Why is there so much FEAR? (Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Bible, prophecy)
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Location: THEN: Paso Robles, Ca * NOW: Albuquerque, NM
519 posts, read 1,698,183 times
Reputation: 262
Good OP .. the truth is the world is coming to an end [eventually] and that is part of God's plan. We can't prevent it. So, we shouldn't fear ... whichever prez candidate wins doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of [eternal] things.
(When we should fear God is when we as Christians have completely turned our back on the Lord and decide to go our own way instead of His.)
It is said in the Bible simply because sin is that bad in the site of the Lord. He said is it better to be chastened by your father than to be put into eternal separation from God.
As it was in Egypt when the children of God were separated from their father because they worship other gods. So in to their struggle to show his children the fear of the Lord, through Pharaoh in God's majesty.
Here's a study from my school and I learned from my teacher in seminary school.
If God is not slack in fulfilling His promises, equally certain is it that He will not be so in executing His threats. He has told us plainly in His Word how He regards sin and has faithfully warned us that He will by no means clear the guilty--that the penalty which He has pronounced shall surely be inflicted upon them. Sin, says the Lord, is that “abdominal thing that I hate” (Jeremiah 44:4) and the reality and intensity of His hatred will be evidenced by the vengeance, which He visits upon it. Dreadful beyond words, beyond our power to conceive, beyond the bounds of human imagination will be the doom of the damned, even the “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 7) Impossible is it for us to exaggerate the frightfulness of those torments, which are prepared for the lost; the most blood-curdling descriptions, which poets and artists have furnished of the same fall very short of the dreadful reality itself.
“Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear so is Thy wrath” (Psalm 90:11) It will be seen from the title of this Psalm that Moses was the instrument selected by the Holy Spirit for the writing of it, and his eminent suitability and fitness for this particular task appears in many of its details. Again and again he expresses therein that which comported with his own experiences and observations. Notably is that the case with the verse before us; Moses had witnessed the outpourings of God’s anger and the irresistible power thereof as none belonging to any other generation (save Noah’s) before or since has beheld. He had seen the horrible plagues upon Egypt, culminating with the death of all her firstborn. He had been a spectator of the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts at the Red Sea. He had been present when “there went out fire from the Lord and devoured” Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron
(Leviticus 10:1-2) because they had used strange fire in the tabernacle. Awe-inspiring demonstrations were those of the wrath of a holy God burning against them who scorned His. authority and insulted His majesty.
Well, then, might Moses exclaim, “Who knoweth the power of Thine anger?” Had he not also been present when “the ground clave asunder” that was under the feet of Korah, Dathan and Abiram so that “the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah and all their goods; they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the Pit, and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation” (Numbers 16:31-33)? He had witnessed the awful doom which overtook the unbelieving Hebrews when the Lord “sware in His wrath” that they should not enter Canaan, “whose carcasses fell in the wilderness.”
(Hebrews 3:11-18) What terrifying exhibitions were these of the Divine displeasure! How impotent is the creature when the Most High rises up to smite him--less capable is he then of defending himself than is a worm to resist the tread of an elephant.
“God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by Him.” (Nahum 1:2,6) When the Almighty shall come forth to execute vengeance upon His enemies, the whole Creation will tremble and so intense will be the fire of His wrath that this world and all that is therein shall be burnt up and its very elements “melt with fervent heat“
(II Peter 3:10). Then will be exposed those perversions and misrepresentations of the Divine character which men had fondly framed as a sop to their conscience and a salve to their fears. The shall be swept away their refuges of lies that God is too gentle and merciful to ever make good His threats. No confederacy of His foes shall be successful in withstanding the storm of His fury----though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished. There will be no avenue of escape available---His goodness had been abused, His mercy refused, so that His wrath must then be endured.
The fearfulness of the punishment awaiting the wicked was adumbrated in the unspeakable sufferings of the Saviour. Divine justice dealt with Christ as the Substitute of His guilty people and there was meted out to Him the penalty which was due them. Had Christ been nothing but a mere creature the awful punishment visited upon Him had utterly crushed Him, but because God had “laid help upon One that is mighty” He was able to “endure the whole wrath Divine.” Being God and Man in one Person, the Lord Jesus was capable of enduring infinite suffering--to endure compressed into a brief season that which shall be spread out through all eternity upon the wicked. How terrible the suffering, which the Redeemer experienced, is intimated in both Old and New Testament alike, where His inward anguish and His outward afflictions are made known to us. It is by solemnly and reverently pondering them that we are enabled to form some faint conception of the intolerable wrath, which God pays out to sin.
