SALVATION'S REMEDY FOR FEAR AND BONDAGE

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, 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" (Heb 2:14-15). "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom 8:15).

Devotion 6 of 18

THE FEAR OF DEATH

What is "the fear of death," and why must we be delivered from it? Notice, "the fear of death" is a harsh administrator, producing "bondage" that lasts "all their lifetime." Apart from faith, the prospect of death casts a dismal cloud over the soul. Without the eye of faith, which sees beyond the grave, death causes the person to see everything as vanity–pointless and without a purpose. This was the view of Solomon, who was granted wisdom from an earthly point of view. While his wisdom was, in some respects, most remarkable, in other respects it fell woefully short of what men require. Hear him lament at the thought of death. "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? . . . For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity . . . all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun . . . the day of death than the day of one's birth . . . For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten" (Eccl 1:1-2; 2:11; 3:19; 7:1; 9:5).

This is a view without Christ–a view without regard to dwelling forever in the house of the Lord. It is a valid view, in that it reveals the utter pointlessness of life apart from reconciliation to God. But these expressions are NOT the ultimate commentary on death, and should not be so regarded. They reflected bondage, not liberty. The "fear of death" saturates them.

This is not intended to demean Solomon. Rather, it confirms that in Christ, we have "a greater than Solomon" (Matt 12:42). Solomon's wisdom, as great as it was, was not able to keep him from fleshly indulgence, idolatry, and utter despair. It did not deliver him from "the fear of death," and it was the acme of wisdom in this world.

How differently the redeemed speak. "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens . . . And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Phil 1:21; 2 Cor 5:1; Rom 8:23). Those are expressions of a liberated soul!

When men are motivated by fear, they become moral slaves, for fear cannot bring you closer to the Lord, or procure strength from Him. The "fear of death" is generated when one knows the penalty for sin is death, yet remains powerless to do anything about it. The harder one trues to extricate himself from such fear, the more dominating bondage becomes.

Law throws gasoline, so to speak, upon the fire of fear, causing it to blaze out of control. A remarkable example of this is found at Mount Sinai. This is the closest the people had ever come to the Living God. Their conscience was aflame with a sense of His presence as the sound of the commandments broke forth upon their ears. Their own natures were so contrary to the Lord's that they drew back in dread. Here are their words. "And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Ex 20:19). There is "the fear of death" expressed.

And what did this "fear of death" do to them? It made them bondslaves to sin. Not many days later, they did something we have no record of them ever doing before. "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel" (Ex 32:6, NASB). They "corrupted themselves," worshiped a golden calf, and indulged in the flesh without restraint. When fear drove them from the Lord, it also led them into sin.

Paul also expressed this in delineating the work of the Law upon his own conscience. "I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died, and the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me" (Rom 7:9-11, NRSV). This expression, "sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment," is another view of "the fear of death." It shows that when our natures are at variance with God, they actually flare up when they are confronted with His demands.

Prior to being born again, Paul considered himself righteous UNTIL the Law registered upon his conscience. He tells us the particular commandment that convicted him was "Thou shalt not covet." The outcome of that experience was devastating. "But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead" (Rom 7:7-8, NIV). That is a bondage produced by "the fear of death."

Were it not for the intervention of God in sending His son into the world, there would have been no release from this bondage, and fear would have hounded us to the grave. However, thanks be unto God, faith "in His blood" (Rom 3:25) brings deliverance from debilitating fear and the consequent bondage to sin. Jesus, through His death, made a way to "free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Heb 2:15).

One further word. Having come from a legalistic background, I know this kind of word is rarely, if ever, declared in circles having a propensity for Law. Those who preach Law as a means to justification, living by the letter instead of the spirit of then law, bring "the fear of death" upon the people. In so doing, they shut them up to sin, making them bond slaves to the flesh. While those sins may not take the form of adultery, murder, and other such expressions, sin will begin to dominate the people. This is precisely why those who promote law are consistently divided among themselves, harsh and judgmental in their treatment of others, and sadly lacking in the full assurance of faith and hope. They are in the grip of "the fear of death," and their religion has put them there.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You that the Gospel produces hope, and not fear.

– Tomorrow: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DEVIL --