At one level, fear is healthy. ‘Fear’ is an emotion induced by a perceived threat. It is a natural human emotion. It is God-given. It is a basic survival mechanism. It keeps us alive. It protects us from danger.

However, there is also such a thing as unhealthy fear. The Greek word commonly used in the New Testament is Phobos – from which we get the word ‘phobia’. This is unhealthy fear. It is disproportionate to the danger posed. It is ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’. It is when we catastrophize –overestimating the danger and underestimating our ability to cope.

Common phobias include fears in relation to health, finances, failure, growing old, death, loneliness, rejection, messing up, public speaking, flying, heights, snakes, and spiders. They also include things such as, what is now called, FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out, the fear of not being special.

Whereas the Spirit of God does not produce negative fear, there is a healthier fear – the fear of God. This does not mean being frightened of God. In fact, it means the opposite. It is an understanding of who God is in relation to us. It means respect, reverence, awe, honor, adoration, and worship; it could even be translated as love for God. It recognizes the power, majesty, and holiness of God Almighty. It leads to a healthy respect of God and is the antidote to all other fears and phobias we experience in life. Fear God and you need not fear anything else or anyone else.

It is no coincidence that as the fear of God has decreased in our society, all the other fears have increased. We need to return to a right relationship with God. The expression ‘do not be afraid’ is one of the most frequent commands in the Bible.

Proverbs 1:20-33 – No fear of harm

This passage gives you the key to avoiding ‘terror and calamity’ (v.26) and living ‘without fear or dread of disaster’ (v.33).

The idea of the ‘Fear of the Lord’ is one of the key themes of Proverbs and appears twenty-one times throughout the book. It is a choice that you make. If you are wise, you will ‘choose to fear the Lord’ (v.29) and listen to him. He promises that you ‘will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.’ (v.33).

Wisdom is personified in the book of Proverbs (v.20). As we read it through the lens of the New Testament, we know that it is Jesus who is ‘the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24).

This passage (Proverbs 1:20–32) is a warning against ignoring the Lord’s voice and following a path of ‘turning away’ and ‘complacency’ (v.32).

Instead, choose to fear God, listen to him and repent when he corrects you. If you do, God will reveal to you more than you could ever imagine. ‘I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make my words known to you’ (v.23a). He will reveal to you the hidden treasures of wisdom in his words. Choose this fear of God and you will be ‘at ease’ (v.33) and can be free from the fear of harm.

Lord, I choose to fear you – to live a life in reverence and awe of your power, majesty and holiness. Help me to live life fearing you alone.

Matthew 10:1-31 – No fear of people

Three times in this passage Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid’ (vv.26,28,31).

The context is Jesus sending out his disciples to preach the gospel and heal the sick. The moment Jesus calls his twelve disciples, he sends them out on mission.

He sends them (and us) to follow his example:

• To proclaim: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near (v.7)
• To demonstrate: ‘Heal the sick’ (v.8)

As Jesus sends us out, he warns us that we will face a lot of opposition: ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves’ (10:16a). We will need pure wisdom (‘be wise as serpents and innocent as doves’, v.16b).

We may be opposed by ‘local courts’ (v.17), face hatred (v.22), be persecuted (v.23) and be called demonic (v.25). It is in this context that Jesus says three times, ‘Do not be afraid’ (vv.26,28,31).

1. Do not be afraid about what to say:
   Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid of them’ (v.26). You do not need to be afraid of other people, however powerful they may be (for example local courts, governors and kings, vv.17–18): ‘Without knowing it, they have done you – and me – a favor, giving you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And do not worry about what you will say or how you will say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words’ (vv.19–20).
2. Do not be afraid of what others will do to you:
   Jesus says that rather than fearing those who can ‘kill the body but cannot kill the soul’, you should fear God, ‘who can destroy both soul and body in hell’ (v.28). Have a healthy respect for an all-powerful, as well as all-loving God. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life –body and soul – in his hands.
3. Do not be afraid of what will happen to you:
   Jesus says that if you fear God, you need fear no one and nothing else. God is in ultimate control: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father’ (v.29). Not only is he in control but he also loves you deeply: ‘But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ (vv.30–31). Jesus cares about what happens to you even more than you do (v.30).

