No Fear in Christ
Why don’t Christians seek God beyond themselves?
Why are people too shy to confront the living God?
Why do we have to feel intimidated, scared, unworthy, or in denial of this problem in our lives?
If we haven’t accepted Christ as our savior, I believe the only reason may be our sin, which brings a separation between us and our Holy God. But if we have repented of our sins, accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have become sons of God, I believe we need to go back to the Bible to find the solution to this problem.
No Fear in Love
We often claim that God is love (1 John 4:16). We preach to others saying that God loved us so much that He sacrificed His only Son for us (John 3:16). The Bible says, “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). So how is it that we, who have believed in Jesus and experienced the forgiveness and love of God, still live under this fear? Is God’s love not perfect? Or can it be possible that we have not yet experienced God’s love as it is?
Paul says, “You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” (Rom 8:15)
I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ contains the answer. Paul the apostle talks about this issue extensively and emphasizes the fact that the gospel in its simplicity has the power to save us and deliver us from this bondage (Rom 1:16).
Law or Grace?
If we read the following verses in sequence, we can easily see what the good news concerning this issue of fear is all about.
“For the law was given through Moses” (John 1:17)
“Through the law we become conscious of sin” (Rom 3:20)
“The power of sin is the law” (1 Cor 15:56)
“The result of one sin* was condemnation for all men” (Rom 5:18)
“Death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12)
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)
“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Rom 10:4)
“By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” (Heb 8:13)
“Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law” (Rom 3:19)
“Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Rom 6:14)
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:21)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1)
“Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
Let us see in more depth what the above verses tell us.
I believe that the only reason why we Christians still have fear and feel condemned is because we are still conscious of sin. The reason behind this is that we have not yet accepted the new covenant of God in its entirety, or as Paul would put it, we have set aside the grace of God (Gal 2:21).
The Issue of Sin
What do I mean? I mean that we have not yet realized that we are no longer under the law because God has made a new covenant with us through Christ and has canceled the old one. The Law was given through Moses to make us conscious of sin, but grace came through Jesus Christ to free us from sin. We need to realize that God has granted us His everlasting love and has poured out all of the punishment, which should have fallen on us, on Jesus. Since all punishment is settled, that means that there is no more punishment left for us, therefore, no reason for fear. God does not condemn us anymore (Rom 8:1), but we still do! We have been made righteous in Christ Jesus (Rom 5:19), yet we still live our lives afraid of approaching Almighty God in boldness to receive this grace and use it for the advancement of His kingdom (Heb 4:16).
This means that sin is no longer an issue with God. Do I mean that we can sin as much as we want and it won’t make any difference? Well, yes and no. Yes, because that is not God’s standard anymore and it won’t add or reduce an inch from our worth in Christ, and “No!” because sinning consciously now would be just a stupid thing to do. Why? Because now that all the punishment of sin has been settled and a life of righteousness is granted, why would we go back into slavery of sin when we can live our lives free, as sons and daughters of God on earth through His Holy Spirit?
Freedom in Christ
What we have missed to realize is that we are free in Christ and we need to stand firm in this freedom (Gal 5:1)!
Paul says, “’Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Cor 6:12) What we Christians have been stressing is the second part of this verse, namely “not everything is beneficial”. We keep preaching about how destructive sin is, about the curse that it brings to our lives, about how it has been inflicted on our lives due to our past and so on… But we fail to see that without realizing the foundation of the first part of the verse, we can never be empowered not be slaves of those sins. Paul continues, “’Everything is permissible for me’—but I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor 6:12) What Paul is saying here is that the truth that although “Everything is permissible for me”, I have the freedom not be mastered by anything. Some Christians stress the first part of the verse and consider everything permissible for them and fall into sin, while others are too cautious not to sin considering almost everything “non-beneficial” and restrict their lives in Christ by focusing on the harmful things and are never able to enjoy the freedom Christ has set them free for (John 8:36).
It is only freedom in Christ that allows us to be empowered by God, to approach Him and accept His grace. It is only this freedom that can make us want to welcome the Holy Spirit in our lives. How can we ever stand in this freedom and accept Him fully if we are still living our lives under condemnation and fear? It is impossible.
I believe the only threat to our Christian lives is not sin, but the danger that comes from not abiding in Christ (John 15:5), by not standing firm in this freedom (Gal 5:1). Paul rebukes the Galatians by calling them foolish because they had been deceived and forgotten that it was their faith in God’s grace that saved them and had fallen back under the “law of sin and death” (Gal 3:1). They should have remained in that grace.
The Power of the Gospel
We read in Acts 13 how the people wanted Paul and Barnabas to preach this gospel of forgiveness of sins again to them on the next Sabbath (Acts 13:42). Paul and Barnabas “urged them to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43). “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” (Acts 13:44)
What would make an entire city come out of their homes to hear God’s word? What is this power that can bring an entire city out of their comfort zones, out of their hiding places and gather them in one place?
This is the message that they were preaching to them:
"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39)
Paul says the following in the letter to the Romans, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Rom 1:16-17)
Only this gospel (this Good News) of God’s amazing grace has the power to free us and empower us to live holy lives, to live our lives for Him. We should keep our freedom, with which this gospel set us free, so that the power of the gospel may be manifested throughout our lives, so that, like the apostle Paul, we could be certain and proclaim with absolute boldness that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13), no fear, no condemnation and no guilt, only children of God who dare to proclaim God’s power boldly!
“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”
(Proverbs 28:1)
