Truly Fear Things (Matthew 10:28-33)

Truly Fear Things (Matthew 10:28-33)

 

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

 

Intro)

The Old Testament often uses the phrase "revere God" or "fear God" instead of the word "faith" or "believe God." In these cases, "revere" and "fear" are synonymous with "faith" and "believe." Those who do not fear God are those with a fault in their faith. This lack of fear is often related to one's sins.

 

Those who fear God fear nothing else in the world. on the other hand, those who do not fear God are afraid of everything and anything. God tells us in 1 Samuel 2:30, "30 ...for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

 

It is easy to gauge how true one's faith is based on whether or not they fear the Lord. Those who truly know and believe in Him know, not only of His love, but of His wrath and power. Those who fear God are not loud, boastful, rude, or arrogant before Him; they revere, fear, and respect Him. 

 

How do people who fear God live? What is it that they fear? 1. They fear they will go against or ignore His word. 2. They fear they will sin. 3. They fear they will forget His grace.

 

Body)

1. They fear they will go against or ignore His word.

 

Psalm 66:2 says, "These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word." In other words God does not look on with favor at those who are not humble and do not tremble at His word. God will watch over those who hear and fear His word.

 

When I was younger I was told that I should respect my parents and my teacher equally. I was told you should hold your teacher in high regards and never talk back. But these days, teachers receive no respect. Students and parents look at teachers as their equals, or even subordinates, and question their authority. Some people look down on them, attack them, or sue them over something petty.

 

Just as a child who respects his/her parents and fear their reprimands, we must fear and revere God's word. Those who do not fear can never be true believers or a true Christian. There are many who claim to be believers, but do not fear God nor do they have any serious regard for His word.

 

Proverbs 13:13 says, "13 Who so despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Why did Judah, built by King David, fall at the hands of Babylon? It is because they persecuted and murdered God's prophets.

 

King Saul fell because he failed to obey God's word. King Saul started with such strong faith and was moved by the Spirit, but even he eventually turned to fortune tellers. Because of this sin, he died on the battlefield with his son.

 

Those who fear His word are protected and rewarded. Those who ignore and dismiss His word are cast aside and led to failure.

 

2.  They fear they will sin.

 

Psalm 4:4 says, "4 Stand in awe, and sin not..." Those who truly believe in God and truly fear Him, are afraid to sin. If you truly have faith, then you fear sin and its consequences. If you're only conscious of your sins when people are around or when people are watching, then you do not truly fear the Lord or believe in Him.

 

Our lives are not eternal and judgment day is inevitable. God watches and sees everything in every corner of the earth. He knows everything we do and every hair on our head. If we believe in God, and believe He sees everything, we should be afraid to sin at all times.

 

If we do sin, we must know to feel remorse, grief, and lament our wrong doing. If you sin and feel no guilt, then your conscience has been destroyed. It is said that when Martin Luther recognized and acknowledged the evil of his sins, he nearly fainted from the horrifying realization. His sensitivity and awareness of sins led him to start the Protestant Reformation. We must all be aware of our sins.

 

Joseph was afraid to sin. He was so terrified to sin that while he was a servant to the Egyptian captain of the guards, Potiphar, Joseph chose to be imprisoned than to accept the seduction and advances of Potiphar’s wife.

 

"7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:7-9)

 

It is not that Joseph didn’t have the instinct or desire to sin; he was the same as any other human. But his fear of the Lord and sin kept him from evil, and as a result God rewarded Him with great blessings and honor.

 

One must fear God and fear sinning. only then will God make you great. Rather than chase the temporary pleasures and rewards of sin, we must remember the eternal consequences those sins will bring us.

 

 

3. They fear they will forget His grace.

 

 Hosea 3:5 says, "5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days."

 

The Bible is telling us that we mustn’t just fear God’s punishment and judgment, but we must also fear the grace, blessings, and goodness He bestows upon us. But what does it mean to fear his grace, blessings, and goodness?

 

It means that we must not just be thankful to receive God’s blessings, but we must realize how lowly, meager, and undeserving we are of God’s infinite grace. After a long and arduous ordeal, David finally became King and he said, “8… Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (2 Samuel 7:18) He was awed by such a blessing and thought himself undeserving.

 

In Genesis 32:9-10, it says about Jacob: "9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands."

 

When Jacob ran away from his home, he had nothing in his possession but the staff in his hand. But after years of laboring for his uncle, Jacob was in possession of “two bands.” Genesis 32 shows us just how massive “two bands” is:

 

“13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.”

 

This was only part of Jacob’s ownerships. This is just what he gave to his brother, meaning his total wealth was far greater. If Jacob gave 1/10^th of his possessions to Esau, that would mean he owned roughly 2000 sheep, 2000 goats, 300 camels, 400 cows, 100 bulls, and 200 female donkeys.

 

God has already given us amazing blessings: salvation and eternal life. And He has promised us even more blessings throughout our lives. But if we have no sense of fear or awe before such grace, then we are thankless and arrogant humans, who God will eventually cast aside. When things are going well for us in our lives, we must be wary of taking it for granted and forgetting to give thanks to God.

 

We must always fear the Lord and to appear before Him. We must fear ignoring or going against his words. We must always fear sinning and genuinely repent when we do. When we are blessed and joyful, we must remember to give thanks to the Lord and be in awe of His generosity despite our how undeserving we are. To have true faith means to truly fear and revere God.          <110417 Ik Sun Ahn>