Thursday, January 31, 2019

LOVE: Part 5 - Is God-Fearing Love a Contradiction?

Christianity is unique among all religions of the world.  According to the Bible, God is a living and personal God who created all things and seeks relationship with us through the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. This relationship will last for eternity in a real place called Heaven where Christ-followers in new bodies will personally recognize and enjoy relationship with each other for all eternity.   Christianity is also unique in its encouragement of virtues such as unconditional love. 

According to 1 John 4: 16, God is love.  Love (agapeo and phileo) originates from God and is expressed most fully by Christ-followers through a spirit of thankfulness and forgiveness.  I am planning to discuss these elements of love in PART 6 of our series of articles on LOVE.  But first, I want to address an often confusing question; namely, “How can a God of love be a Holy Judge who requires that we approach Him with reverent fear?”  A correct answer to this question is important.  The Bible teaches that we cannot acquire a spirit of thankfulness or express forgiveness to others unless we first learn to approach a holy God with reverent fear and respect.

What Does It Mean to “Fear God?”
The Bible commands us to “fear God.”  This teaching of Judaism and Christianity may be an immediate “turn-off” for you unless you understand what the Scriptures really say about the fear of God.  Moses used the following words, recorded in Deuteronomy 10: 12 (NIV), to underscore the importance of fearing God (emphasis mine):

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul


Notice the sequence Moses uses:  fear --> obey --> love --> serve He means that our love for God is made real to God only when we obey His commands in His Word.  In turn, obeying God as willing servants or stewards is grounded in reverent fear of God.  Fear of God allows God’s Spirit to empower Christ-followers to love and serve Him.

One of the purposes of the Old Testament biblical revelations of God was to teach fallen mankind to fear or show reverent respect toward Him.  For example, Moses reacted in great fear of God when he interceded for the people of Israel after they had sinned by worshiping the golden calf.  Moses wrote to Israel and to us, I was afraid of the LORD's fierce anger, because he was furious enough to destroy you; but once again the LORD listened to me(Deuteronomy 9: 19, GNT).  The author of the Book of Hebrews writes that when Israel gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai near the presence of God, The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear (Heb. 12: 21).

Love God…and Fear Him?
But how can a God whose anger and wrath incites great fear be called a God of love.  One explanation is that the word “fear” does not mean that God incites unhealthy fear or terror.  But, try explaining that to Moses!  Based on the writings of Moses, there should be no question that he had learned to “fear God.”

 I have often wondered how a fearsome God can expect us to believe He is a God of love whose commands are worthy of our obedience.
  I received my best answer to this question recently when I was checking the electrical circuit breakers in our basement.  Like most “breaker boxes,” ours contains two thick cables that connect electrical power to our home from outside utility lines.  The exposed wire within each cable is anchored to a contact within the breaker box by large screws.  From these contacts, electricity flows to and from individual circuit breakers, each wired into a separate circuit or path of electricity that serves to power individual appliances within our home—e.g. kitchen lights, furnace, etc.  Each circuit is protected by a circuit breaker which can be “thrown” in order to interrupt current flow in the event of an overload.



Knowing what I have just explained about electrical power, you can understand why I “fear” the inside of our breaker box.  I believe my fear is justified.  Touching the bear wires without insulated gloves could prove fatal.

By analogy, my question becomes, “How can I ‘love’ something like electricity that causes fear of death?”  The answer is found in the same sequence as the commands God gave to Moses:  
 fear --> obey --> love --> serve.  When I base my attitude and behavior on my fear (healthy respect) for electricity and don’t touch the wires, then I have nothing to fear.  As part of God’s creation, electricity “obeys” the laws of His creation.  Therefore, as long as I respectfully follow God’s unchanging laws governing electricity, I am safe from harm.  There are no unwanted surprises and I am free to enjoy, even “love” the benefits of having electricity flowing in and around me in our home.  Likewise, as Moses teaches us in the Scripture cited above, Jehovah God loves us and desires that we learn to love Him in return.  But we can only learn to love God when we first become aware of His awesome power and discipline, and then respond by offering Him our reverent fear and respect.


Fear Those in Authority Over Us
My illustration of a healthy fear and respect for electricity also applies to relationships with human authorities.  The basketball player who has a reverent respect for his or her coach has learned to be respectful because he or she knows the consequences of being disrespectful or lazy.  Athletes who willingly submit to well intended demands of their coaches will often develop a greater love and devotion to them, resulting in a more excellent performance in competition.

