Fear of God vs. Cowardly Fear

Okay, now we're ready for the main message for today.

And I want to touch a fascinating subject in the Bible. I think you'll find it the same way as I do. And it is a subject very important to our spiritual lives. Have you ever asked yourself why the Bible uses the term the fear of God, when fear can be something negative? Should it be something that we are afraid of God?

There is a difference in the Bible between godly and cowardly fear. And as we study it, we'll see that the Bible has a perfect balance between what is positive and godly fear on one hand, and what is cowardly and negative fear on the other hand that we should avoid. We know that if we let cowardly fear govern our lives, we won't make it into the kingdom of God. That's what the Scriptures tell us. If we have cowardly fear, we're going to go into exactly what it means. But here in Revelation 21, in verse 7, it tells us, those who are not going to be part of that new Jerusalem, that is part of the kingdom of God. Revelation 21, verse 7, it says, He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. That's what God the Father says. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, susserers, idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And so one of those types of people, it talks about cowardly. Now, the word here for cowardly is the Greek term dilia, spelled D-E-I-L-I-A, and it means cowardly fear.

It's one that a person never commits. He always shies from doing what is correct, and so he runs away from commitments. For instance, the parable of the pounds. Remember where it had the servant who said, Well, I was afraid, and so I hid what you gave me. The talents and the abilities that you gave me, I just hid. I didn't do anything with it because I was afraid. And so Christ chastises him strongly and says, You unprofitable servant. So this type of person never commits, never puts the effort, and so just runs away from responsibility.

And yet there is also a godly fear, which is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. So there is a good type of fear to have, just like there is a bad type of fear to avoid. Notice in Hebrews 4, in verse 1, it says, Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, talking about the coming kingdom, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. And so there is a right fear, and of course it's talking about the fear of God, because some of the Israelites did not have that fear of God, didn't pay attention, were rebellious, they didn't enter the promised land, just like a person now in the church can lose courage, lose faith, abandon the race toward the kingdom of God, and not make it.

Notice verse 11, it says, Therefore, be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, talking about the Bible, and sharper than any to its sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. How can that be? Because it is God's mind that guided the composition.

And so God's word is what is going to judge us. And then it says, And there is no creature hidden from his sight, talking about Jesus Christ, the word of God. So you have here the text that we're going to be judged by, and we have the judge that we're going to be judged by. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him, to whom we must give account. So again, there's a proper fear, and there is an improper fear.

So there are key terms to understand this subject of fear, in the right way, godly fear, and the wrong way, cowardly fear. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is Yira, which is Y-I-R-A-H. And in the New Testament, which is the one we're really going to focus on, is the term Phobos, P-H-O-B-O-S, Phobos. Both can be used in a positive and a negative way. So there's a right fear and a wrong fear. It's how it's used in its context.

The term Phobos in the Greek, in the New Testament, is where we get our English word Phobia, which means a fear of something. And so you have the term Hydrophobia, which means the fear of water. You also have Acrophobia, which means the fear of heights. And then you have one that someone in my house has that fear.

It's called Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. I'm not going to say who it is, but they live in my house. Now, talking about the right Phobos, which is something that we all need to have in our lives, and it actually is a gift of God.

To have the fear of God is something that God provides for us. In Isaiah 11, we see that it is one of the attributes of God's Spirit. Isaiah 11, verse 1, talking about Christ's future birth, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, which was David's father, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. This was written, of course, centuries after David was born, so it doesn't refer to him, but it's talking about a descendant of David.

The Spirit of the Lord shall be upon him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. So, this is something that comes from God. A person can have just physical fear in a religious sense, but the true fear of God comes from his Holy Spirit because it produces fruits. It produces actions. And so, this is a gift of deep respect and wanting to avoid sin and displeasing God, keeping his holy law, knowing we will all have to give account before him. So, the fear of God, you can summarize it as a deep respect and not wanting to sin and displeasing God in that way, keeping his holy law, knowing we will all have to give account before him.

In James, chapter 1, we see how this is applied. Here's a very graphic way of describing the fear of God, the right fear of God. James, chapter 1, verse 21.

It says, Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, talking about the word of God, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, himself goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does. So you need to have that fear of God, the courage that comes from God, to look into that spiritual mirror, to look in and see that perfect law of liberty, and have the guts to go ahead and carry it out.

So the fear of God incites you, it propels you to put it into action. It's not just something that is intellectual, a good wishes, like it says here, you can be a hearer, but not a doer. And the true fear of God, the godly fear, is one that is going to be shown by the actions produced. Notice in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10, it says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, and the term is fear.

