Fear Based Faith - The Beginning of Wisdom

Question: Do you have Faith in God without fear, or is your Faith based on the fear of God?

“God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world…We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us…There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear ” (1 John 4:9-10,14,16,18)

I have been alive for 65 years on this planet, 50 of which has been partially spent struggling with the above question.

As I watch my grandchildren grow up I realize that for the first 10 or so years there is no fear of God. Mom told me that God was good and loved me, and He loved the whole world.  That was true and good enough for me.

Then something horrible happened. I begin to listen (occasionally) to the teaching and preaching in church about the eternal destiny of unrepentant people. 

Yep, the doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell was introduced to my young mind by those in the church that my Mom and Dad seemed to trust to know the truth. After all, they took me to church every time the doors were opened just as I would later take my children...out of fear.

My childlike faith in God without fear became a game of either ignoring the very thought of God (high school, college and military), or, when I finally got a permanent job and begin raising a family, trying to appease God for fear of what he might do to me and my family…and I called that faith, but it was just the "beginning of wisdom".

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...but perfect love drives out fear" (Proverbs 9:10; 1 John 4:18)

One good that came out of that fear was that I begin to read the bible faithfully, all of it, from Genesis to Revelation…over and over and over (I stopped counting at 20 times). And after 25 years of struggling to please God through service in the local church I realized that much of what I had been taught about God in church was not the "wisdom" I was reading in the Bible.

My study of the Bible did not reveal eternal conscious torment for anyone, or a trinity of angry gods, or a substitutionary atonement for the repentant, or a free will to choose my eternal destiny, nor an immortality of the soul apart from the resurrection.

These were all religious doctrines made up by religious men that had become the basis of my faith…resulting in more fear of God than love for Him.

When I was able to distinguish between man-made doctrine and biblical doctrine at about 50 years old I was able to return to my childlike faith. Faith that God was good, all the time, and loves me as a Father. I was liberated from the fear of God and ushered into a true love for the God of the Bible.

My faith in God is without fear. God is my Father, He is Sovereign and Almighty, He can do whatever He wants…and He wants to save me, my family and everyone else from death by raising us, changing us into a new creation just like our Father - immortal, loving and good.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away...and I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:1-5)

No more fear of God…for the "wisdom" of the perfect love of God will have “cast out fear”.

Our Image of God

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-4)

“I changed when my image of God changed” is a quote from an email I received this morning. It started me thinking some random thoughts. Many of us Christians are in dire need of a change in our image of God created by the institutions we have attended over the past 1700 years or so. For many their image of God is one of a vengeful, wrathful, mad God who is going to get even with all sinners who do not measure up to His standards of righteousness.

The email also said “we may not realize that we become like the God we adore”.

Look around and observe Christians and their attitude toward those whom they feel do not measure up to their doctrine and perceived standards of righteousness. Do they ignore them, criticize them behind their backs, get mad at them, condemn them, or avoid talking with them about their differences - even biblical differences?

I think the email was right and we become like our image of God. If we view God as a vengeful, wrathful, mad, fearful God who is just in punishing infidels to an endless torment in hell, well we become fearful, vengeful, wrathful and mad at anyone who disagrees with us. And the result of course is driving most people away from God.

However, if our image of God is the biblical image then we might just find ourselves loving one another and joyfully discussing our differences.  The result may be to "know God" better and actually draw sinners to Him rather than chase them away from Him…

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love...Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love…” (1 John 4:8, 18; 1 Corinthians 13:5-13)

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world...So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us…so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment…There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:14-18)

Let that sink in for a moment. John was most likely toward the end of his life when he wrote this. By that time he was familiar with the revelation of the salvation of all which Paul had received from the risen Jesus. And John was now certain that Jesus was the “Savior of the world”...not just Israel. And not just a possibility of being saved if certain choices were made…Jesus IS the Savior…of the whole WORLD.

And John says it is because God is LOVE. And there is no fear in the judgment that is to come when one actually understands and believes that God loves the world. When we come to realize and believe, as John did, that God is love…the fear of judgment is CAST OUT.

It is so frustrating for me to see so many Christians who “fear” the judgment of God and yet claim they know God loves them and say they love Him back. You cannot be “perfected” in love and still “fear” God. When you come to know the truth that Jesus is the "Savior of the world" because God loves the world…then you no longer "fear" for yourself or others.

Remember the word judgment just means to “make a decision”. God has made the decision.  God decided to send his Son to SAVE the world …not scare the hell out us.

“…and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” (1 Timothy 1:14-15)