THE FEAR OF GOD (Part 2)

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: LUKE 12:1-5




INTRODUCTION:


  1. In Luke 12:5, twice our Lord says men are to fear God.
  2. The Scofield Bible says, "The 'fear of the Lord' is a phrase of Old Testament piety." I think it would be better to say, "The 'fear of the Lord' is a Biblical phrase of piety."
  3. For example, Acts 9:31 says, "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."
  4. First Peter 2:17 says, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."
  5. A church without the fear of God is a worldly, carnal church.
  6. A church without the fear of God cannot be an effective soul-winning church because when men fear God they want to what they can to keep people out of hell (Luke 12:4, 5).
  7. A.W. Pink said, "When we speak of godly fear, of course we do not mean a servile fear, such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods."

 

I. WHAT IS THE FEAR OF GOD?

  1. The fear of God refers to reverence for God, as well as fear of offending God, and fear of being punished by God.
  2. For example, when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him, Joseph said, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).
  3. Joseph was acknowledging that even if no one else saw what was happening, God was watching.
  4. Joseph understood that even if no one else would find out if he committed adultery with Potiphar's wife, God would know, and God would eventually uncover the sin.
  5. The Bible teaches that God will uncover everything that is hidden.
  6. Our Lord said in Luke 12:2 -- "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known."
  7. Our Lord said in Luke 8:17, "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad."
  8. The book of Ecclesiastes concludes with these words, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
  9. The Bible teaches, "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23).
  10. Regarding King David's adultery, the LORD said, "For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun" (II Samuel 12:12).
  11. When you look at the life of Joseph, you see all the characteristics and qualities of a God-fearing man. In Genesis 42:18, Joseph said to his brothers, "I fear God."
  12. In Scripture, the expression "the fear of the LORD" is synonymous with Biblical faith. Psalm 34:11 says, "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD."
  13. The fear of God is referred to over 300 times in the Bible -- from Genesis to Revelation.
  14. Genesis 20 tells us that Abraham sojourned in Gerar. In Genesis 20:11, Abraham said unto Abimelech, "Surely the fear of God is not in this place."
  15. Jeremiah 2:19 refers to wicked sinners who do not fear God. "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts."
  16. Exodus 1:17 says, "But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive." It was because the midwives feared God that they obeyed God instead of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was ahead of his time. He was "pro-choice." He wanted all the Hebrew boys aborted.
  17. But the Hebrew midwives feared God and so they were "pro-life." They would not kill the babies.
  18. This theme -- the fear of God -- runs all throughout the book of Exodus. Moses said to the proud and stubborn Pharaoh, "As for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God" (Ex. 9:30).
  19. Pharaoh had a choice. He could have chosen to fear God but he refused. And you and I have a choice.
  20. Proverbs 1:29 says, "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD."
  21. This theme -- the fear of God -- runs all throughout the Old Testament, and the New Testament too. The apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 7:1, "Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
  22. One cannot perfect holiness apart from the fear of God.
  23. The Bible teaches that the fear of the Lord promotes godliness and holy living. The person who truly fears God will not want to do anything that would bring shame, or disgrace, or dishonor to the cause of Christ.
  24. People who genuinely fear the Lord will flee from evil. Proverbs 16:6 says, "By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."
  25. The fear of God and obedience go together -- like grace and truth, faith and repentance, and peace and joy. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, "Fear God and keep his commandments."
  26. The Bible plainly teaches that sinners behave the way they do because they do not fear God. Romans 3:18 says, "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

 

