Accepting God's Grace
I found a news story from back in 2014, "Today, the Ebola virus spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids... But some of the nation's top infectious disease experts worry that this deadly virus could mutate." Dr. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Minnesota, said, "It's the single greatest concern... in my 40-year public health career, I can't imagine anything... that would be more devastating to the world than a respiratory transmissible Ebola virus." "As of October 1st, there have been more than 3,330 Ebola related deaths in this recent epidemic according to the World Health Organization..."
That was back in 2014 - and obviously 3,300 deaths is serious - but they had no idea what was coming in 2020. The Dr. stated it was his 'single greatest concern' - and after seeing what even a 'lesser virus' could do, I'm curious what his thoughts would be now...
I think we'd all agree, after experiencing all we have to this point - fear is a powerful thing, isn't it? Fear can make a person drastically change their lifestyle. Fear can make a person behave in ways they otherwise wouldn't have. Genuine fear can be a powerful motivator.
I want us to start out this morning by looking at the question, do many follow God...
I. Out of fear?
Is fear our only motivation in following Jesus or in 'going' to Church? Are we afraid of Hell? When we see the 'picture' of God painted in the Old Testament, it's certainly easy to understand how that might be the case. We see the wrath of God portrayed very vividly when God orders His people to wipe out entire nations - men, women, and children. In II Samuel we read of a man named Uzzah who was immediately struck dead just for touching the Ark of the Covenant. And this command was given in Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)...
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (13) and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Moses told the Israelites - God's chosen people - to fear God. The fear of God is the basis for many accurate 'fire and brimstone' style sermons. Describing the wrath of God and the agony of Hell can be very effective at influencing people's decisions and choices. And the reality is...
A. Fear works
Many people have made decisions to follow Jesus based on a fear of punishment; of Hell. Fear works - fear motivates. In the very first Gospel sermon in the book of Acts, Peter spoke about the last days and "blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood..." And the people were convicted and cried out, 'What shall we do?' And about 3,000 people accepted Jesus and were baptized that day.
In 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, Jonathon Edwards preached a 'fire and brimstone' sermon entitled, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God". It's the most famous sermon of a massive time of revival in what's called 'the first Great Awakening' and one of the most famous sermons in Christian history. The summary of the message was, "It's only the mercy of God that keeps people from falling into hell, but God is free to withdraw that mercy at any moment." Edwards used vivid illustrations of hell and the brevity of life to compel people to consider the reality of their eternal destiny and to persuade them to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.
The message was effective, and 280 years later - we're still talking about it! I don't expect people will be talking much about what I say in a few days. And even though I'm not much of a 'fire and brimstone' kind of guy - I can't really critique a great preacher like that. But there's an insight here that I don't want us to miss - either from Jonathon Edwards' message or Peter's on the day of Pentecost. There is certainly an accurate call to fear God - but neither Peter nor Mr. Edwards used only fear as a motivation. Because, fear can work...
B. ...to a point
Fear can bring an immediate response, but once the immediate 'danger' appears to have passed - it's very easy for us to fall back into old habits. Back in the Old Testament we see a cycle - God's people would have peace and prosper but then disobey God, God would then lift His protection, the people then got themselves into trouble, they got scared and cried out to God, then God rescued them from their enemies again and then had peace and prosperity - and then the cycle repeated itself over and over and over...
And it's easy to look at that cycle and judge people back then - but I don't really think people now are all that different. When I was a kid - the fear of a spanking went a long way in motivating me to do the right thing. Our response to fear can change as we grow. And it works that way in our spiritual life, too. When we first give in to temptation with any particular sin, there may be some quick repercussions. When we get caught lying or stealing when we're young - we get punished and we learn to associate pain with sin.
When we get older - sad to say - we seem to get better at avoiding the immediate consequences of sin. Either we ignore the pain that sin causes or worse yet, we think we 'got away with it' - and our fear starts to fade. The problem is, we may have avoided the 'here and now' consequence - but pain always goes hand in hand with sin. We may be able to avoid the pain for a while, but there are always consequences of sin.
It used to be in our society, the majority of people believed the truths of the Bible. The reality of Hell had a lot of influence on people who took the time to think about it. Now, many feel we've outgrown 'silly Bible stories'. 'Hell is just made up', they claim- and fear loses its power.
That's why the sermons I referenced earlier of Peter and Jonathon Edwards didn't speak only of fear. Yes, they both spoke of punishment - but both also prominently focused on God's mercy as our only source of hope! Many people miss this - God doesn't want us to obey just out of fear or to avoid pain. It's not God's primary objective to 'smack us down' when we sin. He does hate sin and the pain it causes - but punishment isn't what He desires...
