FEAR: THE MORAL DREAD OF BEING DISPLEASING TO GOD

"The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe"
Proverbs 29:25

"Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" Matthew 5:48

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 also read 1 John 4 in its entirety, it is an excellent word on love and fear. Here it is...very relevant to this day we are in... 1 John 4:

1" Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

Knowing God Through Love

7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Seeing God Through Love

12 "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Savior of the world."

The Consummation of Love

17 "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us."

Obedience by Faith

20 "If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also."

FEAR...it has two meanings for this writing. One of God and one of the world.

mora...in the Hebrew was used in the Old Testament as the word that described mans reaction to Gods mighty works. A very strong fear or terror gripped them.

phobos..in the Greek, in the New Testament, means a reverential fear that is the controlling motive of life, the wholesome fear that banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence. which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by God.

delia...in the Greek, in the New testament, means fearfulness from fright, the spirit of which is not given by God (2 Timothy 1:17 ). The word denotes cowardice and timidity and is never used in a good sense.

TORMENT......basanos...in the Greek, in the New Testament, means severe pain or torture.

i would encourage everyone to look these and other words up for themselves. It will bring deeper meaning to your reading of The Word. Barnes and Noble sells a Vines Dictionary for 12 bucks.

The root of fear ties into the lack of love that is of God, and so for that reason i was moved to talk about it here. Can believers in God, saved and walking out their salvation, believers that love God, have fear? Not the moral dread of being displeasing to God type of fear which all believers must have. i am talking about the fear that brings anxiety of the worldly stuff, like speaking in public, heights, space, water, animals, and any other worldly fear you can name. The fear unbelievers walk in. Everyday fearful anxiety that hinders our walk with God. It may be subtle and not outwardly manifested by holding it in, or it may be manifested by yelling at the ones we say we love, or nail biting, or screaming, or sweating, or tapping or....the list is endless..... Well, yes we certainly can and do have fear, but we need not have or live in it. God says so.

God says in His word that perfect love, which is ours in Him, casts out fear. NO FEAR. Does this mean we go about putting ourselves in dangerous situations and think God is going to snatch us from them? No, it does not. We have the common sense that God gave us in hearing the Holy Spirit(God) dwelling in us. We KNOW what is for us and what is not because we are walking in His presence moment by moment. We have the free will to choose. But, if we find ourselves in a situation not of our own making, we can trust God for the outcome and not fear. Life or death we are His and His alone, we do not belong to this world (2 Corinthians 10:3-4, 1 John 2:15, John 17:16), it has nothing for us, and when we die, it is gain (Philippians 1:21) to go to the Father, if we have died to ourselves and we are His and live for Him. Either way we win. NO FEAR. Amen.....

GOD is Omnipotent=ALL powerful, Omniscient=ALL knowing, Omnipresent=ALL places at once. PRAISE GOD.

What more could we possibly need or ask for? Amen...