Heart Tracks - Holy Fear

"You must be holy in everything you do." I Peter 1:15......"Two statements of command are found frequently in Scripture: should be and must be. We are wise to adhere to the should bes. We are fools if we don't adhere to the must bes! Peter's statement was a must be." John Bevere

Bevere relates in his book Good Or God? that he is more and more receiving invitations to preach with the understanding that he not say anything that might make the people feel guilty or uncomfortable. He's told that it's the leadership's desire that the people be built up and encouraged, and not be exposed to "negative things." This is an attitude that seems to be growing ever stronger in the western Church. It also explains the diminishing of two deeply needed aspects of true worship in the Church; holiness and a real fear of the Lord. I think it's hard to be experience or walk in either when the Father is presented as our good friend who just wants to make our lives better, and who exists to serve us and bring about the fulfillment of our agendas and wishes. I think we get this picture of Him through our creation of what Bevere calls, a fictitious Jesus.

To make his point, Bevere relates the story of his visiting in prison a famous televangelist who was there because he had defrauded both the government and his followers. In their talking, Bevere asked how a man who had begun so committed to the Lord could end up where he was? Had he fallen out of love with Jesus? His answer shook Bevere. He said he had "loved Jesus" all through his immoral and impure behavior. He told Bevere, "I loved Him, but I didn't fear Him." Then he added these chilling words; "John, there are millions of Americans just like me. They love Jesus but they don't fear God."

I Peter 1:17 reads, "So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as 'foreigners in the land.' Philippians 2:12 exhorts us to "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." This is not a works based calling, but a Holy Spirit filled life walk. It's not a should be but a must be. The word used for trembling in the Greek is "quaking with fear." There are not many in the Church who would be comfortable with this image, yet it is there even so. Paul is not speaking of living in a carnal fear, of being afraid of God. It is a fear that dreads the consequence of a life lived apart from a holy, mighty, and deeply loving God. Bevere says that the first definition of the fear of the Lord must be "to be terrified of being away from God." It must follow then that we would fear any behavior, attitude, lifestyle practice, sin, to have a grip on our lives and so puts a barrier between ourselves and Him. The barrier does not keep His love from us, but it certainly will keep the power of His life and presence from us. More, it will deaden us to that presence, allowing self-deception to grow to the point that we think all is well with Him when in fact, we journey ever deeper into darkness and sin. It was the experience of the 80's televangelist. To what degree might it be ours today? Yours today?

The acceptance of immorality within the Church today is growing at an ever faster pace. In the name of being loving and accepting, we downplay the effects of sin on both individuals and the body. Holiness of life has been relegated to a topic prevalent in the old, legalistic church we don't wish to be identified with. In our wish to be free of that, we have in so many ways, taken on the chains of captivity to sin and called it freedom and grace. And we're blind to the fact that living in Spirit empowered holiness and fear of the Lord is the only true freedom we can know and were created for. It must be! Does it be so in your life and mine?

Blessings,
Pastor O