Phobos, the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God, and I also trust our well-known in your own, in your consciences. So we know we're going to give an account for what we're going to do. We know God's word is something to be applied and to put into action, and that we're going to be judged by it. I remember feeling that godly fear, the fear of the Lord, when I was called by God. I was a very young man at the time, and it was a gift by God to be accepted and cultivated, or to be rejected or neglected.

So God was giving you a call. Do you want to follow me? Do you want to have that fear, that deep respect for me that I need from you? So there are moments in a person's life where they have to make that decision. Are they willing to count the cost? Are they going to back down from what they know they should do? Those are all decisions that a person has to make. And the fear of God is intimately involved with that. If you lose the fear of God, then it becomes much more complacent, more relaxed.

Well, it's not that important. God will understand there's not that great need. After all, God is just love, and so He'll forgive. It's not that important. But if you have the fear of God, you are never going to abuse God's love. You're never going to misuse it and use it as license, as Jude mentions, turning the grace of God into licentiousness. You're not going to do that. The fear of God is similar to having a boss which you deeply respect.

And this boss loves you, he treats you well, and you want to please him. And so when he asks something, you're not going to talk back to him. You're not going to be insolent. You're going to say, Yes, sir!

What can I do? You have that deep respect to please him. And you know you're going to have to give account. So there is that reckoning as well. But you do it with all your heart, and you do it willingly, not because somebody is just pushing you. So a true fear of God is just this deep respect and this deep desire to please God and to do things his way.

Notice in Hebrews 11, Hebrews 11, where it talks about the fear that Noah had when he built the ark. Probably the greatest undertaking any human being could ever have. Imagine just a small family to build an ark, which was the size of virtually a whole football field long and three stories high. He could have gotten very discouraged.

He could have said, Well, God, I want to serve you, but please don't give me these hard tasks. But it says here in Hebrews 11, verse 7, it says, By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, so God said he was going to intervene, 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.

So righteousness goes hand in hand with faith. And so why? He was moved with godly fear. He put his whole effort into it because he wanted to please God. That's the right type of fear we see in the Bible. And David expressed it so well. He was a man. The Bible calls according to God's heart. He had just this love in him and motivation. Although he wasn't perfect, he certainly had God in his mind.

He feared God. Notice how he describes godly fear or that deep respect for God. David had this way with words that you hardly see it quite in the same way. Let's go to Psalms 111, verse 10. Psalms 111, verse 10. And as you can see, this is a deep subject and has many different branches to develop. We're going to develop some of them here. Certainly not all of them. Psalms 111, verse 10. It says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is that term, yerah.

A good understanding have all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. So a fear of God starts a person on their way to acquiring godly wisdom. And you have a good understanding of those who keep his commandments. Why do you keep the commandments? Because you have a fear of God. Not of man. You're not doing it because of man. You're doing it to please God. Because you're so grateful for everything he has done.

And because you want to respect his commands, his sayings, his way of life. Notice Psalms 112, the next psalm over. In verse 1, it says, praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in his commandments. So again, a lot of people say, well, yes, this is a God-fearing person.

You should ask, does he delight greatly in his commandments? That's the biblical definition here. It's connected to it. A person's not going to go against God's own laws if you truly fear him. Now, people have been deceived as it was brought out in the first message about how you can love God and follow him without having to keep his commandments.

But that's a contradiction of terms. That's some deceit going on there. In Psalms 119, verse 38, David says the following. Psalms 119, verse 38, it says, establish your word to your servant, who is devoted to fearing you. So it's not something that he's just doing because of an obligation. He says here, he is devoted to fearing you. He's not afraid to say that's what motivates him. I want to learn to fear God in a better way, to respect him even deeper than I do. Devoted, dedicated to obeying him and doing what is pleasing in his sight. Notice in Psalms 119, verse 63, who did David hang around with?

Who were his good friends? He says, verse 63, I am a companion of all who fear you, and of those who keep your precepts. Yes, he was an ashamed to say who was his close friends, his intimate friends, those who fear you and keep your precepts. So we should never be ashamed to say, you are my brethren, you are my family, because we all fear God in the proper way and want to keep his precepts, his laws. That's precepts and laws. There's a synonym. Notice in verse 161 of the same chapter.

