Saturday, August 20, 2016

The Fear Of Man - excerpts

There is nothing more paralyzing than the fear of man. It is the height of irrationality and idol worship. Paul the apostle warned against man-pleasers (Gal. 1:10), and the wisdom of the Proverbs warned against the ensnaring quality of fear, relative to men (Prov. 29:25). For Paul, the fear of men, expressed by seeking to gain their approval, was an impediment to faithful, gospel ministry (Gal. 1:10). Christ’s servants are to minister with unmitigated courage, and uncompromising convictions. The last thing the servant of Christ must succumb to is the fear of those to whom he ministers....

Fear of man eliminates discernment, counteracts wisdom, and assails the promises of God....

Fear of man is the incubator of compromise and the petri dish of apostasy. The Lord Jesus Christ pronounced a curse upon those who, through enslavement to others, received their acclaim and were unanimously spoken well of by their contemporaries (Luke 6:26). This lot does not belong to those who fear the Lord. Contrastively, Jesus pronounced blessing upon his disciples when they were maligned, insulted, excluded, and persecuted for righteousness’ sake because of the one whom they follow (Matthew 5:11). The one who fears the Lord is God’s free man. He is God’s courageous man. Those who fear men are slave to every manner of corruption, both inwardly and outwardly. Fear of man is also one of the catalysts for practicing sinful partiality, which the apostle James explicitly warned against the in the Scriptures (James 2:1-13)....

The fear of man also removes all discernment and, in the life of the church, functionally, eliminates the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9). The fear of man promotes elitism, hierarchy, celebrity, and inevitably authority with men, divesting the Scripture of its authority. It is not only crippling to the church, collectively, but it also cripples the individuals who serve the body....

The antithesis to the fear of men is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7). Men who fear the Lord, depart from iniquity, they do not rush into evil (Proverbs 16:6). Therefore, resisting the fear of man as a believer is sanctifying and promotes growth in holiness. Believers are like Christ when they fear God and do not place their fear in men. Fear of men is unsanctioned because man, as fallen creature, cannot be fully trusted to exact perfect justice and perfect righteousness. Such perfections belong to God alone in Christ, by His Spirit....

Fear of man restricts and redefines biblical evangelism, discipleship, while also assailing the imperatives of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Fear of anyone or anything, as a common trajectory, may bear evidence that one does not know the God of salvation (Psalm 27:1). Often, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, uttered the words ‘do not be afraid’ (John 6:20; Matthew 14:21). Since Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, those who follow Him have no reason to be afraid....

The biblical Christian, whether minister or laity, must not capitulate to fear and must redirect all fear toward them away from themselves to the triune God (Acts 10:25, 12:12-15). Those who truly belong to Christ do not bask in the glory of others (Luke 16:15; John 5:44). ~excerpts from "The Fear of Man" by Doron Gladden, BCRI

No comments: