Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.
Psalm 119:165 (emphasis added)

Fear robs us of our equilibrium. Fear robs us of our reason. Fear robs us of our time. “The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Everything about fear steals something. When something is done out of fear, there is always a negative attached to it. Even when we think we’re doing a positive. We teach our children to behave in the home primarily out of fear of punishment. Not to be scared or to tremble because of the punishment. Simply to weigh their actions and decide not to do A because then a punishment follows. But this doesn’t breed real obedience. This only makes them follow a pattern of behaviour so they don’t experience loss of freedom or loss of entertainment or whatever. You see it every day on the roads. Drivers are told not to speed or they will get a ticket. Consequently, they follow the posted limits… whenever they see a police vehicle. The rest of the time they speed and hope not to get caught. Not true obedience.

God created mankind in order to have fellowship with us. In order to have fellowship with God, we need to adhere to a certain standard of behaviour. God is righteous and we need to be righteous in order to be in His presence. Adam had that. Eve had that. Jewish scripture, when going through the days of creation, tells us that there was a first day, a second day, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and then THE sixth. The word is different. A character is added to the beginning of the word sixth that has the numerical value of 5. Rabbis teach that God was saying to Adam in creation that if you accept the Torah (the first 5 books of the Word comprising the totality of the Law), then all this will be yours. God offered a lot to Adam on the sixth day. Dominion, purpose, sustenance, authority, an equal partner, and fellowship with the Lord God Almighty. All Adam and Eve had to do was adhere to the principles of righteous living that they knew in their hearts. They didn’t do that. They fell. And we — as their genetic and spiritual descendants — share in that fallenness.

But God would not be diverted. God still wanted to fellowship with us. So the Law was given. It was not given to justify us before God because it cannot do that (Hebrews 10:4). As good as the Law is, it is not a tool for righteousness but for judgment (Romans 3:19). The Law was and is a signpost. It points to God (1 Peter 1:15-16). It shows the contrast between sin and holiness, between where we are and where God is and our need for a bridge (Galatians 3:19-20). And it shows the standard that is required for us to come to God and fellowship: “The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face—even Jacob” (Psalm 24:1-6).

There is a lot in the Law. A lot of things that mankind needs to do. God’s righteousness isn’t a joke. It isn’t a light thing. It is a huge thing. It is part of who He is. There is no getting around it. The Law was impossible to fulfil “For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). No human being could keep all the points of the Law. They could try and be really, really, really good at it. They can become fantastic people. But there will always be something that they fail at. The Law proves that we need a mediator. That we need someone to save us. The Law points to Jesus in a thousand different ways. And the Law is fear-based on face value. Fear? Yes, fear. Do this or that will happen. The same as what we were saying about children and drivers. It isn’t true obedience. It is only adherence to a set of rules.

But the Law wasn’t the first covenant. It is the third after the Fall. The sixth day was really the first, but it isn’t on the list because it was a covenant of natures. Adam and Eve’s very nature was righteous as God was righteous — they were the exact duplicate image of God. But they fell, so a covenant of agreement needed to be made. The first was the Noahic Covenant. Despite the fallen nature of humanity, Yahweh will not destroy the world again with water. He will preserve the world until a saviour can arrive (Genesis 3:15, and 8:20-9:17). The second was the Abrahamic Covenant. The vehicle by which the saviour would come. A promise of a huge family who will inherit a place on the earth to dwell in and by which the world will be blessed (Genesis 12-17). The third — echoing the pre-fall Sixth day — is the Mosaic Covenant or the Law. Which as we know promises blessing if they follow it and curses if they do not (Exodus – Deuteronomy). Follow the Law and stay where I can give you things, or walk out of my yard and into the curse that is on the earth (Genesis 3:14-19).

How can we do it? How can we keep our side of the bargain? We can’t. Humanity cannot. We need a Saviour. But the covenant of the saviour (the New Covenant) is different: “For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus paid the price for sin, nullifying the Law, and enabling us to be saved, washed clean, and live in righteousness. But we can’t do it on our own, we need to do it by Jesus and through Jesus (John 15). Seems simple. Jesus accepted as Saviour means fellowship with God and Jesus rejected as Saviour means no fellowship with God. But fellowship with God means heaven and reward. No fellowship with God means hell and punishment. Wait. Isn’t that just the fear-based obedience thing all over again? Isn’t that adherence, not obedience?

It wasn’t meant to be. It can be in order to get your foot through the door. You can choose to interact with God at that level. Sadly, whole churches have been built on and maintained on this model. But fear-based obedience isn’t real obedience. It is flesh-based. It can be in name only. Because it is simply a series of actions in order to get a result. God calls us to deeper things than that. Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.” That is more than just accepting Jesus. That’s fellowship with Jesus. We are again called to fellowship. “But let him who is taught in the word share all good things with him who teaches” (Galatians 6:6). Sharing with God who teaches us. Dining with the Lord. These are fellowship verses. These aren’t following rules verses. These aren’t you do and I’ll do verses. There is a place for that, but not as a threat. It isn’t do this and I will therefore bless you. It really is us being a certain way and finding ourselves in the blessing zone. What it really is about is love.

Abraham lived before the Law was given. He obeyed the Lord. He did not obey out of fear because there were no stated penalties for disobedience. He was simply asked to do things, and he chose to do them: “He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). His obedience was such a big deal that it was the basis for God’s interactions with Isaac: “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”” (Genesis 26:4-5). How is this love? 1 John 5:3 reads “For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.”

