Fear and Understand God
Fear and Understand God
Actually, you will not even have a reasonable understanding of God if you do not fear God. We will get to how perfect love casts out fear, but no one begins in that position. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Proverbs 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
God’s nature has not changed so we can look throughout His revelation and understand we should fear God. The scriptures indicate God has not changed, yet people in their less than infinite wisdom try to point out how God has changed. Attitudes like this are the very reason so many will fail in life. Quite often someone will tell me God changed the law, but that does not mean God changed. Instead, that was always part of His plan. In fact, WHATEVER God changed does not mean He has in some fundamental way changed His character. God’s nature, God’s Purpose, God’s plan is perfectly consistent throughout scripture and it should bring fear to every person. God is serious about His purpose and never frivolous.
God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and forever
Heb 13:8
8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Mal 3:6
6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
James 1:17
17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
You see, God holds your eternity in His hands. Since God does not show partiality and cannot lie this places emphasis on what He says, that is, what He has delivered in His word.
God is not a respecter of persons, God “plays” no favorites, but is pleased by those who keep His commands. Thus one can, due to their actions, BECOME FAVORED (or be accepted) by God. In fact, heaven is there for those who BECOME FAVORED (sins forgiven) by having a relationship with His Son.
Acts 10.34
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
1 Peter 1:17
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
God cannot lie
Titus 1.1-3
1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,
2 in hope of eternal life which God, WHO CANNOT LIE, promised before time began,
3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
Romans 3.4
4 …… let God be true but every man a liar ……
God’s Way, My Way
The problem is all the wisdom, all the instruction has been delivered to humankind so that humankind can be successful and few grasp the significance. The significance is that God is actually speaking to each person through His word – God’s way of delivering truth. Someone (like myself on this page) may tell you something or you may read something in relation to spiritual things, but God’s word is there to differentiate truth from error. The creator, the one who created all things seen and unseen has provided the PURPOSE FOR LIFE and the PLAN FOR HUMANKIND to be successful. Quite often in humankind’s attempt to be fair to everyone’s beliefs they in effect reject the one and only God. There is only one God and God’s children recognize one God and give no credence to other god’s. Ironically, benevolently accepting all beliefs will cost these liberal minded folks their souls and also damage the potential success for those given consideration. It is not for you or me to decide spiritual things and when we try, we usurp God’s authority. Preach the gospel (2 Timothy 4.2) is the advice from God and people will accept it or reject it. Following a worthy effort, but being rejected move on providing the truth to others. Humankind perceives a certain harshness about God in His word and the need to fear God is something few will accept. Behind this perception, deep down, humankind is critically looking at God as if He were just another person. Humankind in their pride will never get past this unless they understand God, specifically God’s purpose and God’s plan. Pride favors your view over God’s view, your way over God’s way. Of course, God knows this and points out the result of PRIDE, namely destruction!
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
God differentiates the things of the world from spiritual things and if you want to achieve heaven then realize the three things below are in opposition to your success.
1 John 2:16
16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the PRIDE of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
Incoming Short-Term Fears
Fearing The Wrong Things
We fear nuclear war, the missiles from the sky reigning down instant and awful destruction for millions and terrible prolonged suffering for millions more. Yet, for God’s children this fear is insignificant compared to forfeiting their soul.
Matthew 10:28
28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
We teach children about global warming, climate change and there is worry and concern about what might happen. The evidence does not point to such catastrophes and in addition the advocates exaggerate humankind’s part in the problem as well humankind’s ability to solve the problem. EVEN IF IT WERE TRUE, it will not be important to you if you understand God, His purpose AND His plan. In any case you will die and then there will be a real and certain fear as you face God in sin.
Children are also taught humankind evolved from apes and existence itself was just a big accident. They do not teach THE ONE TRUE THING. Namely, God is the creator and the one to fear. So will young minds learn about God, fear God and understand God? Of course “modern” education makes this much more difficult, but nonetheless each person will remain responsible. Young minds as well as old minds learn to fear things that ultimately do not matter and fail to fear the one thing that does matter.
One of the most amazing things is the motivation for the belief humankind evolved from lower forms or that everything in existence is just an accident or that climate change poses some great threat. The motivation for these things is to promote that God does not exist and certainly that God is not the God of the bible. Climate change falls into this category because it points to science as the great answer for mankind and just serves as another distraction from the truth people need. Today, the average person knows and is more concerned about climate change than the one who holds their eternity in His hands. Every person should know that God will at some point bring an end to His entire physical creation. People love answers that support their wants and desires and “no God” means no rules. Whereas, the God of the bible means many rules, many laws, many difficulties and a fear of accountability in another life. Strangely, it is THE FEAR THAT PEOPLE NEED to come to the correct understanding of God. By eliminating God people eliminate the problems in their day to day existence, while creating an eternal problem for themselves and often for others.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
Let’s look at the Old Testament and observe how God dealt with those with whom He had direct communication. You will see that it was always in relation to keeping His commands and in all cases there was the fear of God. These early bible characters heard directly from God and feared God and yet at times were overcome by the world. These short glimpses into a few of these Old Testament characters can give you a reasonable understanding of God in relation to our subject, “Fear and Understand God.” You can build on that understanding from the pages of Heaven Coach as well as the book, “What Is Life All About?”
Noah
Noah was selected by God because He was righteous before God. God looked at the world and saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Noah understood God’s position relative to humankind and when told to build the ark he immediately, “with godly fear” went about the great task. There is no record of Noah faltering in his duty to God.
