Fear Not

“And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent’” (Exodus 14:13, 14).

The Lord is very clear about our concern for personal welfare. Fear or anxiety is a natural response to uncertainty and threatening situations. Nevertheless, believers are forbidden to be fearful, worried, or anxious. God is sovereign in all things. He has complete control over all things, and nothing happens without His knowledge and consent. This is clear in Scripture (Isaiah 43:1–7), and to doubt it is to sin in unbelief (Matthew 6:25–34).

The Lord did not promise His people an easy life. Because we are sinners by birth and choice, living in a sin-cursed and broken world. We suffer Adam’s curse: “Hard work was created for everyone, and a heavy yoke is laid on the children of Adam, from the day they come forth from their mother’s womb until the day they return to the mother of all the living. Perplexities and fear of heart are theirs, and anxious thought of the day of their death. From the one who sits on a splendid throne to the one who grovels in dust and ashes” (Sirach 40:1–3). As long as we are in the flesh, we will be subject to anxiety.

There is also the fact that we are engaged in a spiritual war, unseen but very real. The enemy of our souls is set to doing as much damage as he can as long as he is able. We should expect that we will be attacked suddenly from every quarter. His aim is to disquiet our hearts and tempt us not to stand firm. If he can, he will cause us to turn tail, flee, cower, and hide in fear and terror. Our Commander and Chief orders us to “stand firm” and “fear not.”

The Old Testament is a written warning for New Covenant believers to trust their God and Savior in every situation. He is able to save and keep all who are in His sovereign care. For example, the enemy of God filled the promised land with the offspring of Nephilim clans to terrify and dissuade the children of Israel from taking possession of the land promised to Abraham. With clear promises of His going before them to drive out these usurpers, God commanded them to enter the land and take possession without fear (Deuteronomy 1:20, 21). The test was designed to separate the godly remnant from the unbelieving majority who were judged unworthy to enter the promised rest (Psalm 95 and quoted in Hebrews 4:3–7).

Believers need this truth, especially in these days of uncertainty. With growing intensity, Christians are becoming the objects of attack from a culture that is becoming more wicked with ever-increasing decline. God’s Word to us remains the same: “fear not.”

By What Authority?

The current political and social landscape clearly reflects the predictions that Jesus gave informing the disciples about the end of the gospel age recorded in Matthew 24. Particularly note verse 10: “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.”

First, in the ESV, the sentence begins by stating that “many will fall away.” Is this an apostasy—a falling away or departure from the truth? The term in Greek would be apostasia, from which we get the English term (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The King James Version reads, “And then shall many be offended.” This is a better translation because the Greek term is skandalizo, from which we get the English term scandal (Matthew 11:6). So, what is Jesus informing us in these words?

The first part of Jesus’ response is a general description of conditions in this fallen world (vv. 4–8). This is preceded by a warning to beware that no one deceives or leads them astray (v. 4). There will be many false Christs and false religions (v. 5). Note, however, that false religion is more than false doctrine.

The focus here is authority and the power to enforce submission to authority. Note that Christ means Messiah, and Messiah is the ultimate King of the Jews. Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:17, 23; 9:35). The rejection and crucifixion of Jesus centered in the Jews’ fearing their loss of authority (John 11:48; Luke 19:14). Carefully read the Gospel accounts of Jesus before Pilate (Matthew 27:11ff; John 18:33ff). Jesus was accused of leading an insurrection to overthrow the existing government (Luke 23:2, 3).

What results from the attempted power grabs of the false Christs? Authority. So, what immediately follows these usurpers is wars and rumors of wars. Wars are fought for power and control. Kingdoms rise against kingdoms and nations against nations. Famines and catastrophes follow (vv. 6–8). These are not the results of mere false doctrine.

Why is true Christianity hated? The kingdom of heaven is an imminent threat to the kingdom of darkness. Satan does not want to give up his authority and power. Thus, Jesus lists a number of things that His followers will face before He returns to establish His kingdom. They will be persecuted (v. 9). This will cause some professing believers to stumble (skandalon) or be offended. Followers of Jesus will be treated as Jesus was. The more evident the kingdom of God is in the world the greater will be the tribulation. It is war for power and authority.

In this struggle many will be offended. They will betray and hate each other. Does not this typify many congregations? This leads to apostasy because of false doctrine preached by false prophets. Bad doctrine leads to lawlessness (iniquity) and love grows cold. True believers will ride out the storm. They persevere to the end and are saved. Finally, in spite of all the war and hostility, the gospel of the kingdom is sovereignly proclaimed throughout the whole earth. Only then will the end come and the kingdom of heaven be the sole authority.  