It says, princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your word. So this devotion, even though there are worldly people, powerful people, that are against us, are we in awe of God's word? That's where the term fear mixes well, because it's not just a respect, but we are in awe of God's word. It causes wonderment, amazement. We love it. We love to examine it and to dissect and to understand more God's word. We are in awe of it. That's something that today is being lost in society. The awe that wonder meant that used to be much more common. Just look at creation. Are we in awe of God's works?

And then there is a Sabbath psalm. We should all know which one that is. If I ask you, which is the Sabbath psalm in the Bible? Yes? Which one? That's right. Psalms 92.

Notice how it begins. This is the title of it. It's part of Scripture. It says, a song, a song for the Sabbath day. And what does it say? When the Sabbath begins, it says, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, almost high.

That's what we do on Sabbath services. To declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night. So we praise Him. We declare this. And then it talks about the different instruments that you have here with harmonious sound. For you, Lord, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands.

O Lord, how great are your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this. Are they keeping the Sabbath day? No, they're not. And so the fear of God also includes the way we keep the Sabbath day. Do we have the Sabbath as something we awe? That we are really impressed when it comes along. Notice what the Kyle and Delish commentary, which is a Hebrew commentary, on this chapter. It says, The Sabbath is the day that God has hallowed, and that it is to be consecrated to God by our turning away from the business pursuits of the working days and applying ourselves to the praise and adoration of God, which is the most proper, blessed Sabbath employment.

It is good, in other words, not merely good in the eyes of God, but also good for man, beneficial to the heart, pleasant and blessed. That's from this commentary, and it has to do with Psalms, or Psalm 92. So we see here that when you have this certain fear of God, a godly fear, the right kind of fear, you're in awe of His Word. You're in awe of His Sabbath. You're in awe of Sabbath services, the Holy Convocation. It isn't something to come in and just wear blue jeans or shorts and just come in as you wish.

If you really are God's Sabbath, you hold it as something hallowed and holy, well, we're going to come in and respect it. That's why the word is so important, because it means the respect toward something far superior to us. Now, we can be in awe of many things in creation. I know when you go to the desert area and you look in the sky and you just see all of these thousands of stars.

I remember with our grandkids and how they were just in awe, the beauty, the brightness of it. When you go to Yosemite and you stand there in that valley and you look at these huge cliffs that almost completely cover the sun and you are in awe.

Well, this is the same type of awe we should have about the Sabbath, about services. We shouldn't cheapen it. We shouldn't make it something ordinary. Just go ahead and profane the Sabbath. You can step on it just like you would a beautiful white rug and you come in with your muddy shoes. No, it's take off your shoes. This is something special. Now, the awe doesn't mean fright or something afraid. Awe means wonderment. It is something superior to one.

You reverence. You really have a religious feeling of wonderment about it. And that takes us to the New Testament with this term phobos, which means fear, which is used in both ways, good and bad, according to the context. Let's look at some bad ways, the bad phobos, that we want to avoid, which is being cowardly, being frightened to the point of inaction. I'm not doing what you should. Now look in John 7, verse 13.

John 7, verse 13. Here Jesus went up to the Feast of Tabernacles. And it says in verse 13, everybody had certain opinions about him. Verse 13, however, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews, phobos. They were scared to death. They didn't want to stand up for Jesus Christ at that time. Everybody was scared because of the Jews. This is the wrong type of fear. This is a paralyzing fear. This is a cowardly fear. In chapter 19 of this same Gospel, John 19, verse 38, when he was buried in Joseph's tomb, it says in verse 38, after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, so he believed in Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, phobos.

Yes, he had this phobia. He had this fear. And although he knew Jesus Christ was the Messiah, he didn't openly do it because he was just so intimidated, so afraid that he would be hounded and persecuted. And even Christ's disciples, before receiving the Holy Spirit, that spirit of courage, they also hid. Notice in chapter 20, in verse 19, it says, then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, the term phobos. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be with you.

