Tag Archives: fear of death

JESUS, THE GOD-MAN – 9

Bible Study, ,

THE GOD-MAN – THE PRISON

Escape from prison! That must surely be uppermost in the mind of every prisoner. They devise the most detailed and daring plans to escape from their incarceration, only to be caught and caged again, in another set of walls. Their so-called “freedom” is now bondage to fear, the fear of being apprehended again.

This mirrors people’s attitudes in life! Whether their prison is of their own making… the consequences of foolishness… or the imprisonment others force on them, their passion is the same. They want to be free!

Some think the way to freedom is to cancel the rules. Others try to dodge the rules or to outrun their consequences. None of these “solutions” work.

People don’t understand that their bondage is not in circumstances. Changing circumstances, even moving to another country, doesn’t equal freedom. It only changes the environment of one’s imprisonment. No matter where you go or what you do, your prison walls are still around you and will go with you.

What, then, is the real nature of our imprisonment?

I have discovered, in the pages of Scripture, that the terrible and inescapable chain that binds us is fear. It’s the prison we live in because of who we are and what we have done.

Fear has two faces, the fear of death and the fear of punishment. Fear is written into the DNA of our fallen humanity…

Adam himself voiced his reason for hiding from God.

Genesis 3:8-10 NLT
[8] “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. [9] Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” [10] He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

We are God’s creation. Despite evolution’s lie, His ownership, in His moral law, is written into our conscience. We know what is right and wrong from our earliest years. His ownership demands obedience and accountability, both of which are out of reach for all humanity because of the sin nature and the sin in us. So, we live with fear. Fear is the accuser that we either deny or we try to escape in ways that drive us deeper into sin’s clutches.

Fear has two arms that grip us and enslave us every day of our existence, and colour our opinion of our Creator. We run from Him as our Judge, not to Him as our Saviour.

One arm is the fear of death.

Those who don’t know Him hate Him because they know that He exists and that He is a just God. They know that death will get them, and after death, judgment. They try by every means to escape Him, even denying His existence in the face of undeniable evidence, as if cancelling Him will disconnect us from Him.

Romans 1:18-20 NIV
[18] “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, [19] since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. [20] For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

The Bible says that atheists deny that God exists because they love their sin. They have one passion, to live as they please without accountability.

Psalms 14:1 NIV
[1] “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”

Atheists know that judgment is coming but do all they can to dodge it.

Psalms 50:17, 21-22 NIV
[17] “You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you…
[21] When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you. [22] “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you…”

The other arm is the fear of punishment.

Punishment is the inevitable outcome of justice. God has not chosen rehabilitation. He knows this is not only impossible but nonsense because of our sin nature. His holiness demands just retribution for rebellion against His sovereignty.

Although these two arms, fear of death and fear of punishment, are not expressly explained in Scripture, we have, by the way they are mentioned, the powerful truth that it was Jesus, in His atoning sacrifice, that brought the antidote to fear.

How did Jesus deal with the fear of death?

Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV
[14] “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— [15] and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

As the God-man, He took death on the chin for us. It’s as simple as that. The God-man died in our place. He could do that precisely because He was an honest-to-goodness, true-blue human just like us. He was not born of a sinless virgin, as some believe, but neither was He born a sinner. He was the last Adam, born with the nature of the first Adam as God had created him.

Jesus died the death of a sinner, but rose from death as the conqueror of sin and death. He was the first of the harvest of all mankind to rise from the grave, some to glory and some to everlasting shame and darkness.

1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23 NIV
[20] “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
[22] For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. [23] But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

Even now, Jesus reigns in glory until He overcomes all His opposition…

1 Corinthians 15:25-26 NIV
[25] “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

This glorious truth prompted the Apostle Paul to write…

1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 55-57 NIV
[51] “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— [52] in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…
[55] “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God Himself confirmed this victory cry!

Revelation 21:4 NIV
[4]” ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Death to death and the fear of death! It is this truth that frees us from the fear of death.

And what of the fear of punishment?

Jesus has equally, effectively, destroyed the fear of punishment. Truth, again, dispels that fear.

Romans 5:1 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Peace with God replaces fear.

Romans 8:1-4 NIV
[1] “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Did you get that?

Jesus died in our place to cancel our debt and to silence the voice of the condemnation our sin deserved. No punishment for us because justice has been served!

So, what of the fear of punishment that still lurks in our hearts? Like a stalker who trails another in secret, fear is a stalker that needs to be exposed.

God has provided, with one stroke of His pen, the glorious antidote to the fear of punishment.

1 John 4:18 NIV
[18] “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.”

What is this love that evicts fear from our hearts?

Jesus tells us the answer.

John 15:9 NIV
[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love….”

…and asked the Father to make it happen.

John 17:20-21, 23, 26 NIV
[20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…
[23] I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me…
[26] I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

It’s our faith in the unconditional, indestructible love that God has for us that will deal the final death-blow to fear. Since nothing in heaven, on earth, or even in hell, can separate us from that love, we are safe, secure, and unconquerable in this life through that love that glues us like superglue, to God Himself.

Romans 8:31, 35, 38-39 NIV
[31] “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
[38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To be continued…

SOS (Part 2)

Christian Life, , , ,

SOS (PART 2)

Yesterday, we explored the truth that Jesus came to reveal the Father. This has far-reaching implications for us. If God is our Father, it follows logically that we are His sons and daughters. What does that mean for us? How can we be sure that we are the children of God?

