The Only Thing We Have To Fear ...

We know that fear is a bad thing. We're all pretty clear on that. As a school-aged child, if you were afraid of something -- anything -- you were a "scaredy cat". Bad. After that, any time fear stopped you from doing something, you were a coward. Society tells us over and over that fear is a bad thing. The media warns about "fear mongering" (while they thrive on it). Anti-politicians shout against a "culture of fear". Bad ... all bad. And even in church you'll hear "perfect love casts out fear", another call to run from fear and not be afraid anymore. I mean, how many times did Jesus say "Fear not"? And remember that famous story of Jesus walking on the water? Well, what was it that prevented Peter from doing the same thing? He looked around and became afraid. Fear, you see, is a bad thing.

Frankly, I'm not convinced. Fear actually gives us some really good things. My favorite "obvious" example is a highway worker. There he is, every day, working alongside high-speed traffic. If he had no fear, he would be ... dead. You see, it takes a healthy fear of automobiles screaming by at 70 MPH to keep you out of their way and safe. In fact, without fear, we have no bravery. You see, courage is not a lack of fear. It is a recognition of the very real dangers in a given situation and the strength to work through them. It isn't an absence of fear. Courage is the "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty". Bravery, then, is fear withstood.

So what's the difference between this healthy type of fear and the bad kind? A healthy fear recognizes real danger and equips us with the ability to either avoid it or work through it. Like flags on mines in a mine field, it tells us where we should and shouldn't go. You want those flags on those mines if you're walking there. You do not want some moralist coming through, pulling out those flags, and telling you, "The only thing you have to fear is those flags! Now go on through!"

The Bible is full of fear. There is, in fact, a fear that the Bible highly recommends. That fear is "the fear of God". "No, no," they'll tell you. "That's not fear fear. That's reverential awe. No, the Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear." This, again, is a failure to read their Bibles. Proverbs tells us that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." In other words, you don't get truly wise without it. Mark tells the story of the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee during a storm. Jesus was asleep and the disciples were understandably scared. They woke Jesus who stood up and said, "Peace! be still!" ... and it was. Of course, the disciples were overjoyed and ... no, wait, that's not what happened. According to Mark's Gospel, "And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'" (Mark 4:41). Danger scared them. The presence of God terrified them.

In the New Testament, one of the accusations against humans in Romans 3 is "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3:18). Conversely, Paul urges, "Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (2 Cor 7:1). What is this "fear of God"? Reverential awe, or genuine fear? The Greek words are "phobos theou". In today's vernacular, we might write it as "theophobia". Does that ring any bells? This is genuine fear. Now, I don't mean to suggest that it is not "reverential awe" as long as you remember that the actual definition of "awe" means "an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like". You see, the term includes a profound sense of genuine fear.

Now, what about that pesky verse I'm skipping over? You know -- "Perfect love casts out all fear". Clear enough, isn't it? And God's love is perfect, obviously, so ... no fear, right? Let's look.

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:17-19).

Remember ... context, context, context. The context is not God's love, but our love. The context is about when love is perfected with us. The fear being voided is for "the day of judgment" and "has to do with punishment". This isn't a general casting out of all fear, and certainly not the fear of God. This simply says that when your love for God is perfect, you will obey perfectly and when that happens, you don't need to worry about punishment ... because there won't be any. In fact, it was Jesus who said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28). Don't panic; be very, very afraid.

Paul tells us to "work out your salvation in fear and trembling" (again, that "phobos" word). There is a biblical reason to be afraid. A healthy fear recognizes genuine threats and aids us in avoiding them. The one thing above all else that we must fear is God. Reverential awe? Sure. But since the universal biblical response of everyone who encountered God was terror, I think it goes beyond that. The one thing we really have to fear is God Himself. A healthy fear keeps us from going the wrong direction, and the fear of God is a very healthy fear. So, what about you? Do you have theophobia? Or is God just your best buddy -- nothing to fear here -- move along? The Bible doesn't like that version.