No Fear
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Several years ago there was a story on ABC news about The Blasphemy Challenge. A group called The Rational Response Squad have, in an effort to “publicize their cause”, issued a challenge to people to dare God to send them to hell and commit the unpardonable sin and denounce the Holy Spirit.
“Initially we wanted to find a way to allow atheists to come out of the closet, speak up and show other people that there are people that think like this.”
What they did was challenge people to make videos of themselves, denying, denouncing or blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and then post them on YouTube.
‘We Are Not Scared of This Unforgiveable Sin.’
“We wanted to do it in such a way where we stripped the power from religious institutions that instill fear in people,” says Brian. “And we did that by blaspheming the Holy Spirit, by showing that we are not scared of this unforgivable sin.”
The Rational Response Squad was giving away 1001 DVDs of The God Who Wasn’t There, the hit documentary that the Los Angeles Times calls “provocative — to put it mildly.” There’s only one catch: We want your soul.
It’s simple. You record a short message damning yourself to Hell, you upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free The God Who Wasn’t There DVD. It’s that easy.
I did watch some of the videos that have been sent in by people denouncing God and I gotta say it was a bit nerve-racking to see people actually do it on video like that. Even though they got it wrong, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not denying the Holy Spirit… What got me even more was the apparent joy that most seemed to get out of it blaspheming God. There was no fear.
These people aren’t afraid of the consequences, as they admit on there website and in the ABC interview, because they just don’t believe there is a God to be afraid of.
The answer to the question that I have been asked for months now… Shane why is this happening? There is no fear of God. Chuck Colson is quoted saying in regard to justice, “People who have no fear of God soon have no fear of man, and no respect for human laws and authority.” In our culture, we are seeing the behavior of citizens and even government leaders that make you wonder if they fear judgement from the throne of heaven. Have we lost the biblical truth that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Why is it that people don’t believe that there will be serious consequences to our actions today? Either they don’t believe that there is a God or they believe that if there is a God we don’t have to be afraid of Him.
And why not… when the church who is supposed to know better is filling the largest platforms declaring that God is not wrathful but wants to see you live your best life now. God is like the genie from Alladin. Prominent Christian personalities denouncing their faith for beliefs about Christ that is wrong. Failure to preach on the reality of sin. Failure to declare the Gospel correctly. False teaching, false doctrine, false understanding, lies, lies and more lies. It is bad enough that it is hard to believe anything our secular leaders are saying about the pandemic, the riots, looting, burning, vandalism… AKA peaceful protests, it is worse that its also coming from leaders in the church. Lies Lies and more Lies in the media, social media, educational institutions, and corporations that it is hard to believe anything and we just don’t know what is true.
The 9th commandment declares… Thou shall not bear false witness. In other words … Don’t lie. But again, why not? According to the rational response squad...There is no God and even if there is, what’s He gonna do about it... nothing. We have nothing to be afraid of. Today… the Bible does not lie.
But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.
Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.
They have no fear of God at all.
The grass withers the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
No Fear of God
Preach the Gospel
The first thing we will look at is the reality and consequence of a culture that does not fear God. Finally, we will look at what our response is to this crisis and I have the privilege to say that it is the same response as it always is, has been and always will be… preach the Gospel.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world do not reflect a real fear of the Lord causing consequence upon consequence, it is reflection of Christ by the church and the power of the Gospel that will bring true godly fear and a justice that brings peace that transcends.
I. No Fear of God
- He conducts his life without reference to God and without reverence for him.
A. Like I say week after week. Sin is a nasty thing. One of the effects of this thing called sin is it brings no fear of God. Putting it another way, because we listen to sin whispering in our heart, we do not fear God.
B. In this verse the phrase Pahad = “fear of God” is not the one usually translated “to honor or have reverence for God”; here it means fear, dread, terror. The wicked person thinks there is no need to fear God, for God does not punish, God does not act. In other words, the voice of sin is so smooth and seductive that we are not terrified of falling into the hands of the living God. Who cares… do whatcha like… God is not gonna do anything about it.
C. Let me be totally clear… We should be afraid and terrified of God’s judgment. We have got to understand today that the right fear is a healthy thing. If you are walking on railroad tracks and a train is coming, your heart should pound. You should be so afraid that you get off the tracks. You should not be on the tracks in the first place, but if you are, the blaring horn of a locomotive should strike fear in your heart and terrify you. The right fear is a healthy thing.
