Fear!
Do you see it? Can you smell it? Taste it? What is the "it" that I am talking about? Fear. In just over a month fear has gripped our entire society. Yes, everything! Now, here is my only warning before you go any further, in this blog I am likely to make many people angry, so go forward at your own risk! Many read my opening statement and right away are thinking that I am talking about the fear of death, and yes that is part of it, or at least one aspect of it, but definitely not the only fear I am talking about. So, before I get to discussing what I see people afraid of, let me first outline a biblical theology of fear.
The scriptures give us two very important lessons about fear, and when properly understood and applied to the Christian life, these help us to put fear into the proper perspective. First, we see in scripture that we are to fear the Lord or fear God. We see, repeatedly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10.) We also read that we are to fear God and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12, Ecclesiastes 12:13 and others.) But before you say, “this is just the Old Testament,” let me remind you that the New Testament says the same, (Luke 1:50, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Peter 2:17 and others.) In this the bible is clear, all of mankind should fear God. Why? Because He is God! He is all-powerful, completely just, Holy, perfect, righteous, all-knowing, and in His presence can exist nothing that is evil! You and I are evil, we have hearts that are wicked and we spend most of our time resisting Him and hating Him. Therefore, when we come to a true understanding of Him, fear should overtake us. Yes, for those who trust in Jesus, that fear is cast out by perfect love, but nevertheless it is still the basis by which we understand who God is. If there is no fear, then we lack the very beginning of wisdom!
Secondly the scriptures tell us to fear nothing. I know, it sounds contradictory right? But not if understood within its proper context. Fear nothing when it comes to the things of this world. But God is not of this world, for He is the creator of this world, He is the Sovereign ruler of this world and holds it all in the "palm of His hands" as the song goes. This is why we are told, be anxious for nothing, fear not, be strong and courageous, the Lord delivers us from ALL of our fears and on and on the verses go. When it comes to that which belongs to this world, do not fear it, for "do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell"(Matthew 10:28.) To summarize, the bible is clear, fear God, and nothing else.
Here's what I take away from this and hope to apply to our current circumstances. What we fear, is a sign of what we worship! Throughout these last few weeks I've been shocked at what we as human beings are afraid of. First, let us address the most obvious, death. Of course, the world is afraid of death, this should not come as a surprise to us. The world denies God, and most are still in their sin. Therefore, they believe that the great me, myself and I, is seated on the throne and any threat to that must be feared. Why are people so afraid of death? It is because they worship themselves and do not want to lose their god. This kind of fear is expected in the world, but not in the church. Christian your life is not your own, but has been purchased in the blood of Jesus. You cannot lose what doesn't belong to you, therefore we are called instead to offer our lives as a living sacrifice, to pick up our crosses and follow Him, and to die to self, all of this in His service. Death no longer has its sting!
Now, I wish this was all I saw, but unfortunately, it is not. The other great god, and this one I see unfortunately present even in the lives of more mature Christians, is the god of government or at least what government can represent. Before you start pointing fingers, this cuts both ways! Many Christians have rightly noted, that there is a great danger in the way the government has reacted to this virus, and that in fact all of this may very well lead us to losing certain freedoms for good. Once you give away freedom, it is always very hard to gain it back! This is a very valid critique, but what it does not warrant is fear. Critique calmly, even go about debating with others, but if fear of losing our freedom is present or driving you, then the only response is to repent and look to the Lord. This appearance of freedom has too many people become another god. The truth is, our freedom is in Christ and there is no government or outside authority that can give or take that away, so fear not Christian, for if Christ has set you free, then you are free indeed!
Then we also have those Christians who have completely surrendered to the government, who refuse to ask the necessary questions and are instead fearful of how the church might look if we dare speak out. Those who want to use Romans 13 as an excuse for cowardness, and therefore, their only response is submit to governing authorities. This fear has little to do with government, but is primarily a fear of man. This is a conversation that I have had a few times with Christians, and for the most part it has been cordial. However, what has always lacked in the challenges, is any truly biblical response. The response often is geared towards Romans 13 and love for neighbor. To which, I give a hearty amen, when understood rightly and in context. I will not rehash these arguments here except to say, we always obey God over government, and love of neighbor can never be in opposition to our love of God, which is evidenced through obedience to Him. To these brothers and sisters, I want to also say, fear not brothers and sisters, God is in control of this virus! But He has given us the church, to be governed by His Word regardless of what the state or the people say. Even if the society sees us as foolish, they were never going to accept us anyway!
In conclusion, remember that what we fear will always point us to what we worship! Let us walk with the fear of the Lord before us. Let us grow in our love for Him and our neighbor. We can and should have the other conversations as well, but we should never allow fear to be what motivates us... If it is, then we must repent, and place our eyes back on Him who saved us, Him who died for us, and the only one who is worthy of that fear, and therefore, worthy of our worship. God bless and be safe out there church!