Waiting for the Lord

“I waited patiently for the Lord” (Psalm 40:1). These are the words of King David when he fled Jerusalem after his son Absalom usurped the throne of Judah. The psalm is composed of two parts: (1) his praise of God (vv. 1–10) and (2) his petition based on his affirmation of hope in God (vv. 11–17). The first part gives thanks to the Lord for His past faithfulness. The second is a personal lament of his present circumstances.

David recognized that His experiences of God’s deliverance were designed for testimony. Others needed to “see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord,” because “blessed [a condition of being in God’s favor] is the man who makes the Lord his trust” (vv. 3, 4). God multiplied His deeds and thoughts toward His saints in order for that grace to be proclaimed, however inadequately (v. 5). Our lives serve as a living model of God’s greatness (v. 16). Tragically, more often than not, our calamities cause us to fret, complain, and accuse God of His unfairness or lack of sympathy. This negative witness shows, not so much in what we say as how we act before others.

David recognized that his first obligation was delight-driven desire to do God’s will (vv. 7, 8). This desire flowed from God’s Torah (law—teaching or instruction) established in his life— “within [his] heart.” This passage is cited in Hebrews 10:5–7 concerning the work of Christ. Interestingly, Hebrews interprets the text to mean that doing the will of God is of far greater importance than mere ritual performance (v. 6). Hebrews cites the Septuagint reading, “a body have you prepared for me” whereas the Masoretic text reads, “my ears you have pierced.” English translations have “my ears you have opened,” missing the meaning. It is not that David was given understanding of divine revelation as in Isaiah 50:4 but that he was made a bond slave of divine purpose. Only David’s greater Son, Jesus, could fully satisfy the requirements of this coronation decree (Deuteronomy 17:14–20), becoming the sacrificial replacement necessary to redeem His people (Hebrews 10:8, 9).

The past faithfulness of his covenant Lord provided the foundation of David’s hope for deliverance in his present predicament. David’s trust rested on God’s mercy (racham, compassion) because of God’s loyal covenant love (hesed, steadfast love; v. 11) previously proven to him. He knew that the evils or bad things of life in this fallen world always surrounded him. He could not trust in his own resources. His fleshly tendencies continually tempted him to self-will (iniquities, v. 12) because of his lack of strength (poor) and resoluteness (needy). Thus, his desperate plea, “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!” (v. 13). Understand that this plea looked past David’s immediate personal need to the testimony of the Lord Himself and His covenantal oath (2 Samuel 7:8–16).

The powerful truth here is that all who are Christ’s are also served by this covenantal oath as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with personal failings but His faithfulness to His own will.

Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians

The church at Colossae was probably started during Paul’s three-year tenure at Ephesus. This is when he met Epaphras, who probably was responsible for bringing the gospel back to his hometown, Colossae (1:7). The letter was written during Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome. Epaphras was with him there and related to him the false teaching that was endangering the church, the reason for Paul’s writing to them. Paul faithfully and earnestly prayed for these saints (v. 9).

First, Paul asked that they would be “filled with the knowledge [full knowledge] of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” It is clear that only those who do the will of God can hope to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 7:21; 1 John 2:17). This was vitally important to insure their ability to resist those who attempted to deceive them with false doctrine. The mystery cults taught that a secret or hidden knowledge was available only to insiders. Paul refuted that every believer, not just a few elite members, should be filled to the full with the will of God. 

Two terms regarding their having full knowledge of God’s will are spiritually comprehending it and having the wisdom or spiritual insight to live the will of God. Wisdom is a biblical conception descriptive of a godly person who is able to live out spiritual truths (Hosea 14:9; Colossians 4:5). Wisdom enables those possessing it to be self-controlled, open to discipline and correction, and able to keep control of the tongue. Proverbs 17:28 argues that one who remains silent will be thought of as wise. Most importantly, wisdom is a characteristic of a righteous person (Psalm 37:30).

The result of having these Spirit-given and -managed functions of the will of God is that believers are enabled to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10). Walking worthy of the Lord means that we life selflessly as God’s image-bearers, loving God and others in order to reflect His image in world as He originally intended that we do. Such worthy walking is pleasing to the Lord. It allows us to bear spiritual fruit to the glory of God and deepens our relationship with God, not simply increasing intellectual knowledge.

This worthy walk is possible because one is “being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (v. 11). Our worthy walk is not free from trials and difficulties. However, the power of the Spirit enables joy, which is the positive response of hope and expectation in the midst of hard circumstances. Joy makes endurance and patience possible. Joy responds with thanksgiving to the Father who is using circumstances and qualifying the believer “to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (v. 12). This how we need to pray for each other.