Yes, they were very scared. They had locked everything up. And so, they were frightened. They were not willing to stand up for their beliefs. This is what Paul told Timothy, not to have this type of phobos, this type of cowardly fear. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 6, it says, therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands, the Holy Spirit in him.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear. Now, here, the term is not phobos. It's this other term which is Delia, which is always negative. Phobos can be good or bad. This term Delia is always bad. It means cowardly. It means not doing what you should, shirking from duty. For God has not given us a spirit of fear. Other translations, cowardice. But of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

So, this is the cowardly fear that was also mentioned in Revelation 21. These people are not going to enter the kingdom of God. But now we can study the right type of phobos, the right type of godly fear. This is what got the church started in Acts 2, verse 42. Acts 2, verse 42. This was at the beginning here with Peter giving the first sermon. And afterwards, it says in verse 42, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. There was this awe of what was going on. There was an excitement because God's spirit was acting on people. They didn't have that spirit of cowardice anymore. Notice in Acts 9, verse 31. Acts 9, verse 31. It says, Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. There was this awe, this deep respect. They could care less what those Jewish practices were of the Pharisees anymore. No, they were following the truth. They were following Christ's teachings as the apostles were showing them. And they were walking, as it says here, in the fear of the Lord. So it's a walk of life. It's not something you do on the weekend. It's not something you do on Sabbath that you just show up. It should be daily walking. You show people that you fear God more than you fear them. That you're going to put God first in your life. In 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter also taught about godly fear.

He certainly had to learn a lot about that. After he had that other type of fear, phobia, before Christ was resurrected, but he learned God's Spirit guided him. 1 Peter chapter 1, it says in verse 17, And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourself through the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers. So it is a walk. It is something that we should do as a way of life.

Now, why does the Bible use the term fear and not just say respect? Why a word that can either be positive or negative, why does the Bible use that? Why did God choose that term? When there are other terms that just mean respect, well, we find out that there is a right type of fear that goes beyond just respect. Notice here in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. It's not just a respect because we have to give account to God, and we should be afraid of not meeting the qualifications of failing to please God. It can be a failure. Our spiritual lives and Christian lives can be a failure. It's not a given. Notice what it says here. Now, we've already said here in verse 9, we already touched verse 10 before it says, Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So it's not just paying respect or some lip service. It is something that we should be afraid in the right way to come up short. And that's why there is a godly fear, which is something that gets you going. This is something serious, to take it to heart, to be awed by it, not just pay token respect or lip service. Yes, the boss, he's coming. We're going to have to give account. We should say, yes, sir. What I like to call the here I am servants. When God would call him, He'd say, here I am, sir. Ready at your orders. What do you need done? That type of spirit. In Proverbs chapter 1, we have the classic description of the fear of God. Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 7, it says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. So the fear of God is what gets you interested in the Scriptures, in the study of His Word, of gaining spiritual wisdom through it. A person that is not interested, they're not really going to study. They're not seriously involved in this. So again, it is something, it's deeper than just respect. It is a reverent fear of God that you want to do the best for Him. Notice in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 13, it says, It says, For this is man's all. That's a summary of life as God would want it. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

That is why Abraham, when he went to this foreign land, he came up and he said, This is a place where there is no fear of God. In other words, there was no respect for His Word. Everybody was doing what they wanted to. That's why he was so afraid that they would take Sarah, his wife, with them. Also, Paul mentioned society as a whole does not truly fear God. Notice in Romans chapter 3, he's describing society.

He says in verse 9, What then? Are we better than they? He's he being a Jew, talking about the Gentiles. Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. Everybody is guilty before God, whether you are Jewish or Gentile. Then he goes on to say in verse 17, So when you see people in society, they don't really care whether God is pleased with what they do or not. They're not trying to truly please God. So there is no real godly fear. But when you have it, it doesn't matter what the other person is doing. You already have your standards. You're going to please God first.

There's a chapter in the New Testament that talks a lot about this godly fear and how it is related to holiness. Notice in 2 Corinthians 7, this is the chapter that deals with the fear of God and holiness. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1, It says, So the fear of God is a way of perfecting holiness because you really want to please God. You want to do what's right and good and holy before God. Notice as it goes on in verse 11, it says, It says, What diligence it produced in you when Paul's letter was read. What clearing of yourselves. What indignation, because there was someone in the congregation that was sinning, and they woke up to that and did something about it. What fear, the term phobals is used here. What godly fear was produced. What vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication. In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this manner.

And then he goes on to say, he sent Titus to them. And it says here, verse 13, Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort, and we rejoice exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, which was one of Paul's ministers. He had sent there. He was over them. He says, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. You really supported him. You helped his ministry there. Verse 14, For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all. How with fear and trembling you received him. Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything. So here they were very respectful of the minister that Paul sent, that they really showed deep respect, a willingness to follow the instructions. This is very important, going on to Romans chapter 13. Because now we get into the proper respect of the authorities. Romans 13 and verse 1, It says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. So God has allowed this world to go, but he makes the final decision on things. And then he says in verse 7, Render therefore to all there do, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear. Honor to whom honor. So there is a respectful way to deal with authorities. We shouldn't be people that are rebellious, that talk back, that are insolent toward others.