When we learn to fear God, we can expect that we will experience God’s love and the benefits of His love and mercy.  Wise King Solomon gave us a major principle at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction
. – Proverbs 1:7

Notice that Solomon’s teaching is very much in line with that of Moses.  The progression is: fear --> knowledge --> wisdom --> obedience (implied).   When we submit in reverent respect for God and His Word, our heart and mind are open to receive both knowledge and necessary wisdom to help apply that knowledge in God-honoring obedience.  And, God interprets our obedience as a language of love for Him.  In return, according to the psalmist, God grants us peace of mind.  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them (Psalm 119: 165).

In recent years, we have been struggling as a culture to render necessary fear and respect for those in authority.  News reports frequently report incidences of disrespect and threats of violence toward authority figures including the President of the United States, high court justices, law enforcement officials, and school teachers.  But we should have no reason to be terrified of those in authority unless they we have broken the law.  Law-abiding citizens should know “great peace,” being free from the fear of being arrested.  If we want to live quiet and peacable lives, we ought to obey the law; then, love and pray for law-enforcers who risk their lives daily to protect homes and communities.

No Fear of God Brings a Fateful Future
We should not be surprised by the behavior of those who choose not to fear God and who refuse give Him the reverent respect He deserves.  For example, in Romans 3: 9-18, the Apostle Paul describes the traits of the unrighteous human race as unprofitable with mouths full of cursing, bitterness, and deceit; their feet are quick to shed blood, and the way of peace they have not known.  In 2 Timothy 3: 1-5, Paul elaborates the behavior that will characterize “the last days:”

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

It is clear that those who refuse to submit to God in fear and reverent respect according to the progression of  fear --> knowledge --> wisdom --> obedience (implied), are instead destined to a progression that we might outline as follows:  no fear of God --> rebellion --> foolishness, ignorance of truth --> dysfunctional life (as described above).  Eventually, a godless approach to life leads to hopelessness, despair, and fear. 


In summary, we have explained that fear, or reverent respect, is essential to obeying God and God-ordained authority figures; and also, to obeying laws of nature regarding its potentially harmful aspects like electricity.  Likewise, fear of God motivates respectful obedience to His special revelation (His Word) and His general revelation (e.g. laws of creation regarding electricity).  Our obedience in turn demonstrates our love for God and opens our hearts to His love and peace.  Read 1 John 4: 13-18 which underscores the security that is assured to Christ-followers through God’s Word and the inner voice of His Holy Spirit.


The child of God who is secure in God’s love is empowered to express unconditional love through two actions that uniquely authenticate his or her Christian faith in daily practice; namely, thankfulness and forgiveness.  These virtues will be the subject of my next article, “LOVE: Part 6 - Humbly Received, Graciously Given."

Monday, January 14, 2019

Social Gospel, Version 2.0 - Social Justice

Scott Allen, president of Disciple Nations Alliance, compares the current social justice movement within Protestant churches today with the Social Gospel movement in the early 20th century.  According to Allen, "advocates of the Social Gospel believed the church should be engaged in the culture, fighting against injustice and working to uplift the impoverished and downtrodden—all admirable goals. The problem was they unwittingly allowed secular assumptions to inform their theology of cultural engagement."

Fundamentalists reacted to the Social Gospel movement by emphasizing the preaching of the Gospel and individual soul salvation largely to the exclusion of involvement in social issues.  Consequently, the evangelical church was caught unprepared to deal with emerging social issues of the latter half of the 20th century with a biblical worldview--issues like racial injustice and sexual morality.

Allen applauds evangelical social justice champions for caring about social issues like poverty, racism, and the refugee crisis.  Because of this commitment, he believes the evangelical church can avoid the unfortunate sacred-secular dichotomy that resulted from its reaction to the Social Gospel movement.  

But Allen is deeply concerned about the evangelical church because it has uncritically "absorbed many of the assumptions and much of the language of the social justice movement—assumptions that veer sharply from a Biblical worldview.  As a result, they find themselves unwittingly syncretized to a false religion, one that works against the very thing they purport to champion—genuine justice."

I would encourage you to read Scott Allen's complete article, “History Repeats Itself.”  Then, please respond with your thoughts and insights in "Comments" below.