In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis declaring salvation by grace through faith. Today the church desperately needs a second reformation of sanctification by grace. Christians are chained to a treadmill of trying to please God by their behavior, of trying harder and sinning less. If they can just discipline themselves enough and be determined enough, they are deceived into thinking they can become righteous and holy and be close to God and He will be pleased. Grace tells us that our relationship and intimacy with our Father in heaven is no longer dependent upon our behavior...or lack there of. Grace tells us we no longer have to strive to become righteous, because He has given us a new nature that is righteous. Grace tells us that it is the only thing powerful enough to deal with our sin. Grace tells us that God is already head-over-heels in love with us and nothing we do can change that. Welcome to "Formed by Grace."

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

So What Replaces Fear? (45 seconds)

We have talked about how as believers God will never again punish us for our sins. NEVER! If God does, then Jesus did not absorb all our punishment. We then looked at how if punishment is eliminated in our relationship with God, then fear is gone in our relationship with God. I John 4:18 is foundational here - "...perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment..." We are loved with a perfect love and so fear is gone in our relationship with God.

So now we need to ask - does fear just disappear or does something replace it? Thankfully something replaces it...something that is the polar opposite of fear. Ephesians 2:18 tells us that through the work of Christ we now have access to the Father. But then Ephesians 3:11 amplifies on this and says "we have boldness and access with confidence..." No more hesitation, hedging, intimidation, cautiousness or fear in approaching God. That is all gone...forever! Now we come boldly into God's presence with confidence! I am wonderfully at home with my Father!
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2 comments:

  1. PaigeJuly 21, 2010 at 11:12 AM

    So where does Philippians 2:12-13 come in to play? It's just the verse that popped into my head as I read this.

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  2. UnknownJuly 25, 2010 at 3:29 PM

    Similarly, the fear of the Lord is lauded in Ps 19.9, Pr 1.7, 14.27 and elsewhere, so I wonder how this differs from fear of punishment...

    Maybe, when the kid comes in stinking from playing in the manure pile, he is greeted with laughing playfulness in being told to clean himself up before joining in the fun preparations for the delicious dinner. The father really was pissed that the kid had played in the manure, since he had been told not to, and didn't really like it all that much. But the dad chose to spank the older brother instead, expending all his anger on him, leaving playful patience for the youngster. (??)

    Often it sucks being the oldest child... :)

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