NO FEAR?

The words NO FEAR have been popular for several years now. The clothing line suggests a person with no fear is considered to be, bold, or brave, and a risk taker. My question is,What exactly are they not afraid of ?

    It is may concern that this phrase has penetrated the Body of Christ. If we know the Word of God we should realize that when it comes to man we should have no fear, because God is on our side. But instead of fearing man, we are to fear God. This however is a portion of the Bible that many today would like to ignore.


I am not one to say God did this or that,with out hearing directly from Him on a situation. But I am concerned about the great number for people who are stating what he can and can’t do. I would not take it upon myself to announce to anyone that the disasters that have happened lately, where a result of sin, or an action of God. On the other hand nor would I say God can’t do such a thing because He only responds in love. According to the Bible the only thing God can’t do is lie. Heb 13:8 states “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

To only look at one characteristic of God will cause a person to be out of balance. Many mighty men of God have fallen because they became unbalanced in the word. Grace and love are wonderful, but sometimes we need to fear God. Some who consider theirselves holy and sanctified may think that grace is enough. But the Bible tells us there are benefits in fearing God and we are to obey Him. They are there for a reason.

Many people have a hard time understanding Gods love for them. If you grew up in a Christian home with a wonderful Father and Mother, it is easier to understand the kind of love God has for us. But people who grew up in abusive situations, do not understand this type of love.

Others think that because we are in New Testament times, we don’t need to fear God. But if you look in the book of Acts, you will read about 3 people who may have lived longer is they had feared God. Yes, even after Christ died for the sins of the world, there where people who died because they sinned against God.

Acts 12:21-23 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.  And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Herod was a prideful man, but haven’t we all been guilty at sometime of pride?


Earlier in Acts 5 a man named Ananias and his wife Saphira sold a piece of land and kept a portion of the money and gave a portion to the church. But they said they gave it all to the Church. This was also a matter of pride. It did not matter to God if they kept some of their own money but they wanted people to think they had made a great sacrifice by giving all. When they told Paul about their actions, they both fell down dead. Paul said they lied to the Holy Ghost.
 
Acts 9:31 gives a good description of the balance of freedom and fear that we are to maintain.
"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."
 
 
These scriptures are in the New Testament for a reason. I believe its' because God knows that many will come to him because he loves us, but many will use, and pervert his word in the last days.  Read the book of Revelation if you can not believe that God becomes angry at sin. What make things worse is that we have his word available to us more than any other generations and we still can’t get it right. We still miss interpret and pick and choose our favorite parts.
 
I am thankful that God gave me a choice, to choose Jesus as my Savior and to follow only Him and His Word.  Philippeans 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.