June 19th, 2024
by Dr. Josh Franklin
by Dr. Josh Franklin
1 Peter 1:17 says, “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.”
This third antidote to foolish living is to have a healthy fear of the Lord. We should conduct our lives with a sense of fear. This word “fear” should not be taken to mean “fright” or “terror.” Certainly those are ideas that we have when we think of the word fear. Someone may say, “I'm afraid of lightning,” or someone else may say, “I'm afraid of the dark.” 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.” This is the terrorizing kind of fear.
Used in the way Peter intended, this “fear” is really a reverential respect for who God is. He is not just my heavenly Father. He is also holy God. He's not just my Redeemer. He's not just my Savior. He is holy God. He is completely perfect and sinless.
We are not to be afraid that God is going to send us to hell. Jesus Christ saved you from the punishment of hell. Praise the Lord. 1 Peter 1 describes how our eternity is secured. He's preserved you for your inheritance. Then what is this fear that he's talking about?
When my boys were younger, Lydia and I endeavored to teach them to have a healthy respect for cars. Sometimes we took a walk as a family, and there were no sidewalks. So, we needed them to get into the grass when a car approached. It’s not that we wanted them to be terrorized by the car.
We just wanted them to have a healthy fear and respect, so they will get out of the way. They needed to know that those cars are very large and can hurt them badly if they do not watch out.
When they were younger, we warned them of the danger around a hot stove. Lydia would be cooking, and the boys would be excited about it. They might want to grab or hold something that was dangerously hot. We taught them to beware of the heat because we don’t want them to be burned. They needed to have a healthy respect for fire.
Notice these verses on the fear of the Lord:
Peter once had an encounter with Jesus in Luke 5. Peter, along with other fishermen, were out all night trying to fish, and they didn't catch anything. They were exhausted. It's early in the morning and Jesus calls out to them and says, "You didn't catch anything?” They say, “We didn't catch anything.” Jesus tells them, “Throw your nets over on the other side." Peter, of course, speaks up and says, "We've been doing this all night…” What he means is, “We're the professional fishermen. You are not. We've been doing this all night. We didn't catch anything." But Peter then says, "But at Your word, we'll cast out the nets." They cast out the nets, and the fish come swarming into the nets. The nets are breaking, because there are so many fish.
Now, Peter has been doing this all night. He's been doing this his whole life, and yet there's this carpenter who comes along and says, "Just throw your net over the side." Peter recognizes he is standing before someone who is not just a person, not just a man. He is standing before somebody who is otherworldly because he knows no fisherman can do this.
Luke 5:8 says, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” Isn't that interesting? He's no longer the braggadocious Peter. He's no longer the loquacious Peter, who can just talk it up with anybody. No, he kneels down and humbly says, "Depart from me. I'm a sinful man." He recognizes there's something otherworldly about this man. This was before he followed Jesus. This same Peter tells Christ-followers living in exile in Asia Minor, "Conduct your lives with fear." It doesn't mean that we're scared of God as a child of God. But, if you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, you ought to have a healthy dose of fear. The same God who created you is the same God who has warned you that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid.
Some people say, "I don't want to hear about hell. I don't want to hear about the flames and the torture of hell. That's just not palatable for me. I just don't want to hear about it." Then you're going to have to silence Jesus Himself, because Jesus is the One Who taught us about hell.
Luke 16:19–31 (NKJV)
19“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
28for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
You may say, “Pastor, I don’t think you should scare people into heaven.” Let me share two examples of individuals who certainly were scared into heaven. Martin Luther, the great reformer, came to Christ as he was riding a horse. He found himself in the middle of an incredible thunderstorm that scares him to death. He was frightened for his life. He believed that it was the judgment of God on his soul, and he repented and said, “God, get me out of this. Save me, and I will be a worker for you." This began his journey of faith, which led him to become a monk in a monastery. He ardently studied the Scriptures, which led him to place His faith in Christ. He was saved by faith, according to Romans 1:17, which says, “The just shall live by faith.” However, his testimony began with being frightened by what he believed to be the judgment of God.
John Newton, the pastor and hymnwriter of “Amazing Grace,” came to Christ as a 40 year old. He was a sailor on a slave-trading ship, when he was tossed overboard in the middle of a storm. While the storm was raging, he was scared of the judgment of God. He said, "Oh God, if you will just save me from this incredible storm, I'll give my life to you." Ultimately, he was rescued from the storm and gave his life to Christ. He served God the rest of his life, but his testimony is that it began in part because he was afraid of eternal judgment from a holy God. Now, as a child of God, you should not live in torment, but there should be this healthy sense of fear, of respect, knowing that God is holy and righteous. We ought to live our lives in such a way that we respect and reverence who God is. It's a great antidote to a frivolous, foolish life.
