Steer Clear of Fear

Introduction

I

In the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith begins as a quiet rebel. He knows the Party is lying, manipulating truth, rewriting history. He starts a forbidden journal, engages in a secret love affair, and even dreams of overthrowing the regime. He risks everything for the hope of truth and freedom.

But Winston lives under the shadow of Big Brother — a state that watches not just actions, but thoughts. He knows that thoughtcrime is fatal. Still, he resists inwardly, believing that “the spirit of man” will prevail.

Until Room 101.

After being arrested, Winston is tortured by O’Brien — not just physically, but psychologically.

The government arm that tortured Smith was known as the Ministry of Love. They were trying to get him to betray the one he loved the most, but for the longest time could not break him in this matter. They got him to confess, but could not get him to break off his affection of her.

But, the regime uses fear as the ultimate weapon, and Room 101 is where that fear is personalized. For Winston, it’s rats — his most primal, uncontrollable fear.

A compartment filled with hungry rats are place over his head. Only a trap door has to be opened to allow the rats to come at his face. His overwhelming fear causes him to betray his love:

“Do it to Julia! Not me!”

In a single moment, fear shatters his love, loyalty, and identity. He betrays the one person he loved. And that is the Party’s goal — not just to control bodies, but to break the soul, to make fear more powerful than love or truth.

N

What are you afraid of? How does that fear control your actions? How does that fear affect what you believe and want?

T

Jesus commands “Do not fear” three times in Matthew 10:26-33. How is fear overcome?

O

In Matthew 10:26-33 we will see fear’s ability, fear’s object, fear’s antidote, and fear’s renewal.

Steer Clear of Fear

Matthew 10:26-33

Fear’s Ability (26-27) Fear has ability to determine our decisions

Matthew 10:26–27 ESV

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

In v. 26, the command is to have no fear of “them.” “Them” refers to the persecutors mentioned in the previous passage. And this is just what Jesus finished saying in v. 25, “How much more will they malign those of his household?”

Then he commands to have no fear of them.

He gives a major reason why not to fear: because, “nothing is covered that will not be revealed.”

In other words, though they (i.e., the persecutors) claim that the disciples are of the house of the devil, the Lord of the flies, in reality, they are not. There true nature will continue to shine through. The substance of who the disciples are and their message cannot be hidden.

In v. 27, this idea of what was once hidden now being revealed is applied to the Christian message. The gospel proclamation. So, not only the Christian identity should be hidden, neither should the Christian message. Jesus depicts this vividly by saying “What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops”

The flat roof of the home at that time was the perfect stage for a speaker. He could easily get everyone’s attention.

Relevance

Matthew Exegesis

fear chokes the disciple into silence at the very moment it is most urgent for him to speak

Fear has a way to cause us to not reveal who we really are. Consider Adam and Eve in the Garden, naked and unashamed. They had nothing to hide. And when sin entered the picture, so did fear and shame. Everything had to be covered up.

We should expect persecutors to slander us. In the modern day, Christians are seen as intolerant and hateful. How can you seriously support the ethics of a book that’s thousands of years old?

Christians are called anti-science and ignorant. Christians rely on faith, which is ignorant, backward, and stupid.

Jordan Peterson, who is a Canadian psychologist has long held and supported traditional views on males and females. This interest in traditional roles brought him to the biblical text. He has for a while been flirting with the Christian faith and has made claims to be a Christian. He has been doing several series online on books of the Bible.

Most recently, and infamously, he was on a video where he was arguing against 20 atheists. Jubilee has done several of these videos well they pit well known people against several others of an opposing persuasion.

I’m taking this story straight from Premier Christian News

The episode, titled Jordan Peterson vs Twenty Atheists, saw the 62-year-old field questions from a circle of atheist challengers. The confrontation escalated when Danny, a philosophy graduate and vlogger, questioned Peterson’s views on Catholic doctrine and asked directly whether he identified as a Christian.

“Why is that relevant?” Peterson asked him.

