“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7 NASB1995)
This is Jesus speaking. He was speaking to his disciples. And if we are his disciples, by faith in Jesus Christ, then this is for us, too. For what he said here can still be applied to our lives today. It is not limited by time.
We are not to be afraid of other human beings or what they might do to us, especially to the point to where we will compromise our faith and convictions and our testimonies for the Lord and for his gospel out of fear of abuse, rejection, and persecution. But we should be bold in our testimonies for the Lord, in the power and wisdom of God, and for the advancement of the gospel of Christ so that many will hear and will believe in Jesus, will turn from their sins, and will now follow the Lord in obedience to his ways.
[Jeremiah 1:4-19; Matthew 10:24-28; Philippians 1:12-14; 2 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Peter 3:13-17; Revelation 2:9-10; Acts 23:11; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10]
Instead, we are to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. We are to take God and his word seriously, believing that what he says he will do, that he will do it. And we are to have a respectful fear of God which gives him honor, worship, reverence, devotion, and love, and obedience to his commandments. For his word teaches us that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we will die in our sins, and that we will not have eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess with our lips.
[Matthew 10:28; Luke 1:50; Acts 9:31; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 3:10-18; 2 Corinthians 5:6-11; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Philippians 2:12-13; Hebrews 5:7; Hebrews 12:28-29; Revelation 11:18; Revelation 14:7; Revelation 15:4]
For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).
And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. They have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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Fear God, Not Man
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