This is the sermon that I preached to the men of the presbytery this morning.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the
most important thing about us.” Some of you have heard that quote before. It's
something that A.W. Tozer wrote, and he was really on to something. Who is God?
What is He like? Important questions. And the answers that we give affect us
every day. I'd like to narrow that question down a bit. It's too large for one
sermon. I'd like to take a look at one slice of it. 'What does God expect of
me?' Even this smaller question is large, but I hope to make a dent in it. And
I want to do that by talking about the fear of God. God expects you to fear
Him. We’re going to spend a little time looking at that.
The first thing to do is to define our terms. I'm sure
you've heard the various definitions offered for this fear: awe, reverence,
respect. But they actually don't work. They water down what God is talking
about. I really think that when the Scriptures refer to fearing God they mean
fearing God. Fear means fear, and anything different takes away from that basic
idea.
Consider some examples from Scripture. This first one is
from Jacob's dream about the ladder reaching from heaven to earth.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and
said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid.
(Genesis 28:16)
This next is from Mt. Sinai.
Now when all the people saw the
thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the
mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood
far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let
God speak to us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:18-19)
This last one doesn't have the word 'fear' in it but the
concept is clearly there. God is speaking.
But this is the one to whom I will
look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.
(Isaiah 66.2)
This theme of fearing God isn't limited to the Old
Testament. Here are some New Testament examples. This first one comes from
Peter.
And if you call on him as Father
who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves
with fear throughout the time of your exile. (1 Peter 1.17)
And then, there's this from Paul.
Since we have these promises,
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit,
bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7.1)
This next one is particularly clear. Jesus is speaking to
the Twelve.
And do not fear those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul
and body in hell. (Matthew 10.28)
These are just a few examples, but I think that you can see
why I think that fearing God means fearing God.
The next thing I need to do to pose a question. Alright, we
need to fear God. But why? What I'm getting at is simply this. What is it that
we are to fear might happen? Paul provides an answer.
We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he
has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the
Lord, we persuade others. (2 Corinthians 5.10-11)
Our fear is tied to the fact that our lives are going to be
evaluated. We will all be judged and 'receive what is due'. That is why we
fear.
Knowing that will not be helpful unless you answer this
question. What will our Lord be looking for when He evaluates our lives? You
cannot prepare for the test unless you know what's going to be on it. Scripture
is clear enough on this point. He will be looking for holiness.
I mentioned some things that Paul and Peter wrote. Let me
return to them. First, Paul.
Since we have these promises,
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing
holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7.1)
Then this again from Peter, but with the larger context
included.
As obedient children, do not be
conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is
holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be
holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially
according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time
of your exile.
I hope that some things are clear. We are to fear God. One
big reason that we are to fear Him is that He is going to evaluate our lives. When
He does that He will be looking for holiness. So, pursuing holiness in the fear
of God is the Christian thing to do.
This is where I need to anticipate a misunderstanding. Too
many Christians hear the word 'fear' and a certain image comes to mind. They
see themselves cowering in a corner, trying to hide from the evil master. And
that just doesn't seem to fit with their understanding of how they are to
relate to God. And they are right in that understanding. The problem is
equating the fear of God with hiding in corners. That's not what the fear of
the Lord is about.
You all have lived long enough in western Pennsylvania to
know that when you're driving in a bad snow storm you have to make some
adjustments. So, for one thing, you slow down. And you slow down even more when
you're turning on what might be a very slick roadway. Why do you do that?
You're aware of the danger of not doing that. You don't want to end up in a
ditch or worse. You are aware of some danger, and so you respond appropriately.
And that's what the fear of God is about. It has nothing to do with cowering in
the corner. It has everything to do with being aware of the danger and
responding appropriately.
So, imagine some new convert. Why is it that he came to
Christ in the first place? To use John's words, he wanted to flee the wrath to
come. He saw God as His judge. He understood God's attitude to his sin. He
hates it. Our friend saw the danger. So, he responded appropriately. He ran to
Jesus. Because of his fear of God he repented of his sins and believed the
Gospel. And once he did that he was safe. However, once our new Christian
friend comes to Jesus, does he stop fearing God? Absolutely not! Remember that
Paul wrote about bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. And Peter
urged the saints to continue to conduct themselves with fear so that they can
become holy as God is holy. The fear of God is to continue. But why? Why should
our new Christian continue to fear? Because life is still dangerous.
From Hebrews:
Take care, brothers, lest there be
in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the
living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,”
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3.12-13)
There is this too common notion in the Church today that
once you profess faith and find yourself in church most Sundays then you're
okay. You're home free. All you have to do is coast on in to heaven. But that
is a misunderstanding. Life is still dangerous. The People of Israel professed
faith at Mt. Sinai. And yet, how many of them made it to the Promised Land?
Remember that Paul taught that they were an example to us.
But this still does not have anything to do with cowering in
a corner. It's about being aware of the danger and responding appropriately.
Christians need to be aware that their remaining sin is still strong, their
hearts can still fool them and Satan is still the craftiest of all creatures.
Remember Judas who was one of the Twelve, preached good news, and even did
miracles. The danger is real and continues to be real.
The point is that when you see danger, respond
appropriately. And the appropriate response here is obvious. Those who see the
danger will pray. And their prayers are pretty specific. They will pray that
the Spirit will help them fight a good fight against their remaining sin. They
will pray that they would become wise in the Gospel so that their hearts will
not deceive them. They will pray that they would put on the whole armor of God
so that they can crush Satan beneath their feet. This is all good, but it is
not enough. They will also pray that when they do fall into some sin that they
would be quick to repent of it; that they would be quick to acknowledge that
sin, no excuses, no minimizing; that they would be quick to hate it and then to
turn to what is good and right and love it. And having repented, that they
would run to Jesus for forgiveness and for change so that they would not sin
like that again. If you know that the road is icy you slow down. If you know
that Christian living is still dangerous you pray.
Those who do pray can then live with a great sense of peace.
Yes, there is danger, but there is no anxiety. Jesus has promised to save. That
promise is not just for the beginning of a Christian's walk. That promise is
for every day and the dangers that each day holds. The wise Christian is not
blind to the dangers to his soul. But neither is he anxious about them. The
dangers are real, but his hope is not in himself but rather in his faithful
Savior. So, he expresses his awareness of the dangers in his prayers, but then,
by the kind grace of the Spirit, he lives in this dangerous place in peace,
confident that Jesus will get him home. He fears but he also experiences peace.
Now, why have I said these things to you? There are two
reasons. The first comes from Peter.
Therefore I intend always to remind
you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that
you have. (2 Peter 1:12)
We all need to be reminded of the things that we know, lest
we forget them. I want to remind you that life is still dangerous. Be aware of
that and respond wisely.
But there is another reason why I have said these things to
you. I have told you these things because your congregations also need to be
reminded of the need to pursue holiness in the fear of God. The people in your
church live in a culture with frivolous notions about life. They live in a
culture that does not pursue deep thinking about much of anything and certainly
not about God and sin and holiness. They are told that their deepest concerns
need to be their jobs, getting their kids into a good college and who gets
elected next time. If they listen to the culture they will not see how
dangerous life is. So, this sermon is an appeal to you to make sure that they
know about what is of first importance. You need to tell them about holiness.
You need to tell them again and again about the fear of God. And more than tell
them, you need to show them. They need to see in you the awareness of the
danger and your wise response to that danger. They need to see it for the sake
of the honor of Jesus as well as for the sake of their own souls. Life is
dangerous. It is lived in the presence of a holy God. The faithful are aware of
that and respond wisely.