Faith Comes By Hearing, But Obedience By Fear!

[Evmur]

Many of us hear the word of God but we will see in the scriptures that Fear bring forth Obedience. Once you really sit down and study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation you will see that God means what he says and can't lie. We in the last days where the great punishment comes at the end (Lake of Fire). But those of us who walk in the word of God knows that sometime we have to be chastening by God for correction. Paul says in Hebrew 12: My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

But theres a everlasting punishment for those who refuse to be corrected. Jesus says in Luke 12: 4, 5 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.

But Let's go back to the beginning and see how the Lord dealt with his people and get some understanding on how we should we wise and be obedient.

Let’s go into Joshua 3: 1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. 15 and as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

We see that God magnified Joshua so the people would have the same fear they had towards Moses.

Let’s continue in Joshua 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.15 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, 16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. 18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24 that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.


God knows with out fear, people will not obey him.

Our fear is a reverential fear, not dread. How many times in the gospels do you read Jesus say "fear not" God does not even want us to be anxious. How ya going to come BOLDLY to the throne of grace to receive help in time of need?

What do I mean by reverent fear?

I fear

Oh yes, I fear that I might lose the comfort and Presence of the Holy Spirit from my life, that I might grieve Him away. This happens to many, they lose their early joy, they fall from grace, their first love. They still are saved, they always will be, but they are not as they once were.

I am too weedy and needy for that, I cannot have it that I should lose God's blessing upon my life.

 

[pottersclay]

It is both love and fear that compels us. God knowing the right balance of both.
Jesus said love your God with all that you have with in you and he also said fear him who can cast both body and soul in hell.
Many belivers today live in sloppy agape, cheap grace, fuzzy wuzzy jesus syndrome. Fogetting he comes back as a lion.
None of us can even stand in the presence of the Lord without Jesus. In fact there were some that thought they had it all together and the lord said "I never knew you".
His perfect love cast out all fear for sure but not the fear of the father. This fear develops a love, a respect, and a reverence to the Holy one of Israel.

 

[BroTan]

Our fear is a reverential fear, not dread. How many times in the gospels do you read Jesus say "fear not" God does not even want us to be anxious. How ya going to come BOLDLY to the throne of grace to receive help in time of need?

What do I mean by reverent fear?

I fear

Oh yes, I fear that I might lose the comfort and Presence of the Holy Spirit from my life, that I might grieve Him away. This happens to many, they lose their early joy, they fall from grace, their first love. They still are saved, they always will be, but they are not as they once were.

I am too weedy and needy for that, I cannot have it that I should lose God's blessing upon my life.

It easy to flip fear backward and forward, but this fear according to the title is referring to people who willful sin and refuse to keep the Commandment, statues, Judgements. Just as you freely accepted Jesus in your life you can also freely choose to stop serving him. Jesus said with his own mouth; (Matt. 24:13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. That is until the end of your life, or until the Second Coming of the Lord. Many so called christians today have no fear God is because they believe that already saved. Paul said in (1 Cor. 15:1-2) (v.1) MOREOVER, brethren, I declare unto the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (v.2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. Paul is telling you right here that you are saved by the gospel that he preached unto you if you keep it in memory. So what happens if you don’t keep it in memory? Then you have believed in vain you have believed for nothing that’s what vain means.

Paul said in (1 Cor. 9:24-27) (v.24) Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. (v.25) And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible. Paul says that when you run in a race every body is running for a prize. But this prize that he is referring to is eternal life, that’s what he means by an incorruptible, he’s talking about an incorruptible body, a heavenly body. (v.26) I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, so fight, not as one that beateth the air: (v.27) But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. You see Paul knew exactly what was going on that why he says he has to bring his body under subjection. Under subjection to what? To God’s Law, Paul knew that if he didn’t continue to keep Gods law that even after he had preached to many that he himself could still become a castaway. This doesn’t sound like Paul thinks that he has guarantee salvation.

 

[BroTan]

God wants to be obeyed out of love, not fear.

1 John
4:18 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.
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

That's true but let's flip the fear on the other side, according to the title. In the scriptures it's written in Psalm 147: 11 7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praise upon the harp unto our God: 8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9 He giveth to the beast his food, And to the young ravens which cry. 10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, In those that hope in his mercy. Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. (Proverbs 15: 16)

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Proverb 14: 27)

 

[TMS]

i read many posts .... 2 lines of thinking.

Love = obedience
Fear = obedience...

Can i say both are right,,, Like faith without works is dead,, Faith and works can not be separated.

True love and fear for God can not be separated.

"If you love me keep my commandments" Jesus said. Ecc_12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Solomon said.

Love is not an emotion it is a principle and fearing God is part of that principle.

So fearing God and Loving God should work together. If you separate them you have the wrong concept of fear or love.

 

[TMS]

So fearing God and Loving God should work together. If you separate them you have the wrong concept of fear or love.

When i say this i'm talking about the fear = in awe of, and reverence of. Not fear that is exceeding terror.
True love and fear(reverence) for God can not be separated.

G5401 phobos = (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.
G5399 phobeō = to frighten, that is, (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy to be in awe of, that is, revere: - be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.
G1167 deilia = timidity: - fear.

Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

i read many posts .... 2 lines of thinking.

Love = obedience
Fear = obedience...

Can i say both are right,,, Like faith without works is dead,, Faith and works can not be separated.

True love and fear for God can not be separated.

"If you love me keep my commandments" Jesus said. Ecc_12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Solomon said.

Love is not an emotion it is a principle and fearing God is part of that principle.

So fearing God and Loving God should work together. If you separate them you have the wrong concept of fear or love.

I agree completely fear is part of what makes perfect love. when we are children we love our father but also revere him because he is much more powerful.

So as our fathers have willed we obeyed them and if we didn’t we received discipline and the discipline taught us lessons that kept us from going astray.

as we grew our fathers didn’t discipline us as adults , but because we had proper fear and we’re disciplined by them we now have a deep love and respect , a reverence for them and appreciation hat they didn’t just let us grow up with the wrong values and morals that lead to prison or worse.

to be afraid of , and to reverently fear are different.


“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

….Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:6-11, 28-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

if we are afraid of God however we’ll never come near to him hear his word and be called his sons. Being afraid keeps us hiding from him and thinking like this

“Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we want this

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭

reverent fear is an important part of the equation that keeps us in line and perfects our love for God

 

[BroTan]

Let’s go into Proverbs 14: 15 The simple believeth every word: But the prudent man looketh well to his going. 16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: But the fool rageth, and is confident.

The Simple is the mature person and the prudent is wise and discreet and very careful, but the person fool that rageth is fume with fury, rant and rave.

Let’s go into Job 28: 1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, And a place for gold where they fine it. 2 Iron is taken out of the earth, And brass is molten out of the stone. 12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living. 20 Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? 23 God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof. 24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven; 25 To make the weight for the winds; And he weigheth the waters by measure. 26 When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder: 27 Then did he see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

If you want to be wise, then read and study the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation and fear him and depart from evil.