Of Fear And Faith
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 NIV
When I understand something of Christ’s love for me as a sinner, I respond with a love for Christ—and love has feeling. But love for Christ is a love that is above human love, though there is a similarity. There is also feeling. But feelings come and go. Commitment stays. We who have committed ourselves to Christ have feelings that come and go—joy, love, gratitude, and so on. But the commitment remains unchanged. Feelings are important, but not essential. The Bible says, “Perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). And those who love Christ have that confidence in Him that raises them above fear. Psychologists tell us there is destructive fear and healthy fear. Healthy fear is instructive, causing us to care for our bodies and our loved ones—Jesus told us to fear Satan.
When I understand that Christ in His death gained a decisive victory over death and over sin, then I lose the fear of death. The Bible says that “He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14–15). It is not the feeling of boldness and confidence that saves us, but it is our faith that saves us, and boldness and confidence result from our having trusted in Christ. The Bible says that we are to fear the Lord. This is reverential fear. It is this kind of fear of the Lord that puts all other fears in proper perspective.
Old John Witherspoon, the only cleric to sign the Declaration of Independence, had this to say on the subject: “It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.”
Our Father and our God, hear Your child’s reverent prayer of thanksgiving and praise. You have given me confidence for living in this world of darkness and fear. I know I am protected by Your love and by Your angels. I rejoice in Your amazing love that exhibited itself in Jesus’ death on the cross. In His blessed name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).