Fear is an emotion experienced by a man
and beast.
It can be a powerful motivator to escape danger.
We often see this in nature films where impalas
and other herd animals flee from becoming a
hungry lion's dinner.
Caribou instinctively run from wolf packs, sensing
that it's not a good idea to stick around to see
what these canines are up to.
Fear also motivates us.
We fear volcanic eruptions.
Those who aren't moved by fear may learn the danger too late.
Such was the case when Mount Vesuvius erupted on
August 24, 79 A.D., spilling hot ash into the
city of Pompeii and turning those who failed
to take warning into statues depicting first
century life in the licentious Roman city.
Who or what do you fear?
Heights?
Water?
Public Speaking?
Death?
Or are you one who claims to fear nothing?
What about God?
Do you fear Him?
Should you fear Him?
The answer may surprise you.
Stay with me and I'll give you the answer straight from
the pages of the Bible.
♪
A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at
Tomorrow's World, where we look to the God of the
Bible for answers to life's most important
questions: What is man?
What is the purpose of life?
Why death?
And where is our world headed today?
On this program I'll be discussing the important
subject of fear, and specifically: Should you
fear God?
There are many references that speak of the fear of
God in the Bible, but what exactly does this
expression mean?
Psalm 111:10 tells us:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A
good understanding have all those who do
His commandments.
His praise endures forever.
Note that the Psalmist connects fearing God with
understanding God's commandments which results
in giving praise to God.
And Proverbs 1 and verse 7 explains that:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Note here that fearing God is contrasted with the
rejection of wisdom and instruction.
Clearly, the fear of God is depicted as good.
It's the very foundation for true wisdom and knowledge.
God calls those who reject Him, who hate His
commandments, and who refuse to acknowledge his
rule in their lives, as fools.
Note Psalm 53, verse 1:
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good.
It should be obvious, even from these few Scriptures,
that fearing God has something to do with how
we behave, how we conduct our lives.
But what exactly does it mean to fear God?
We often hear people soft-pedal the fear of God
by saying it simply means to respect Him.
Now while fear involves respect, we must not make
the mistake of thinking that fearing God is
limited to a nebulous "respect" for Him.
The Bible, for very good reasons, makes the contrast
between fearing God and fearing man.
Notice Jesus' warning found in Matthew 10:28:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell.
Yes, it is God who has the power of life and death,
and while it is natural to fear men, it is God that
we must fear the most.
When called before the council and threatened, we
read how the apostles reacted to the questioning
that they were given in Acts 5:29:
But Peter and the other apostles answered and
said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."
Another example of having right priorities is found
in the book of Daniel, where King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up a giant statue and commanded all his
subjects to bow down before it.
The penalty for not doing so was to be burned alive.
Now what rational person would not be fearful of such a threat?
It's our nature to fear getting too close to a
fire, and for good reason.
Probably all of us have made that mistake at one time
or another, and learned a painful lesson.
Three associates of Daniel refused to bow before the idol.
Anyone who thinks that Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego did not have a natural fear of the king
would be naïve.
After all, Nebuchadnezzar held the power of life and
death over them and he gave them this choice that we
read of in Daniel 3:15:
Now if you are ready at the time you hear the
sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery,
in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall
down and worship the image which I have made, good!
But if you do not worship, you shall be cast
immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?
What would you have done if you had been in their shoes?
Remember, you know the end of the story.
They did not.
While they feared the king, they had a greater
fear, and that was of God.
Here is their bold response to
Nebuchadnezzar's challenge, beginning in verse 16:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and
said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no
need to answer you in this matter.
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able
to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and
He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that
we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the
gold image which you have set up."
As I'm sure you can imagine, this reply was
not what the dictatorial king expected.
He was not used to anyone defying a direct command
from him.
We read of his rage in verse 19:
Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the
expression on his face changed toward Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace
seven times more than it was usually heated.
As any Bible student knows, Nebuchadnezzar
wasn't bluffing.
The three young men were thrown into the furnace,
but God supernaturally spared them.
Do you believe this, my friends?
Do you realize that many of today's clergy reject
Biblical miracles such as this, and even reject the
resurrection of the One they claim to worship?
No wonder many mainstream churches are teaching
doctrines contrary to the Bible.
One doctrine some reject is the law of God,
claiming it no longer needs to be kept.
Yet, as we have seen, Daniel and his three
friends kept the law against idolatry.
They did so because they feared God more than the
most powerful man in the world at that time.
Our resource--The Ten Commandments--explains in
detail how different our world would be, if
everyone feared God and kept His commandments.
It goes beyond the letter of these laws, and shows
the spiritual intent of them as Jesus demonstrated
in His Sermon on the Mount.
Our resource--The Ten Commandments--is a must
read for anyone who truly fears God, and is
courageous enough to step out in faith to truly obey God.
So order your free copy of The Ten Commandments, by
calling the toll free number shown on your
screen, or going to TWTV.org/TEN.
And when I come back after this short break, I'll
show you why the fear of God is crucial for true believers.
For today's free offer call...
