Legitimate Fears For Believers

Multitudes of times the Bible tells believers to fear not.

Isaiah 41:10 : Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

And yet the Bible also instructs and commands us to fear Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:14: I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 8:12: Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Matthew 10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

We should not fear men nearly as much as we should fear God. Many believers did fear Him. Fear was one proof that they were believers. Their fear of God is what set them apart from unbelievers.

Genesis 42:18: And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

Psalms 66:16: Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

Believers should NOT fear condemnation but they should fear God*s chastening, which He gives to every child of God. His chastening is evidence of two things. One is that He loves them and the other is that they have sinned.

Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Hebrews 12:6: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Believers should be afraid to walk in the flesh. Walking in the flesh is what will bring the chastening of God upon them. When His chastening leads us to repent of our sin and quit sinning, we should not even fear His chastening because He chastens us for our profit, to keep us from sinning.

Hebrews 12:7: If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

I suggest there are a few things believers legitimately SHOULD BE afraid of if they are wise. God*s chastening can be painful. It is the most painful thing a believer can experience. We should be afraid to sin. We should be afraid not to pray. We should be afraid not to study the Bible. We should be afraid not to meditate on it. We should be afraid not to repent of our sin. We should be afraid not to go to a Biblical church. We should be afraid not to seek His guidance. We should be afraid not to follow it. We should be afraid not to obey Him and walk with Him.

Care to discuss Legitimate Fears For Believers with Ron?

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