Abraham obeyed God out of love. But we don’t find things standing alone in the bible. Principles are echoed. James 2:23 tells us “So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.” A friend. In friendship, Abraham obeyed. And that obedience was credited to him as righteousness. He walked righteous before God and fellowshipped with Him as a friend. That was the basis of his covenant with Yahweh God. We have a better covenant. Why aren’t we counted as friends? Why aren’t we credited as righteous? Because so few of us ever get out of fear-based worship, that’s why.

As long as we are in spiritual primary school, we are never going to get into friendship. Can we abide in Jesus that way? Yes. Are we saved like that? Yes. Can we continue in the things of God like that? Yes. But it will be work. We will always be fighting the flesh over what WE are doing, what WE are accomplishing, and what WE don’t manage to get right. We will always be struggling in the matrix of Jesus-doing-it-faith vs us-doing-it-works. Which is silly. Just as works come from our faith (James 2:14-26), obedience comes from our love. That’s right. That’s the move to higher things. To leave fear-based obedience behind and travel into the realms that Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus walked. They loved God. They loved God and followed God. Abraham, Elijah, and Moses missed it sometimes. Jesus never stepped false. But all were motivated by love for Yahweh. They didn’t love because they obeyed. They didn’t obey because they loved. Because they loved, they found themselves obedient. In loving Yahweh God with their whole heart, mind, and body, they found that they kept the commandments of God.

We are in a new covenant. A better covenant (Hebrews 8:6). When we abide in Jesus we let Him sanctify us, which is the process by which we become more and more like Him. But if we love the Father. If we love Jesus. If we love the Holy Spirit. If we love God, there will be no struggle. Everything we do will be an opportunity. Just as every command from God was an opportunity for Abraham to show how much he loved God, every moment of our day is an opportunity for us to show how much we love God. It is simple and it is easy — if we love God. That’s all it takes. If we love God we will accomplish it. That’s what love is. It is a decision to behave a certain way toward another person. We can do the same with God. But with God, it is a guaranteed two-way street. And when we choose to actively love God, we allow God’s love in. When we realise how much God really loves us, we move from a decision to a way of living.
True, deep, and real love of God is more than lip-service. More than decision. More than singing songs and reading words. It isn’t I’ll do this so God loves me. God already loves you. He loved you when you were a heinous sinner. He loves you as a lip-service Easter and Christmas Christian. He loves you as a spirit-filled, faith-talking, terror-to-demons Christian. He loves you when you’re ordinary, extraordinary, plain, dazzling, single, married, parent, grandparent, teen, senior, and everything in between. He loves you. Period. This isn’t about His love for us. This is about us REALISING His love for us. When we truly understand His love, we will love Him in truth. If we love Him in truth, we will obey.

We’ll obey because He is righteous and in inhabiting Jesus we also will be righteous. We will do what He says because it is an opportunity to show Him that we love Him. We’ll obey because we want to see Him smile, hear His giggle, and see His guffaw. We’ll think of all those little ways we can show Him we love Him. Like caring for those around us. Making sure strangers are treated well. Seeing that our neighbours have great opportunities to succeed. Folding the laundry because we know that a neat and tidy house can help keep us stress-free. We’ll talk nicely to others even in the heat of the moment because they deserve it. We’ll stay people of peace instead of fighting, bickering, and disagreeing because we respect those around us and negative words have no positive effect. We’ll end up keeping the whole of the Law because it is the standard to meeting God and we cannot conceive of life without being face-to-face with Him. We won’t stumble because our every move and every step will be informed by our love of Yahweh God. That’s right. Love for God will prevent sin. Every time we sin it’s because we’re being selfish. Whenever we put God first, we don’t sin. Ever. It is possible in Jesus, impossible on our own.

We need Jesus in order to love God effectively. We need Jesus in order to understand the love God has for us. We need Jesus in order to express our love to God in response to His love for us. “For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

That we may know the width and length and height and depth of God’s love for us. We can know it. Jesus can show it to us. And when we see it? When we realise it? When we truly comprehend it? We will be filled with the fullness of God. Who is righteousness. Who is peace. In whom there is no fear. We will have great peace because we love the Lord, the Word, and His Law. We will not stumble, because when we are focused on the Lord there is nothing that can cause us to stumble. Every step is placed delicately, carefully, and with love in love on His love which is our all in all. It’s simple. It’s doable. And it IS possible. Seek Him. Seek His face. Every day. All day. Start today. When you move from fear-based to real obedience, it will be because of love and it will transform your life from a struggle against flesh to a dance of peace with Almighty God.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: The whole bible. All of it.

The Word is a love letter from Yahweh God to you and to me. Every page. Every word. Every dot and twiddle. It is Yahweh God trying to get across to you something that is the most important thing you can ever know: His love for you. It takes Jesus to get it to you. It takes the mind of Christ the Lord to alter our minds. To retrain them to see what they were designed to see. To move our consciousness from our pants to our prayers. To change who we present ourselves to be into who we really are. To leave behind ego and embrace our embracer. God’s love letter to us is honest and raw. It shows all that He has for us and it shows what we have done with it. It doesn’t aggrandise our disobedience, it just records it. But it only records it to show that while we run around like spastic drug-addled animals, He is steady. He is the rock we break ourselves against instead of the sheltering rock keeping our water calm. We’re called and designed to be tide pools teeming with life, not surf and turf at a Friday night dive. God loves us in spite of ourselves. God’s love never changes. God’s love never leaves. God’s love is a universal constant. Always has been. Always will be. He loves you. You can believe Him or not. You can reciprocate or not. But it won’t ever change. God loves you. As you. For who you are. You. He’s smiling on you right now and He is never, ever going to stop.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.