II. WHY SHOULD MEN FEAR GOD?

  1. Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Therefore, fools do not fear God.
  2. Even many intelligent and well-educated people lack wisdom and knowledge because they do not fear God, and the Bible says, "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."
  3. Psalm 110:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."
  4. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."
  5. Men avoid trouble by fearing God. Job 28:28 says, "Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."
  6. Proverbs 3:7 says, "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."
  7. Proverbs 16:6 says, "By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."
  8. Proverbs 8:13 says, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil."
  9. Proverbs 10:27 says, "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened."
  10. Genuine fear of the Lord will always result in obedience to the Word of God. A person who fears God gladly obeys God and submits to the Word of God.
  11. There is a contrast in Scripture between those who fear God and those who fear men.
  12. Our Lord warned about the danger of fearing men and not fearing God (Luke 12:4, 5). How many people are in hell right now because they feared their friends and relatives, but they did not fear God!
  13. Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."
  14. How many Christians have ruined their testimony because they feared their friends and relatives, but they did not fear God!
  15. J.C. Ryle said, "The fear of man is one of the greatest obstacles which stand between the soul and heaven. 'What will men say of me? What will they think of me? What will they do to me?' -- How often these little questions have turned the balance against the soul, and kept men bound hand and foot by sin and the devil! Thousands would never hesitate a moment to storm a breach or face a lion, who dare not face the laughter of relatives, neighbors, and friends."
  16. Oliver Cromwell said, “I have learned that if you fear God, you have no one else to fear."
  17. Oswald Chambers said, "The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else."
  18. As they lowered the body of John Knox into the grave, a minister said, “Here lies one who feared God so much, that he never feared the face of man.”
  19. That is why Mary Queen of Scots, also known as "Bloody Mary," said, "I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men."

 

III. THE DANGER OF NOT FEARING GOD (Luke 12:5).

  1. Our Lord said, "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear..."
  2. Let me remind you that our Lord had more to say about judgment after death than any other preacher in the Bible.
  3. The Bible teaches that after the body is killed the spirit lives on, either in eternal happiness or in eternal torment.
  4. Materialists and skeptics and other unbelievers may refuse to believe this, but the Lord Jesus Christ definitely affirmed it (Luke 12:5; cf. 10:15; 16:19-31).
  5. Matthew's account is slightly different. Matthew 10:28 says, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
  6. The soul cannot be destroyed when the body is killed. Luke 12:4 says, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do."
  7. "After that have no more that they can do." But God has the "power to cast into hell" (Luke 12:5). Therefore, our Lord warns us -- "Yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
  8. John Hooper was burned at the stake in 1555 during the reign of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. Before he was martyred, Hooper said, "Life is sweet, and death bitter; but eternal life is more sweet, and eternal death more bitter."
  9. Though men might kill the body they cannot touch the soul. When the body dies the soul of the believer departs from the body and is immediately present with the Lord.
  10. That is why our Lord told the repentant thief, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).
  11. The story of the two thieves is very important. One thief repented and went to heaven. The other thief did not repent and he went to hell.
  12. The repentant thief said to the impenitent thief, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" (Luke 23:40).
  13. This thief, a common criminal being executed on a Roman cross, understood the fear of God. He said to the thief hanging next to him, "Dost not thou fear God?"
  14. H.A. Ironside said, "There are men today who do not believe in a judgment-day, men who do not believe in hell and punishment after death. But all the arguments that they may bring against these truths cannot take them out of the Word of God. The Scriptures declare that, 'It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.'"

 

CONCLUSION:

  1. Dr. Maurice Rawlings died three years ago at the age of 87 in Chattanooga, Tennessee (Jan. 5, 2010).
  2. The funeral service was held at the Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
  3. Dr. Rawlings was a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease.
  4. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
  5. Dr. Rawlings was physician to President Dwight Eisenhower, and served as physician to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  6. He was an associate clinical professor of medicine for the University of Tennessee and a National Teaching Faculty for the American Heart Association.
  7. Dr. Rawlings also served as medical director for Aventis and ZLB Bio-Science Labratories.
  8. Dr. Rawlings was a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Angiology and Chest Physicians; a diplomat for the American Board of Cardiology; and served as chairman for the TVA Medical Retirement Board.
  9. Dr. Rawlings was also a licensed private pilot, with both instrument and multi-engine ratings.
  10. I said all that to demonstrate that Dr. Maurice Rawlings was not some quack. He was a well-respected physician, professor, military veteran, and author.
  11. Dr. Rawlings wrote several books on "near death experiences," including, Beyond Death's Door, Before Life Comes, Life Wish, and To Hell and Back. These books were all published in several languages.
  12. At one time Dr. Rawlings was a devout atheist, and considered all religion "hocus-pocus." He believed death was nothing more than "a painless extinction".
  13. But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man, and this man was terrified and was screaming.
  14. The man said he was literally descending down into the flames of hell.
  15. From Dr. Rawlings' book, Beyond Death's Door:
  16. Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him.. I was scared to death...Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was "on end."
  17. The patient said, "Don't you understand? I am in hell...Don't let me go back to hell!"...the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before" (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979).
  18. Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called hell!
  19. Jesus said, "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him" (Luke 12:5).


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