Reverential Fear

17 Reverential Fear

As we conclude this study on fear, it is my prayer that these promises and principles from God’s Word will bring a conclusion to your false fears. Therefore, I want to say at the ending of this book what I said at the beginning: “Fear is man’s oldest and most persistent emotional enemy.”

That means that until a person learns to faith down their fears, they are not really able to live the “abundant life” that Jesus promised His children (John 10:10). While they may experience eternal life through their faith in Christ, they will not really experience His abundant life until they faith down their fears through the power of His Spirit and authority of His Word.

It is a great spiritual tragedy that fear is usually one of the last emotional enemies we face and defeat, rather than the first. The Goliath that is fear stalks and intimidates them all of their lives. It is a spiritual and emotional giant that constantly threatens their very existence. As a result, far too many Christians live all of their lives dominated by that “spirit of fear” that Paul warned Timothy about. So, again, we need to meditate on the liberating words of Paul: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 nkjv).

That being the case, let me conclude our study with several more verses of assurance that I pray will echo around your

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spirit until you have been freed from fear through the unconditional love of the Lord Jesus.

First, I want to remind you of the words that King Solomon used to conclude his study on living and the purpose of man’s life. After he has thoroughly experienced and examined all of the pursuits of life—pleasure, prosperity, power, and position—he cried out, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Then he wisely and rightly concluded, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

From Solomon’s words, we can see that there is a direct link between a person fearing God and keeping His commands. If we do not obey one, then we have definitely not experienced the other. As we saw earlier, to truly fear God is to love what God loves and hate what God hates. As Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:21).

Contrary to what many Christians believe, obedience is not legalism. It is love! The only difference between legalism and love is that the emphasis has changed. One is the obedience of a slave who still lives in bondage to law and who obeys out of duty. The other is the obedience of a son, who is in the willful bondage of love. While the slave obeys out of duty, the son obeys out of devotion. One is living to appease, while the other is living to please. There is an eternal difference between the two.

Carefully and prayerfully read these words by the Apostle Paul wherein he clearly distinguishes the difference between a slave and a son:

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Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14–16).

What makes the difference between the two? It is the loving fear and reverence that the son has for his father. Again, the son is motivated by the right kind of love while the slave is motivated by the wrong kind of fear. That’s why so many of us need to be liberated by love! John, the “beloved disciple,” appropriately gives us the principle of liberation: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

It is my sincere prayer that this study has indeed helped you faith down your fears, as you have focused your faith on the Lord Jesus and His unconditional love for you. I pray that these principles from His Word will indeed perfect you more and more in His love.

As John rightly observes, “fear has to do with punishment.” The gloriously Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus already fully faced your punishment on the cross! All of your sin and my sin, and the sin of the whole world was poured out on Him. Because God is a just and righteous God, He cannot punish both Christ and you for sin. It is impossible for God to collect a spiritual death twice. That’s why the Bible assures us that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

That is why the writer of Hebrews refers to what we have in Christ as our eternal salvation (5:9), our eternal redemp-

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tion (9:12), our eternal inheritance (9:15), perfect forever (10:14), and our eternal covenant (13:20).

So my dear friend, if you have accepted the Lord Jesus, you are perfectly loved and fully forgiven forever! Your salvation is eternally secure.

Remember the verse that liberated President Abraham Lincoln from his besetting fears during the very stressful days of his presidency: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

Just as that verse was almost worn out by his finger passing over it as he read it in his Bible to faith down his fears, I pray that you too will let those words be indelibly impressed upon your spirit. Then you will also experience what both King David and President Lincoln experienced: “He delivered me from all my fears.”

Finally, remember that everything depends upon the object of your fear. As I stated earlier, fear, like faith, hope, and love, must have an object. The object of your faith and the object of your fear make all the difference in the world. Tragically, most of us go through life fearing the wrong object—usually man. The spiritual, emotional, and relational results of that are always disastrous. As Solomon reminded us, “fear of man will prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). Therefore,

Remember: If we fear God, we fear nothing else. If we do not fear God, we fear everything else.

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Father, help me to make You the object of my faith, hope, and love so that I will live with the spirit of one of Your sons or daughters— rather than the spirit of a slave! Help me not to be just a hearer of Your Word through this study, but a doer of Your Word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus who took all of the punishment I deserved when He died in my place on the cross. I praise you that I no longer have to live in fear of punishment in either time or eternity. Thank you for setting me free from the spirit of fear and giving me the spirit of power, love, and self-control. Help me from this moment on to live for the praise of Your glory through Your indwelling Holy Spirit. In Christ’s Name I pray, Amen!

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