“Because you go to a Catholic church. I’m sure you’ve attended recently. You’re interested in Catholicism, aren’t you?” Danny responded. “You’re familiar with their doctrines?... How do they regard Mary?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Peterson asked.

“Because you’re a Christian,” Danny responded.

“You say that. I haven’t claimed that,” Peterson snapped back.

“What is this – Christians vs atheists?... You don’t know where you are right now?” Danny scoffed.

Pressed to clarify, Peterson responded: “I could be either of them, but I don’t have to tell you… it’s private.” The conversation ended after Danny remarked, “You’re really quite nothing,” prompting audible gasps from other participants.”

source: Jordan Peterson refuses to claim Christian identity in heated debate

This was certainly an awkward exchange. An Atheist having the opportunity to debate a Christian, simply gets a guy claiming not to be a Christian.

I’m not a psychologist, nor do I know Jordan Peterson’s heart. Nor have I followed him enough to make a fair assessment. But it seems to me that the thing Peterson fears the most is not being able to give an answer. Not being able to be seen as an intellectual. So when debating a young man almost 30 years younger than him, he was about to be made a fool. He would rather deny the name of Christ than say, “I don’t know.”

Fear always drives our decisions and desires and beliefs. So we have to choose: what do we fear? Jesus makes that decision plain for us:

Fear’s object (28) Who we fear most matters

Matthew 10:28 ESV

28 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.

Here the reality of martyrdom is mentioned plainly. What is one of the very thing people fear the most? Death. And there are persecutors that want to harm Christians. What is the greatest harm that one human can do to another? Death. The greatest harm one person can do to another is to end the life.

Does the possibility of someone else killing you bring you fear?

Is Jesus, by saying this arguing that no one should own a firearm for self-defense, a security system, or lock the door at night?

This is where the difficulty comes in because “fear” is a word that bridges a gap between terror/paranoia and respect.

Fear in a healthy sense can cause us to avoid danger.

Proverbs 22:3 “3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”

So is Jesus’s point to avoid all things that could prevent the harm of an assailant? No. In fact, if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we could argue (esp. from Proverbs) that fearing God would be the cause of us to take reasonable precautions to prevent harm.

I mentioned to you last week the circumcillians. The early Christian cult also known as the cult of martyrs. They believed the greatest fate that could befall a Christian was martyrdom. The only problem was that they lived after the Roman government was Christianized and stopped putting Christians to death. So what did they do? They would go into cities and start violent riots in hopes of being killed in the aftermath.

Did they fear those who kill the body? No. So then, did they obey Jesus’s teaching here? Certainly not. Why?

Because they also did not fear God.

If they truly feared God, they would have obeyed him. Purposefully setting events in motion in order to be killed is self-murder, breaking the 6th commandment.

Then what is the point?

If it is true that fear drives are actions (as is assumed by Jesus’s words here) then who or what we fear most matters. If we fear being put to death, more than we fear God, then we will always fear whoever or whatever can kill us more than we fear God and we will always seek to please them over God.

The point of the text is not to do away with the fear of death. There are plenty of people out there who do not fear death and do foolish things. Rather when we fear God first, we obey God first. And obedience, especially in light of the context of this text, means that we are faithful to proclaim on the rooftops the kingdom of God.

Polycarp was an early Christian who lived under Roman persecution. He was caught and charged as a Christian and brought before the authoritites. He was forced to recant or die.

So the proconsul said to Polycarp, ‘Take the oath. I will let you go. Just revile Christ.’ Polycarp answered, ‘For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?’”

The proconsul proceeded to threaten the elderly man with lions and fire. In response to these torments, Polycarp replied.

“You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour at most; you must not know about the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why are you wasting time? Kill me in whatever way you see fit.”

Polycarp caught what Jesus taught. He had no fear of death or his murderers in a right and ordered way.

Fear’s antidote Sparrow (29-31)

Matthew 10:29–31 ESV

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Jewish dietary laws allowed for them to eat sparrows. However, they were so small, they only provided a bite or two of meat. One sparrow would hardly satisfy a single person, rather than a whole family. So, especially compared to other birds, sparrows were cheap, worth only half a penny.

