Before I understood the New Covenant, that is the Gospel, I lived with an unbiblical, unhealthy fear of the Lord. When I or my family experienced difficulty, I believed God was somehow punishing me because I had disobeyed Him and His Word in some area of my life.
At Grace Life International, we meet people in our conferences and in our counseling who also believe that God punishes them when they sin. They are afraid of God as I was. It's very difficult to enjoy a close relationship with someone when you are afraid of them, especially when it is God.
Over and over, we have the opportunity to help people understand that our Father does not punish His sons and daughters because the death of Jesus on the cross has taken care of that for us. 1 John 2:2 says, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Propitiation means that the penalty of every one of our sins was paid for, which took away God's anger for our sins.
Yet, in the New Testament, we see that we are still to fear the Lord. For example, 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." Since this does not mean to be afraid of God's punishment, what does it mean?
It means that we have such a heightened reverence and awe of God, that we are overwhelmed by His beauty and power of His glory. It removes all sense of human pride, humbling us to the point where it takes our breath away, causes us to fall to our knees, or to compel us to lay flat on the floor as we contemplate the greatness of God.
When the Apostle John saw Jesus on His heavenly throne as recorded in Revelation 1:17, he wrote, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead." (NKJ) John was so overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ, he could not stand.
John goes on to tell us how Jesus responded to his worship of Him. "But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last.'" (NKJ) Though he was overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ in Heaven, Jesus did not want him to be afraid of Him even in John's worship of Him.
Here is an exercise that will fill you with such awe and wonder that you will not be able to restrain yourself from fearing the Lord. Think for a moment how creation exists because God wanted it to exist. Think for a moment how humans exist because God wanted us to exist. Think for a moment how your very existence is because God wanted you to exist in intimacy with Him.
Just a moment... As I was writing, I had to stop and hit my knees for a moment singing a worship song to God. All of this also causes me to love Him more and to desire with all of my being to obey my God who loves me and lives in me! Let's all live free to fear the Lord!
Live Free In Christ,
At Grace Life International, we meet people in our conferences and in our counseling who also believe that God punishes them when they sin. They are afraid of God as I was. It's very difficult to enjoy a close relationship with someone when you are afraid of them, especially when it is God.
Over and over, we have the opportunity to help people understand that our Father does not punish His sons and daughters because the death of Jesus on the cross has taken care of that for us. 1 John 2:2 says, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Propitiation means that the penalty of every one of our sins was paid for, which took away God's anger for our sins.
Yet, in the New Testament, we see that we are still to fear the Lord. For example, 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." Since this does not mean to be afraid of God's punishment, what does it mean?
It means that we have such a heightened reverence and awe of God, that we are overwhelmed by His beauty and power of His glory. It removes all sense of human pride, humbling us to the point where it takes our breath away, causes us to fall to our knees, or to compel us to lay flat on the floor as we contemplate the greatness of God.
When the Apostle John saw Jesus on His heavenly throne as recorded in Revelation 1:17, he wrote, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead." (NKJ) John was so overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ, he could not stand.
John goes on to tell us how Jesus responded to his worship of Him. "But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last.'" (NKJ) Though he was overwhelmed by the glory of Jesus Christ in Heaven, Jesus did not want him to be afraid of Him even in John's worship of Him.
Here is an exercise that will fill you with such awe and wonder that you will not be able to restrain yourself from fearing the Lord. Think for a moment how creation exists because God wanted it to exist. Think for a moment how humans exist because God wanted us to exist. Think for a moment how your very existence is because God wanted you to exist in intimacy with Him.
Just a moment... As I was writing, I had to stop and hit my knees for a moment singing a worship song to God. All of this also causes me to love Him more and to desire with all of my being to obey my God who loves me and lives in me! Let's all live free to fear the Lord!
Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding
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