Concerning the Redeemer’s passion we read of “the travail His soul”
(Isaiah 53:11) ---that which His body received at the hands of men was nothing in comparison with what He experienced within from the hand of God. His inward anguish was evidenced when the full cup of God’s wrath was put into His hands. “Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say?” (John 12:27) He was put to such a strait that, considered as Man, He was in a manner nonplussed, at a loss for words. The horror of what lay immediately before Him was so great that He could not give expression to it. As our blessed Lord approached the Cross the horizon darkened for Him more and more. From earliest infancy He had suffered at the hands of man. From the beginning of His public ministry He had suffered at the hands of Satan; but at the Cross He was to suffer death at the hands of God Jehovah Himself was to bruise Him and put Him to grief, and it was this, which now overshadowed everything else.
In Gethsemane Christ entered the awful gloom of the three
hours of darkness at Calvary. There we hear the Holy One saying, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death--O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:38-39) He views the black clouds arising, He sees the fearful storm about to burst upon Him, He premeditates the unspeakable horror of being abandoned by God. “My soul is exceeding sorrowful”: the Greek signifies He was begirt with sorrow, that He was immersed in the anticipated wrath of Heaven. All the faculties and powers of His soul were wrung with anguish. Mark employs another form of expression, “He begun to be sore amazed” (14:33) -- a remarkable expression that to describe the God man! -- The Greek term denotes the greatest extremity of amazement, such as makes one’s hair to stand on end and flesh to creep. Mark adds, “and to be very heavy,” which intimates an utter sinking of spirit. His heart was melted like wax at the sight of the awful cup. Luke tells us that He was
“in an agony” the Greek word meaning to be engaged in a combat, for His holy soul shrank from encountering the undiluted wrath of a sin-hating God.
So intense was the Saviour’s agony, that cold as was the night, His sweat was
“as it were great drops of blood pouring down to the ground”
(Luke 22:44), yet no hand of man was smiting Him! And here we perceive the fitness of the place chosen for the scene of Christ’s terrible but preliminary suffering, for the “Gethsemane” means “the olive press” -- the olive press being where the life blood of the olives was pressed out drop by drop. It was indeed a fit footstool to the Cross, a footstool of an agony unutterable and unparalleled. On the cross Christ actually drained the cup, which was presented to Him in Gethsemane -- producing that terrible cry -- “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!” There it is we behold what a horrible thing sin is, what a terrible thing God’s wrath is, and what madness it is to contend with Him who will by no means clear the guilty. The death of Christ was “the wages of sin” and that death was a violent and cursed one, which had extreme anguish of soul and body going before and along with it. Said Christ, “For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry?”
(Luke 23:31) If God inflicted such sufferings upon the Holy One, what must be the portion of those who are full of sin, fit fuel for the flame!
Consider now the awful sentence itself: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) Mark the Judge; this is none other than Christ, for “God hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained”
(Acts 17:31). It is an error to suppose there is a greater austerity in the Father than there is in the Son toward sinners, imagining that the latter is easier to deal with than the former. So it is equally wrong to conclude the Son is more tolerant toward sin than is the Father, that He is more willing to acquit the guilty. The self-same One who cleansed the temple of its traffickers and who pronounced such awful denunciations upon the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23) shall in the Day of Judgment utter this irrevocable doom upon the wicked. Then shall they learn how terrible is
“the wrath of the Lamb.”
“Depart,” says He to them. “Depart from Me,” the alone Saviour, the One you scorned, whose easy yoke you refused. “Depart from Me”; get out of My sight; I never wish to behold you again. “Ye cursed”: O what a malediction! You have cursed others and now you are cursed yourselves--cursed in your bodies and cursed in your souls. You are cursed of God, cursed of angels, cursed of the saints, and henceforth you shall curse yourselves for your folly and madness. All your curses shall now recoil upon your own heads. “Into everlasting fire”: the most fearful and tormenting of the elements. “Into everlasting fire” which because of its intensity is termed “a furnace of Fire” (Matthew 13:42), even
“the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” (Revelation 21:8) The stench of the brimstone rendering it the more intolerable. It is “unquenchable fire” for the wrath of God is inextinguishable, and “everlasting fire” for an eternal God shall preserve eternally all who are cast into it.
Last edited by TheWordIsOne; 11-04-2008 at 11:44 AM..
Reason: Adjusting letter
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding. As we mature, the Spirit testifies within us that we are His and that fear becomes respect. When we walk upright before the Lord, we are His friend, and He is our daily companion. So, to remain in fear of the Lord, is to maintain ourselves within respect of the Lord.
To add the OP's statement, fear is the result of a lack of faith. So many are overcome with fear due to lack in their relationship with the Lord. We are told that faith comes by hearing the Word of the Lord. But that hearing is more than listening. Will you hear what He is saying? Will you believe and exercise according to what you have heard? There are so many things which side-track Christians. Lust, idolatry, fornication, unbelief and murmuring all set us back and work to silence the voice of the Spirit which resides within us. Without that voice testifying within us, then we are left to our own powers and devices. In such a case, there is real reason to fear.
God is the Father. He is our provider. David said in one of his psalms, "I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." We truly have no reason to fear. It is said that "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" So where is my cause to fear? Only in my unbelief and faithlessness.
