Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Pe 1:17  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear

Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.
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Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.
Serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

We should be in fear, shouldn't we?

Seriously. We talk about the fear of God as if we have to explain it away. We call it godly fear, and we try to twist it into something that isn't fear at all but rather something much different. We don't want to equate God with fear because we read this--

1Jn_4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

So let's read from a Bible Commentator and see what we think about what he has to say -  ADAM CLARKE'S COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE -

1 John 4:18

'There is no fear in love - The man who feels that he loves God with all his heart can never dread him as his Judge. As he is now made a partaker of his Spirit, and carries a sense of the Divine approbation in his conscience, he has nothing of that fear that produces terror or brings torment. The perfect love - that fullness of love, which he has received, casteth out fear - removes all terror relative to this day of judgment, for it is of this that the apostle particularly speaks. And as it is inconsistent with the gracious design of God to have his followers miserable, and as he cannot be unhappy whose heart is full of the love of his God, this love must necessarily exclude this fear or terror; because that brings torment, and hence is inconsistent with that happiness which a man must have who continually enjoys the approbation of his God.
He that feareth - He who is still uncertain concerning his interest in Christ; who, although he has many heavenly drawings, and often sits with Christ some moments on a throne of love, yet feels from the evils of his heart a dread of the day of judgment; is not made perfect in love - has not yet received the abiding witness of the Spirit that he is begotten of God; nor that fullness of love to God and man which excludes the enmity of the carnal mind, and which it is his privilege to receive. But is the case of such a man desperate? No: it is neither desperate nor deplorable; he is in the way of salvation, and not far from the kingdom of heaven. Let such earnestly seek, and fervently believe on the Son of God; and he will soon give them another baptism of his Spirit, will purge out all the old leaven, and fill their whole souls with that love which is the fulfilling of the law. He who is not yet perfect in love may speedily become so, because God can say in a moment, I will, be thou clean; and immediately his leprosy will depart. Among men we find some that have neither love nor fear; others that have fear without love; others that have love and fear; and others that have love without fear.
1.        Profligates, and worldly men in general, have neither the fear nor love of God.
2.        Deeply awakened and distressed penitents have the fear or terror of God without his love.
3.        Babes in Christ, or young converts, have often distressing fear mixed with their love.
4.        Adult Christians have love without this fear; because fear hath torment, and they are ever happy, being filled with God. See Mr. Wesley’s note on this place.
1.        We must not suppose that the love of God shed abroad in the heart is ever imperfect in itself; it is only so in degree. There may be a less or greater degree of what is perfect in itself; so it is with respect to the love which the followers of God have; they may have measures or degrees of perfect love without its fullness. There is nothing imperfect in the love of God, whether it be considered as existing in himself, or as communicated to his followers.
2.        We are not to suppose that the love of God casts out every kind of fear from the soul; it only casts out that which has torment.
1.        A filial fear is consistent with the highest degrees of love; and even necessary to the preservation of that grace. This is properly its guardian; and, without this, love would soon degenerate into listlessness, or presumptive boldness.
2.        Nor does it cast out that fear which is so necessary to the preservation of life; that fear which leads a man to flee from danger lest his life should be destroyed.
3.        Nor does it cast out that fear which may be engendered by sudden alarm. All these are necessary to our well-being. But it destroys,
1.        The fear of want;
2.        The fear of death; and
3.        The fear or terror of judgment. All these fears bring torment, and are inconsistent with this perfect love.'
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There is a fear of God that is NECESSARY. A realization that there is good and evil and if we let ourselves forget that that there is a judgment that we all will face, we won't fear at all.  If we forget evil's existence and begin to call evil good, we have no fear of that evil we commit and the fact there is a punishment for the evil. We don't want to believe there is real punishment. We let the talk of love swallow up the talk of the judgment.  It's hard to find fearful Christians today and it's NOT because they are consumed by reverencing God. It's hard to find fearful Christians today because Christians have called evil good and accept that evil assuming that God now accepts the evil as being good too.  He doesn't, and He never will. He doesn't change. 

Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Our God is truly a consuming fire, there will be a time and place when and where all evil will be destroyed in a lake of fire and for that to happen- evil must exist. If evil exists then we have to know what the evil is and in knowing, choose not to commit evil. And if we DO commit evil we need to seek forgiveness and repent, knowing we must seek not to do what is evil.

We need to fear being deceived, we need to fear the lake of fire, we need to fear the consuming fire. And the LOVE, the perfect love of Christ will KEEP us through FAITH, and that FAITH in Christ's love will give us the HOPE we need so that fear doesn't turn into despair. Our HOPE must be in Christ's perfect love, not in ourselves.

Truly, as Clarke says (not that I agree with all he says by far) but he makes a point we do not have to fear want, death, judgment. We do however have to realize that certain fears are necessary, the fear of rising water. You don't sit in a flood as it's rising without taking action that the fear of it killing you produces. You have a fear of fire when your house is engulfed so you take action and run to safety. There are fears that we can't say are wrong.  What we need to trust in God. That all things- that flood, that fire are going to somehow work for our eternal good.  There the perfect love casts out fear that would consume us with cares of this life and reveal a real lack of love, of faith, of trust in our Savior, our God, and the Holy Spirit.

Fear.  Love. 

May God give us all we need- no matter what it is so that we are drawn ever closer to HIM. Help us Father, save us Lord, guide us Holy Spirit, please may we belong to all of YOU and be with YOU in heaven, rising to meet You in the air upon the return of the Son.

Please!

By Your mercy and grace, Your love now and forever!

AMEN!

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