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straight from the pages of the Bible.
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Welcome back.
The topic of today's Tomorrows World program is
the Fear of God.
What is it?
Why is it important?
And can you be resurrected to eternal life without it?
The late Dr. Roderick C.
Meredith wrote the following in a 2004
Tomorrow's World article titled, "The Fear of God":
All professing-Christian churches and ministers
know Jesus' foundational teaching of living by
every word of God.... Why do they directly
contradict this inspired command....
Why do they persist in calling themselves
"Christian," yet directly contradict dozens of the
clear teachings of the very Founder
of Christianity?
Why?
Frankly, they do this because God seems "far
off" to most of them.
He is an unreal or vague intellectual concept to
many--including some who are highly educated in the
colleges and seminaries of this world.
Put simply, they do not have what the Bible calls
"the fear of God."
Now, I must ask: Could that be you, my friend?
Note this passage from the prophet Isaiah in the 66th
chapter and in verse 2, and ask yourself: Is this
the way that I study the word of God?
But on this one will I look: On him who is poor
and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
In other words we fear to distort or take lightly
what it says.
Instead of trembling at the word of God, the vast
majority of so-called Christians reason around
clear and unambiguous statements.
When Jesus said He was "Lord of the Sabbath,"
they reason that He really meant that it's okay to
choose whichever day we want to.
When He said in Matthew 5:17:
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law
or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
They reason that He kept the law for us so that we don't have
to--the Law and the Prophets were nailed to
the cross, they reason.
And they effectively do the exact opposite of what He said.
Anyone who reads the verses that follow should
understand that, rather than doing away with the
law, Jesus raised it to a higher standard, saying:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, "YOU
SHALL NOT MURDER, and whoever murders will be in
danger of the judgment." But I say to you that
whoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment.
Not only did He say it was wrong to harbor hatred
toward another, but
He went on to explain how His servants would strive
to keep the 7th commandment to a
higher standard:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You
shall not commit adultery." But I say to
you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How is it that many mainstream professing
Christians, including ministers, certainly not
all, but many, believe that the Ten Commandments
no longer need to be kept?
What is it about these commandments that people
find offensive?
The late Dr. Roderick C.
Meredith, my predecessor in this Work of Tomorrow's
World, authored a vitally important resource
titled--The Ten Commandments.
It is a must read for anyone who professes to
fear God.
As shown in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, true
Christians not only keep the letter of the law, but
they strive to keep the spirit and intent of the law.
Those "ten words" as they are sometimes referred to,
make up the greatest code of law ever given to
mankind, but the Jews of Jesus' day only focused on
the letter of the law.
Jesus came and explained the spirit, or intent of
that great code.
Our resource--The Ten Commandments--explains the
spirit of the law and how Jesus kept it.
Call, write, or go to our website--TWTV.org/TEN to
receive your free copy of The Ten Commandments.
You'll be happy you did so.
And when I come back, I'll explain further the
meaning and importance of fearing God.
This clear and straight-forward resource
will help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
Call now!
Or go to...
Welcome back.
Today I am asking the questions: What does it
mean to fear God?
Is it important?
And will you be saved without it?
Dennis Prager makes this insightful observation in
the context of the midwives who chose to go
against Egypt's Pharaoh by not drowning the Hebrew
babies in the Nile River:
People fear those who are more powerful than they are.
Therefore, the only way not to fear powerful
people is to fear God.... Fear of God is a
liberating emotion, freeing one from a
disabling fear of evil, powerful people.
This needs to be emphasized because many
people see fear of God as onerous rather than liberating.
[He went on to say:]
Those who feared God saved Hebrew babies.
Those who feared Pharaoh helped drown Hebrew babies.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
showed us the importance of putting Him first in
our lives above all others.
I have often said Luke 14:26 is the most
frightening scripture in the Bible.
Because it separates the pretenders from the true
followers of Christ:
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father
and mother, wife and children, brothers and
sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
We understand from many passages that we are not
to "hate," as is commonly understood today by that word.
We can show that from many scriptures, but it should
be obvious to anyone with an open mind and common
sense that what Jesus was saying was that we are to
put Him first above all others.
He gives as examples, those who are closest to
us--such as family and even our own life.
Yet, how many put family, friends, business
associates, neighbors, this world in general, and
yes, even the fear of death, before Christ?
Let me give you a simple example.
It's an easy task to show from the Bible that Jesus,
His apostles, and first century Christians all set
aside the seventh day Sabbath as the day of rest
and worship, but for the sake of time, I'll only
mention two.
The first one is found in Luke 4:16:
So He [that is Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had
been brought up.
And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
The second is found in Acts 13 where the Apostles
Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch in Pisidia and
they went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day.
Both Jews and Gentiles were present,
as we read in verse 42:
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the
Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to
them the next Sabbath.
This would have been a perfect time for Paul to
explain that the Sabbath was replaced by Sunday and
they could simply meet the next day, but neither Paul nor
Barnabas did so.
Now let's continue beginning in verse 43:
Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the
Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and
Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to
continue in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came
together to hear the word of God.
