The fear of God

I preached this sermon in church yesterday and it was well received. Perhaps it may be a blessing to others as well.

Good morning. Continuing our series on wisdom from Proverbs, the topic given for today’s sermon is “Fear of the Lord vs. Fear of Man”, with reference to Proverbs 29:25, which says 

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

Firstly let me try to pin down what we understand by fear. 

We usually associate fear with things that are scary and will do us harm. In these situations, fear is a protective mechanism and drives us to avoid danger and harm. 

When what we fear are not things or situations but people, then another possible response arises: we can appease them, align with them and even become their loyal servants, hitching our future on their fortunes. This is because people who have the power to harm us often also have the power to reward us. We fear failure but we seek success. In this context fear can also be described as faith, or trust, in that we hitch our lives to a vehicle whom we trust will bring us good fortune.

In this sense, fear is really a recognition of power and ability to affect our lives for good and for evil.

If we are frightened of the dog down the road, we may take a longer route to school, for example. If we are frightened of robbers entering our home having had a past experience of it, we may obsess about locks and grills and alarms and even have difficulty sleeping. If we fear the consequence of being without money and believe that money can bring us a life full of luxury and pleasures, we may pursue wealth with little regard for morality or human kindness. If we fear losing our jobs, we may be manipulated by our bosses to do what we otherwise would not do.

At the heart of it is the fact that when we fear something or someone, we allow them to affect our lives and even change it. Thus, the fear of man or the fear of God asks the question as to who we allow to shape our actions, our decisions, our life and ultimately, our destiny.

The second thing I would like us to take note of is that in one sense, the fear of man is something very natural. After all, we live in a world of man. It would be silly not to take man into account in our actions and our decisions. However it is better to say in such situations that we have a healthy respect for man and for things and situations that can cause us harm. We enter into the realm of fear when we allow these people and situations to dictate the choices we make.

Because having a healthy respect for the world we live in is something natural, we rarely think of the way our life develops as being shaped by either the fear of man or the fear of God. But we must also note that we will not be able to know the difference when we have little knowledge of God and his ways. Often our life may reflect the will of man by default, because we do not know the will of God.

Thirdly, I would like to suggest that while we cannot ignore the dimension of the eternal, and clearly we are all in agreement that God must be supremely feared in the context of the eternal, the context that we must consider as we contemplate the fear of man against the fear of God is our earthly life, not only because God is the sovereign judge of this life as well as the next, but also because God, as the Creator of our life, has built into us his image and thus it is only when we are true to his character will we then be true to our purpose. In other words, God has built us to function in certain ways and we are most free and fulfilled when we conform to our purpose. He has an interest in the way we live our lives.

Therefore, the context we are considering this morning is our life on earth—our lifestyle, our values, our choices, our family, our moral choices. The question we are asking is this: who shapes our life? There are 3 possibilities:

  1. I decide: Sometimes I choose to follow the world because I want the success the world offers and therefore I should follow their recommendations. Sometimes I choose to follow God; I become a Christian, I go to church, I try to be good. Sometimes I just follow my own thinking and make my own choices. I set my own standards. In God’s eyes, such a person is arrogant. Pang Yen dealt with this last week: When we are arrogant we invite disgrace but with humility comes wisdom.
  2. I fear man: Basically I am shaped by the wisdom of the world, whether it is in terms of family life, career, friends, social life, health, use of my time, knowledge, what I really want is what the world gives and I would dread to lose out. I find that it is the world that is most compelling and, when things go wrong, it is the world that can make my life miserable. God, I pay lip service to, just in case there is life after death.
  3. I fear God: God is my Creator; my life, my time, my everything comes from his hands and so my deepest fulfilment must surely be fully consonant with the truth that he teaches me, to be and to do his will. I try to learn from him and put into them practice and I think this is the best way to live.

With this broad overview of the fear of man vs the fear of God, I propose to focus on 3 contexts that the Bible teaches us about the fear of man and the fear of God:

Leadership

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5) 

Paul makes it very clear that those who have been entrusted with God’s affairs must prove faithful. Those of us who are in leadership, those of us who have been entrusted with the precious things of God, for example those who confess that they have been blessed by God with children: we must prove faithful and it is our Lord whom we heed. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by others, and not even ourselves!  There may be disagreements but ultimately, at the end of the day, the truth will be revealed before our Lord.

Similarly Jesus castigates his listeners:

“I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:41–44)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Jesus did not come to please man and to do things that will be popular and well-received. In fact, he is quite clear that when he is doing God’s will he will not be popular and that is because the crowd does not love God. Yet he continues to walk in the way of God and teach the truth of God. When we seek glory from one another we will fail to recognise the truth of God. This is as the Proverb says: Fear of man will prove to be a snare. There is no easy way except that we must know God and love him.

Persecution/Destiny

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:28-33)

The context here is persecution but the broader truth is clear: Man will affect your body but God holds both body and soul and so if there is a conflict we should rightly fear God. But Jesus goes on to assure us that God cares for us in our life before death. We should rightly fear God but we will also discover his care and love for us when we do so. Don’t be afraid to fully trust your life to God.

Shalom (well-being)

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you live to see your children’s children— peace be on Israel. (Psalm 128)

There is blessing to be found when we fear the Lord and these blessings are found in the life we build: the fruit of our labour and the family we will raise. When we walk in obedience to him we will enjoy the richness of life that God’s ways bring us.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127)

The reverse is also true.

 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34)

If we only focus on getting ahead in this life and neglect the ways of God, the most we will get is in this life. When we seek to know God and walk in his ways we will find life in the here and now and also life in the hereafter.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:7-10)

Only the one who truly have no need will truly bless you when you allow him to shepherd you. Others, because they are no different from you, will take more than they give. Jesus has come to lead us to fullness of life.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

There is healing in the fountain of life that turns away the snares of death that we have suffered from as we go through life. Not only does the fear of the Lord lead us to life, but it also turns us away from the deep wounds that threaten to trap us in bitterness and regret.

The bible is not only about heaven and eternity. It is very much focused on our life on earth as well. We have been put off by the prosperity gospel and rightly so but we must not understand that obeying God is only good for our eternal prospects. Obeying God will enrich your life on earth. Not in the way that the world defines, with material wealth and comfort. But as we walk in the truth of God we will come to know life as God intends: family, children’s children, livelihood, health—the fullness of life.

Even more, Proverbs 14 tells us that the fear of the Lord can help overturn the traps that we fall into when we succumb to the temptation of the world or when we have been beaten down by the cruelty of life. It has a healing and redemptive effect.

Conclusion

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12–13)

The passage tells us that the commands of God are “for your own good”. We must not regard God’s will and God’s commands as rules and regulations to make him happy or to avoid his wrath. God does not need anything for himself. Rather, we need to understand that he teaches us his ways for our good so that we will be blessed as we walk in them.

So, whether it is the fruit of our leadership and servanthood, if we want this church to blossom and grow, if we want our children to grow in the goodness that God intends, if we want to make sure that when the challenge comes and we are faced with the question as to whether we should fear man or fear God, the answer is clear: we must live in the fear of our Lord, to learn from him and to walk in all his ways rather than be tempted to rely on the ways of the world.

The problem is that we only respond to the fear of God by adopting his name and identifying ourselves as Christians. Indeed when we don’t make the effort to put into practice what he is teaching us, we don’t really fear him. To truly fear him is to let that fear shape our lives. And that means getting to know him, getting to know his ways, his will, and letting his truth illuminate our path and guide our ways. If we don’t then the likelihood is that we are walking the way of the world.

Listen to what our Lord tells us:

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

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