Hebrews 11.7
7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Abraham
Abraham was similar to Noah and Samuel in that he was consistently faithful and unquestioning about God’s commands. Early in Abraham’s life (then called Abram) God tells him to leave the land of his family and Abraham immediately makes preparations to leave for an unknown land. He takes his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot. This pattern of obedience stays with Abraham throughout his life. Many others even though in direct contact with God made bad choices, some made many bad choices. By faith Abraham acted according to God’s will, whereas many today say Lord, Lord, but do not act – thus unfaithful. Abraham’s shining moment came when asked to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, Isaac. This is the kind of trust God expects from those who love Him. That is, to do His will even in difficult circumstances. God’s test to fulfill His purpose in you is difficult. The outcome of successfully passing the test results in persons who God can trust on into eternity. It would appear that Abraham’s fear of God moved quickly to love and deep respect and this is not typical of many of the bible characters and certainly not typical today.
In the case with Isaac, the son through whom the promise was to come it must have been a shock when God told Abraham to kill his son. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was over ninety years old when Isaac was born and now to take his life, inconceivable. Yet, Abraham as seen below did not hesitate, but we learn Abraham simply thought God would raise Isaac from the dead.
Hebrews 11.17-19
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
So many times we think there are things that would be impossible for God, not so. Frequently people reason the God of the bible is not being fair to every person. We conceive of a person who never hears the gospel, or may have been fooled or any number of reasons for never having a fair chance. Nonetheless, God being perfectly fair, perfectly consistent, perfect in love and perfect in justice is not troubled by humankind’s concerns, which are merely excuses for their disbelief. Instead of excuses, seek God with your whole heart, mind and body and find truth, obey it and live it.
Moses
Moses came to God on the mountain and what he saw and heard evoked the following response.
Hebrews 12.21
21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”
The details are not known to any extent, but God’s power was clear to Moses. Moses took very tough actions when he came down from the mountain to find the people worshiping an idol. Moses understood the seriousness of God in relation to His commands and moved quickly to punish those involved.
Moses would experience God’s anger when Aaron’s sons (Nadab and Abihu) were destroyed by fire, but he understood God and told Aaron the reason.
Leviticus 10:3
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.
Moses had many reasons to fear God and he needed that to enable him to fulfill God’s missions. As he told Aaron, those that come near to God must regard Him as holy. Moses was aware as are God’s children today that keeping God’s commands is central to “success.” Clearly people do not like God’s ways, God’s commands, and the limitations placed on humankind are exactly the difficulties God devised to test humankind. God is testing the character of each person in relation to following Him or following their own path.
It is surprising, after all that Moses had seen of God’s power, that he became complacent. God knows the heart and eventually Moses acted out by striking the rock twice to bring water. As a result, God did not allow MOSES to lead the people into the land God had promised. You see God knows the heart of every person and He knew what was behind Moses striking the rock twice. There are many good lessons from the old scriptures and here are a few from Moses life:
> God is serious about His commands
> Do not make excuses about your inability to do what God asks, just do what God asks
> The length of time you serve God faithfully has value, but do not think you can falter and be acceptable to God because of your previous service. It is not how long you are in the kingdom of God, but what you do with the time you are there.
Numbers 20:12
12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
The lesson for humankind throughout the bible is that God is serious in what He says, and in the manner of its execution. The religions of the world just do not understand the seriousness of doing things God’s way and make rules upon rules and always in defiance of God. So we see, Paul telling the Philippians to work out their own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING. God is serious and in Revelation warns His children to be faithful until death.
Samuel
Seldom even in Scripture do we meet men or women who serve God faithfully all of their lives. Samuel was such a man. 1 Samuel 2:26, we read of Samuel that he continued to grow in favor with the Lord and with men. From the time that Samuel was just a child until his death he served the Lord. There is no evidence that Samuel experienced any sort of rebellion against God.
Samuel spoke to the people with a frequent theme in reference to the King God allowed, i.e. Saul.
1 Samuel 12.14,15
14 If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.
15 However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
When Saul disobeyed God with the Amalekites, Samuel was exceedingly distraught. Amiss all the excuses of Saul, Samuel provides a lesson necessary for all humankind.
1 Samuel 15:22
22 Then Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
Saul claimed he saved the best for sacrifice as opposed to obeying the command. This was a lame excuse because God’s commands necessarily had to be rejected to allow for the sacrifice. If you fear God sufficiently you can understand God and the thing God wants you to understand is the absolute necessity for obedience. The thing that brought down Saul was his disobedience, but Samuel completed the job given to Saul by slaying Agag, the king of the Amalekites.
The events here and other places in the bible where there is the taking of lives frequently cause people to reject God as the God of the bible. All the things that God does are consistent with achieving His purpose. Events such as this may actually help you to fear God and thus understand God. One thing you could understand is that YOU ARE NOT GOD. It is wrong for you to take a life, most serious. However, God gives and takes life. Essentially, every person’s life will be taken from him or her as this is God’s plan. If you do come to understand God, you will see that the things God did prior to Christ were all part of His plan to reconcile humankind back to Him through Christ. God’s test is perfect and to those who “reject God as the God of the bible” because of such actions as seen here with the Amalekites will miss the lessons they need. The test is difficult and you need to realize that you are not sitting in judgment of God’s actions.
Read about the Apparent Harshness of God.
Another resource at this website is, “The Severity of God.”
David
David was unique in many ways and had a very tumultuous life, perhaps more so than any other bible character. David is so great in the battle with Goliath and continues to earn the praise of men in the battles with (particularly) the Philistines. The jealousy and dangerous encounters with King Saul is the one thing that stands out as a constant for much of David’s life. Saul lost favor with God in the battle with the Amelkites and then with the appearance of David the concern about David overcame him. David, throughout his life never desired to be a threat to Saul, but Saul wanted to kill David. David feared God and always followed His directions, however David occasionally fell into sin as he was overtaken by his wanton desires. David however exhibited a characteristic that endeared him to God and if you want to understand God this is a good place to learn a powerful lesson. A lesson that will help you achieve heaven. David, unlike most people admitted his sin and did not look for an excuse. David took responsibility and could say, “I did it.” This was just a characteristic of the deeper reason God saw David as special. We learn this reason well after David’s death in 1 Kings 14.7-8 when the disobedient Jeroboam is compared with David.