Yet every single sparrow that falls to the ground is in the hands of a sovereign God.

Matthew Exegesis

If a sparrow will not fall without God’s consent, then surely a disciple cannot be struck down without his permission.

And Jesus adds, that every part of the disciple down to the smallest detail is valuable to God. “Even the hairs of your head are numbered” shows God’s fatherly concern for his children. But not even an earthly father could do such a thing. This is not just a causal concern that God has with his children, but an absolute, omniscient care.

Faith in God’s love, power, and plan is an antidote to fear of the persecutor.

Relevance

Certainly that is what this text is saying, but what is it doing? Why does Jesus want to inspire faith in God’s love, power, and plan?

This is because it will inspire the boldness his disciples need in order to further the kingdom.

Kingdom building requires risk.

In the book of Nehemiah, the people of Israel attempt to rebuild the wall. Several surrounding enemies try to prevent it. They go to the king and try to force his hand. They tell the Israelites, “If you build that wall we will kill you.” Many are afraid. Many don’t want to go on. But Nehemiah, through God, musters their courage to continue to build. And notice how they build;

Nehemiah 4:15–18 “15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.”

This is kingdom building: accepting great risk and doing whatever it takes to lay stones.

But we are not building a kingdom of this world, we are not building a kingdom that can be shaken.

We are not laying stones, but hearts. We do not carry a sword, but a word.

Henry Martyn, a missionary to India and Persia famously said, “I am immortal until God’s work for me to do is done.”

This is the type of attitude this text is developing. Christ is instilling a boldness, a confidence, not in self, but in God. We can take great risk to build the kingdom because our lives are in God’s hands.

What does that risk entail of me and you? Maybe it means to have an awkward conversation at the grocery store. Maybe it means to talk with someone you normally would never talk to. Maybe it means to take a ministry opportunity here that you normally would not do. Maybe it means to post on social media something about your faith.

What keeps you back from building the kingdom? Fear of social isolation? Fear of being annoying? Fear of saying the wrong thing? Fear of inexperience? Don’t you see that God has got all that under control? If God can take care of life and death, can he not also take care of all these other lesser things?

Fear’s renewal; Confession (32-33)

Matthew 10:32–33 ESV

32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

This text is so straightforward it hardly needs any comment. The words “Acknowledge” and “deny” imply a formal court case, as if one is standing before a judge on trial. There is a clear ironic turn here that after Jesus commands “fear not” three times, he is here instilling a new type of fear: a fear of being rejected by God.

So if it would not have made the sermon title so clunky, I could have said, “Steer clear of wrong fear.”

There is a right fear and a wrong fear. The wrong fear is afraid of persecutors for earthly reasons. The right fear is a fear of the Lord.

So Christ renews fear for a purpose: So that we might proclaim him. Building Christ’s kingdom requires proclaiming Christ.

Application

If you are a disciple of Christ, here’s what I would encourage you to do in light of this text. Remember this one phrase, “I believe in Jesus because _____” And fill in the reason yourself. I believe in Jesus because. . . , I won’t answer for you. If you are a disciple I’m sure you have many reasons why you trust Christ. Consider them. What are they.

Then go to your social media. Make a post, make it today. I believe in Jesus because. . . and fill in the blank. Many of you have already done things like this, so I know it’s not hard. But maybe you have never. Maybe you are afraid of that one friend or follower and what they would say. Do not allow fear to stop you. Maybe you’re afraid no one will interact. the post will sit there in an empty void of social media space. That’s okay. We are to be faithful, God will take care of the rest.

Could you imagine this afternoon, a social media space filled with so many statements of faith? In all the chaos and doom scrolling, there is a message of hope and healing.

You don’t need to name drop your church, you don’t need to say your pastor told you to do this or anything. This is not about building a name for ourselves, or building a social media platform. This is about building Christ’s kingdom. I chose this application in particular because I believed it was a simple step in faith that almost all of us could do.

The Garden ties fear to shame— and these elements are tied together here.

Shame: a fear of exposure

Guilt: action related

Shame: nature related