Lord, thank you that you value and love me so much. Help me to know your love, to trust in you and not to be afraid.

Genesis 25:1-26:35 – No fear of death

Life is never easy. It was not easy for Isaac. Among other difficulties, he waited twenty years for the birth of a child (25:20–26). Then there was sibling rivalry when the twins were born. He lived amongst hostile Philistines and one of his sons ‘made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah’ (26:35).

Isaac committed the very same sin as his father – trying to pass off his wife as his sister (vv.26:7–11). However, Isaac did learn from some of his father’s mistakes. When Rebekah was unable to have a baby – unlike Abraham’s disastrous attempt to solve things himself through his relationship with Hagar – Isaac’s response was to pray to God for a miracle (25:21).

The Lord had appeared to Isaac and promised, ‘I will be with you and will bless you… And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed’ (26:3–4).

Nevertheless, Isaac was afraid. He feared that he might die: ‘lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah, because she was attractive in appearance.’ (vv.26:7,9b).

God said to Isaac, ‘Fear not, for I am with you’ (v.26:24). Isaac feared people more than he feared God, and yet he is reminded that he need not fear others because God is with him. Remember the same truth when you are tempted to fear: God is with you. If God is with you, you need not be afraid of anyone or anything.

Despite Isaac’s fear of others, God blessed him. God says, ‘I will bless you and multiply your offspring…’ (v.26:24). God’s blessing meant growth, reaping many times over. This is what he wants for your life too.

‘And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham.’ (v.26:18). When Isaac met opposition and was stopped, he moved on until he found another well that he could reopen. In this way, the Lord gave him room to flourish (v.26:22).

Jesus never tells us to withdraw from the world. The challenge is to be ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’. You are called to resist the temptations of the world around you.

The book of Proverbs gives practical advice on how to achieve this balance. Do not let others entice you into sin: ‘My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.’ (v.10). ‘If they say, “Come along with us…”’ (v.11), do not to give in to them.

Many people have been led into bad situations by others saying to them, ‘Come along with us.’

Do not be enticed into sin by the fact that everybody else seems to be doing something – evading tax or travel fares, getting drunk or being promiscuous. Do not follow the crowd: ‘Do not walk in the way with them’ (v.15). Just because others are doing it, does not make something acceptable. We cannot justify our actions on the basis that it is the way in which the world works.

In the end, if your ‘feet run to evil’ (v.16), or you go after ‘unjust gain’ (v.19a), it takes away your life. ‘When you go after everything you can, this is what happens: the more you get, the less you are’ (v.19).

The enticement of the world is very strong. Yet, nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Lord, I pray that you will give me the strength to resist all the temptations of the world and not to be enticed into sin. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Throughout its history, Christianity has had a common affliction. This affliction occurs in those who reject the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When the Gospel – the Word of God – is preached, people either accept it or reject it.  When they cover their ears and harden their hearts, Satan has a field day.  They become his playground, and useful idiots for his purpose, which is to discredit and destroy God.  Satan’s people then – through their own poor choice of turning away to the dark things of this world – often decide it makes good sense to persecute God’s elect with whom they disagree. Paul recounts this kind of situation in his first letter to the Thessalonian church.  He tells them in 1 Thessalonians 2:2 that what he had previously experienced was not wasted: But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God amid much conflict.

Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries conduct a bi-annual “The State of Theology” survey to essentially take the theological temperature of the United States. I am sure that many of you have heard of this or other studies that show a growing apostacy in the church. The results of this year’s State of Theology are another example of awful news for Christians and it seems that the underlying problem is a lack of reading and understanding the Bible by those that are devoted to the faith.

This study focuses not just on the general population, but additionally on the beliefs of evangelical Christians. The survey identifies evangelicals as Christian believers who agree that the Bible is the highest authority for what someone believes, that it is important for non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their savior, that Jesus’ death on the cross is the only sacrifice that removes the penalty of humanity’s sin, and that only those who trust in Him alone receive God’s grace as a free gift of eternal salvation.  