1 Kings 14.7,8
7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel,
8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who FOLLOWED ME WITH ALL HIS HEART, to do only what was right in My eyes;
God was looking for this kind of person and we learn that person was David.
“The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart…” (I Samuel 13:14)
There is much to be learned from the Old Testament in terms of understanding God and as the verse below indicates, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH HOPE. Romans 15.4 points to the things written before, i.e. the Old Testament as a good place of learning.
Romans 15.4
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Just as much as God hates sin, He “appreciates” those who admit their sin. The opposite is making excuses and/or blaming others and this God highly dislikes. If you do not face up to what you have done, you will obviously not seek forgiveness and consequently this will cost you your soul. It is quite amazing how one person can look into God’s word and find hope and another see a reason to reject God as the God of the bible. Actually, once again it is God’s perfect test that discriminates between the proud and the humble, between the haters of truth (usually for selfish reasons) and those who love the truth even with its personal difficulties. Your test is just as difficult as Saul’s, as Cain’s, as Abraham’s, as the young man with great possessions of Matthew 19, and as Ananias and Sapphira of Acts 5.
We know that David failed, sinned terribly in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. Yet, there was no blaming, no excuses, but David sought forgiveness. Look again at the verse 1 Kings 14.8 and understand what God seeks. God seeks the one who keeps His commandments and who follows Him with all his heart, to do only what was right in God’s eyes.
David’s receiving of God’s approval was not based on flawless perfection. More than anything else in the world, David wanted to do what was right in God’s sight! He did not always do it. He exhibited certain weaknesses and yet persevered in being a man after God’s own heart.
Solomon
Solomon, David’s son by Bathsheba would become the King following David. Solomon prayed to God for wisdom and not for the many physical things people might request of God. God would grant him wisdom and much more. Indeed, if you read about Solomon the “world” would say, “He had it all.”
Solomon is perhaps the most amazing person in terms of all he accomplished, all he attained and all the wonderful wisdom he displayed. Unfortunately, he reached a point where he disobeyed God in relation to His commands. Specifically, he was not to marry a woman from outside the nation of Israel, but did so repeatedly. Although he attained amazing heights, it made the depth of his fall exceedingly great. He does finally come to the realization that the wisest man acted unwisely over a long period of time. In writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon indicates all is vanity. He was speaking from experience having realized everything he gained for himself amounted to nothing, just vanity. At the end of his life he correctly concluded that “the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commands.”
Ecclesiastes 12.13,14
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil”
Solomon’s early life brought him the praise of the entire world in terms of his wisdom, and all the wealth and beautiful, amazing structures. He would build the house of God as prophesied. The wonders of his achievements were the greatest of his time and perhaps any time. Yet, there was a gradual deterioration of his character. He would be overtaken by lust even to the point of supporting the false gods of his wife’s.
Great wisdom served Solomon well to the point where he was overtaken by his desires and began to make bad judgments. Reading Ecclesiastes is reading the wisdom of the wisest man in the world having experienced the futility of having everything and losing that which was most important. Finally in his last bit of wisdom having experienced failure in his service to God he provides something every person needs to understand. Once again, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
The fear of God was there for the benefit of these early characters in the plan of God. Today, every person seeking heaven must fear God so they can understand God, so they can move with courage to serve God. How do you fear God? Understand God exists and is responsible for all things seen and unseen. Learn that God is the God of the bible. Read the scriptures and learn God holds your eternity in His hands. Understand God will judge every person in accordance with His laws, according to His plan and that there is much to overcome in life to be successful. Understand God cannot lie and thus take seriously His word.
Understand God
Then
You Can Understand God’s Actions
Imagine a world where there was no pain, no concerns, and all your needs were met. God could have created such a world where all living things lived in harmony – all the animals lived together in peace as did all of humankind. Actually, this was the way God began creation and one might think what a wonderful world. What more could you want than “everything.” Adam and Eve existed in this world and as soon as they heard of the possibility of “being greater” they disobeyed God in the one command given to them. So humankind and even the beings created higher than humankind – the angels given the ability to choose often choose to go against their creator. This is where you need to understand God’s purpose for humankind’s creation. God’s purpose for creation was to TEST HUMANKIND to determine who was worthy of spending eternal life with Him. Once sin entered the world, it was clear humankind even in the best of worlds (Garden of Eden) was going to have many problems in relation to God’s laws. Sin changed “everything” as suffering entered the world. The needs of Adam and Eve were no longer “automatically” fulfilled and God immediately put in place a plan for reconciling humankind back into a relationship with Him. God’s laws challenge humankind by limiting what is acceptable. Sin being a transgression of God’s laws. God’s actions all perfectly correlate with His purpose. That purpose is something you cannot understand correctly unless God reveals it. So if we ask, “Why would God disallow anything?” The answer is because humankind is being tested in regard to their ability to deny self, to live for something beyond today, beyond this earthly existence. Why can’t I have as many god’s as I like? Because it transgresses God’s law. Why can’t I steal if I wish to, because it transgresses God’s law. Why can’t I have an abortion, because it transgresses God’s law. Why can’t I have a same sex partner, because it transgresses God’s law. Why cannot I lie, because it transgresses God’s law. An essential part of understanding God is to realize you are part of a free will test, actually YOU are the free will test. Each person is tested alone – you will succeed or fail all by yourself. Humankind will produce all kinds of reasons for what they do, such as it is a women’s right to have an abortion, it is her body. This would be fine if there were no God, if existence was an accident. It would be fine if God had not indicated certain actions/thoughts were transgressions against His rules. It would not matter if you die having had an abortion or having supported the concept because your existence ends at death. However, if there is a God and He is the God of the bible you would have broken His law and failed the test and failed in life.