We have that respect. Peter also brings us out in 1 Peter chapter 2. In verse 17, he basically mentions the same thing that Paul did. It says here, verse 17, Honor all people. Love the brotherhood or the brethren. Fear God. Honor the king. So it shows here this right attitude, respectful, and showing deference where you should. Now, some people misunderstand here when in verse 18, it says, Servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. So it says don't take that fear away because that person's really being tough on you. Still be respectful. You can respectfully disagree, but you shouldn't be disrespectful. And we see today in society a lot of insolence. It doesn't matter what kind of authority, whether in school, in government, in the church, people just say, Oh, well, he's just a good old pal of mine. He's just the same good old buddy. And that's not the right attitude. God says here that we should learn to have a proper respect. Now the term master, let's go to Matthew 23 because you can see here that Peter mentioned about servants being subject to your masters. In Matthew 23 verse 6, Christ starts talking about religious titles that we shouldn't use toward others. Matthew 23 verse 6, it says, talking about the Pharisees and the scribes, verse 6, They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi, which means my master. Christ goes on to say, but you do not be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. And so the term here is a religious term. Now the New Testament uses the term master in secular way. And the term mister actually comes from the old term master, but it is not a religious term. That's why Peter and Paul could talk about masters, because they're not being used in a religious term. But what Christ is saying is, don't make any religious person your master in a religious term. Don't call them father, as he goes on to say here, verse 9, But as we see in the New Testament, fathers are used all the time. But again, it's not in a religious term as a lofty title. You shouldn't use the term father for a religious figure, just like the rabbis, where they had these special titles. But the term mister is a secular term. It's not used in a religious term. That's why the term rabbi is different, because that was a religious term. I just wanted to clear that up about it.

So basically, we have to fear God and put Him first in our lives. Yes, we should have deep respect for authorities, for those who are ordained, who have received a certain backing from God in this sense. But it doesn't mean that you're going to be subservient and that you're going to lose sight of God in this. All human beings are still flesh and blood. Don't put your faith in a man. Put it in Jesus Christ and in God. Notice in Acts 5, in verse 29, the apostles had these Pharisees and scribes who were the leading religious figures of their day. They were part of the Sanhedrin, which was a governing religious body at that time. In verse 28, the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on us. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. In verse 32, we are his witnesses to these things and also the Holy Spirit, and it should say, which God has given to those who obey him. And so, yes, we should be respectful, but to put God first in our lives. We're finishing up here pretty soon. Let's go to Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13.

Because, again, God tells us we should have a proper respect. And we are showing God, if we're willing, to respect, to give honor, where honor is due. It says in Hebrews 13, verse 5, He says, So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do to me. So, again, we fear God above fearing man. In verse 7, after he says this, it says, Don't forget about the ministry. Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. See what way of life they have. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's the one that's our foundation and our ultimate guide.

So, let's not belittle those who are deacons, and ministers pay the proper respect, just like we do with all the different authorities. Now, the last point is one of the most important, and that is that fear of God must develop and become the love of God.

There's a perfect balance and development in the Bible. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but the end of wisdom is love. This is what John was getting to. The right and wrong fear.

Notice in 1 John 4, verse 16.

1 John 4, verse 16.

He says, And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness or confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. As Christ kept God's commandments, gave his life toward others, served others, we are the same in this world. He says, There is no fear in love. Now again, what kind of fear? Well, the term here again is phobos. So it's talking about one that can be positive or negative. Here it means the wrong type.

It says, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. This is what happens when a person has a cowardly fear, and he just doesn't have that relationship with God of love. He's just always afraid of what's going to happen to him, and the judgment, and all of these tough things. And he forgets, Look, God is a God of love, and there is a proper fear, but it's one that we know. Christ died for our sins. We're following his way imperfectly, because we're all flesh and blood, but we're following God toward that kingdom of God. And we have that confidence. He goes on to say, But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. We know that perfect love, a love of a deep relationship, we're not worried about the outcome. We know God is there. His Holy Spirit is working in us, giving us the proper, godly fear, but not a slavish and cowardly fear. That's what we have learned today, to distinguish and to separate godly love from cowardly. Love and cowardly fear, because perfect love casts out. The fear of man and the fear of cowardice that we can all face in life. Let's go forward with that proper fear of God.