Conquering Fear
Conquering Fear
Luke shows throughout his writings that fear is a real component of Christ's ministry. Matthew uses the word phobos once, in context of Christ's walking on the water (Matthew 14:26). Mark uses it once to describe the sneaky, unclean woman's response to being caught by Jesus as she touched Him (Mark5:33). In comparison, Luke uses the term at least 15 times. I encourage you to take your concordance out and see how wide the use of "fear" is for him. Space does not permit such a word study at this point. But there is enough space to show that fear, both the awe and the awfulness it communicates, is an ignored component of the conquering church.
The first time the concept of the church appears in Acts is 1:12 and, things are looking good. The Church is gathered, praying according to Christ's final command to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. However, the first time the word translated church, ekklesia, appears in Acts, things are not looking so good, at least in the Zig Ziglar/Norman Vincent Peale sense of the word "good".
Barnabas has come to the disciples and laid a large sum of money at their feet. This has brought him some acclaim and, in some sense, power in the community. So far, so good. But then come Ananias and Sapphira. They see a way to the top, a way to gain the gratitude of the apostles and the church at large. In an imitation of Barnabas, they give a sum of money from the sale of property to the church. Perhaps they split the donation in half, the husband bringing half and then the wife bringing the other half later.
It is rumored that the Pharisees often tithed in small coinage to make the offering appear greater. Whatever their plot, rather than leading to their ascendance, it leads to their downfall.
Luke makes it clear that their deaths brought fear on the covenant community
(Acts 5:5,11). Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians, teaches that because of our position in Christ, we should never fear God in a rude sense, in the way a prisoner fears when he hears the footsteps of his torturer. While I agree wholeheartedly with him at several points of his argument, this passage brings his final conclusion into question. I have seen people die, and have felt an awe or respect of God as I saw Him take what was His. But to see someone struck down in front of you, guilty of a sin that I had done in some degree (who hasn't lied about their finances?) wouldn't you fear for your life, too? Wouldn't you wonder if God was going to start zapping everyone guilty of lies to the apostles, or lies about money, or people who were clamoring for authority? And I think that is just the way God wanted it.
This sense of fear, "Could God deal so with me?" permeates the New Testament
writings. Malefactors are pointed out, and warnings and predictions of punishment are administered to make sure you do not join them. There are too many references to list, but the entire book of Jude is written with this theme in mind. Is this not an appeal to fear-a fear of genuine discipline, or a fear of making your calling and election unsure?
The frightening conclusion: God wants us to worship a scary God. I suggest that it is at the heart of His strategy to make us into His mighty warriors because He wants us to be more afraid of Him than we are our powerful enemies.
Consider the other uses of phobos in Acts. In Stephen's speech, the faithful Patriarchs are characterized as "trembling in fear" as God instructed them in their mission. And in Acts 9:31, an important summary statement of the entire first section of Acts says, "Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord." When Luke considered the early church, particularly in her time of success (both numerical and otherwise), the term that he used to describe her lifestyle was that they lived "in the fear of the Lord." This evidence solidifies the previous assertion-the conquering church is a fearing one.
It is this lack of fearing God that paralyzes the modern church and her efforts to conquer. Her attempts to make Him fear-less, to downplay God's wrath and the consequences of our actions, are what distinguish modern evangelicalism from the evangelicalism of the past. It does not destroy the church to attempt to speak the language of the people-to modify the form of worship in a more or less benign fashion. But woe to the church that tries to obfuscate the reality of a fearsome God! It is not drums or bass guitars that have muted the trumpet of God in our culture-it is an ungodly, antinomian silence concerning the wrath of God against all ungodliness.
There remains a personal tension, though. It is clear that the corporate church is called to fear God in almost every sense of the word. But there remains a mystery of fearing/not fearing God in certain passages that may show Martin Luther right yet. For instance, Luke 12:4-7 says, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Fear him (vs. 6), yet do not be afraid (vs. 7). Both words are from the root phobos. Clearly, there is room to continue thinking about this topic, especially from a personal, existential perspective.
But the conquering church is a fearing church. This is part of the upside-down kingdom values on which Acts says the Kingdom of God is built. The gates of hell shall not prevail against God's trembling church.