Donald Grey Barnhouse shared a great story about the relationship between love, fear, and obedience:
Several years ago, I married a young couple… I saw them in church [a few weeks after their honeymoon] the next Sunday, greeted them with a little pleasantry. I asked the groom if his bride had burned the roast for the first dinner she prepared. They laughed. And she said, "Oh, I was afraid I was going to. I read so much about the bride being unable to cook that I decided John was going to have the very best meal a bride could prepare for her husband. So I began about three o'clock. I got everything out and started to work. When I finally put things on to cook I wanted everything to turn out well, and I was afraid they wouldn't. And of course, he had to be a little late, and I was so afraid things would be spoiled."
[Dr. Barnhouse says] I interrupted her and said, "You've said three times that you were afraid. Did you think he was going to beat [hurt] you?" She pouted and said, "Of course not." And she looked at him with all the love of her heart in her eyes. But I persisted. "You said that you were afraid." She broke in, "You know what I mean." And of course I knew what she meant. Her fear was not fright. Her fear was a great desire to serve the one to whom she had given herself entirely. And in this case the fear of John was the beginning of good cooking."[1]
Does God want us to cringe and cower before Him? No. Remember, Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace to find help and grace in our time of need." God wants us to come boldly as a child. However, we should never forget that He is holy God. The same God Who created the universe, Who spun galaxies into orbit, also created each one of us. He wants to have a relationship with His children. He wants us in His family. However, He is still holy God, Who should be revered and respected. Peter says we should conduct ourselves while we are here in this world with fear and respect.
“Dear God, I love You and I worship You. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for bringing me into the family of God. I put aside foolish, sinful living. I live for You. You are my Lord and God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
The first antidote was discussed in “I Carry His Name,” and the second antidote was discussed in “We are Accountable to God.” The next blog post will discuss the fourth and final antidote for foolish living according to 1 Peter 1:17-21.
[1] As quoted by Robert Jeffress, The Solomon Secrets (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2002), 208-209.
This third antidote to foolish living is to have a healthy fear of the Lord. We should conduct our lives with a sense of fear. This word “fear” should not be taken to mean “fright” or “terror.” Certainly those are ideas that we have when we think of the word fear. Someone may say, “I'm afraid of lightning,” or someone else may say, “I'm afraid of the dark.” 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.” This is the terrorizing kind of fear.
Used in the way Peter intended, this “fear” is really a reverential respect for who God is. He is not just my heavenly Father. He is also holy God. He's not just my Redeemer. He's not just my Savior. He is holy God. He is completely perfect and sinless.
We are not to be afraid that God is going to send us to hell. Jesus Christ saved you from the punishment of hell. Praise the Lord. 1 Peter 1 describes how our eternity is secured. He's preserved you for your inheritance. Then what is this fear that he's talking about?
When my boys were younger, Lydia and I endeavored to teach them to have a healthy respect for cars. Sometimes we took a walk as a family, and there were no sidewalks. So, we needed them to get into the grass when a car approached. It’s not that we wanted them to be terrorized by the car.
We just wanted them to have a healthy fear and respect, so they will get out of the way. They needed to know that those cars are very large and can hurt them badly if they do not watch out.
When they were younger, we warned them of the danger around a hot stove. Lydia would be cooking, and the boys would be excited about it. They might want to grab or hold something that was dangerously hot. We taught them to beware of the heat because we don’t want them to be burned. They needed to have a healthy respect for fire.
Notice these verses on the fear of the Lord:
- Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."
- Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
- Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”
- Psalm 147:11, "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him."
Peter once had an encounter with Jesus in Luke 5. Peter, along with other fishermen, were out all night trying to fish, and they didn't catch anything. They were exhausted. It's early in the morning and Jesus calls out to them and says, "You didn't catch anything?” They say, “We didn't catch anything.” Jesus tells them, “Throw your nets over on the other side." Peter, of course, speaks up and says, "We've been doing this all night…” What he means is, “We're the professional fishermen. You are not. We've been doing this all night. We didn't catch anything." But Peter then says, "But at Your word, we'll cast out the nets." They cast out the nets, and the fish come swarming into the nets. The nets are breaking, because there are so many fish.