Does God Change?

While the Bible establishes in Isaiah 46:10, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, and 1 John 3:20 that God cannot and does not change, 48% of evangelicals believe that God learns and adapts to various situations. In other words, they believe that God does change and the general U.S. population concurs with this belief at 51%, or only 3% higher than evangelicals!

Are We Born Innocent?

The Bible establishes the concept of original sin in the account of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the garden of Eden, where humans became corrupted. Since the fall, every human being inherits a sin nature from the time of their conception (Psalms 51:5 and Romans 5:12). The Bible clearly indicates we are not sinners because we sin, but that we sin because we are sinners. Somehow, 65% of evangelicals are confused about this foundational truth and agreed that everyone is “born innocent in the eyes of God,” denying the doctrine of original sin, and with it, the very reason that people need salvation in the first place!

Is Jesus Christ God?

One of the most stunning results of this year’s survey is the increasing number of evangelicals who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ divinity is acknowledged throughout the Bible, which clearly asserts that Jesus is indeed God (John 1:1; 8:58; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 1:1-4). When asked whether they agreed that “Jesus was a great teacher …but not God,” 43% of American evangelicals answered yes. That number is up 13% from just two years ago!

Does God Accept The Worship of All Religions?

Crucial to Biblical Christianity is Jesus’ own assertion that He alone is “the way, and the truth, and the life,” and that “no one comes to the Father except through him” (John 14:6). Incredibly, 56% of evangelicals agreed with the idea that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam,” in contrast to Jesus’ words in Matthew that without Him, “no one knows the Father” (Matthew 11:27). It is very concerning that these survey results reveal an increasingly unbiblical belief among evangelicals that God is pleased by worship that comes from those outside the Christian faith!

Why have so many evangelicals fallen away from Biblical truths while still believing the Bible is accurate? Most (95%) still agree with the statement that “the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches.” So, while many professing Christians still believe in the Bible, they are simply ignorant of what the Bible teaches. The problem most likely stems from either not being taught the Bible in church, not taking the time to read it on their own, or just not caring enough to learn.

Unfortunately, it is presumed that Biblical doctrine does not matter to faith in many corners of evangelicalism these days. This lack of strict adherence to Scripture can take at least two forms:

1. Hyper-emotionalism: thinking that God will settle for our sincerity and our affection, despite whether our beliefs are true.
2. Hyper-politicization: thinking that it really matters whom you vote for and what group you belong to, not what you believe about the essential truth of the Gospel or the claims of Christ.

Despite these cultural trends, Jesus was very clear in what he said: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth.” It was for this reason that the divine Logos came into the world “to testify to the truth,” and it is only the truth that sets us free. It is interesting to me that in the Old Testament, idolatry is portrayed not only as worshipping a false God but worshipping a false idea of who God is, such as was the case with the Golden Calf incident.

A positive note from this survey is what it revealed about controversial topics and moral issues: 91% of evangelicals agreed that abortion is a sin and 94% agreed that sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin. However, these affirmations are overshadowed by 28% who agreed that Scripture’s condemnation of homosexual behavior “doesn’t apply today.”

In summary, we will never have a clear sense of God’s attributes without a biblical understanding of who Jesus is and the absolute authority He wields over all creation. Whether we obtain this knowledge in church or through Bible study, it is critical that we clearly understand God’s omnipotence, immutability, character, and work in the world as well as how He sees us and what He requires of us. If our beliefs are established in our political viewpoints or some ambiguous notion of God’s “goodness,” we will have simply obtained a “form of godliness, while denying its power.”

The findings of this study demonstrate a need for many so-called Christians to repent, for many churches to renew their commitments to teaching the entire Bible, and for all of us who claim to follow Christ to commit our hearts and minds to truly knowing who He is and who He has revealed Himself to be! Certainly, sharing the Gospel in this day requires more than just sharing the love of Jesus – we who know the truth must share the whole truth to non-believers as well as those Christians who are lukewarm.