Sermons From Acts - Walking In The Fear Of The Lord (9:31)

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                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                 Walking In The Fear Of The Lord (9:31)

INTRODUCTION

1. In writing about the early church, Luke recorded:

   "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea 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."
                                                       - Ac 9:31

2. In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul told them:

   "Therefore, my beloved, as you 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;" - Php 2:12

3. The concept of "fear and trembling" in connection with God is not
   a popular concept today...
   a. People prefer to hear about God's love, longsuffering and mercy
   b. When we point out God's righteous indignation, holiness, and
      justice, some say "My God is not like that!"
   c. The emphasis on God's love and mercy today is probably a reaction
      to the "hell, fire, and brimstone" preaching of another generation

4. But could it be that we have gone to other extreme...?
   a. Where there is no concept of fear and trembling as it relates to 
      the Christian?
   b. Could this be why many Christians are apathetic in their service?
   c. Have we forgotten Whom we should fear if we are negligent in our 
      service? - cf. Mt 10:28

5. In this lesson, I hope to accomplish three things...
   a. Define the fear of the Lord
   b. Point out why the fear of the Lord is important to the Christian
   c. Suggest how we can develop a healthy fear of the Lord without going
      to either extreme

[Let's begin by...]

I. DEFINING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. THE WORD "FEAR"...
      1. The Hebrew word is yir'ah and is used in the Old Testament
         to describe:
         a. Fear, terror
         b. Awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
         c. Fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
      2. The Greek word is phobos, and it is used to describe:
         a. Fear, dread, terror
         b. that which strikes terror

   B. WITH REGARDS TO THE FEAR OF THE LORD, IT IS OFTEN DEFINED AS
      REVERENCE OR AWE...
      1. Which is fine as far as it goes...
      2. But I wonder if this definition truly goes far enough...
      3. For though the terms reverence and awe imply a place for
         "trembling", do most make the connection?

   C. FEAR OF THE LORD SHOULD INCLUDE A PLACE FOR TREMBLING...
      1. Even as Paul indicated by combining "fear and trembling" - Php
         2:12
      2. The Greek word for "trembling" is tromos (a trembling or quaking
         with fear)
      3. Just as one would likely tremble in the presence of one who
         could take our life, so Jesus taught us to fear the Lord - Mt
         10:28

   D. A PROPER FEAR OF THE LORD WOULD THEN INCLUDE...
      1. "reverence and awe..."
      2. "being afraid to offend God in any way" - Hendriksen
      3. A trembling and quaking if one knows they have offended God and
         have not obtained forgiveness! - cf. He 10:26-27,30-31; 12:28-29

[The value of such an attitude is seen as we continue and now notice...]

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS, WE LEARN...
      1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge - Pr 1:7
      2. The fear of the Lord will cause one to hate evil - Pr 8:13
      3. The fear of the Lord will prolong life - Pr 10:27
      4. The fear of the Lord provides strong confidence and is a
         fountain of life - Pr 14:26-27
      5. The fear of the Lord prompts one to depart from evil - Pr 16:6
      6. The fear of the Lord leads to a satisfying life, and spares one
         from much evil - Pr 19:23
      7. The fear of the Lord is the way to riches, honor, and life!
         - Pr 22:4

   B. WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD...
      1. We close ourselves to the treasures of God's wisdom and 
         knowledge!
      2. We will flirt with evil and be corrupted by it
      3. Our lives are likely to be shortened by our refusal to heed 
         God's word (e.g., suffering STDs because we did not heed His 
         Word on sexual relationships)
      4. We will not come to know the love of God that gives us
         assurance and confidence of our salvation
      5. When fallen into sin, we will not be motivated to repent and
         turn to God!
      6. We will not be motivated to truly "work out our own salvation"!

[Without the fear of the Lord, we cannot please God (cf. Isa 66:1-2).
Only the person who "trembles at His Word" has God's promise to receive
His tender mercy! (cf. Ps 103:17-18).  But how does one develop the
proper fear of the Lord without going to the extreme of earlier
generations...?]

III. DEVELOPING THE "FEAR OF THE LORD"

   A. IT COMES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD...
      1. Just as "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
         God" - cf. Ro 10:17
      2. The children of Israel were told to gather every seven years to
         read and hear the Word - Deut 31:10-13
      3. The purpose?  "...that they may learn to fear the Lord"! - cf. 
         Deut 31:13
      4. As one reads the Word of God, they should gain a healthy degree
         of the fear of the Lord
         a. Consider the words of Paul in Ro 2:4-11
         b. And the words of Peter in 2Pe 3:7-14

   B. THE WORD OF GOD, PROPERLY USED, MAINTAINS A PROPER BALANCE...
      1. To avoid extremes, we must read all of God's Word
         a. Some read only portions that reveal God's love and mercy, and
            have no fear of the Lord
         b. Others focus on the fire, hell and brimstone passages, and 
            know nothing of God's everlasting loving kindness
         c. The one develops an attitude of permissiveness that belittles
            God's holiness and justice
         d. The other develops a psychosis of terror that forgets God's 
            grace and compassion
      2. Even in passages noted above, the context of each speaks much of
         God's grace and forgiveness for those who will repent!
      3. So we must be careful how we use the Word of God, but use it we
         must!

CONCLUSION

1. The Psalmist wrote...

   "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, 
   And to be held in reverence by all those around Him." - Ps 89:7

2. Why do we need to fear the Lord?  So we will be sure to work out our 
   salvation with fear and trembling! - Ac 9:31; Php 2:12

3. The warning is necessary, for as it is written in Hebrews...

   "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us
   fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed
   the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word
   which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
   in those who heard it." - He 4:1-2

   And again...

   "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone
   fall according to the same example of disobedience." - He 4:11

4. With the proper fear of the Lord, we will "work out our salvation", we
   will "be diligent to enter into that [heavenly] rest"...!

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God." - 2Co 7:1

Are we perfecting holiness in the fear of God...?
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