Fear God, Shun Evil

Fear of God is certainly one of the least favorite topics of the day both in modern Christianity and in the secular world. Many people, regard God as a good, loving, forgiving God and believe any fear [of punishment] is unmerited. This can be especially true in our Christian community circles where we [rightly] regard our standing with God as righteous, holy, and pure washed by the blood of the Lamb. However, sometimes this lack of fear can be a detriment to us as we are seeking to live lives characterized by holiness and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Several days ago, as I was in a Bible study, we contemplated some of the more stringent truths of 1st John such as, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:6) “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” (1 John 3:9). Most of us admitted we had no idea what these passages meant, probably in large part due to the fact that they chafe against our own personal preconceived beliefs. I believe things like this may be rooted in our lack of fear of God.

So, how does a lack of fearing God relate back to believing the truth about God? In order to do this, I’d like to pair two other passages together and consider their implications for believing the truth about God. “The fear of the Lord is wisdom; and to shun evil is understanding...” (Job 28:28) “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27-28) Think about these questions: When was the last time you grabbed some fire and held it to your chest? Or when did you decide to take your shoes off and decide to prance around in the coals of the fire you roasted your marshmallows in? Unless you’re a fool or someone paid you to (or perhaps both), you’ve probably NEVER done these things. Why? Because you understood the consequences of your actions. You, in a word, believed the fire and coals to be hot and harmful and therefore decided to stay far away (flee). Therefore, when we fear God and shun evil we demonstrate wisdom and understanding because we actually take God at His Word and trust that the sin which is so enticing is in actuality genuinely harmful (and sometimes deadly Acts 5:1-10) to us.  

Now how does this change the way we live out our faith? I believe it starts with identifying blind spots in our walks with the Lord, areas in which we know we are either outright disobedient or genuinely struggle to achieve victory. Then, we find what God’s Word has to say about these things, no matter how stringent.  Do you struggle with lust? Memorize and meditate on passages like Proverbs 5. Do you wrestle with anger? Consider Matthew 5. Does gossip come a little too naturally? Meditate on proverbs about the tongue and wholesome speech. Now I’m also not advocating for spiritual sado-masochism through beating yourself up with the Scriptures. I’m simply saying that you should fill your mind with the truth...all of it, including the sins and flesh struggles that are specific to you. I hope this helps you in your walk with the Lord and encourages you to know that His will for you is your sanctification. (1 Thess 4:3)

Questions for Reflection, Discussion, and Application:

1. Can we believe the truth about sin and still be ensared by it?
2. How do we reconcile fearing God and loving God at the same time? Is it possible?
3. What are some good passages to meditate on so that we fear God rightly?

*Next up on "Good & Noble"...What exactly is "repentance" and how does it relate to believing the Truth? Does it mean turning from evil and doing good as popularly heard or something else entirely?

Good & Noble Hearts: An Introduction

It has been said that Man’s chief end (sole purpose) is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. According to John 15:8, God is glorified in our bearing fruit; it reads, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Additionally, as we abide in His love (John 15:9) and bear fruit, we are able to enjoy this fruit of the Spirit that is characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). We are responsible to “bear” this fruit; ultimately, however, this fruit comes from the Holy Spirit. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the four soils. Only one of which He relates as fruitful soil. In this important parable, the key difference between the fruitless, immature, thorny soil and the good soil is one heart (“soil”) is overgrown by worries, pleasures, and riches (Luke 8:14) and the other heart is described as “good and noble”. As you can discern from the title, that is what this blog is about.

More specifically, It’s purpose is three-fold: pursuing the Truth [of God’s Word] as the noble-minded Bereans did (Acts 17:11-12), using the Truth to battle the deception of the enemy (Eph 6:10-20), and protecting ourselves against the self-deception of being only “hearers” of the Word and not “doers” (James 1:22) and, thereby, being fruit-bearing believers.

Or, more simply:

1. bearing the fruit of the Spirit (being “doers” and not merely “hearers”)
2. speaking the Truth (in love) in order to defend against the lies the enemy uses to keep us in bondage
3. being open and noble-minded (as the Bereans were), searching for the Truth no matter where it leads us

All of this can be boiled down into one simple statement: "obeying and believing the Truth of God for our lives," which includes all three of these elements.

I look forward to this journey with you and I pray that it will challenge you to bear fruit in your lives, transform and conform your present beliefs to the Truth of God’s Word, thereby setting you free from the lies of the enemy. Please comment and discuss below each post to enrich study but remember to love one another (as that’s how Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples, John 13:35), even if you vehemently disagree. Remember, we’re all on this journey of Truth together; and while there is only one Truth, everyone has a different, unique perspective to bring to the table. I am very grateful for my brothers and sisters that have come from differing Christian traditions and have brought fresh perspective to the Text. In fact, the reason why this blog is called “Good & Noble HeartS” (plural) and not “Good & Noble Heart” (singular) is because I want you to feel like you are part of this blog and what it represents.

May God bless you all with a spirit of knowledge and revelation so that you may know Him better! (Eph 1:17)

Questions for Reflection, Discussion, and Application:

1. What does it mean to have a "good and noble" heart?
2. How can we seek to be "modern day Bereans"?
3. How might believing things that aren't true affect us?

*Next up on "Good & Noble"... How fearing God and shunning evil (Job 28:28) relates to believing the Truth about God and ourselves...