~
The Israelites Were Commanded to Fear God, 16 ~
God
does not want His children living in fear.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”
(2 Peter 1:2-3). However,
God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him. We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear
God.”
Comment ~ This
Scripture for this week in our Fear God series relates to the Israelites and
how they were to deal with apostates.
This Week’s Passage ~ “If there arises among you a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the
wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other
gods’ — which you have not known — ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not
listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know
whether you love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep
His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams
shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the
Lord your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you
from the way in which the Lord your
God commanded you to walk. So you shall
put away the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
Fearing God Results in Salvation
~ “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews
10:31). “A wise
person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident”
(Proverbs 14:16).
This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life
which reverences God and seeks to do His will.
Fearing God Results in
Fearlessness ~ “The Lord
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the strength of my life; of whom shall
I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). The answer is: only God. With the gift of salvation comes
responsibility.
Fearing God Results in Witnessing ~ “Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will
declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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