I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Jesus in Luke 12:4-7
This passage sums up the Christian view on fear. In case you missed it, I will give the synopsis: We are to fear God and nothing else. That's right, we are to fear, truly be afraid of, God. Anyone that teaches you that we need not fear God is a blatant liar. Its found throughout the Old Testament and the New. God has all power. God has all authority. Not being afraid of God would be plain stupid. "But what about God's love?" some will say. Yeah, what about it? Does the Lord love everyone? Sure, he has extended salvation to all who would take it, by faith in Jesus, but not everyone will. Did God not destroy many people with a flood and only save a few? So we must conclude that God does not love everyone. He loves those that put their faith in him, and consequently fear him. Fear and love go together much moreso than people realize. What about your earthly father? If you feared him as a child, you probably grew up to love him. Without fearing your father you would not respect him, and without that you would never learn to love your father. Doesn't love begin with fear, especially in the case of a father-child relationship? Our relationship with God is described as such a relationship. So it is very reasonable to believe that fear is the more primal response to God, and out of that grows our love for God.
And what does this mean? If we fear God, then we do not need to fear anything of this world. That is what Jesus is saying. The things of this world do not matter, do not have any ultimate power, and will someday be gone. Why would we be afraid of them? This is why the verse says "perfect love drives out fear". It is not at all meant to say that we shouldn't fear God, but that we shouldn't fear the world. Our Father in heaven takes care of us. We put our faith in him, fear him, and love him, and that is all that is needed. The world just disappears in our minds, except for what we might do to bring Christ to the world. And what liberty there is in not being afraid of anything. We can go dancing in the streets without a care. What does it matter what people think of us? They can think we are crazy all they want, but the fact is that we "crazies" are about to inherit eternal life. I'll gladly be called crazy and anything else, so long as I'm a child of God.
This passage sums up the Christian view on fear. In case you missed it, I will give the synopsis: We are to fear God and nothing else. That's right, we are to fear, truly be afraid of, God. Anyone that teaches you that we need not fear God is a blatant liar. Its found throughout the Old Testament and the New. God has all power. God has all authority. Not being afraid of God would be plain stupid. "But what about God's love?" some will say. Yeah, what about it? Does the Lord love everyone? Sure, he has extended salvation to all who would take it, by faith in Jesus, but not everyone will. Did God not destroy many people with a flood and only save a few? So we must conclude that God does not love everyone. He loves those that put their faith in him, and consequently fear him. Fear and love go together much moreso than people realize. What about your earthly father? If you feared him as a child, you probably grew up to love him. Without fearing your father you would not respect him, and without that you would never learn to love your father. Doesn't love begin with fear, especially in the case of a father-child relationship? Our relationship with God is described as such a relationship. So it is very reasonable to believe that fear is the more primal response to God, and out of that grows our love for God.
And what does this mean? If we fear God, then we do not need to fear anything of this world. That is what Jesus is saying. The things of this world do not matter, do not have any ultimate power, and will someday be gone. Why would we be afraid of them? This is why the verse says "perfect love drives out fear". It is not at all meant to say that we shouldn't fear God, but that we shouldn't fear the world. Our Father in heaven takes care of us. We put our faith in him, fear him, and love him, and that is all that is needed. The world just disappears in our minds, except for what we might do to bring Christ to the world. And what liberty there is in not being afraid of anything. We can go dancing in the streets without a care. What does it matter what people think of us? They can think we are crazy all they want, but the fact is that we "crazies" are about to inherit eternal life. I'll gladly be called crazy and anything else, so long as I'm a child of God.
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