Worldly Ideas of God and the Church
The church that is critical to each person is the one to which God adds each obedient person. This church is entirely spiritual. The local physical church is for such spiritual persons and has but one mission and that is evangelism. Evangelism consists of preaching the word and positive responses to the gospel must be free will responses with no incentive other than what the gospel offers, namely forgiveness of sins and being added to the spiritual church by our Lord. A faithful life will result in heaven. The local church is not involved in the hundreds of things, which apparently interest the many so-called Christian churches.
Sin is pointed out in the process of preaching the gospel and people either respond to the message or they do not. Somewhere “along the line” so-called “people of God” in opposition to God’s will began “acting like God” or “acting for God” and began taking punitive actions (physical or emotional) against those of unbelief. These “people of God” seldom if ever taught the truth that people need. In their pride-driven self righteousness, they believed they were obligated to hurt others. They are doubly wrong and violate God’s will in a more serious manner than those they condemn.
Clarity Regarding Sin,
Preaching, Faithfulness Until Death
First, God in different ways points to things that are sinful and below refers to them as works of the flesh and indicates such will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5.19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
From another place in scripture,
1 Corinthians 6.9,10
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
We also know that liars will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
When we look at the seven things that are an abomination to God, it is clear these things are characteristics of people who God will reject.
Proverbs 6:16-22
16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
God’s children preach the gospel, but do not IN ANY WAY inflict punishment or IN ANY WAY BE CRUEL or THOUGHTLESS to those who are sinners, there are no “witch-hunts” for those who commit certain sins. Jesus, while on earth, did not seek vengeance for the things listed above as sin. The single purpose of the local church is to preach the gospel. God’s people help people to pass the Divine test. Just as in the time of Jesus, it is the sinners who face up to their sin that are potential candidates for forgiveness.
Mark 2:16,17
16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus said He did not come to call the righteous realizing that none are righteous (Romans 3.23), but all need the solution for sin. The meaning here is very clear that the scribes and Pharisees believed they were not sinners and thus not open to the message and had nothing to repent. Jesus had told the Jews in John 8.24 that unless they believed in Him, they would die in their sins.
John 8:24
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
God’s people point out sin, but then it is up to each person to accept or reject the message. The message itself contains the Fear of God. Every person should know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:31
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
God’s children are those who the Lord added to the church as in Acts 2.47. That church is spiritual and individual Christians as well as the local physical church (consisting of those added by God to His spiritual church) are responsible for evangelism. Nonetheless, they are not assured of heaven – far from it since a great deal is expected of them in terms of forsaking sin, example and evangelism. This is why they continue to Fear God and keep His commandments. Outside the spiritual church there is no hope for any person to achieve heaven.
God makes a strong distinction in 1 Peter 4.17 and in effect is saying God’s children are at risk of being lost and if that is the case what hope is there for those who have never known righteousness, i.e. never obeyed the gospel.
Paul speaks of those without Christ as having NO HOPE and WITHOUT GOD.
Ephesians 2.12,13
12 …….having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Indeed, God’s children (the house of God) preach the gospel and point out sin, but may or may not be found in Christ at the end of their life’s. God’s expectation for those who chose to follow Christ is that they continue to follow Him throughout their life’s – Faithful Unto Death (Revelation 2.10).
1 Peter 4:17
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Earthly Consequences of Sin
Eternal Consequences of Sin and
God’s Ultimate Vengeance
Sin very frequently has its “built-in” earthly consequences on the lives of people. Unfortunately sin often damages innocent people in addition to the sinner. Drunkenness and drugs have destroyed many lives as have other immoral actions. Lies quite often catch up with people and change an otherwise good earthly existence into something to be regretted.
Individual Christians work hard to avoid sin, but do not seek to harm sinners. The Lord’s people preach the truth to those who will listen. The local church has no authority except in evangelism and most certainly not in enforcement. God handles judgment and vengeance will be His.
Romans 12:19
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 1:7,8
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One thing God’s children understand is that when you sin it is against God. God has made the rules and when you steal from someone you sin against God. We might say that you sinned against a person, you harmed a person in stealing from them and that is true, but you sinned against God and He will have His vengeance. Every sin can be looked at as against God. A person commits adultery or has an abortion, thus you have respectively hurt your mate (and normally others) and taken a life. Realize, it is God you have sinned against. Indeed, there is one answer, “Fear God and keep his commandments.”
Hierarchy of Sin
If you want to understand God, you need to understand the hierarchy of sin. It is quite simple, “There Is No Hierarchy of Sin.” Sin is sin and it has a single damaging effect, namely it separates you from God. It can be what you consider to be a “little” sin or a “big” sin. The result is the same. If there is a difference in the magnitude of sin it is that some sins are typically more additive and can easily shut the door to any hope the person has of heaven. Many smaller sins can also have this effect and can become a way of life. A life of sexual immorality is not a vehicle for bringing a person closer to the truth, but misleading a person about how to achieve heaven is potentially more damaging. In any case, humankind has been provided with a single answer to sin and it is Jesus. The answer planned by God back in Genesis 3.15.
Here Is An Excuse
“I Did Not Know Enough”
However, The Thing You Need To Know Is
That It Takes A Significant Effort To Know Enough
If you want to understand God, then you will understand there are no excuses for failing in life. You must find the truth, obey it, and live it. Those concentrating on finding excuses are wasting their valuable and short time.
Excerpt from the book,
“What Is Life All About?”
The following is an excerpt from the book (Chapter 43.5), “What Is Life All About?” and can help your understanding of how God uses Fear, Love and Obedience to fulfill His purpose for life.
Chapter 43.5
Clearing Some Confusion about Fear, Love, and Obedience
This brief section provides some essential information for better understanding God. You could glean the same understanding throughout this book since God’s message is consistent throughout the Bible, and when one writes in a truthful way, those simple understandings about God will be apparent “everywhere.” You may not quite understand the relationship between fear, love, and obedience; so this may help. God has tied together fear, love, and obedience in a way that reveals a great deal, about how He views mankind. Some may think that fearing God cannot be reconciled with a loving God, but in God’s way of doing things, they are compatible and complementary.