I Timothy 1:15-16 (NIV)
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. (16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
God is patient with our sin. But since God takes sin seriously, He came in the flesh to take care of it personally. So fear can motivate a person - but fear may not be the best long term motivation. So, should we perhaps follow God...
II. Out of love?
Some may obey God out of fear, but ultimately God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Fear might be a starting point for many - but love is a longer lasting motivation. The power of fear may fade away, but the power of love will last. "That's the power of love", to quote the great theologian, Huey Lewis - he's not wrong...
Luke 10:25-28 (NIV)
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (26) "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" (27) He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (28) "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
We are saved by grace. The eternal consequences of our sins have been taken away through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Our response of gratitude to that undeserved gift should be love. And as we grow in our understanding of what we have actually been saved ...'from' - when we understand the punishment we deserve and realize the incredible gift that we have been given instead - that response of love should grow, rather than fade.
But here's where it gets complicated...Love is better than fear,
A. However...
It is absolutely true that love is better than fear as a long term motivation - but (and here's the thing many people seem to miss) - just because love is better than fear - doesn't mean we completely abandon fear. God wants us to respond to Him in love - but the fear of God, the fear of Hell is part of the Gospel story. Jesus frequently talked about eternal punishment and separation from God. He said, in Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)...
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (14) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
And then in Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)...
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' (23) Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
And also...
Matthew 13:40-42 (NIV)
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. (41) The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. (42) They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
If you take the truth about Hell out of the message - the 'Good News' isn't really a big deal. If you downplay the 'awfulness' of Hell, if you just take away fear, if you simply ignore punishment and if everyone gets to Heaven, no matter what - why did Jesus have to endure the agony of the cross...? What was the point...?
The beauty of God's boundless love only makes sense when you understand the seriousness of Hell. Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to endure Hell so that we wouldn't have to. Love is greater than fear - but what's better is an understanding of...
B. Love AND Fear
The message of the Gospel isn't complicated - but I wouldn't call it 'simple' either. God's plan to bring His creation back to Him is about His relationship with us - and any relationship of any worth is a bit multifaceted. I want to look at a handful of passages to show you what I mean, starting with 1 John 4:18-19 (NIV)...
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (19) We love because he first loved us.
Based on this passage alone - one might understand that The Apostle John was saying that all fear has no place in love. But a key piece of understanding The Bible is interpreting scripture by scripture. Keeping that in mind, we also see this in Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)...
Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism (35) but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
And we also see the words of The Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)...
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
So who's right? Is John correct and both Peter and Paul are wrong? This isn't some contradiction in scripture. When we follow Jesus, when we put our trust in Him, when we love Him - knowing that He loves us - we don't have to lay awake at night being afraid of dying and going to Hell. We can be secure, knowing that Jesus' grace is enough to save us. But we should also have enough healthy fear, a healthy respect of God's greatness and power to not take that grace for granted.
John 3:16-18 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Our natural position as flawed humans is to head our own way which leads to Hell - to separation from God. God, in His grace and mercy sent Jesus to keep us from taking the step off of that cliff. We should obey God out of love, and continue to obey Him with a healthy fear of what our destiny would be if we ever rejected His free gift of grace.
So What?
It's not my goal this morning that you walk away afraid that God is going to strike you down if you make Him angry. But I do want you to have a healthy fear of God born out of love and respect for His power, His righteousness and Holiness. I want you to reflect on both the power of fear and love! Just because God is an infinitely loving God doesn't mean he's safe.
If you don't have even a moderate healthy fear of God's power - you probably don't really know God. And if you don't really know God, how can you truly love Him? God loves us so much that Jesus gave His life to provide a way for us to boldly come into God's presence without fear - but never take God's power for granted.
We've all seen those who claim to be believers, who know God's truth, but still live a life in opposition to it. And I'm not talking about when we slip, or accidentally sin and then ask forgiveness and repent and try hard not to do it again. I'm talking about people who know something is wrong, that it is sin - but who go ahead and willingly, intentionally choose to do it anyway. We've seen Christians who have repeatedly cheated on their spouses, who've committed crimes, who have made choices in direct opposition to the revealed Will of God. That only happens when there is no fear of God; no fear of punishment.
But when you love God AND have a healthy fear of God - when you do mess up, you confess your sin, you repent - you humbly seek forgiveness, then God in His infinite love will show grace and mercy. Love God. Fear God. Seek God, and because of the love and fear - serve Him by sharing the Good News with someone this week!