Saved by Fear

Almost everyone has experienced fear at some point in their lives. Many people are fearful when they are in a situation where their life is in danger as they fear death. People may also fear financial ruin – being faced with a life of poverty and struggle. Some people are fearful of meeting new people, fearful of starting a new job. There are many situations that cause people to fear.

When people get fearful, they react in several different ways. Some will turn immediately to God and cry out for help. Some will curse God. Some will turn to worldly sources for safety.

Many churches also will use fear to increase their membership. They will preach an ever-burning hell fire – a cruel God, who loves to see sinners suffer therefore people come to church through fear. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible does, however, have a verse that mentions salvation through fear…

SALVATION THROUGH FEAR

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Jude 22, 23

“I saw that when the truth is presented, it should be in the power and Spirit. Bring the people to the point to decide. Show them the importance of the truth–it is life or death. With becoming zeal, pull souls out of the fire.” 1T 152

We do serve a loving God although there are some who will be saved by fear. How can this be? Fear can lead people to seek a refuge in Jesus at which time their fears will be abated, turning into love. Fear can be a good thing if it leads a person to the foot of the cross. These types of people are like the publican who prayed in the temple, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13. Once they meet Jesus, their hearts will be melted and the fear will turn into love.

“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

The fear mentioned here is ungoldly fear, and not the reverential awe felt by the true worshipers of his Creator. It is a fear of cowardice. Perfect love that centres on God will not be enslaved by this type of fear because they have the faith to believe that, “if God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. Some think of God as a cruel tyrant and only worship Him because they are cowards, enslaved by this fear of an eternal burning hell, but He who truly loves has no fear of God. He also has no fear of the evil plots of men. Fear arising from a wrongly spent life brings its own immediate punishment, apart from any penalty that the future may hold in store.

Since there is no fear in love, one who fears demonstrates that he is not yet made perfect in respect to the high form of love of which the apostle is speaking.

Fortunately, development is possible. As we learn to know the Lord we begin to love Him, and our fear changes from a haunting dread of a powerful and avenging God to a “clean” fear that does not wish to disappoint a friend. The more we grow in love, the less we fear. When our love is perfectly developed and freed from all trace of self, we shall be without cowardly fear of God or man. We shall not fear God because we know that He is love. We shall not fear man because we know that our loving Friend will allow nothing to come upon us that will not be for our ultimate good, and that He will be with us whenever our path leads through trial or danger.

“There are many who desire to love and serve God, and yet when afflictions come upon them, they do not discern the love of God in it, but the hand of the enemy. They mourn and murmur and complain; but this is not the fruit of love to God in the soul. If we have perfect love, we shall know that God is not seeking to injure us, but that in the midst of trials, and griefs, and pains, He is seeking to make us perfect, and to test the quality of our faith. When we cease to worry about the future, and begin to believe that God loves us, and means to do us good, we shall trust Him as a child trusts a loving parent. Then our troubles and torments will disappear, and our will will be swallowed up in the will of God.” SD 193

During his ministry, the Apostle Paul encountered two people mentioned in the book of Acts who were fearful and they both reacted differently.

The Jailer: “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:27-31

The Jailer trembled and was converted.
Felix: “And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.” Acts 24:24-26

Felix trembled at the thought of the judgment, however he ignored his conscience and eventually the voice of God became quiet to him.

“How wide the contrast between the course of Felix and that of the jailer of Philippi! The servants of the Lord were brought in bonds to the jailer, as was Paul to Felix. The evidence they gave of being sustained by a divine power, their rejoicing under suffering and disgrace, their fearlessness when the earth was reeling with the earthquake shock, and their spirit of Christlike forgiveness, sent conviction to the jailer’s heart, and with trembling he confessed his sins and found pardon. Felix trembled, but he did not repent. The jailer joyfully welcomed the Spirit of God to his heart and to his home; Felix bade the divine Messenger depart. The one chose to become a child of God and an heir of heaven; the other cast his lot with the workers of iniquity.” AA 426

Fear is not a bad emotion if it leads a person to repentance as it did the jailer.

TURNING TO THE WORLD IN TIME OF FEAR

Some people lack faith in God and fear because they cannot see Him. They begin to trust only in what they can see. The Israelites built a golden calf when Moses had been away in the mountain for 40 days. They wanted a god that they could see.

They lacked faith in the power of the God they could not see. They could have found salvation through this fear had they turned to the Lord, rather than the golden calf. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:5-7

Although we don’t see God, we see many evidences of His existence and of His watchful care. When people become fearful and turn to the world for support, they are showing they have a lack of faith and trust in God. They begin to trust in man, and this can only bring disaster. They are not saved through their fear.

Finances: Do we fear to trust our finances to God? Or do we need to put the majority of our money into our investments and give God only a few coins? Do we have more faith in worldly financial institutions and assets than we do on God? Some people also feel they must cheat on their income tax return so that they don’t need to pay as much tax, assuring themselves that there is nothing wrong with this because the government is corrupt anyway and not using the money wisely. They fear to trust in God. There have been many times when we’ve studied the Bible with people and they accept many points of the message, however they have a job that requires them to work on Sabbath. This has proven to be a stumbling block for many people. They fear not being able to provide for their family if they should keep the commandments and lose their job. They do not have faith in God to provide.

Health: Do we trust the medical doctors before we will trust in God? Some doctors have been known to indiscriminately overprescribe medications because they really don’t know what the problem is – they are using trial and error in an attempt to mask the symptoms of illness and make a person believe they are well, when the underlying problem was never resolved and will resurface later. While there are good medical doctors who are beneficial to the healing process some are not. They don’t practice in a holistic manner. Our ultimate trust should be in God, and God can either heal us directly or guide us to people who can assist us in the healing process. The medical doctor should cooperate with God’s healing agencies.