Solomon, who is known to Bible students as the wisest person who ever lived (1 Kings 4.34), ties together fear and obedience toward the end of his life when he says, “The conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments.”
In the New Testament we see love and obedience tied together in John 14.15: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Paul associates fear and obedience when he writes to the Corinthians “knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
There are many Bible verses that reveal how fear, love, and obedience are associated. Due to the seriousness of life, God wants you to know the truth. It is better; you are “moved” by fear, which has great moving power than not to be “moved” at all. In fact, God has left us to understand that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” So when someone correctly preaches “fire and brimstone,” they are preaching God’s love to you. God wants you to understand the consequences. The consequences are very real. As strong as fear can be in moving people to find and live the truth, it is not God’s most potent means to convince man. Fear of the Lord is, as God says, the beginning of knowledge. The real “number 1 drawing power” is God’s love as seen in Christ. Out of the fear and out of the love, obedience emerges. Indeed, the “wrath” of God may nudge you toward the message of Christ. Of course, the “horrifying” message of what awaits mankind may “turn off ” people to God altogether. The real reason it could do that is that they see God as a person who has just provided a threat. Therefore, pride raises its head and you indicate, “no one threatens me.” You miss the point in that you fail to understand God is not some person with a threat, but He is God warning you out of love.
A child of God will find as they grow in knowledge of God that the fear decreases and the love increases. In the process of understanding God correctly, we are becoming more and more confident in what He has revealed. As we continue in our lives with a fear and love of God, growing in knowledge, we are getting to the point the scriptures talk about where we can have boldness on the Day of Judgment. It will not be arrogance but an assured confidence in the Word of God. That sort of confidence is there because day in and day out we are being obedient to God. Fear usually never leaves us completely, but provides some help throughout our Christian life just as Paul admonished the Philippians to “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.” Nonetheless, it would be remiss not to indicate that perfect love casts out fear (of torment), and that should be our goal.
It would be easy at this point to change “fear” to mean the deepest of respect for what God says. That would be more palatable for many, and it is true, but God clearly uses the idea of fear (like being scared) especially as Paul expresses it in referring to the terror of the Lord (Corinthians) and fear and trembling (Philippians). Again, it is because of the seriousness of eternity before each one of us that it is wrong to “water down” or “sugarcoat” what God has provided. Life is about the soul and where you spend eternity. You need to obey by responding in love to God’s commands. Truth, the fear of the Lord, and His love as shown in Christ are there to motivate you. It is the most serious thing in life. You will find a great deal of the so-called religious world avoiding the truth when it comes to the potential consequences of “failing” in this life. Think of your house being on fire, but those who know deciding not to tell you because it might be upsetting. As it turns out, you might like to know so you could do something about it! The religious world does not share their concerns about their own doctrine, but you might like to know. How often are the fundamentals of the belief discussed? What is the history of your belief? Do you know what life is all about and clearly grasp its importance? Are you taught correctly about sin and have the correct understanding of fear, love and obedience in relation to the meaning of life?
Click here to obtain hard or soft cover or Kindle e-book version of “What Is Life All About?”
Why Does God
Use Fear As The Road To Understanding and
The Motivation For Continual Obedience?
First, I do not know, but there is a reasonable conclusion and there are a couple of valuable lessons that might be helpful. We do know with certainty that Solomon was accurate indicating the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Looking at all of scripture one can conclude that humankind separate from God will to various degrees act selfishly, become “puffed up” with pride and another word is vanity. God has the best possible understanding of humankind and as part of His plan to aid in humankind’s success, He included fear. Fear is there to aid in finding and living the truth as knowledge and motivation come through fear. We have seen that the people close to God, feared God and that was a force in their obedience. We also see that humankind can still be overtaken even possessing the fear of God. Today, things have not changed as those people who fear God still frequently serve multiple masters. Denying God’s existence means of course, you will never fear God since He does not exist, and thus never gain the necessary knowledge/understanding. God’s use of fear serves these most fundamental needs (knowledge and motivation) on a road leading to heaven. God indeed loves those who serve Him and as a person grows in knowledge and obedience, His children “LIVE the verse” that PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. This is the gradual outcome of loving God (obeying God) – if you love Me keep My commandments. Such a person can die with an assured confidence of heaven.
So why does God use fear? As mentioned the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge (regarding God). Humankind needs motivation to live for God instead of self. The fear of God gives the person seeking truth an edge, a strong motivation by realizing God’s position as creator – the one who holds their eternity in His hands.
As indicated above, God’s most powerful drawing power is God’s indescribable gift to humankind – the gift of His Son.
John 12:32 God’s Drawing Power
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
The great gift from God: Indescribable/Unspeakable Gift
2 Corinthians 9.13-15
13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
As the scriptures indicate God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son. John 3.16 most beautifully tells humankind of God’s love and yet the verse is perhaps the most misunderstood verse in the bible. Every person who wants to be a Christian needs to fear God and by so doing will respect what God says in the scriptures and not what men/women teach. Thus they will correctly understand God’s love and what God requires in John 3.16. As indicated, near the beginning of this page, God does not change. The law changed and we are now under the law of Christ (not the old law of ordinances), but God in principle has never changed. God has the same purpose for humankind as He had in the beginning. God’s plan has not changed. Fear God and keep His commandments is still in effect, but now God’s commandments consist of the law of Christ. Fear plays exactly the same part in terms of knowledge and motivation as it has from the beginning. We have seen under the old law how fearing God and keeping His commandments was essential to please God – this is still true.
So, it is not surprising when Paul in 2 Corinthians indicates:
2 Cor 5:11
11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
And warns the Philippians ….
Philippians 2:12
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Paul in Romans 3 gives a long list of things to point out that all are unrighteous and ends with verse 18 which strongly indicates the base problem and as a consequence they fail to respect the one thing they need – God’s word.
