Knowing the Fear of the Lord

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:11-15 ESV)

The fear of the Lord is not just Old Testament teaching. The fear of the Lord is also New Testament teaching. And to fear God is to revere, respect, honor, worship, and obey him. To fear God involves believing that what he says he will do, that he will do it, whether promises of blessings or warnings of judgments, and then to act accordingly in obedience to him. It means to do what is right and acceptable to him and to make it our goal to please him. And it involves acceptable worship of God and cleansing ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion. 

[Matt 10:28; Luke 1:50; Acts 9:31; Acts 10:34-35; Rom 3:10-18; Rom 12:1-2; 2 Co 5:6-11; 2 Co 7:1; Php 2:12-13; Heb 5:7; Heb 12:28-29; Rev 11:18; Rev 14:7; Rev 15:4] 

And if we are intimately acquainted with this fear of the Lord, in daily practice, then we should persuade others to also walk in the fear of the Lord by God-gifted faith in him, in the power and persuasion of God, according to God’s will and purpose for our lives as is expressed in the holy Scriptures. For the gospel message teaches us that by faith we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we walk in obedience to his commands and no longer in sinful practices.

If sin is what we obey, if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, then the Scriptures teach us that we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God. In fact, they say that we are not in fellowship with God, we don’t know God, and we are not born of God, but we are of the devil if sin is what we practice and not walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living. So don’t buy into the lies that tell you that you can “believe” in Jesus and have all your sins forgiven and be guaranteed heaven, but while you still walk in sin.

Now sometimes, as followers of Jesus Christ, when we are walking in obedience to his commands, we will face opposition and persecutions, and we will face criticisms and false accusations, and we will be misunderstood and misinterpreted because so many people are following the teachings of human beings rather than the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles. So, many people have a very distorted understanding of the gospel message, and so they may judge us on that basis. And when we are judged, we may sometimes have to give a defense for why we believe what we do.

The NT apostles were often criticized or questioned with regard to what they taught and practiced, especially by the Jews who did not believe in Jesus, but sometimes by those professing faith in Christ who were being influenced by others who were not in agreement with all that the apostles were teaching. And in the case of Paul, there were times when he was cornered into coming to his own defense for the sake of the truth of the gospel so that others would not be led astray to follow after the lies. So he was not defending only himself but the very truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And in today’s world, with so many now teaching a cheapened form of God’s grace and of the gospel of our salvation, we must come to the defense of the truth of the gospel so that many will not be led astray by the lies, but so that they will come to the truth and believe and follow after the truth. For so many people today are teaching that we can “believe” in Jesus, have all our sins forgiven, and have heaven guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live. But Jesus said if we want to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him.

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross that those of us who live might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who for our sake died and was raised. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God we obey, its end is eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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