own but the complete picture won't come into focus until the last session of the seminar.  The seminar's central theme was the "Fear of God" and it was a challenge. I pray that it will challenge you as well.

The year is 2007 and our culture is rapidly continuing it slouch towards Gomorrah.  "Islamic terrorism threatens our borders, our political discourse is shrill and spoken in sound bites, and an epidemic of pornography addiction threatens the possibility of healthy relationships between men and women.  People have to think twice about to whether saving aborted babies or snail darters is more important. We can’t agree on the sexual makeup of a flourishing family.

Spirituality is “in”, but who knows which form to embrace. A flat stomach is of greater value than a mature character. The makeup man is more important than the speech writer. People listen, or pretend to listen to what actors - actors - have to say!

Political correctness so rules our universities that they are now places of secular indoctrination, and one is hard pressed to find serious classroom interaction from various perspectives on the crucial issues of our day." (J.P. Moreland, "Kingdom Triangle," p12) And the fastest growing institution in America is prisons.  The question is why? What is man’s problem? Perhaps we should ask, "Where is God's presence?"

Mt 18.20 tells us that where two or more are gathered together as Christ's followers, Jesus is there among them. Do you sense His presence with you in your place of worship? If not let me ask you - Do you think that the Lord of lords, the King of kings is going to enter into a place where He is not given the honor and reverence that is due Him, that is owed Him? Do you think that the Our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ will enter into your church, your prayer meeting, your small group, and even into your quiet place, if there is no fear of the Lord there?

Lev 10.1-2 is the story of the death of Aaron's two sons. They are not found fault with for the incense they used but rather for the fire that they used. They offered strange fire - fire that was not taken from the altar of burnt offering, which they might have feared to approach after the miracle that had occurred. (See  Lev 16.12 ) On the Day of Atonement, the incense fire was to be be taken from the brazen altar, and this was likely the rule on all occasions, though the law is not recorded. In v2 it says that fire came out from the presence of the Lord and these are the same words used in Lev 9.24 of the fire that consumed the sacrifices. The fire was the same; its source was the same; its effect was the same, and yet how different! They died before the Lord; that is, they were struck dead at the door of the tabernacle. Why? Look at Moses' "comforting" remark to Aaron in Lev 10.3. 

Let me ask again are we treating God as Holy in our respect, in our fear, in our worship of Him? What is God looking for in us – He is looking for us to regard Him as Holy, to fear Him, to worship Him.  Who among us will stand and ask as the psalmist did in Ps 39.23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Where are we today spiritually? Are we walking on the path that the Lord has put before us or are we serving God in an image we have created. Isa 29.13  is saying that the people reduced the glory of the Lord to the glory of corruptible man.  They served God in the image they had created – not by His true image, but by their own standards. Most of us serve God as we wish to serve Him not as He wishes to be served – Disagree –Let’s take a quick test.

Have you ever lied? Yes you have. Have you ever stolen anything? Yes you have? Have you ever committed adultery? Yes – Jesus said that to even lust after a woman (man) is the same as committing adultery. Well right now we have broken 3 out of 10 but who’s keeping score? By desiring that woman (man) you are coveting someone’s wife (husband) or daughter (son). So now that’s 4.  OK. Jesus says to hate someone is to commit the sin of murder in your heart. And that’s where sin starts. Let’s check the balance sheet.  We have admitted that we are a lying, thieving, covetous, murdering, adulterer — and we’ve only looked at five of the ten. Shall we go for six?

By doing all these things, we have dishonored our father and mother. My friends, we’ve broken six out of ten commandments. If we are honest with ourselves… … we have broken all the others, too. And these are just a summary of God’s holy Law.

Let me ask some additional questions - Have you ever resisted the temptation to sin because you feared the wrath of God? Do you think that God would really judge you for cheating on your spouse?
Do you think that the God you worship ever gets angry with you because of your sins? Does God really punish people today? Does the idea of fearing God enter your mind? Why are divorce and adultery are as common among church goers as in the world? Why are immorality, drugs, and wickedness in Christian families, churches, and seminaries? Why does the church tolerate all sorts of “ungodly” behavior from the pew to the pulpit?

In Rom 3.9-20 Paul deals with the universality of sin, that we are all sinners in the eyes of God. He goes on to explain why we are all sinners- because there is no fear of God before our eyes. The answer to the complex question, "What is man's problem?" may be simply summarized "We have no fear of God."

From George Washington to Vicky Imogene Robinson

Article re: State of the Episcopal Church