Romans 3.18
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Godly advice for Christians living in the world includes Fear God.
1 Peter 2.17
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Live right in the world and seek holiness in consideration of the fear of God.
2 Cor 7:1
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The watered down gospel is of no value. People need the truth to be eternally successful and God is serious about His word. Therefore, fear God and keep His commandments. The distinction is always the same; follow God or follow your personal convictions or those of some men and/or women.
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Click here to obtain hard or soft cover or Kindle e-book version of “What Is Life All About?”
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
You see, God holds your eternity in His hands. Since God does not show partiality and cannot lie this places emphasis on what He says, that is, what He has delivered in His word.
God is not a respecter of persons, God “plays” no favorites, but is pleased by those who keep His commands. Thus one can, due to their actions, BECOME FAVORED (or be accepted) by God. In fact, heaven is there for those who BECOME FAVORED (sins forgiven) by having a relationship with His Son.
35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
2 in hope of eternal life which God, WHO CANNOT LIE, promised before time began,
3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
Children are also taught humankind evolved from apes and existence itself was just a big accident. They do not teach THE ONE TRUE THING. Namely, God is the creator and the one to fear. So will young minds learn about God, fear God and understand God? Of course “modern” education makes this much more difficult, but nonetheless each person will remain responsible. Young minds as well as old minds learn to fear things that ultimately do not matter and fail to fear the one thing that does matter.
One of the most amazing things is the motivation for the belief humankind evolved from lower forms or that everything in existence is just an accident or that climate change poses some great threat. The motivation for these things is to promote that God does not exist and certainly that God is not the God of the bible. Climate change falls into this category because it points to science as the great answer for mankind and just serves as another distraction from the truth people need. Today, the average person knows and is more concerned about climate change than the one who holds their eternity in His hands. Every person should know that God will at some point bring an end to His entire physical creation. People love answers that support their wants and desires and “no God” means no rules. Whereas, the God of the bible means many rules, many laws, many difficulties and a fear of accountability in another life. Strangely, it is THE FEAR THAT PEOPLE NEED to come to the correct understanding of God. By eliminating God people eliminate the problems in their day to day existence, while creating an eternal problem for themselves and often for others.
In the case with Isaac, the son through whom the promise was to come it must have been a shock when God told Abraham to kill his son. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was over ninety years old when Isaac was born and now to take his life, inconceivable. Yet, Abraham as seen below did not hesitate, but we learn Abraham simply thought God would raise Isaac from the dead.
18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
So many times we think there are things that would be impossible for God, not so. Frequently people reason the God of the bible is not being fair to every person. We conceive of a person who never hears the gospel, or may have been fooled or any number of reasons for never having a fair chance. Nonetheless, God being perfectly fair, perfectly consistent, perfect in love and perfect in justice is not troubled by humankind’s concerns, which are merely excuses for their disbelief. Instead of excuses, seek God with your whole heart, mind and body and find truth, obey it and live it.
Moses would experience God’s anger when Aaron’s sons (Nadab and Abihu) were destroyed by fire, but he understood God and told Aaron the reason.
It is surprising, after all that Moses had seen of God’s power, that he became complacent. God knows the heart and eventually Moses acted out by striking the rock twice to bring water. As a result, God did not allow MOSES to lead the people into the land God had promised. You see God knows the heart of every person and He knew what was behind Moses striking the rock twice. There are many good lessons from the old scriptures and here are a few from Moses life:
> God is serious about His commands
> Do not make excuses about your inability to do what God asks, just do what God asks
> The length of time you serve God faithfully has value, but do not think you can falter and be acceptable to God because of your previous service. It is not how long you are in the kingdom of God, but what you do with the time you are there.
The lesson for humankind throughout the bible is that God is serious in what He says, and in the manner of its execution. The religions of the world just do not understand the seriousness of doing things God’s way and make rules upon rules and always in defiance of God. So we see, Paul telling the Philippians to work out their own salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING. God is serious and in Revelation warns His children to be faithful until death.
15 However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
The events here and other places in the bible where there is the taking of lives frequently cause people to reject God as the God of the bible. All the things that God does are consistent with achieving His purpose. Events such as this may actually help you to fear God and thus understand God. One thing you could understand is that YOU ARE NOT GOD. It is wrong for you to take a life, most serious. However, God gives and takes life. Essentially, every person’s life will be taken from him or her as this is God’s plan. If you do come to understand God, you will see that the things God did prior to Christ were all part of His plan to reconcile humankind back to Him through Christ. God’s test is perfect and to those who “reject God as the God of the bible” because of such actions as seen here with the Amalekites will miss the lessons they need. The test is difficult and you need to realize that you are not sitting in judgment of God’s actions.
Read about the Apparent Harshness of God.
Another resource at this website is, “The Severity of God.”
8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who FOLLOWED ME WITH ALL HIS HEART, to do only what was right in My eyes;
“The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart…” (I Samuel 13:14)
There is much to be learned from the Old Testament in terms of understanding God and as the verse below indicates, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH HOPE. Romans 15.4 points to the things written before, i.e. the Old Testament as a good place of learning.
Just as much as God hates sin, He “appreciates” those who admit their sin. The opposite is making excuses and/or blaming others and this God highly dislikes. If you do not face up to what you have done, you will obviously not seek forgiveness and consequently this will cost you your soul. It is quite amazing how one person can look into God’s word and find hope and another see a reason to reject God as the God of the bible. Actually, once again it is God’s perfect test that discriminates between the proud and the humble, between the haters of truth (usually for selfish reasons) and those who love the truth even with its personal difficulties. Your test is just as difficult as Saul’s, as Cain’s, as Abraham’s, as the young man with great possessions of Matthew 19, and as Ananias and Sapphira of Acts 5.
