Forgetfulness, Righteous Fear, and Sinful Fear Revisited

Continuing to unpack the consequences of forgetfulness, this week we look at fear. There are two kinds of fear. One, the fear of God, is a righteous fear. The other kind, which manifests itself in various forms, is a sinful fear. How easy it is to give way to sinful fears when we forget the ways God's grace and mercy have manifested themselves. Worst of all, we forget the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection.

Holy Fear

Before Genesis 3, fear as we know it probably did not exist.
I would think there was a right reverence of God by Adam and Eve before then,
But not the fear they knew after that initial disobedience.
Adam even told God they hid because they were afraid after that disobedience.
Fear became a logical outcome of disobedience and remains so to this day,
Instinctively now.
We fear age;
We fear disease;
We fear injury;
We fear death;
We fear being
Found out as
Sinners--
And well we should.
God told our first parents that disobedience would have consequences,
And so it was and so it is.
We disobey Him in thought, in word, in deed,
Fearlessly as sinners, thinking those consequences can be avoided--
They cannot be.
Sin leads to death, sooner or later, and judgement, and eternity
Apart.
And some say, "Why should He make only one way to be reconciled?"
And I say, "Why should He make any way?"
Such merciful grace is not a right but a gift,
A gift He can choose to give or to withhhold,
Just as we can, on a human level, give or withhold gifts.
Making a way to be reconciled with a sinner is a merciful gift of
Such amazing magnitude and cost to the Giver that the only
Logical response to Him can be
Grateful thanks and "Thy will be done."
O friend of sinners, O lover of my soul, that You would act to make me whole!
This wretch You chose to make Your child, the highest cost of any adoption--
Adoration is my response!
Made accepted in the Beloved!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!
Come in holy fear, reverence Him alone.

Fearing God Rightly

Fearing God involves trembling before His holiness,
Revering in His Fatherhood, having been adopted into His eternal family,
Being grateful for His sacrifice which involved the Godhead.
Repenting of sin, for all sins are ultimately against Him,
Enjoying His forgiveness,
Resting in His infinite unchangingness,
Bowing before His throne.

Sinful Fear and Its Remedy

How easy it is to give way to fear,
To let it dominate thought and life,
To let it swallow up all hope;
How easy it is to give way.
How hard it is to be humble instead,
To admit the need for
The strength of Another,
To admit being a sinner
In need of Another.
But that Other was the most humble,
Obeying His Father from birth to the grace,
Laying down that one perfect life
For those who have lived in sin, fear, pride.
And so there is no need to fear,
Except to fear the One who owns body and soul,
Who has the right to send the disobedient to hell,
And who most certainly will.
O fear the Father and cast yourself on the mercy of the Savior through the Spirit!
Note Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: "The conclusion, when all has been heard is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act into judgment, everything hidden, whether it is good or evil."

A good book is The Forgotten Fear: Where Have All the God-Fearers Gone? by Albert N. Martin.

Forgetfulness and Anxiety Revisited

Last week's post was on various aspects of forgetfulness and their consequences. This week is a review of the aspects of worry/anxiety when we forget what God has provided for His own.

Anyone who is honest has struggled with anxiety and/or worry at one time or another. There are plenty of causes, both internal and external, for either.

Will I meet the right person to marry? Will I get into the school I want to attend? Will I get the job that supports me sufficiently? Will I be able to be a good parent? Will I be able to help my parents in ways that are useful to them? Will I even be able to have a child? Will I run out of money?

Many questions can cause us anxiety, anxious thoughts, and worry that takes over our minds and our lives.

I should know. I have been a victim of anxiety. It started when I was in college many years ago. It got to the point that I had to leave school for a while. Providentially, I was able to pull myself together, return (under probation, admittedly), and complete my degree.

 But that was not the end of my struggles.

How have I been able to deal with these recurring matters? Through Scripture, counseling based on Scripture, prayer, repenting, facing the fears that are behind my anxiety and worry, rejoicing in God's eternal goodness and faithfulness.

I went through a major struggle when we first moved to California, and I found a great deal of help from Elizabeth George's book, Loving God with All Your Mind, because it directed me to these passages listed below:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

Philippians 4:6-8: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Philippians 4:8 also gave me a grid through which to process my thoughts and emotions.

There are dozens of other places in both the Old Testament and the New Testament which deal with these issues of the heart.

I have not "arrived," but now I know where to go and Who to go to when, as to these Psalms: "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul (94:19); "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way" (139:23-24).

What is essential is trusting in the unchanging character of the One who saved and is sanctifying His own.

Let me end this with what Jesus Himself said, recorded in Matthew 6:33-34. He summarizes with this admonition: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (look also at verses 25-32).

When His priorities are ours, we can rest.

(Other books that have assisted me are many: A Lifting Up for the Downcast, by William Bridges; All Things for Good, by Thomas Watson; The Bruised Reed, by Richard Sibbes; Anxious for Nothing (first published as Anxiety Attacked), by John MacArthur; A Shelter in the Time of Storm, by Paul David Tripp; and Let Not Your Heart be Troubled, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. What do all these books have in common? They are based solidly on Scripture.)

Forgetfulness and the Consequences thereof Revisited

On any given day Facebook has a way to review your memories from years past. It made me think about how quickly we forget, whether a national catastrophe or a personal precious memory. Who remembers hurricanes or tornadoes or droughts or floods or earthquakes past unless they have been affected by them? Or on a more sweet side, sermons or Scripture passages which seemed so significant in the past?

I suspect it is our tendency to spiritual forgetfulness that is behind all the reminders the Bible includes.

We forget how God has met our needs and then become anxious. So we find ourselves needing what Paul wrote: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

We forget how God has manifested His power and then become fearful. So we find ourselves where Jeremiah was: "Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:19-23).

We forget how God has manifested His wisdom and then become nervous. So we find ourselves where the Psalmist was: "Why are you in despair, O my soul? Add why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence" (Psalm 42:8).

We forget God. We look around or within for the answers we need. So we find ourselves needing what Peter wrote: "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith  supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins" (2 Peter 1:3-9).

Finally we need to remember the Lord's own words: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" (John 14:27).