So, how important is fear anyway?

[Akira Takahashi]

This is going to be a long story, but there's a point to it at the end.  Well, the title gives it away.

My siblings and I grew up in what a lot of people might describe as a dysfunctional home.  I won't name names, so I'll just say that my brother, L, is two and a half years younger than I, and N is around five years younger than I.  When I was eight, my parents divorced.  That's not a significant part of this story, just a trivial bit of information in case you don't read much mention of my father.

Fear was always important in our family.  My parents were never particularly eager to say the words, "I love you," to any of us, but we were constantly threatened to be thrown out of the house if we got bad grades, etc.  We were kept in line with fear.  We were taught to worship the Lord because we'd be damned if we didn't.

My mother in particular thought this was a good way to keep our lives on the straight and narrow.  We weren't allowed to do much, and there wasn't much room for grace in our home.  It was talked about, but it was seldom practiced.  By the time we were teenagers, we had learned to lie to avoid trouble, which also didn't do us any good.  I remember deciding to try and change my tune and made it a point every night to tell my mother that I loved her.  This wasn't out of fear, but out of true love.  I remember her reply was often a sarcastic, "Yep," or a very painful, "You too," as though she hardly bring herself to say the words.  This was usually followed by a wave of her hand that signaled to me that I was bothersome and should leave.

When N turned his back on God, I remember very well how my mom's first words to him were, "You'll go to Hell if you don't change NOW!"  She could have lightened it by saying something along the lines of, "I love you and don't want to you go to Hell," but her words only further distanced him.

Yoda was absolutely right when he stated that fear was the start of the path to darkness.  It leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to destruction.  Trust me, it's not just a movie quote, it's real.  In our fear, we grew angry with one another.  This led to hatred.  L was particularly dislike by both my mom and N, but especially by N.  N had decided that he hated the entire human race, became very racist, sexist, and would like nothing more than watch everyone suffer a slow and painful death.  I think he suffers from demonic oppression, actually.

I don't want to make everyone out to be a real bad guy.  After all, considering that my mother constantly wanted me out of the house when I was growing up, she provides me shelter now as I search for employment.  She just has some odd quirks, including believing that Revelation prophesises Russia's destruction, and she sincerely hopes to see that.  I personally don't want to see anyone destroyed.

Moving on, I was recruited to volunteer with my church's Release Time program.  I'm basically the guy who ensures that everyone behaves themselves.  After my first session, I have come to the conclusion that the newer generations of kids are just dumber than average, but that's for another thread.  :thumbdown:

Anyway, I never recalled learning much of Hell in Release Time when I was in elementary, but sure as the sun rises, the kids were reminded that, "We don't want to go to Hell.  When Lucifer betrayed God, he was cast into Hell.  We don't want that to happen to us for disobeying God."  My stomach churned, as it always does at the mention of eternal torment, but I sad quietly in the back of the room with my mouth shut.

Just last Sunday, we had a substitute preacher, since we showed our other one the door (again).  He was an interesting man in that he taught that we shouldn't worship out of fear of Hell, but out of love for God.  When it was over, I hopped into the car with Mom and we headed towards a local restaraunt to meet with my grandparents as we always do after the sermon.  According to our guest pastor, if we lived without the knowledge of Heaven and Hell, we probably wouldn't be too different than we are with the knowledge.  My mom quickly expressed her disdain for such a sermon, saying that we are meant to live right out of fear.  If she didn't have the fear of Hell, she said she would be a completely different person, sinful in almost every way possible.  She was taken aback a bit when I told her that I wouldn't be drastically different than I am today.  According to her, without fear, people would fall out of line, and its the doctrine of Hell that keeps people's eyes on God.  I feel that it turns people away, and I've seen that happen far too often.

So here's the question: how important is fear?  The Bible instructs us to fear the Lord, but what does that mean?  How should we worship, and does Hell actually turn people away from God rather than draw them towards Him.  It's a cynical age we live in.

Sorry that it was so long, but I wanted to demonstrate how fear actually works to divide people rather than keep them in line.  That's what I believe anyway.

[martincisneros]

So here's the question: how important is fear?  The Bible instructs us to fear the Lord, but what does that mean?  How should we worship, and does Hell actually turn people away from God rather than draw them towards Him.  It's a cynical age we live in.

Sorry that it was so long, but I wanted to demonstrate how fear actually works to divide people rather than keep them in line.  That's what I believe anyway.

There's a difference between what should have been translated as reverential awe or respect for God (perhaps "fear" included that idea in 1611), and terror, fear, apprehension, anxiety, dread, etc., which are all under the curse and according to the book of Revelation is put in the same category as sorcerers and adulterers that have their part in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone which is the Second Death.  We're told to meditate in the Word of God day and night so that we'll see how to do all that's written in there and then we'll make our way prosperous and have good success (Joshua 1:8).  That is our "fear," or reverence; to put Him first by putting His Word first place in our mouths, our minds, our bodies, etc. 

Putting God's Written Word as first priority and as final authority is the Scriptural definition of having the fear of the Lord.  It says that those that keep His Word in this way have the love of God perfected in them, according to 1John 2:5.  And 1John 4 says that perfected love CASTS OUT fear because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.  Fear is an enemy.  The Bible says at least 60 times to "fear not."  The KJV and translations that by their own admission follow in it's traditions says to not fear those that can destroy the body, but to fear him that can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.  Unfortunately, they capitalize the "h" in the word "him" to give the wrong idea, when Jesus was saying to be leery of false teachers, and in context He was saying to be leery of the Pharisees of His day.  Exercising good judgment about not getting too close to a rattle snake doesn't require for you to have fright in your heart. 

Running from adultery as Joseph did in the book of Genesis and as we're all told to in Proverbs doesn't mean having to be frightened.  It just means putting God first place in word, thought, and action.  Your heart will always go in the direction of your most dominant words, according to Jesus in Matthew chapters 12 and 13 when He said that a good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good things, while the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart produces evil things because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Jesus said in John 8 that if you'd continue in His Word in the way that He was continuing in the Word of the Father, then you'd know the same truth that He knew that kept Him walking in the light of life and you'd be just as free as He is.  Jesus later applied that to the words of the Apostles and said that if they've continued in My Words then they'll continue in yours as well. 

So, the whole New Testament, particularly from the perspective of all that we're redeemed from by His sufferings is the truth that we're to continue in that keeps all fear cast out of our hearts, torment out of our lives, and perfected love operating in all of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 13:8 says to owe no man anything but to love him.  The Amplified Bible translates that as to stay out of debt.  That would be the reverential awe of the Lord in pursuing His grace because He that was rich became poor at the Cross that we through His poverty would be made rich.  We become partakers in the fellowship of His sufferings by being made comformable to all that He purchased with His sufferings.  Our part of His sufferings is our deliverance.  And we partake of His sufferings through the Bread and Cup and not through becoming a rug for the devil and the circumstances of life when our life is hid with Christ in God. 

When the time had fully come, God chose to reveal His Son in our hearts, according to Galatians 1.  His Son is not in defeat and cowering before His Father.  Whether we sin or whether we don't sin, we run to the Father and He runs towards us and catches us and loves on us.  The Scriptural way to fear the Father is by obeying the Written Word and what the Holy Spirit tells you to do in your heart.  The Scriptural fear of the Lord isn't hiding in the bathroom with a bunch of fig leaves on you thinking that He's about to beat you bloody and senseless because you listened to the serpent and did eat what you shouldn't have.  Jesus cursed that fig tree because He doesn't want us ever wearing those leaves of fear and shame before God ever again!