We know that David failed, sinned terribly in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. Yet, there was no blaming, no excuses, but David sought forgiveness. Look again at the verse 1 Kings 14.8 and understand what God seeks. God seeks the one who keeps His commandments and who follows Him with all his heart, to do only what was right in God’s eyes.
Solomon is perhaps the most amazing person in terms of all he accomplished, all he attained and all the wonderful wisdom he displayed. Unfortunately, he reached a point where he disobeyed God in relation to His commands. Specifically, he was not to marry a woman from outside the nation of Israel, but did so repeatedly. Although he attained amazing heights, it made the depth of his fall exceedingly great. He does finally come to the realization that the wisest man acted unwisely over a long period of time. In writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon indicates all is vanity. He was speaking from experience having realized everything he gained for himself amounted to nothing, just vanity. At the end of his life he correctly concluded that “the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commands.”
Great wisdom served Solomon well to the point where he was overtaken by his desires and began to make bad judgments. Reading Ecclesiastes is reading the wisdom of the wisest man in the world having experienced the futility of having everything and losing that which was most important. Finally in his last bit of wisdom having experienced failure in his service to God he provides something every person needs to understand. Once again, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
The fear of God was there for the benefit of these early characters in the plan of God. Today, every person seeking heaven must fear God so they can understand God, so they can move with courage to serve God. How do you fear God? Understand God exists and is responsible for all things seen and unseen. Learn that God is the God of the bible. Read the scriptures and learn God holds your eternity in His hands. Understand God will judge every person in accordance with His laws, according to His plan and that there is much to overcome in life to be successful. Understand God cannot lie and thus take seriously His word.
Understand God
Then
You Can Understand God’s Actions
Sin is pointed out in the process of preaching the gospel and people either respond to the message or they do not. Somewhere “along the line” so-called “people of God” in opposition to God’s will began “acting like God” or “acting for God” and began taking punitive actions (physical or emotional) against those of unbelief. These “people of God” seldom if ever taught the truth that people need. In their pride-driven self righteousness, they believed they were obligated to hurt others. They are doubly wrong and violate God’s will in a more serious manner than those they condemn.
Preaching, Faithfulness Until Death
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
From another place in scripture,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
We also know that liars will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
God’s children preach the gospel, but do not IN ANY WAY inflict punishment or IN ANY WAY BE CRUEL or THOUGHTLESS to those who are sinners, there are no “witch-hunts” for those who commit certain sins. Jesus, while on earth, did not seek vengeance for the things listed above as sin. The single purpose of the local church is to preach the gospel. God’s people help people to pass the Divine test. Just as in the time of Jesus, it is the sinners who face up to their sin that are potential candidates for forgiveness.
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus said He did not come to call the righteous realizing that none are righteous (Romans 3.23), but all need the solution for sin. The meaning here is very clear that the scribes and Pharisees believed they were not sinners and thus not open to the message and had nothing to repent. Jesus had told the Jews in John 8.24 that unless they believed in Him, they would die in their sins.
God’s children are those who the Lord added to the church as in Acts 2.47. That church is spiritual and individual Christians as well as the local physical church (consisting of those added by God to His spiritual church) are responsible for evangelism. Nonetheless, they are not assured of heaven – far from it since a great deal is expected of them in terms of forsaking sin, example and evangelism. This is why they continue to Fear God and keep His commandments. Outside the spiritual church there is no hope for any person to achieve heaven.
Paul speaks of those without Christ as having NO HOPE and WITHOUT GOD.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Indeed, God’s children (the house of God) preach the gospel and point out sin, but may or may not be found in Christ at the end of their life’s. God’s expectation for those who chose to follow Christ is that they continue to follow Him throughout their life’s – Faithful Unto Death (Revelation 2.10).
Eternal Consequences of Sin and
God’s Ultimate Vengeance
Sin very frequently has its “built-in” earthly consequences on the lives of people. Unfortunately sin often damages innocent people in addition to the sinner. Drunkenness and drugs have destroyed many lives as have other immoral actions. Lies quite often catch up with people and change an otherwise good earthly existence into something to be regretted.
Individual Christians work hard to avoid sin, but do not seek to harm sinners. The Lord’s people preach the truth to those who will listen. The local church has no authority except in evangelism and most certainly not in enforcement. God handles judgment and vengeance will be His.
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One thing God’s children understand is that when you sin it is against God. God has made the rules and when you steal from someone you sin against God. We might say that you sinned against a person, you harmed a person in stealing from them and that is true, but you sinned against God and He will have His vengeance. Every sin can be looked at as against God. A person commits adultery or has an abortion, thus you have respectively hurt your mate (and normally others) and taken a life. Realize, it is God you have sinned against. Indeed, there is one answer, “Fear God and keep his commandments.”
Here Is An Excuse
“I Did Not Know Enough”
However, The Thing You Need To Know Is
That It Takes A Significant Effort To Know Enough
Excerpt from the book,
“What Is Life All About?”
The following is an excerpt from the book (Chapter 43.5), “What Is Life All About?” and can help your understanding of how God uses Fear, Love and Obedience to fulfill His purpose for life.
Chapter 43.5
Clearing Some Confusion about Fear, Love, and Obedience
This brief section provides some essential information for better understanding God. You could glean the same understanding throughout this book since God’s message is consistent throughout the Bible, and when one writes in a truthful way, those simple understandings about God will be apparent “everywhere.” You may not quite understand the relationship between fear, love, and obedience; so this may help. God has tied together fear, love, and obedience in a way that reveals a great deal, about how He views mankind. Some may think that fearing God cannot be reconciled with a loving God, but in God’s way of doing things, they are compatible and complementary.
Solomon, who is known to Bible students as the wisest person who ever lived (1 Kings 4.34), ties together fear and obedience toward the end of his life when he says, “The conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments.”