If some person contracts a fearful disease like cancer often they comply with all the radical treatments that have been prescribed, which may do damage to other parts of the body, while God’s healing agencies are ignored, such as proper diet, fresh air, sunshine, water and sleep. They fear death but don’t find salvation in this fear. They don’t come to the Lord.

The “health experts” in this world have convinced many people of the fact that, in order to have a balanced diet they must include items such as meat and dairy products to be healthy. Do we trust these “experts?” Are we fearful of stepping out in God’s appointed way?

Leisure Time: Or we don’t trust God that our life will be fulfilled if we spend our leisure time in missionary work rather than our own selfish pleasures. We fear we’ll miss out on the good things of life and we’ll live to regret it when we reach the end. Ask the Christian martyrs in the Dark Ages if they had any regrets when they reached the end of their lives that they didn’t spend more time for selfish pleasure rather than in serving the Lord. What will it matter after we’ve been in heaven for a million years?

Will we be pining away at the fact that we missed a TV show, or some other form of entertainment that was supposed to fulfil us? I think the answer is obvious. There is no need to fear fulfilment in your life if you’ve devoted yourself to the service of God. This is a cowardly fear.

There are many ways in which we show lack of faith in God – and it can only bring a curse to us. It all stems from fear – fear to trust in God. We don’t really believe the Lord can help us so we don’t turn to the Lord. We want help from a source that we can see.
Dependence on the world is fatal.

THE DISCIPLES’ FEAR

The disciples of Jesus were in danger one night on the lake when a storm arose. Jesus was in the boat with them, but asleep. When the storm seemed about to overwhelm them, they cried to Jesus for help.

“And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:25, 26 In the same situation, in the book of Mark we see Jesus asking the disciples, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? Mark 4:39, 40 To be fearful as such is to have “no” faith, according to Jesus.

“When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. But He rested not in the possession of almighty power. It was not as the ‘Master of earth and sea and sky’ that He reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, ‘I can of Mine own self do nothing.’ John 5:30. He trusted in the Father’s might. It was in faith–faith in God’s love and care–that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which stilled the storm was the power of God.

“As Jesus rested by faith in the Father’s care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.

“How often the disciples’ experience is ours! When the tempests of temptation gather, and the fierce lightnings flash, and the waves sweep over us, we battle with the storm alone, forgetting that there is One who can help us. We trust to our own strength till our hope is lost, and we are ready to perish. Then we remember Jesus, and if we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain. Though He sorrowfully reproves our unbelief and self-confidence, He never fails to give us the help we need. Whether on the land or on the sea, if we have the Saviour in our hearts, there is no need of fear. Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that He knows to be best.” DA 336. Jesus can use fear to save us.

FAITH FOR TOMORROW’S TRIALS

Do we have faith for tomorrow’s trials? Do you become fearful at the thought of the trials awaiting God’s people in the future? When you think of the Sunday laws, the persecution, Jacob’s trouble, does it fill your mind with fear? Do you fear that you may not have the faith to endure the trials? The truth is that you do not have the faith for these trials. If you think you do, then you are deceiving yourself. God only grants you the faith for today’s trials. Faith is progressive – it grows. As the trials become more difficult, our faith becomes stronger. It strengthens with exercise. We must believe that if God gives us the faith and strength for today’s trials, He will most certainly give us faith for the future trials when we need it. We must cease to worry about the future and live each day to the fullest for the Lord. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34.

How will our faith grow? “By constantly contemplating heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger. Our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more and more mixed with faith and love… We should meditate upon the scriptures, thinking soberly and candidly upon the things that pertain to our eternal salvation. The infinite mercy and love of Jesus, the sacrifice made in our behalf, call for most serious and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon the character of our dear Redeemer and Intercessor. We should seek to comprehend the meaning of the plan of salvation. We should meditate upon the mission of Him who came to save His people from their sins.” RH 06-12-88

You do not need to fear the troubles that will come upon God’s people if you are being faithful today. They are minimal in comparison with the troubles that the wicked will suffer during the Seven Last Plagues. The martyrs in the Dark Ages perished with smiles on their faces. They were singing and praying to the Lord as they faced their persecutors. God will give you the faith to do the same. This is not how the wicked die. In the Seven Last plagues we see their suffering. They, “Blasphemed God of heaven because of their pains and their sores… and they gnawed their tongues for pain.” Revelation 16:11, 10.

CONCLUSION:

Did Jesus have any fear? Fear that He will fail in His mission? Fear that He would not be saved.? These types of fearful thoughts never entered His mind. He was too busy doing His Father’s work that He had no time to entertain selfish thoughts about Himself.

Fear is actually a selfish emotion. We are thinking too much of ourselves and we are afraid that something bad may happen to us. “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 Again, the fear in this verse denotes cowardice. The genuine Christian will not be a coward.

Many worldly people who have been raised a Christian and renounced their faith for the world are full of fear and regret on their death bed. If only they had not given up their faith, how much better would life have been and what a better hope for the future they would have had. The opposite is rarely true. Not very many Christians reach their death bed full of regret that they didn’t go to more parties in life and enjoy more entertainment. True Christians reach the end of their lives fully satisfied. They can say as did Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7, 8

The person who fears is in bondage – they have no freedom. They do not have the peaceful abiding presence of Jesus. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

If we find ourselves fearful, give it to Jesus. It may be that God is speaking to you. He wants to take away your fear and fill your heart with love. Just surrender your life to Him today.
Amen.

Wendy Eaton, Australia