Scripture after scripture demonstrates that it was
the seventh day Sabbath that was kept by Jesus and
the first century Church.
It's equally easy to prove from history that
the change to Sunday came, not from the Bible, but
from Emperor Constantine in the 4th century A.D.
The record is abundantly clear to anyone with an
open mind.
So why are there so relatively few willing to
follow Christ's example, and instead follow pagan
tradition by choosing the day set aside by a heathen
Roman Emperor?
Note this quote from Eerdmans' Handbook to the
History of Christianity:
It is important to understand Constantine's
previous religion, the worship of the Unconquered
Sun.... When in 321 Constantine made the first
day of the week a holiday, he called it "the
venerable day of the Sun" (Sunday).... The Christian
church took over many pagan ideas and images.
From sun-worship, for example came the
celebration of Christ's birth on the twenty-fifth
of December, the birthday of the Sun.
Sadly, many would rather follow Constantine than Christ.
Why?
Is it not because they reason around the
Scriptures, thereby not going against family,
friends, and society in general?
Who is it that they fear?
God or men?
What about you, my dear friends?
Our free resource--The Ten Commandments--explains the
spiritual intent of all ten of the commandments,
not just eight or nine.
As Dr. Roderick C.
Meredith wrote in his introduction to this resource:
Even secular scholars recognize that the very
first Christians based their lives on following
the great spiritual law of God--the Ten Commandments.
When they said, "The Lord Jesus Christ," they
recognized that the word "Lord" means "Boss"--the
One you should obey!
Jesus reminded them again and again of this vital
relationship, as in Luke 6:46: "But why do you call
Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?"
This vital resource can be yours free for the asking.
It is a must read for anyone who professes to
fear God.
Our resource--The Ten Commandments--explains the
spirit of the law and how Jesus kept it.
Just call the toll free number shown on your
screen, or go to TWTV.org/TEN to receive
your free copy of The Ten Commandments.
It's just that easy.
And when I come back, I'll show you two ways to fear
God, and you won't like the second way.
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight-forward resource
will help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time, you will also
receive a free annual subscription to Tomorrow's
World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
Before the break I said that I would show you two
ways to fear God.
The first way is to voluntarily and humbly submit
our will to our Creator by putting Him first in
our lives--not only with our words, but also with our
actions. That's the best way.
But you will not like the second way.
God spoke to Israel through His prophet Amos
and showed how He tried to get their attention
through weather upsets, plagues, war, and more.
But they were stubborn.
They refused to accept the message.
Amos 4 explains, and let's begin in verse 11:
"I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked
from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
"Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because
I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God,
O Israel!
For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the
wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And
makes the morning darkness, Who treads the
high places of the earth--The LORD God of
hosts is His name."
God will get mankind's attention.
Jesus is very different from the way many see Him.
Yes, He is loving, patient, and caring,
and He gave His life for us; but He will not put
up with rebellion and disrespect forever.
Have we not read what is ahead for unrepentant humanity?
Students of the Bible are familiar with what are
called the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, but
notice what follows.
The next event is a future martyrdom of some of God's
people, followed by terrifying signs in the
heavens and on the earth.
Here will be the effect of those signs on rebellious
mankind, as we read in Revelation 6,
beginning in verse 15:
And the kings of the earth, the great men, the
rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every
slave and every free man, hid themselves in the
caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to
the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him who sits on the throne and
from the wrath of the Lamb!
For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is
able to stand?"
Now that's a side of the Son of God that most fail
to recognize.
Yes, the Day of the Lord, the day of Christ's wrath is coming.
This day is also spoken of in the book of Isaiah.
Notice how arrogant mankind will learn to fear
God the hard way.
Turn to Isaiah 2 and we'll begin reading in verse 10:
Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the
terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty.
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The
haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the
LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon
everything proud and lofty, Upon everything
lifted up--And it shall be brought low.
The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the
haughtiness of men shall be brought low.
They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And
into the caves of the earth, From the terror of
the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He
arises to shake the earth mightily.
Maybe the best way to understand the fear of God
is to understand the relationship of a father
and his son.
Respect and fear go together.
When a son respects his father, he obeys the rules
of the house, he feels safe and comfortable, he
understands his father's love, he communicates
freely with his father, and even asks favors
from him from time to time.
But, if he flagrantly breaks his father's rules,
becomes arrogant and forgets whose house it is,
he may very well have reason for a different
kind of fear.
This is good, as children don't always know what is
best for them.
It's important for children to both respect,
and at times, fear their parents.
That can keep them from a whole lot of trouble.
God has given us the rules of the house--ten easy to
understand, but not always easy to
keep--commandments.
If you'd like to learn more about the spirit and intent
of these rules, which are given to keep you safe and secure,
be sure to call, write, or
go to our website to receive your free copy of
The Ten Commandments.
And be sure to come back next week, and every week,
as Richard Ames, Wallace Smith, Rod McNair, and I
bring you more truth from the pages of the Bible.
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
♪
The preceding program is
produced by the Living Church of God.
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