In the New Testament we see love and obedience tied together in John 14.15: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Paul associates fear and obedience when he writes to the Corinthians “knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
There are many Bible verses that reveal how fear, love, and obedience are associated. Due to the seriousness of life, God wants you to know the truth. It is better; you are “moved” by fear, which has great moving power than not to be “moved” at all. In fact, God has left us to understand that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” So when someone correctly preaches “fire and brimstone,” they are preaching God’s love to you. God wants you to understand the consequences. The consequences are very real. As strong as fear can be in moving people to find and live the truth, it is not God’s most potent means to convince man. Fear of the Lord is, as God says, the beginning of knowledge. The real “number 1 drawing power” is God’s love as seen in Christ. Out of the fear and out of the love, obedience emerges. Indeed, the “wrath” of God may nudge you toward the message of Christ. Of course, the “horrifying” message of what awaits mankind may “turn off ” people to God altogether. The real reason it could do that is that they see God as a person who has just provided a threat. Therefore, pride raises its head and you indicate, “no one threatens me.” You miss the point in that you fail to understand God is not some person with a threat, but He is God warning you out of love.
A child of God will find as they grow in knowledge of God that the fear decreases and the love increases. In the process of understanding God correctly, we are becoming more and more confident in what He has revealed. As we continue in our lives with a fear and love of God, growing in knowledge, we are getting to the point the scriptures talk about where we can have boldness on the Day of Judgment. It will not be arrogance but an assured confidence in the Word of God. That sort of confidence is there because day in and day out we are being obedient to God. Fear usually never leaves us completely, but provides some help throughout our Christian life just as Paul admonished the Philippians to “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.” Nonetheless, it would be remiss not to indicate that perfect love casts out fear (of torment), and that should be our goal.
It would be easy at this point to change “fear” to mean the deepest of respect for what God says. That would be more palatable for many, and it is true, but God clearly uses the idea of fear (like being scared) especially as Paul expresses it in referring to the terror of the Lord (Corinthians) and fear and trembling (Philippians). Again, it is because of the seriousness of eternity before each one of us that it is wrong to “water down” or “sugarcoat” what God has provided. Life is about the soul and where you spend eternity. You need to obey by responding in love to God’s commands. Truth, the fear of the Lord, and His love as shown in Christ are there to motivate you. It is the most serious thing in life. You will find a great deal of the so-called religious world avoiding the truth when it comes to the potential consequences of “failing” in this life. Think of your house being on fire, but those who know deciding not to tell you because it might be upsetting. As it turns out, you might like to know so you could do something about it! The religious world does not share their concerns about their own doctrine, but you might like to know. How often are the fundamentals of the belief discussed? What is the history of your belief? Do you know what life is all about and clearly grasp its importance? Are you taught correctly about sin and have the correct understanding of fear, love and obedience in relation to the meaning of life?
Click here to obtain hard or soft cover or Kindle e-book version of “What Is Life All About?”
Why Does God
Use Fear As The Road To Understanding and
The Motivation For Continual Obedience?
First, I do not know, but there is a reasonable conclusion and there are a couple of valuable lessons that might be helpful. We do know with certainty that Solomon was accurate indicating the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Looking at all of scripture one can conclude that humankind separate from God will to various degrees act selfishly, become “puffed up” with pride and another word is vanity. God has the best possible understanding of humankind and as part of His plan to aid in humankind’s success, He included fear. Fear is there to aid in finding and living the truth as knowledge and motivation come through fear. We have seen that the people close to God, feared God and that was a force in their obedience. We also see that humankind can still be overtaken even possessing the fear of God. Today, things have not changed as those people who fear God still frequently serve multiple masters. Denying God’s existence means of course, you will never fear God since He does not exist, and thus never gain the necessary knowledge/understanding. God’s use of fear serves these most fundamental needs (knowledge and motivation) on a road leading to heaven. God indeed loves those who serve Him and as a person grows in knowledge and obedience, His children “LIVE the verse” that PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. This is the gradual outcome of loving God (obeying God) – if you love Me keep My commandments. Such a person can die with an assured confidence of heaven.
So why does God use fear? As mentioned the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge (regarding God). Humankind needs motivation to live for God instead of self. The fear of God gives the person seeking truth an edge, a strong motivation by realizing God’s position as creator – the one who holds their eternity in His hands.
As indicated above, God’s most powerful drawing power is God’s indescribable gift to humankind – the gift of His Son.
John 12:32 God’s Drawing Power
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
The great gift from God: Indescribable/Unspeakable Gift
2 Corinthians 9.13-15
13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
As the scriptures indicate God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son. John 3.16 most beautifully tells humankind of God’s love and yet the verse is perhaps the most misunderstood verse in the bible. Every person who wants to be a Christian needs to fear God and by so doing will respect what God says in the scriptures and not what men/women teach. Thus they will correctly understand God’s love and what God requires in John 3.16. As indicated, near the beginning of this page, God does not change. The law changed and we are now under the law of Christ (not the old law of ordinances), but God in principle has never changed. God has the same purpose for humankind as He had in the beginning. God’s plan has not changed. Fear God and keep His commandments is still in effect, but now God’s commandments consist of the law of Christ. Fear plays exactly the same part in terms of knowledge and motivation as it has from the beginning. We have seen under the old law how fearing God and keeping His commandments was essential to please God – this is still true.
So, it is not surprising when Paul in 2 Corinthians indicates:
2 Cor 5:11
11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
And warns the Philippians ….
Philippians 2:12
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Paul in Romans 3 gives a long list of things to point out that all are unrighteous and ends with verse 18 which strongly indicates the base problem and as a consequence they fail to respect the one thing they need – God’s word.
Romans 3.18
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Godly advice for Christians living in the world includes Fear God.
1 Peter 2.17
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Live right in the world and seek holiness in consideration of the fear of God.
2 Cor 7:1
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The watered down gospel is of no value. People need the truth to be eternally successful and God is serious about His word. Therefore, fear God and keep His commandments. The distinction is always the same; follow God or follow your personal convictions or those of some men and/or women.
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