The Fear Power Gospel

 

We live in a world where we often feel vulnerable. There are earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides, etc. As children were often scared of spiders, snakes, and large dogs.  There is much in our physical world to be afraid of.  But beyond the physical world, there is also the world of men.  We may experience the fear of rejection or the fear of failure. If we’ve lost a loved one, we may develop the fear of abandonment. In other words, we often feel powerless and vulnerable in this world. Fortunately, we don’t feel this way all the time. Unfortunately, we do feel fear more often than we would like.

You may be interested to know that this was not the original design. God intended for humans to live in close fellowship with him, always feeling his protection and his love. We were to live in a world that was safe- in a world where we had control over the forces around us. But unfortunately, man decided to go his own way, and when he rebelled against God, man opened himself up to vulnerabilities that he never would’ve imagined. If you know the story of the Garden of Eden, you’re familiar with what happened. The serpent in the story represents Satan, the devil, and he tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God.

 Because of their rebellion mankind experienced two dramatic changes, one within their heart and one in the world around them.  We call this The Fall. The Bible teaches that we live in a fallen world. The world is not the perfect environment that God originally created, and because of this, we are susceptible to the powers of nature and the powers of the spiritual world around us.

 As little children, we may be scared at night of the shadows in our room or strange noises.  As we get older the concern about the invisible world still lingers.  Even though we may be trained to think as materialists, our instinct tells us there is something more.  We may worry that the spiritual realm could cause us harm.  Sometimes this threat is a product of our imagination.  Other times we may be discerning something very real, though invisible. The bible tells us that there is indeed a spiritual war being raged around us.   

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

 Because God loved us so, he never intended for us to stay in this fallen condition. He provides a solution for the sin and darkness in our own hearts. He protects us from the dangers of the spiritual world around us.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

A rebellion deserves punishment. The Bible says "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). The result of our sin is spiritual death. But God has a solution. God becomes a man fully God, fully man. In other words, he sends his son to come and pay the penalty for the sin- the penalty we deserve. He dies a cruel death on a cross, taking our punishment on himself. But that’s not the end of the story after three days he rises from the dead and ascends to heaven. Through this sacrificial act the powers of the evil world are defeated, and death is conquered.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

 When we turn to Christ and receive him as our personal Savior, the penalty for sin is taken away, and the power of sin is broken. Just as Christ gained victory over the forces of darkness, when we are in Christ, we no longer must worry about the things that have typically scared us so. We can be assured that God is now our heavenly father, and we can trust him for our safety and security. We also know that he loves us, and nothing can ever separate us from his love in Christ. Even though we live in a world where there are many powerful forces all around us, whether they be forces of nature or spiritual forces, we can be assured through a close personal relationship with God we have peace and safety.

 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:38-39)

 Consider

1. What scares you the most?
2. How will trusting Christ help you conquer your fears?

All passages in this post were taken from The New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).