Biblical Expressions 3
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Introduction
Mr. Stewardson - scary
What made them scary? unpredictable, anger, disposition etc
The fear of the Lord
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The beginning of knowledge?
Humility vs Pride
The fear of the Lord means we are humble(d)
We cannot walk in pride and fear the Lord
Obedience(Life) vs Disobedience (death)
We came to understand that in the commands of God and through obedience to them we find life
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
So what does this mean?
Heb 12:18-29
I. Who is God that He Should Be Feared?
I. Who is God that He Should Be Feared?
What descriptions can we pull out of this passage?
Powerful - describes the scene of Ex 20:18-20 (10 commandments)
blazing fire
darkness/gloom
a tempest
sound of a trumpet
voice that made the hearers beg to hear no more
Author/sustainer of life - if even a beast should touch the mountain should be stoned
reminds me of Uzzah in 2 Sam 6
vs 22, 25 - heavenly
vs 23 - judge
vs 24 - saviour
Holy - set apart
transcendent
We tend to want to under state or not talk about this in favor of the immanence and love of God
Jesus is my homeboy
Think about it this way: what is the one thing that someone can do to bring great glory to God? I would say, to behold all that God is and understand all that He’s done, and then, feel the weight. Back to the Bible blog
II. Afraid vs Fear
II. Afraid vs Fear
A. Afraid
Picture again is Moses and God’s people - Ex 20
calls it “so terrifying”
Turn to Exodus 20 vs 18-20
Do not fear ....that the fear of him may be before you…that you may not sin
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
B. Fear
Mediator - Jesus
why? because the God of Ex 20 has not changed and worthy of our fear, but in Jesus we have our saviour who continually mediates for us who believe
And so for us our fear changes from a fear of judgement to a reverent awe
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 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. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
“perfect love casts out fear.”
Fear of judgement that is
vs 18b says whoever fears has not been perfected in Love
So how do we know?
confess Jesus is the Son of God
Abide in love
we love as he loved us
So how do we live in the fear of the Lord?
III. Living in Fear of the Lord
III. Living in Fear of the Lord
So not afraid of God or his judgement
rather in understanding who God is and what he has done in Christ should lead us to reverence and awe
How much of what we do, say and how we live shows this reverence?
We tend to emphasize Grace
We meet people where they’re at
Do we truly feel the weight of who God is and what he has done in Christ?
Or do we flirt around with sin or our faith?
While this is true and if we are in Christ we are not to fear his judgement, but not to the point of ignoring the call to worship from our reverence and awe of God
Paul ends with “our God is a consuming fire”
As I said, if we actually revere God it should draw us to obedience to him (worship)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Conclusion
vs 28 - be grateful for a kingdom that cannot be shaken