D. Just like if you see a clown with a baseball bat standing at your front door.
Just like if you see the two twins from the shinning. The right fear is a healthy thing.
E. One of the worst effects of sin is that we do not fear God. We do not tremble as his judgment comes thundering down the tracks of history. Jesus said, “[D]o 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). If Jesus is telling the truth—and he is—then one of the most healthy and rational things we can do is genuinely fear God and his judgment. And one of the worst things that sin can do is blind us and distract us from thinking about this judgment. In Romans 3 Paul describes the sinfulness of humanity by quoting fourteen phrases from six Old Testament sources. As the final word to summarize the deadly power of sin, Paul quotes Psalm 36:1, “[T]here is no fear of God before his eyes.” The scriptures continue...
So do we not think God should be feared?
When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.
And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.
So you see a healthy fear of Him will keep us from sinning and doing harmful things against our neighbor.
The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The scriptures continue...
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.
These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.
III. Preach the Gospel
- Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and He was buried and raised on the third day according to the scriptures.
A. One of the most disappointing things I have seen during this time, is how professing Christians are responding to the crisis. We are doing the same thing… The first thing is no fear kind of rebellion to governing authorities.
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.
B. Are we not afraid? Do we not fear God? To rebel against authority is to rebel against God.
Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.
For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.
C. Oh but Shane the Apostles rebelled against the government and said it in
But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.
D. Im with ya… but the context here is the government was trying to stop the Apostles from preaching Christ. If the government does this… I will be the first to rise up and rebel. If the government forces me to worship another God or throw me into the fiery furnace… I will be the first to declare that I will not bow.
E. The reaction of professing Christians to the culture crisis, social justice, political ideologies, and adoption of cultural marxist principles out of concern for our well being and survival just like the world does. It is telling. We as the church are not to be affected like the culture… we are supposed to transcend the culture. We don’t respond like they do, we are supposed to respond like the Christ told us to. I am a citizen of the US but I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.
F. In the scriptures when the church is targeted for destruction… they are either targeted for annihilation or assimilation. We are either wiped out so we don’t exist, or we assimilate so much to the culture that we disappear. How can we be part of the solution if we are part of the problem.
G. We are not a part of this...
Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.
For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.
H. And pray for those who do injustice to his people at this time… If they are lying to us about the pandemic, injustice, anything causing harm to the people of Christ abusing their authority.
So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
A false witness will not go unpunished,
nor will a liar escape.
I. So what do we do? We are called to persevere and preach. Persevere in righteousness. Lots of injustice all over today. But we persevere in injustice. Loving our enemies as much as we love our friends. We take up our cross and follow Christ after we first deny our self. We persevere in always considering others as better than ourselves. Persevere...
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.
J. And we preach. In a society where there is no fear of God, sin will abound. And with sin… injustice will abound and abound in force. We recognize through the scriptures that the root of evil in this world is not a lack of education. The root of evil is not inequality or injustice, terrible as these are. Evil will not be solved by technology or progress. The problem is that our hearts are bad. And like our passage says today… Sin speaks to us deep inside, and we listen. But today we know the solution
K. It is the gospel of Jesus. There is forgiveness for our sins. There is transformation for us. There is a new heart for us. There is the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit for us.
L. We might have fallen into fearlessness during this time. Fallen into deception. Did not love our enemies or our brothers during this time. We may have fallen into all types of sin and idolatry. Lies and rebellion abound, Anger abounds, but I am here to declare that there is forgiveness for us today.
M. The Bible declares that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures...
N. Jesus paid the price for our sins and because he did we will not face the wrath of the living God and he would give us life and life more abundant.
O. He promised to give us a new heart. A heart of flesh no longer a heart of stone. The law of God written on our hearts… we will love and desire to do what is good no longer what is evil. He will change us and cause us to will and to do of His good pleasure.
P. He gives us the Holy Spirit to transform us and to sustain us in our lives here on earth. The power to do what the Lord wills. We can love the Lord and we can love our neighbor through the power of the Spirit.
Q. So do you see why this is the solution. Humanity needs to be transformed by the power of God to desire to do what is right and good. It s not new politicians, not new education models, not new institutions, not new community programs… it is the gospel and the gospel alone that is the power of God for salvation and transformation.
It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.