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 9 of 18

THE NATURE OF FEAR

This series deals with salvation's provision for fear and bondage. The focus of this installment will be the fear from which salvation liberates us. Our text specially refers to "the fear of death." This is a fear that compels the soul to try and avoid death rather than take hold on the living God. It is as aspect of unbelief, and not faith. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, foretold the time when men would serve God without fear. He was speaking of the reign of the Christ, whom his son John, was sent to introduce. Here is Zechariah's marvelous word. "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life" (Luke 1:68-75).

Note what a marked change was going to take place. (1) God would raise up the Redeemer foretold by the holy prophets since the world began–an objective He had intended from the beginning. (2) The people would be delivered from the enemies, the chief of which was the devil, together with principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). (3) His people, having been delivered from their enemies, would serve Him "without fear." (4) They would be characterized by consistent holiness and righteousness.

The "fear" of reference is the same mentioned by the Spirit First John. "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" (1 John 4:17-18). This is a fear that dreads confronting the Lord. Those possessed of it have no confidence, no "full assurance of faith," or "everlasting consolation and good hope." It is consistently true that those who do not have confidence before God are tormented at the thought of facing Him. Further, under the Old Covenant, men served God with this type of fear. The reason was that a purged conscience was not available to them (Heb 10:1-4). Thus an acute sense of their corruption plagued them. This is the type of fear salvation removes.

This is the type of fear that brings torment. It was dominant during the Old Covenant era, because a satisfactory sacrifice for sin had not been made. David expressed the impact of this fear upon the human spirit. While his circumstances differed significantly from ours, he did place in words the effect the fear that has torment has upon men. "I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off" (Psa 88:15-16). "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments" (Psa 119:120).

The nature of this fear is to drive a wedge between man and God, because it will not allow the person to draw close to the Lord. It is the kind of fear Adam had (Gen 3:10). Sarah experienced it when she inwardly laughed at the notion of having a son (Gen 18:15). Abimelech and his servants feared when they realized Abraham was a prophet of God (Gen 20:8). After Jacob realized he had confronted the living God, and did not know it, he was afraid (Gen 28:17). When the Israelites saw the glowing face of Moses, who had been in the presence of God, they were "afraid to come near to him" (Ex 34:20). While these various responses were not all identical, they did have this in common: fear kept the people at a distance, forbidding them to come close to the Lord.

God cannot be satisfactorily served from a distance. Yet, those who are not purged from their sins cannot come close, and those who are purged and do not know it are reluctant to draw near. The entire Old Covenant was one of a distant relationship with the people. Only the priests could come into the holy place of the tabernacle. Only the high priest could come into the most holy place, and then only once a year. It was a covenant where the people were actually kept at a distance because of their spiritual condition.

Had they not been threatened with death, they would not have served God at all. They were enslaved through fear of death, going through perfunctory exercises, honoring the Lord with their mouths, while their hearts were far from Him. That is the nature of serving God through a system of law.

But Jesus came to release men from this dreadful bondage, so they could serve the Lord "without fear." This phrase is another way of saying "boldly," or confidently. It is the opposite of drawing back in dread from the Lord. God has gone on record, "But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him" (Heb 10:38) – and that is precisely what the fear of reference makes a person do: draw back!

Serving God "without fear" is coming "boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need" (Heb 4:16). It is being able to "boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Heb 13:6). It is drawing "near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb 10:22).

God cannot be served properly out of a sense of fear, because fear cannot perfect or mature the individual. It causes torment when one is in the Lord's presence because of a lack of confidence. Because this debilitating fear will not allow the person to come close to God, the fear and dread of ones enemies also comes upon him. God be praised we have been delivered from such fear!

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ I thank You for a salvation that enables me to serve You without fear of reappraisal.

– Tomorrow: SOMETHING THAT IS EASY --