Now, Peter has been doing this all night. He's been doing this his whole life, and yet there's this carpenter who comes along and says, "Just throw your net over the side." Peter recognizes he is standing before someone who is not just a person, not just a man. He is standing before somebody who is otherworldly because he knows no fisherman can do this.
Luke 5:8 says, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” Isn't that interesting? He's no longer the braggadocious Peter. He's no longer the loquacious Peter, who can just talk it up with anybody. No, he kneels down and humbly says, "Depart from me. I'm a sinful man." He recognizes there's something otherworldly about this man. This was before he followed Jesus. This same Peter tells Christ-followers living in exile in Asia Minor, "Conduct your lives with fear." It doesn't mean that we're scared of God as a child of God. But, if you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, you ought to have a healthy dose of fear. The same God who created you is the same God who has warned you that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid.
Some people say, "I don't want to hear about hell. I don't want to hear about the flames and the torture of hell. That's just not palatable for me. I just don't want to hear about it." Then you're going to have to silence Jesus Himself, because Jesus is the One Who taught us about hell.
Luke 16:19–31 (NKJV)
19“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
28for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
You may say, “Pastor, I don’t think you should scare people into heaven.” Let me share two examples of individuals who certainly were scared into heaven. Martin Luther, the great reformer, came to Christ as he was riding a horse. He found himself in the middle of an incredible thunderstorm that scares him to death. He was frightened for his life. He believed that it was the judgment of God on his soul, and he repented and said, “God, get me out of this. Save me, and I will be a worker for you." This began his journey of faith, which led him to become a monk in a monastery. He ardently studied the Scriptures, which led him to place His faith in Christ. He was saved by faith, according to Romans 1:17, which says, “The just shall live by faith.” However, his testimony began with being frightened by what he believed to be the judgment of God.
John Newton, the pastor and hymnwriter of “Amazing Grace,” came to Christ as a 40 year old. He was a sailor on a slave-trading ship, when he was tossed overboard in the middle of a storm. While the storm was raging, he was scared of the judgment of God. He said, "Oh God, if you will just save me from this incredible storm, I'll give my life to you." Ultimately, he was rescued from the storm and gave his life to Christ. He served God the rest of his life, but his testimony is that it began in part because he was afraid of eternal judgment from a holy God. Now, as a child of God, you should not live in torment, but there should be this healthy sense of fear, of respect, knowing that God is holy and righteous. We ought to live our lives in such a way that we respect and reverence who God is. It's a great antidote to a frivolous, foolish life.
Donald Grey Barnhouse shared a great story about the relationship between love, fear, and obedience:
Several years ago, I married a young couple… I saw them in church [a few weeks after their honeymoon] the next Sunday, greeted them with a little pleasantry. I asked the groom if his bride had burned the roast for the first dinner she prepared. They laughed. And she said, "Oh, I was afraid I was going to. I read so much about the bride being unable to cook that I decided John was going to have the very best meal a bride could prepare for her husband. So I began about three o'clock. I got everything out and started to work. When I finally put things on to cook I wanted everything to turn out well, and I was afraid they wouldn't. And of course, he had to be a little late, and I was so afraid things would be spoiled."
[Dr. Barnhouse says] I interrupted her and said, "You've said three times that you were afraid. Did you think he was going to beat [hurt] you?" She pouted and said, "Of course not." And she looked at him with all the love of her heart in her eyes. But I persisted. "You said that you were afraid." She broke in, "You know what I mean." And of course I knew what she meant. Her fear was not fright. Her fear was a great desire to serve the one to whom she had given herself entirely. And in this case the fear of John was the beginning of good cooking."[1]
Does God want us to cringe and cower before Him? No. Remember, Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace to find help and grace in our time of need." God wants us to come boldly as a child. However, we should never forget that He is holy God. The same God Who created the universe, Who spun galaxies into orbit, also created each one of us. He wants to have a relationship with His children. He wants us in His family. However, He is still holy God, Who should be revered and respected. Peter says we should conduct ourselves while we are here in this world with fear and respect.
“Dear God, I love You and I worship You. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for bringing me into the family of God. I put aside foolish, sinful living. I live for You. You are my Lord and God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
The first antidote was discussed in “I Carry His Name,” and the second antidote was discussed in “We are Accountable to God.” The next blog post will discuss the fourth and final antidote for foolish living according to 1 Peter 1:17-21.
[1] As quoted by Robert Jeffress, The Solomon Secrets (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2002), 208-209.
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