If you fear, then you are missing the peace which comes from God, an incredibly indescribable feeling. I sometimes waver myself, but note that this is a sign and signifies that there is something which needs to be addressed. A quick reorientation and placing it all in His hands will most often result in that which vexes quickly dissipating. Trials are meant to build strong foundations. Be sure that yours is placed upon on the Rock.
Ghandi loved the teachings of Jesus
He wanted to go to church and was denied access
He saw the hatred and oppression and horrible acts done by Christians but loved Christ
So what stopped him? Never stop Jesus, was mocked, pierced, spat on, crucified....................................but yet he wanted to go to church and did'nt because he was denied access? He saw the hatred and oppression and horrible acts done by Christians, but loved Christ?
Is'nt this the very reason that Christ came, and is coming again?
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding. As we mature, the Spirit testifies within us that we are His and that fear becomes respect. When we walk upright before the Lord, we are His friend, and He is our daily companion. So, to remain in fear of the Lord, is to maintain ourselves within respect of the Lord.
To add the OP's statement, fear is the result of a lack of faith. So many are overcome with fear due to lack in their relationship with the Lord. We are told that faith comes by hearing the Word of the Lord. But that hearing is more than listening. Will you hear what He is saying? Will you believe and exercise according to what you have heard? There are so many things which side-track Christians. Lust, idolatry, fornication, unbelief and murmuring all set us back and work to silence the voice of the Spirit which resides within us. Without that voice testifying within us, then we are left to our own powers and devices. In such a case, there is real reason to fear.
God is the Father. He is our provider. David said in one of his psalms, "I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." We truly have no reason to fear. It is said that "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" So where is my cause to fear? Only in my unbelief and faithlessness.
If you fear, then you are missing the peace which comes from God, an incredibly indescribable feeling. I sometimes waver myself, but note that this is a sign and signifies that there is something which needs to be addressed. A quick reorientation and placing it all in His hands will most often result in that which vexes quickly dissipating. Trials are meant to build strong foundations. Be sure that yours is placed upon on the Rock.
Hey Scamp!!
Long time no see!! Nice to see you again. Great post and I agree with you all who said with Christ in our lives there is no reason for fear. We lay all our fears and concerns at His feet and should have great peace in our lives no matter what is going on around us.
To the OP....I believe what you are seeing is apprehension and worry, more than fear maybe. Could you elaborate more on who you were referring to? Do you mean Christians or just people in general?
If Ghandi believed Christianity was a religion based on fear, he really never understood Christianity.
I think he believed in Christ but it`s the highjacking of Christ message by the church some 500 yrs later later that changed his message and turned it into one of fear.
To the OP....I believe what you are seeing is apprehension and worry, more than fear maybe. Could you elaborate more on who you were referring to? Do you mean Christians or just people in general?
I guess I am seeing fear in regards to terrorists, presidential outcome, worldly events etc., "end times", etc. but I guess I am saying that if you live as God's people what is there to really fear? If you believe your salvation is assured by repenting, believing in him and trying with your heart to follow him, what is there to fear? Think of how easy we have it compared to those who have paid for their faith with their very lives.
I see it in Americans in general and some Christians.
I love this hymn :
1.
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevaling.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabbaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
3.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
4. That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.
I guess I am seeing fear in regards to terrorists, presidential outcome, worldly events etc., "end times", etc. but I guess I am saying that if you live as God's people what is there to really fear? If you believe your salvation is assured by repenting, believing in him and trying with your heart to follow him, what is there to fear? Think of how easy we have it compared to those who have paid for their faith with their very lives.
I see it in Americans in general and some Christians.
I love this hymn :
1.
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevaling.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabbaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
3.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
4. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever.
I understand what you mean but to me it's not fear that you are seeing. Not from people such as myself, who are Christian fundamentalists or the like. I know you are not a big fan of the talk of the end times and neither are a lot of other people but what we are directed as Christians to do is to WARN. We talk about it a lot not out of fear, but out of duty to uphold God's directives in His Word.
We talk about it because it is real and it's happening now. Yes I know that everyone says that Christians have been predicting and setting dates for centuries and once again I will say that what people have said or done in the past doesn't change the prophecy that has been fulfilled, beginning with the most important in 1948. We ARE finally, actually, most definitely, for certain, no doubt about it because of what the Bible teaches in the last days before Christ's return.
We talk about it to warn others. Even if they scoff, even if they don't listen, even if they don't care....because it's what God says to do. But here's the thing....they hear it. They hear it because they argue with it, scoff at it and laugh it off. When all hell breaks loose and they are looking for answers, they will remember what was said in what seems to be just idle conversation to them. Some will turn to God, some will submit their lives to Jesus Christ, some will believe. That's why we do it. There's no fear on our end of the things to come, just sadness and fear for people's souls. And I like that hymn also.
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Sin
Great post and I agree with you all who said with Christ in our lives there is no reason for fear. We lay all our fears and concerns at His feet and should have great peace in our lives no matter what is going on around us. 