In the beginning, God created the first human being to be His son. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus ends with these words, “Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3: 38). Although Adam sinned and alienated himself from the Father, he never ceased to be His son; in fact, the entire human race, born in the likeness of Adam, continues to be God’s family, although estranged, because no one can be “unborn” even though he might reject his parents.

Jesus came to reconcile His estranged children to the Father and bring them back into the circle of His family to share in the life and love of the Trinity. “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them… (2 Cor. 5:19). Despite those who insist that Jesus only died for the elect, the testimony of Scripture is that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (John 3: 16), and that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Of course, this does not mean that everyone lives as a child of God. The full enjoyment of our status as God’s children depends on our acceptance of Jesus’ death as payment for our sin and our return to Him as our Father to live in obedience to Him. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in us to empower us to be who we are, the children of God.

Before we returned to fellowship with God through faith in Jesus, we lived as slaves – under the usurped authority of the devil whose lies we believed. He kept us enslaved to himself through masquerading as Lord. He lied to us about the Father, insisting that God was out to get us and that our adversities were God’s way of punishing us for our sin. He made us his slaves by keeping us captive to fear.

Satan rules by fear. Every human being has an inborn fear of death and punishment. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus set us free from the fear of death.

Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death, He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb. 2:15-16).

We were all slaves to the fear of death but we are free now to live in the fullness of our position as sons and daughters of God.

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 (1 John 4:18).

We were all slaves to the fear of punishment but Jesus paid our debt in full, for all time.

Why, then, are so many of God’s children still slaves to the fear of death and the fear of punishment when His Word clearly states that God did not give us the spirit of timidity (fear) but a spirit of power of love and of self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7)?

Paul assured his Roman readers:

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ (Rom. 8:15).

Is it because we have never fully embraced who we are in Christ? Many of the children of God behave no differently from the people in the world. They are touchy, sensitive, defensive, insecure, controlling, and full of emotional baggage.

In Christ, we are a new creation, forgiven, power washed and accepted in the Beloved One. From God’s perspective we are already holy and complete. We have been raised with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly realms. We are no longer subject to the devil or his lies. We have God’s Spirit within us to reveal Jesus to us and to lead us into all truth. there is nothing more that God can do for us. Jesus declared with His last breath on the cross, “It is finished!”

The biggest problem is always unbelief. The writer to the Hebrews warned his readers:

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first… Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it (Heb.3:12-14; 4:1).

We are not slave but sons. Jesus has redeemed us from slavery to fear by His own blood. We can live fully in the confidence that God loves us with perfect love and will always to for us and in us what is for our best and for His glory.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Do you like this post? Then buy your own copy of my book, Learning to be a Disciple, which is also available from www.amazon.com or www.takealot.com in South Africa. You can also order a copy directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com

Watch this space!

My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

 

No Fear Of Death

Bible Study, , , ,

NO FEAR OF DEATH

Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says:

‘I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.’ And again, ‘I will put my trust in Him.’ And again He says, ‘Here I am and the children God has given me.’

Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of Him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb. 2: 11-15)

No fear of death! Wow!

Why does the believer in Jesus no longer need to fear death? Because he no longer fears punishment! Jesus shared our humanity and took our punishment so that we are free to come home to the Father and to His perfect love.

There is no fear in love. But perfect loves drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4: 18)

Death has lost its terror since Jesus faced death for us and overcame. Death was the devil’s trump card because he knew that death was final and sealed the fate of all humanity. There was no escape and no return from death. Jesus took death on the chin for us and came back in a resurrection body that can never die again to tell us that He conquered death once and for all.

The devil went one step too far by having the Son of God put to death. He thought he would destroy Him forever and the chance for mankind to be rescued from his clutches. Death is the penalty for sin, but Jesus did not sin. Therefore death could not hold Him forever. He passed through death and returned to declare that God’s estranged children were free to return home. The Father’s wrath against sin had been satisfied. Satan no longer had the power to hold us in death.

This was God’s final and most powerful act of perfect love. What seemed to be folly and weakness was the most powerful power in the universe – the power of love. Love accepted the worst that sinful people could do to an innocent man without retaliating. Jesus bore the injustice, the insults, the physical agony and even the horror of being abandoned by the Father with nothing but perfect love. He forgave in the midst of His pain and died without a murmur or a word of rebuke or a threat of revenge.

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2: 23)

Everything Jesus accomplished through the cross culminated in one thing – God’s children are free to return home. The implications are huge. Home! That means back to the Father’s dwelling place where we are safe in the Father’s care and eligible to participate in all the benefits and blessings of family life together with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

God is a family. He made us to be part of His family. He gave us His name; we are free to live with Him in His home; we have an inheritance with the Son; we share in all the resources, privileges and blessings of life in the family of God and we have the responsibility of representing the Father to the unbelieving world by demonstrating what it is like to live in God’s kingdom.

How amazing that we are actually brothers and sisters of Jesus and, what’s more, He’s proud to call us His brothers and sisters! How can that be? Because, through His death He has made us holy! Holy? Yes, holy, set apart for and belonging to God. We have share in the nature of God (2 Peter 1: 4). We have the same nature as the Son. We are part of a new race made in the image of the last Adam, our elder brother Jesus.

And we are free! Free to live life to the full because we have no fear of punishment or death. When death comes, we go home to the Father’s house to dwell with Him forever. And we die in the hope of resurrection because our Brother, Jesus, rose from the dead – and He is the firstfuits of the resurrection and the guarantee that we, too, will rise again.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.