FEAR
Isaiah 41:10
Acts 18:5-11
March 22, 2009
This is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and we continue to look at some of the hard issues of faith. We’ve examined suffering, loneliness, and persecution. Today we look at fear. A newborn baby comes into this world with three preconditioned fears; a fear of loud noise, a fear of falling, and a fear of sudden approach. These are preservation instincts. Most children have shed these fears by ages two or three. That means that every other fear we have in our lives is a learned behavior. In theory once we shed those newborn fears we should live the rest of our lives without fear of any kind. In practice, we accumulate fears throughout our days, and most of us die with a lengthy list of fears. And yet, God repeatedly tells us not to be afraid.
When an angel appears to a human their first words are almost invariably, “Do not be afraid” (Genesis 26:24; Matthew 28:5; Luke 1:13, 30, 2:10). For centuries the assumption has been that angels have such a dramatic appearance, such an awe inspiring presence, that they strike terror into the hearts of those who behold them. And so, the angel must calm the hearer down before they can deliver their message. However, when you read the description carefully the angel is usually described as a fair young man (Acts 1:10). That is not a scary description. In fact, the image is pretty non-threatening. More recently another theory has begun to gather favor. Angels are messengers, that is what the word angel means. It could be that the first words out of their mouths are actually part of the message. It could be that along with everything else God wants us to know, his first and overriding message is ‘stop being afraid’.
Does that mean that when a criminal points a gun at us we have no cause for anxiety or fear, because God has told us not to be fearful? No! Not at all! When we are presented with a frightening situation our bodies experience a pre-programmed response called ‘fight or flight’. Adrenaline is dumped into our bloodstream, our heart rate increases, we breathe more rapidly, our muscles begin to tremble and we sweat. Our body prepares to either run away, or meet the threat with violence. We have absolutely no control over this response. In fact, this is how God himself deliberately made us. Using fear to keep us alive is not outside of the will of God.
What about simple phobias like fear of snakes, or spiders, or being confined in a small space? Is God angry about those? Not really. God is disappointed when we alter our lives because of foolish phobias. If someone refuses to come to church on Sunday morning because their might be a spider somewhere in the building – God is disappointed; but not angry.
Then, what is he talking about, “Do not be afraid”? He is speaking about those profound fears which cripple and diminish us as persons. There are three profound fears; fear of non-being (or death), fear of meaninglessness, and fear of fate (unpredictability or uncertainty). These are the fears that destroy our relationship with God, and our relationships with other people. These are the fears that damage us. John Calvin says that these three profound fears; non-being, meaninglessness, and fate, are what brought false gods into our world. These are the fears that cause us to chase after shadows and ignore the light.
The fear of fate, unpredictability or uncertainty, can take many different forms. There is fear of the unknown (should I take the new job or not? What if the new job looks better than the old job, but it really isn’t? But, I hate the old job. Should I take the new job or not?). There is fear of failure (Should I go back to school? College is hard, I might not make it through. People will know that I didn’t make it. I better not even try.). There is fear of raising children (what if I make a mistake? What if I’m not a good parent? What if I mess my child up? I better not have children.). There is fear of abandonment, which is an almost exclusively female fear (He is a horrible husband who gets drunk and beats me. But, what if I can’t find anyone else? What if I end up old and alone? I better stay with him no matter what.). And, there is fear of not measuring up, which is an almost exclusively male fear. John Eldredge says every man is haunted by the question, “Am I really a man? Have I got what it takes when it counts?” Or, am I going to fail my wife and my kids again?
The fear of non-being, or death, is pretty straight forward. It’s one thing to exercise and eat healthy to prolong your life. It’s another thing altogether to spend a fortune being cryogenically frozen in hopes of being reanimated in a thousand years. The fear of meaninglessness is really a fear of misplaced faith. What if Jesus didn’t really come back from the dead? What if all of the Apostles were lying? What if another religion is right and Christianity is wrong? What if no religion is right? What if there isn’t any God, there isn’t any life beyond death, what if nothing we do while we’re alive matters?
Aren’t these fears actually pretty reasonable? Shouldn’t a thinking person of average intellect or higher spend time wrestling with these fears? No. While you’re wrestling with it, it’s an issue. When you succumb to it, it becomes a fear. Issues are OK, fears are not. We examine issues, we are controlled by fears. The Lord God takes a very negative view of this. “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).”
Is it shocking to you that cowards are listed alongside the faithless and murderers? Of course, we have to define cowardice. Running away from a man with a gun is not cowardice. Cowardice is being controlled by your fear; letting your fear rule your heart. Cowardice is when you abandon God’s will for your life, when you throw away relationships and opportunities for happiness and growth, because you are paralyzed by fear of fate, or non-being, or meaninglessness.
Throughout Scripture God attacks the profound fears. God attacks the fear of the unknown. God sends both Abraham, and later his grandson Jacob, to live in foreign countries (Genesis 15:1; 46:3). When they are frightened by this he reminds them great reward requires great risk. If they trust him, they can trust the circumstances in which he will place them. God attacks the fear of failure. When Jesus comes walking on the water the Apostles are astounded. Now his appearance doesn’t come with a ‘don’t try this at home’ disclaimer. Instead, he says to them, “You’ve never seen anyone do this before. But, have the guts to get out of the boat and give it a try yourself (Matthew 14:27).”
God attacks the fear of raising children. He reminds us, the children don’t belong to us anyway (Proverbs 2:1-22; 14:26). Children belong to God, who allows us to watch over them for a short time. Instead of being fearful of the responsibility we should be grateful for the opportunity. God attacks the female fear of abandonment. King David writes, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10).” There is no place we can go that God is not with us. We are never alone.
God attacks the male fear of not measuring up. God says, “You’re afraid you might fail? Let’s get this out in the open right now. Anything you do on your own will fail. But, that’s good. That way, anything you do that succeeds is proof of my involvement (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Because you’re weak my strength can be witnessed. God attacks the fear of death. Death is not the end; death is the doorway to what is next. Death is the price of admission to being in the direct presence of God himself. Jesus says, “"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him (Luke 12:4-5).” We have the unlimited power to do good in this life, because we do not fear the potential consequence of physical death.
And, God attacks the fear of meaninglessness; the failure of faith. With the exception of John, the Apostles were hunted down and murdered – one by one. It happened over the course of many years. And yet, not one of them ever changed their story. They maintained Jesus came back from the dead. Why would they let themselves be slaughtered for a lie? They wouldn’t, that’s completely unreasonable. The Apostle Peter says they have never lied to us about Jesus (2 Peter 1:16). The Apostle Paul says if Peter wasn’t lying, and Jesus really did come back from the dead like he said, then we can trust everything else we have been told – including the fact that God is real, heaven is real, and Jesus is the only way to get there (1 Corinthians 15:17-22).
Now, can bad things happen to Christians? Absolutely! Are we supposed to be excited about that? No, not at all! But, we do not submit to cowardice. We do not let fear control our relationship with God, or with others. God has never promised us that bad things will not happen to us. But, he has promised that whatever happens to us will, in the long run, be for our benefit (Romans 8:28). God has never broken a promise, so we can trust him to look out for our ultimate well being. I don’t like dieting or exercising. But, I will submit to the pain of dieting and exercising because I know that in the end I will be better off. Therefore I do not fear diet, or exercise. I do not like the idea of fate, or non-being, or meaninglessness. But, I know that if I follow the will of God whatever happens to me will be a blessing. Therefore I do not fear fate, or non-being, or meaninglessness.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).”