Whom Shall I Fear?

…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

Merriam-Webster defines fear as “an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.” The Bible talks about two types of fear, the fear of man and the fear of God. One is a sin, the other a command to be obeyed.

What is the fear of man?

Regarding the Biblical understanding of fear, we are not to fear what man can do to us emotionally or physically.  At this current time in the United States, we don’t have to worry about physical harm for our faith in Christ. However, we have reached a point in our nation’s history when Christians are under tremendous pressure to remain silent and practice their faith in private. For a Christian, to speak out against what the Bible calls sin is to become “canceled” by our         enlightened culture. Therefore many Christians, fearing what might happen to them, remain silent out of fear. The fear of man can immobilize us when we should take action and keep us silent when we should speak.

John the Baptist was not afraid of the King when he spoke out against King Herod’s adulterous relationship even though it cost him his life. There is no need to fear man when we    belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus said this about fearing man:

“What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:27-31

What is the fear of the Lord?

Fear of the Lord does not mean that we are to be scared of God. As believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have no reason to be scared of Him. God loves you and will let nothing happen to you outside His will. God has made us promises, so we need not fear. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His        discipline, and worshiping Him in awe. The following are    just a few of the verses that explain the fear of the Lord:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. Psalm 25:14

Christian, we have nothing to fear in this life if we put our faith and trust in Jesus. We have been saved from the wrath of God (Romans 5:7) and have been made co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Because God loves us, we need not fear anything.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark