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Well, here we are again. I'm eager
to get started but before we jump in, I would like to remind
you of two things. First of
all, when I address the word “fear” in this teaching, I am NOT
speaking of a reverence or awe-inspired devotion to God.
I will be talking about a different kind of fear - to be afraid,
uneasy and apprehensive; to tread; to panic.
Remember these descriptive statements of fear from Part I?
“Or are the scales tipped, entrenched and anchored in fear?
A fear that taunts, ‘You don’t know how to believe.’
A fear that nags, ‘You aren’t doing it right!’ A fear that screams, ‘What if the gospel really is too good
to be true?’” YIKES!
That kind of fear needs to be addressed and laid to rest.
And that's just what we'll do...together.
Secondly, I want to remind you that we
have merely scratched the surface in our understanding of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. We will never
know the complete depth and width and breadth and height of what Christ
has done on our behalf. The
cross is that enormous! But
we do have the privilege of spending a lifetime learning and
understanding and experiencing more and more of the freedom, joy and
peace that is already ours in Christ Jesus. So, I hope this second part of my teaching, “Are You Living
In Fear?” will somehow help you experience more of the fullness that
is already yours in Christ. So
with that said, let’s get started...
Believe it or not, we’re going to
start our study on fear with a very familiar verse of scripture that
addresses our new identity in Christ.
You may be asking yourself what your new identity has to do with
fear. Well, first of all I
think we’re going to see that a new creation in Christ truly is new
– nothing from the old (including fear) has been brought forward into
your life in Christ. Secondly,
we would not be able to enjoy any of the incredible benefits of a “new
creature” without the finished work of Christ. And
ultimately, it is the cross of Christ that has answered the question,
“Are You Living In Fear?”
“Therefore if any man is in Christ,
he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new
things have come.” 2 Cor.
5:17
That’s right – “old things have
passed away (dead), new things have come (born).”
God has gone to great lengths to make you a new creation.
He has brought you from death to life, from sinner to saint, from
ungodliness into the righteousness of God and has set you free from the
Law (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:12-14; Rom. 4:5, 5:19, 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:16, 17;
Gal. 2:16, 21). He has done
all of this on your behalf in Christ because He loves you.
I know. Sounds like
were reviewing Christianity 101, doesn’t it?
Well, dear friend, let me remind you that we never outgrow the
pillars of the faith. We
stand firmly anchored in them as we continue to learn more and more
about this gospel of grace. And,
if you’ll just hang in there, I think you’re going to find out
something “new” about your identity in Christ!
Many, many times we speak with great
eloquence and enthusiasm about the characteristics that describe this
wonderful “new creation.”
We thankfully praise God that who we once were has been laid to
rest and we can now enjoy a new identity that has been secured on our
behalf by Christ. Halleluiah!
But ask yourself this question:
In all those conversations, how often have you heard anyone utter
these freeing words, “As new creations in Christ, we no longer live in
fear!” I know. I
don’t remember hearing that either.
- Did you know that
because of what Christ has done on our behalf we no longer reside in
fear anymore than we still remain in death?
Ephesians 2:4, 5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by
grace you have been saved).”
- Did you know that we
have nothing more in common with fear than we do with
unrighteousness? 1
Corinthians 1:30 says, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and
sanctification, and redemption.”
- Do
you know that we have the same relationship to fear that we do to
sin? Romans 6:11 says,
“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God
in Christ Jesus.”
- And, lastly, did you
know that we have been released from fear just as we have been
released from the Law? Romans
7:6 says, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died
to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the
Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
With all of those scriptures recounting
the things that we have been freed from, let’s ask ourselves a few
questions: Why would fear
continue to be a part of our identity as new creations?
To put it another way, how does fear fit into this absolutely
brand-new creature who is alive to God and serving in newness of the
Spirit? Would God, who is rich in mercy and love and grace, place us
into Christ along with a healthy dose of fear?
And why would God allow anything from our old identity in Adam to
remain behind to taunt a new creation in Christ?
Either it was all crucified with Christ at the cross or it
wasn’t. Fear and
all….once and for all.
Remember – I told you that the cross
of Christ was enormous! Because
of God’s great love for you and me, He lovingly sent His Son to the
cross so that we could be free from fear.
We can believe it because it’s true.
We don’t need to fear that He isn’t worthy of our trust.
We don’t need to be uneasy about His love.
We don’t need to be afraid anymore.
Did you hear me? God
is in charge. Matter of
fact, He’s so in charge that He’s taken care of everything that you
need, without any begging or pleading on your part.
He went beyond anything you would ever ask Him to do (Eph. 3:20).
He’s thought of absolutely everything!
And to drive this incredible truth
home, let’s look at one more scripture.
It’s another familiar scripture.
It can be comforting in many ways but can be hard to get your
arms around it, too. Let’s take a look at 1 John 4:18.
“There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the
one who fears is not perfected in love.”
First of all, this is great good news!
Again we see that love and fear have nothing in common, “there
is no fear in love.” Earlier
in the chapter (vs. 7, 8), John defines love by telling us that love is
from God and that God is love. Then
John further elaborates by using the word “perfect” with love.
I took some time to look up the word “perfect” in the Greek
and it is defined as “finished;
mature; wanting nothing necessary to completeness; eternal.”
Sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?
It brings to mind the greatest example of God’s finished,
complete, eternal love – the cross of Jesus Christ!
Secondly, because of the cross,
“perfect love casts out fear”. . .you don’t.
Perhaps you’ve always assumed that to be free of fear, it was
up to you to cast it out. And
that would probably mean that you’d have to do it over and over again,
right? But again, ask
yourself this question, “Now that I’m in Christ, haven’t I been
freed from “doing” so that I can rest in what He has done?”
You aren’t still asking for forgiveness, are you?
You don’t continue to work for your righteousness, do you?
No, no, no! All that
repetition ended at the cross – once and for all!
And so did that partnership of fear and
punishment. By way of the
cross of Jesus Christ, the debt of all the wrath and punishment towards
you was paid in full (Col. 2:13, 14; Rom. 5:9, 6:23).
You don’t have to worry about it any more.
Remember, the penalty for your sin and sins was nailed to the
cross. Just as punishment
no longer has any relationship to you in Christ, neither does fear.
Lastly, say good-bye to those feelings
of inadequacy and doubt when you read, “the one who fears is not
perfected in love.” Consider
this interpretation and I think you’ll see that it makes perfect
sense. “The one who
continues to live in fear though delivered from its terrible grasp is
incapable of rest. She is
not finished working. She’s
not secure or confident in what God has already done on her behalf.
She cannot let her guard down long enough to enjoy the love of
God.” What a terrible
state to live in, wouldn’t you say?
Who would want to remain in that place?
Absolutely no one! Praise
God that we have been rescued out of that old life. That’s why Jesus went to the cross on our behalf.
So that you could rest and I can rest.
And that’s exactly what I’m doing
these days. Especially when
it comes to gardening. I no
longer need to repair holes and tunnels in my flowerbeds.
Yep, that issue has been laid to rest.
However, I do need to update you on something regarding the saga
of Mr. Mole. I found that
once I had applied the permanent solution to my mole problem and saw
that it worked, I wanted to tell all of my neighbors!
I don’t know why I was surprised by my excitement but I was.
I guess that it only makes sense that when you find something
that actually works; you want to tell people about it.
And, that’s when all of this became
familiar once again. Telling
others about something that works.
That’s exactly how I feel about the gospel.
It’s not a method or a temporary repellent but the only
permanent solution for life. And
thank goodness the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer for fear just
like that old mole trap was the answer for a furry adversary.
Hey, I’ve got a great idea.
Why don’t you join me and together we’ll put them in their
proper place so they can rest in peace?
Just like you and me…resting in peace…and joy…and
freedom…and love.
I love you,
Marcy
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