“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.” Revelation 14:7
“But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” Isaiah 66:2
Who shall be able to stand in this hour of judgment in which we live today? The answer is, only those who fear God and give glory to Him. In these last days of the world’s history, our faith will be tested to the utmost.
The question is, are we afraid of men, or are we afraid of God? Many people, even Christians, fear men; they would not commit sin in the presence of people, especially other church members, but when they are alone they can do sin because they are not afraid of God.
Many professing Christians have an understanding that God forgives always. All they have to say is, “God forgive me,” and all their sins are forgiven. But that is not so. Hebrews 10:26 says, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”
This is where many professing Christians have lost their chance of salvation. They commit the same sin continually. Even if it is a small sin, which they know is wrong, they expect God to continually forgive. They do not want to give up this sin. Also, if they continue to believe false doctrines after they have received the knowledge of the truth it can eventually result in the unpardonable sin.
God did not forgive Uzzah who touched the ark of the covenant; He did not forgive the sons of Aaron, who brought strange fire to light the lamps in the sanctuary; He did not forgive Ananias and Sapphira, who spoke a lie.
During World War I, in 1914 in Europe, many Seventh-day Adventist members believed that they could join the army and fight in the war. Therefore, God allowed a separation and 98 percent of the members left His truth and His church. Only two percent remained; those who feared God and kept His commandments.
In 1951 a large number of members were shaken out from God’s church. When God is shaking His church, He will not shake out the faithful members. “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” Amos 9:9
To know all these things and to avoid being shaken out we need wisdom and knowledge. God is willing to give us understanding of these things, but we must fulfil the conditions for divine wisdom. “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
What else does the fear of the Lord do to us? “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:7. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.” Proverbs 8:13. “The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortenened.” Proverbs 10:27.
“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
All these blessings come upon us if we fear the Lord. When we come into the presence of the Lord, we need to come with respect and reverence. When we come to the place of worship, we do not come only into the company of people.
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22–24
Millions of professing Christians have lost respect for the places of worship, to them it is a common meeting place, they do not feel the presence of God in the church.
To understand the greatness of God, we need to study astronomy. In the Milky Way, to which we belong, there are 70 billion stars, and there are billions of galaxies, some of them 15 billion light years away from us. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.” Isaiah 40:26
Christ takes care of all these stars, and yet He has time to care for us, to listen to our prayers, and to lead and guide us.
Yet most of the professing Christians have lost the fear of God. They do not tremble as they read His word. They do not feel the presence of God in their daily lives. They love themselves more than God. He is only a servant to them when they need help. Even one little sin that is cherished is dangerous to us.
“One act of disobedience weakens the power to see the sinfulness of the second act. One little disregard of a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ is sufficient to stop the promised blessing of the Holy Spirit. By disobedience the light once so precious becomes obscure. Satan takes charge of the mind and soul, and God is greatly dishonoured.” –The Review and Herald, February 7, 1957
Satan does not tempt us to do great sins, because he knows that even little sins have terrible consequences to the Christian.
Fear God and give glory to Him, this is our message. This message must be proclaimed to the whole world. But before we can proclaim it, we must fear God and give glory to Him. At the same time we must love and adore Him. Then when the time of trouble and the Sunday Law comes, we are not afraid, because the fear of God takes away from us the fear of men. Amen.
Timo Martin