“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation (remember he preached Christ and Him crucified), and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
***BTW: This is where every false religion falls down; a totally inadequate and inaccurate view of Jesus, his identity (JW (archangel Michael)/Catholic (Sacred Heart/Eucharist/‘Blessed Sacrament’); or his death (Islam) and resurrection (Judaism).
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 KJV
‘In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (propitiation shields are place on the surface of spacecraft like Voyager, on returning to Earth to protect them from being burned up by the friction generated) for our sins.’.
1 John 4:9-10 KJV
So, let us look ar 2 Elements, the gate or door, representing justification; and the way or path, which represents sanctification:
Jesus is the DOOR/GATE/ENTRANCE into salvation (John 10:7-9)……this is JUSTIFICATION. The PATH or WAY is Jesus as the ‘LIVING WORD’ (the RHEMA of the Bible) as we apply it to and in our lives by our WORKS (SANCTIFICATION).
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
‘Thy word is a lamp unto My feet, And a light unto MY path’. (Psalm 119:105). Note the MYs in this verse.
Tina’s picture of Jesus laying down and allowing us to walk on Him and becoming our path. The ‘strait and narrow’.
Quote from Winsome Christianity (Henry Durbanville):
“The Book (The Bible) which declares that good works do not constitute salvation, just as definitely proclaims that they ought invariably to accompany salvation; that while they are not its procuring cause, they should always be its resulting consequence; that those who have been accepted in the Beloved, should henceforth labour strenuously to be acceptable to the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:9)
“having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
Ephesians 1:5-6 KJV
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”
2 Corinthians 5:9 KJV
…….they work FROM the cross, not TO the cross; not in order to be saved, but because they are saved. Having looked to God for salvation (God’s free grace as in Isaiah 45:22)
they now look to themselves, their ways, their acts, their lives in order that they may ultimately merit the Master’s “Well done”.
See also “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
Numbers 21:8-9 KJV
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22-23) . I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
The NT picture of ‘looking into Yeshua’ is foreshadowed in Isaiah 45:22 and Numbers 21.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
Numbers 21:8-9 KJV
When our first parents sinned, their immediate instinctive reaction was to hide from God. Within only 2 verses of their sin, scripture records them becoming fearful and hiding from God:
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Genesis 3:6-10 KJV
Sinful man still hides from the presence of God, either cowering away riddled with fear, or remaining ignorant of the fact that he stands condemned already; yet the wonder of grace is that it delivers us from this abject fear and instead puts (or should put!!) a new Godly fear into our hearts instead.
‘‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed’ (John Newton).
‘We must fear God out of love, not love him out of fear’ (St Francis de Sales).
The remarkable thing about God, is that when you fear Him, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else’ (Oswald Chambers); (for example the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-7).
“And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
Luke 18:4-5 KJV.
He feared that he would become stressed out, or have a nervous breakdown if this widow didn’t stop mithering him.
So we have our justification delivering us from ungodly fear, yet continuing the fear of God facilitating and ensuring our sanctification. We have to distinguish between the two types of fear.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared (PAST TENSE) to all men, teaching us (CONTINUOUS PRESENT TENSE) that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for (FUTURE TENSE) that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity (JUSTIFICATION), and purify unto himself (SANCTIFICATION) a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”
Titus 2:11-15 KJV.
The point is that we shouldn’t ever look at GRACE as something which just admits us through the ‘Life Gates’ (to quote Fanny Crosby’s hymn), but something which continuously keeps us on the ‘strait and narrow’ path. Jesus spoke about the GATE and the PATH, and The KEY to appreciating and appropriating this grace is the fear of the Lord.
So, fear of the Lord is something which as Christians we should cultivate. Why? Well, for one, Jesus had it:
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:”
Isaiah 11:1-3 KJV
Also, He commanded it:
“And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12:4-7 KJV
But note how he links that fear to how valuable and loved we are.
It is said that ‘forewarned is forearmed’. The fear of God forearms us against complacency or taking God’s grace for granted.
Note again, the apparently paradox: a seemingly contradictory statement which on closer examination proves to be true.
