Fear Rules Christianity - True or False?

[Bruce-Leiter]

Right. If God wants us to seek His face, he needs to be approachable.
No one wants to walk into a blazing inferno. Where's the love?

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God holds out his universal love to his whole creation during unbelievers' whole lifetimes, but they passively or actively reject him as their Creator. Since they do (Romans 1:18-20) by relying on false gods, he justly lets them have their way but removes all those idols at their deaths, which is what hell is all about and why there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth" there.

 

[Behold]

1.) "The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of Wisdom".

2. ) "work out your salvation, in fear and trembling"..


The word "fear" appears in both those verses......and its the same meaning, the same idea, and has nothing to do with being scared, or terrified.

Read the 2nd verse like this, and you'll understand the meaning of the word "fear" as found in both verses..

A.) "work our your Salvation, .. in AWE and extreme Reverence".....

 

[Bruce-Leiter]

1.) "The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of Wisdom".

2. ) "work out your salvation, in fear and trembling"..


The word "fear" appears in both those verses......and its the same meaning, the same idea, and has nothing to do with being scared, or terrified.

Read the 2nd verse like this, and you'll understand the meaning of the word "fear" as found in both verses..

A.) "work our your Salvation, .. in AWE and extreme Reverence".....

You're right. Believers' fear is different from unbelievers' fear. The former have reverence and respect for God, because he has all power, all knowledge, is present everywhere, and is eternal; we do not. However, when Jesus re-appears, unbelievers will try in terror unsuccessfully to hide from him, a lot like Adam and Eve after their disobedience.

 

[St. SteVen]

New topic.

Do you have a guardian angel? - testimonies

Open topic for testimonies about guardian angels. - Do you think you have a guardian angel? - Have they made themselves aware to you? - What did they do? [

www.christianityboard.com

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[ThePuffyBlob]

work out your salvation, in fear and trembling

we follow the footsteps of the demons?
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.

 

[Heart2Soul]

Christianity as a "religion" is very vulnerable to fear and doubt. IMHO, the denominational churches have focused more on the doctrine they established than the truth of God's Word. The sheep are not receiving nourishment from the teachings in scripture. However, even the most righteous, upright, and obedient man/woman of God can be weak in certain areas and will allow fear to take root in that area. A perfect example is Job...Job 3;25 "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."..
We should never fear when we put our faith in God but we live in a corrupted fleshly body and at times we engage in the world without putting our armor on and something happens and fear comes running.

 

[Lambano]

Hey, when you can make people afraid, it's easier to control them.

 

[Lambano]

A quote from a contemporary of the biblical writers, Caesar Caligula. Men who live by power and for power know this principle.

 

[Behold]

we follow the footsteps of the demons?
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.

Demon's nor the Devil can be born again , so even tho they BELIEVE......it does not do them any good.

Whereas when a SINNER gives God their Faith in Christ, then God gives them.... "THE GIFT of Salvation", that is "eternal life" '"In Christ".

 

[Ronald Nolette]

I didn't get a straight answer to my question, but I'm guessing that
@Taken did NOT view the link about the miracles of Buddha.

A true believer who is grounded in the Word should fear nothing in this life! god gave me a burden to witness to teh JW's and over the course of several years I collected a JW library larger than some kiongdom halls in order to know their minds and use the word againt the philosophy ensnaring them

I have witnessed to MOrmons, Athiests, Buddhists, Muslims,Hare Krisnas, Satanists, Witches and more.

 

[Bruce-Leiter]

A true believer who is grounded in the Word should fear nothing in this life! god gave me a burden to witness to teh JW's and over the course of several years I collected a JW library larger than some kiongdom halls in order to know their minds and use the word againt the philosophy ensnaring them

I have witnessed to MOrmons, Athiests, Buddhists, Muslims,Hare Krisnas, Satanists, Witches and more.

Ronald, there are two kinds of fear in the Bible. Believers' fear as God-fearers is a reverence and respect for God's high status as opposed to our humility as his lowly, fallen creatures resulting in our praise. You're right in saying that believers don't need to fear people, but they must respect God.

Unbelieving fear is terror of God, when as the Bible says, they will hide in caves with a willingness to let the rocks fall on them to escape God's justice when Jesus appears.

 

[St. SteVen]

You're right in saying that believers don't need to fear people, but they must respect God.

Why?

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[Bruce-Leiter]

Why?

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I answered that question in the last post.

 

[St. SteVen]

I answered that question in the last post.

Out of fear?
Fear of retribution?

Perhaps there is no difference between fear and respect?
(a failure of apologetics)

Did Jesus die to save us from God?

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[quietthinker]

Fear Rules​

1...keep your sins well concealed
2...image is most important....stuff it up and......
3...never step outside the rules
4...bow down before the rulers
5...never serve up black coffee when white is expected
6...take yourself very seriously.....you don't wanna loose credibility
7...finally, always flush away the evidence.

 

[St. SteVen]

Fear Rules​

1...keep your sins well concealed
2...image is most important....stuff it up and......
3...never step outside the rules
4...bow down before the rulers
5...never serve up black coffee when white is expected
6...take yourself very seriously.....you don't wanna loose credibility
7...finally, always flush away the evidence.

The religious happy mask. "How are you?", "We're fine." Really?

I remember quarreling with a Christian friend in a restaurant.
When things got loud he quieted me. Didn't want to be a bad witness.
Thus hiding the truth.

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[St. SteVen]

New topic:

Is the claim of only one God false? - How many gods are there?

We recognize the one true God, creator of heaven and earth. Beside Him there should be no other. Wait, should be? Doesn't that tell us right there that there are other gods? How many and for what purposes? How many of these entities in the spiritual realm are there? In ancient times there...

www.christianityboard.com

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[Bruce-Leiter]

Fear Rules​

1...keep your sins well concealed
2...image is most important....stuff it up and......
3...never step outside the rules
4...bow down before the rulers
5...never serve up black coffee when white is expected
6...take yourself very seriously.....you don't wanna loose credibility
7...finally, always flush away the evidence.

No, that is self-centered fear. Godly fear is reverence for God as our Father.

Good, earthly Fathers set loving limits for their children for their own good and enforce those limits with loving discipline when they go outside of those rules.

God also gives us good limits as Christians and disciplines us when we exceed them, rightly so. Godly fear respects and reveres his tough love as our perfect heavenly Father and his right to discipline us when we go astray, as in Hebrews 12:5-11:
Heb 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
Heb 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Heb 12:7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Heb 12:8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Heb 12:9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
Heb 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
Heb 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

[quietthinker]

No, that is self-centered fear. Godly fear is reverence for God as our Father.

Good, earthly Fathers set loving limits for their children for their own good and enforce those limits with loving discipline when they go outside of those rules.

God also gives us good limits as Christians and disciplines us when we exceed them, rightly so. Godly fear respects and reveres his tough love as our perfect heavenly Father and his right to discipline us when we go astray, as in Hebrews 12:5-11:
Heb 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
Heb 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Heb 12:7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Heb 12:8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Heb 12:9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
Heb 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
Heb 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

how does God reprove?

 

[Bruce-Leiter]

how does God reprove?

He does it through his Word, through permitted difficult circumstances that are caused directly by Satan's or our own doing, and through other people, again permitted, not directly caused by God. See the book What God Has Done: My True, Dramatic God-Biography for many examples (Amazon).