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When I call to remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I
am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that
thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on
of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but
of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
-2 Timothy 1:5-7, KJV
What do you fear?
Do
you feel fear when you think about giving complete and absolute
responsibility to God alone for your righteousness? Does it scare you to
think of giving up all hope in anything that you have done, are doing,
or could do to make yourself right with God in exchange for casting all
your confidence on Him? If so, your fear is telling you something. It is
telling you that because of either your misunderstanding of
the gospel
or your unwillingness to submit yourself to God’s gift of
righteousness, you still have some shred of hope in your flesh to be
right with God.
Ralph
Waldo Emerson wrote: “Fear always springs from ignorance.” He is
partially correct. There are a lot of things I am ignorant about that do
not produce fear in me. I do not know anything about rocket science,
gourmet cooking, or Australian Rules football but that ignorance does
not make me fearful. Why? Because I have not given them any importance
in my life nor do I see any consequences to not being informed on these
topics. Therefore, if I don’t know or feel like I am right with God, I
will experience the fear that springs from ignorance.
Fear
has its origins in seeing something as significant and beneficial to
oneself, wanting it, not understanding how to get it, and then realizing
the consequences of being without it. Fear is fueled and exasperated by
doubt and unbelief. As to righteousness, you first have doubt that God
has provided righteousness for you already in Christ. Then you try to
earn it on your own because you know and believe it is crucial to your
eternal destiny and to your peace of mind here and now. Unfortunately,
you fail again and again to live up to the level of performance you are
convinced God requires of you and, because you have rejected your only
other option to attain righteousness (the gift of God), you then spiral
downward in a suffocating sense of fear from your failure.
The
cure for fear is trust; trust that is put in no one else but your
Savior. When your trust is in you and what you can do, fear will be the
inevitable end. When your trust is exclusively in Him, peace of mind is
your reward and fear flies right out the window. David wrote, “When I
am afraid, I will put my trust in You (Psalm 56:3, NAB). Faith overcomes
fear. Faith in Jesus Christ and in His completed work on your behalf
extinguishes fear.
You
have been set free from the imprisonment of performance-based
righteousness to which religion tries to enslave you. According to Paul,
“you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you
have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father”
(Romans 8:15). Come out from the cell you have locked yourself in for so
long and enjoy your freedom in Christ. He died so that you might be free
so take Him up on the gift!
The
perfect love of God is redeeming, forgiving, and reconciling love. He
provides all that is necessary and more for the good of the one loved.
John wrote, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not
perfected in love (1 John 4:18, RSV).
The
perfect love of God takes away punishment. The one who is anticipating
and dreading the punishment of God for his shortcomings does not
understand the redeeming love of God. He either believes that God was
incapable of reconciling him to Himself or He believes that he is
capable of completing the task either alone or with God’s help. Both
misconceptions insure a life lived in fear and anxiety, never knowing
the peace of God and the joy of one’s salvation.
Someone
once said, “Action conquers fear!” Friend, I encourage you to take
action so you can overcome your fear. No, I am not urging you to return
to “church” or become more active. I am not suggesting you pray
more, tithe more, or even read your Bible more. The “action” I am
talking about is both trusting in what your Savior has done and giving
up on what you can do. All of your attempts to make and keep
yourself right with God have brought you nothing but fear, condemnation,
and misery. Why? Because you have failed. You have failed and now it is
time to do the wisest thing you could ever do. Rest all of your
confidence in your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...plus nothing.
Peace
of mind, security, assurance, joy, and thanksgiving will then rule your
heart and your days of fear will end!
Grace and peace to
you always!
John
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