‘Fear of the Lord is his treasure, a choice jewel, given only to those who are greatly beloved’ (John Bunyan).
Having mentioned how key the fear of the Lord is, let us have a run-through of some of the things scripture has to say about it. The need for the fear of the Lord is something essential for the Christian life, and the huge blessings that are attached to it are covered very widely in many scriptures, both OT and NT.
Law of 1st Mention:
As far back as Genesis 20 we see:
“And Abraham said (to Abimelech), Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.”
Genesis 20:11 KJV
“But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.” (They didn’t obey the Pharoah’s commands….a good example of godly civil disobedience).
Exodus 1:17 KJV
“And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:”
Exodus 19:3-5 KJV
This shows that God’s purpose in delivering Israel was to have intimacy with them and for them to be his ‘peculiar treasure’ over all the nations
“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”
Exodus 20:18-21 KJV
“If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:”
1 Samuel 12:14 KJV……“only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.”
1 Samuel 12:24 KJV
A good example of a Paradox:
Proverbs 26: verses 4 and 5 which seem on the surface to contradict each other.
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, Lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own conceit.”
Proverbs 26:4-5 KJV
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”
Deuteronomy 10:12 KJV
“Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”
Deuteronomy 10:20
Psalm 2:11 states: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling.”
Psalm 2:10-11 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”
Psalm 19:9 KJV
Psalm 25: “What man is he that feareth the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.”
Psalm 25:12 KJV & verse 14:
“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; And he will shew them his covenant.”
Psalm 25:14 KJV
“Let all the earth fear the LORD: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”
Psalm 33:8 KJV
“O fear the LORD, ye his saints: For there is no want to them that fear him.” (So nothing lacking)
Psalm 34:9 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: A good understanding have all they that do his commandments: His praise endureth for ever.”
Psalm 111:10 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the froward mouth, do I hate.” Ironic in ‘Pride Month’ that so many Woke! ‘Christian’s’ want to identify themselves with Pride.
Proverbs 8:13 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10 KJV
“The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: But the years of the wicked shall llbe shortened.”
Proverbs 10:27 KJV
“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: And his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To depart from the snares of death.”
Proverbs 14:26-27 KJV
“Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.”
Proverbs 15:16 KJV
“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; And before honour is humility.”
Proverbs 15:33 KJV
“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: And by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 KJV
“The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil.”
Proverbs 19:23
Solomon, at the end of his depressing book of Ecclesiastes ;
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV
“Like as a father pitieth his children, So the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”
Psalm 103:13 KJV
The counsel of the godly king Jehoshaphat to those in authority:
“And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.”
2 Chronicles 19:5-10
Nehemiah (condemning Usury)
“And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself (have a word with yourself), and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer. Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.”(Yirat Hashem or Yirat Elohim).
Nehemiah 5:6-10 .
“The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
Isaiah 33:5-6 KJV
Mary, the mother of Jesus states:
“And his mercy is on them that fear him From generation to generation.”
Luke 1:50 KJV
“Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
Acts 9:31
***“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (definitely sanctification). For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (God’s grace).
Philippians 2:12-13 KJV
Dealing with Arguments against these points:
But doesn’t ‘perfect love drive out fear’?, as in:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4:18 KJV
Well, Jesus links loving him with obedience as in:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15 KJV and: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:21 ;
——and so the point here is that if we really love God and seek to follow him wholeheartedly, John says we need not have that fear that has ‘torment’ attached to it. If we really fear God, we will not want to offend him and cause a break in our fellowship with him. That being said, of course we all fall short and so we are cast back on God’s grace.
Also, doesn’t scripture say: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind?”.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
Yes, it does, but Paul was talking to Timothy who by nature seems to have been quite timid and who needed bolstering up and encouraging. This comes through in Paul’s letter, but again, there is a difference between the fear of man, and the fear of God:
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
Proverbs 29:25KJV
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV
Peter writes:
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
1 Peter 2:17 KJV
“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:22-24 KJV
Take- away points:
The 5 Solas operate in both JUSTIFICATION and SANCTIFICATION.
(1) By scripture alone.
(2) By grace alone.
(3) Through faith alone.
(4) By Christ alone.
(5) For the glory of God alone.