I’ve got fear on the brain these days and not sure why. Maybe it’s because I see so much timidity among Christians today. We tiptoe around, whispering our convictions, hoping not to offend, and in so doing end up betraying the Lord who told us not to fear but to literally shout from the housetops His message.
John Ortberg says the single most repeated command in Scripture is “Fear not.” And he wonders why.
Fear does not seem like the most serious vice in the world. It never made the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. No one ever receives church discipline for being afraid. So why does God tell human beings to stop being afraid more often than he tells them anything else?
He answers his own question: I think God says ‘fear not’ so often because fear is the number one reason humans are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do.
Lloyd Ogilvie has said there are 366 “fear not” verses in the Bible, which figures out to one a day and one for Leap Year!
Anxiety, we’re told, is “fear looking for a cause.” And fear, therefore, is our response when in the presence of a danger.
There are two kinds of fear: real and imagined. Real fear preserves life; imagined fear destroys it.
Real fears are those we deal with all the time. I fear bodily injury and death, so I drive carefully. I fear pain so I’m careful with matches. I fear falling, so I avoid the edges of high roofs.
Imagined fears are abnormal. It’s one thing to be afraid of being hit by a motorist, but tragic to be so afraid as to never venture out of the house. It’s normal to fear plane crashes, but (in my opinion) unreasonable to fear it so much that you never board a plane and travel.
1. God does not want His people ruled by fear.
Over and over, He tells us to fear not. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7). We do not fear the forces of darkness; we have been given power over them. We do not fear other people; we have been given a love for them. And, we do not fear the unknown future; we have received a sound mind concerning them.
I find it fascinating to note that after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, at a time when we would expect the disciples to be blanketing the town with the wonderful news, they are still locking themselves into the upper room. (John 20:19,26). However, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled the room and the disciples individually, they were blasted out of the room into the streets with the gospel. Never again do we see them locking themselves in from fear of the enemy.
2. Fear to do the right thing will result in a tragic afterlife for many.
I am struck by something in Revelation 21:8. 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.
That awful parade into hellfire is led by a surprising contingent: the fearful. Some translations call them “cowards” or “the timid.”
I can imagine someone reacting, “Holy cow! They send you to hell for being shy?”
No. The point seems to be that these are people who let their fears rule their lives and prevent them from doing the things in this life God requires of us.
I’ve known plenty of people who were afraid of what people would think if they became Christians. Some have told me they would have confessed Jesus as Savior and been baptized had it not been for the fact that many people were watching them. Their fears paralyzed them.
While we’re on this subject, Christians who have confessed Christ and been baptized sometimes give in to their fears and shy away from talking to friends about their salvation.
Two worthy questions to ask ourselves today are:
–Am I willing to spend eternity in hell if it means I’ll not be embarrassed in front of other people?
–Would I be willing for my friend to spend eternity in hell if it meant I would not be embarrassed in front of him?
3. Fear paralyzes and immobilizes.
In his book “Learning to Manage Our Fears,” James W. Angell quotes this Robert Hale insight:
Fear creeps in like a poisonous fog,
making us pull down the shades
and double-lock the doors.
Fear erects barriers of the mind
more real than barbed wire
or the Berlin Wall.
Trembling disciples behind our barricades of fear,
we have forgotten the Master
who walked through all barriers.
“Fear hath torment,” said the Apostle John (I J. 4:18). It does indeed. We have all known the kind of fear that knocks our knees and chatters our teeth and freezes our steps.
4. Perfect love casts out fear.
That’s I John 4:18 and it’s true. In his book, “Don’t Park Here,” C. William Fisher says, “Fear cannot dwell in the heart where love reigns.”
John Witherspoon said, “Only the fear of God can deliver us from the fear of man.”
When G. A. Studdert-Kennedy went off to war, he told his small son how to pray for him. It would be all right, he said, if his son wanted to pray for his safe return, but that was not the most important request.
He told his little boy, “Pray that God would make Daddy brave.”
“Daddy dead,” he told him, “would be Daddy still. But Daddy dishonored would be another matter altogether.”
The best way to deal with our fears is to confront them.
John Ortberg says, “Stand up to a bully who is mistreating others (or you) at work. Wade feet first into a task you have been putting off because you have feared it would be difficult or unpleasant. Express your true opinion when you are talking to a person you would normally try to placate or impress. Take responsibility for a tough decision you have been putting off. Make a phone call you have been trying to evade. Acknowledge to God in prayer a sin or character flaw you have been trying to hide. Ask for help in changing and tell another person about this.”
Do even one of these and you’ll be a little stronger, a little less timid, a little more confident. Start small and go from there.