Archive for the Fear of God category
Paradoxes
Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 2:08 PM by David Zavadil
Our lives seem to be one big paradox. We can sometimes feel we are doing great only to realize we have taken three steps backward. The healthy of us can actually be incubating a cancer within our body. This happens all too often in our walks with Christ. On the surface, to everyone else, we have it all together, but behind the scenes we find ourselves falling further from God.
I have been sharing jewels found in the book 
O CHANGELESS GOD,
Under the conviction of the Spirit I learn that
the more I do, the worse I am,
the more I know, the less I know,
the more holiness I have, the more sinful I am,
the more I love the more there is to love.
O wretched man that I am!
O Lord,
I have a wild heart,
and cannot stand before thee;
I am like a bird before a man.
How little I love thy truth and ways!
I neglect prayer,
by thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly,
by knowing thou has saved my soul.
Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be an evangelical hypocrite,
who sins more safely because grace abounds,
who tells his lusts that Christ's blood cleanseth them,
who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell, for he is saved,
who loves evangelical preaching, churches, Christians, but lives unholily.
My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
with no spiritual understanding,
no desire for the Lord's Day,
ever learning but never reaching the truth,
always at the gospel-well but never holding water.
My conscience is without conviction or contrition,
with nothing to repent of.
My will is without power of decision or resolution.
My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.
My memory has no retention,
so I forget easily the lessons learned,
and thy truths seep away.
Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of grace.
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Mortification (RSS)
Comments Restored
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 3:28 PM by David Zavadil
I have restored the comments on this blog. It is a new account so all of the previous comments, including the spam have been deleted. I plan on writing more and moderating the comments tighter. I pray that at some time this site will be used by people around the world for edification and growth.
Edited on: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:03 PMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Books (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Family happenings (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Just For Fun (RSS), Locarb (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Mortification (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS), Puritans (RSS), Stupid Movie Quotes (RSS), The Church (RSS), TNT (RSS)
Comments Spammed
Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 6:27 PM by David Zavadil
My comments were spammed recently so I have eliminated them until I can find a better system.
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Books (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Family happenings (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Just For Fun (RSS), Locarb (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Mortification (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS), Puritans (RSS), Stupid Movie Quotes (RSS), The Church (RSS), TNT (RSS)
Knowing too Little about Sin
Posted on Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 10:42 AM by David Zavadil
As I have continued in reading the classic The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, I was struck by a thought he brought out on page 76 of the version I am reading. Owens writes:
It is to be feared that very many have little knowledge of the main enemy that they carry about with them in their bosoms. This makes them ready to justify themselves and to be impatient of reproof or admonition, not knowing that they are in any danger (2 Chron. 16:10).
How many of us really think about our sin? I am not speaking about dwelling on how we can commit our sins or wallowing in guilt over our sins. I am speaking about looking at our sins as if a general seeking to win a war. We spend too little time going beyond the outward observances of our sins and fail to get to the heart of the matter. What is the root cause of my sin? What moves me in that direction? What things set of those thoughts? We see the symptoms but we fail to diagnose the real problem. As Owen points out, this failure to bring true diagnosis leads to a failure to properly deal with or sin. Instead of mortifying our sinfulness, we justify it, we deny that it is a problem.
To properly deal with any problem, you must learn everything you can about the issue. The same holds true for our dealing with sin. We do not need to learn how to sin, but how the sin takes hold so that we can properly put it away, mortify that sin. How much do you know about those lusts that plague you? How do you begin to fight the sin that torments you? Comment and help us all learn to mortify our sin.
Edited on: Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:45 AMPosted in Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Psalm 119 He
Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 11:05 AM by David Zavadil
Originally posted on Thursday, March 09, 2006 at 11:25 AM by David Zavadil
33 ¶ <HE> Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 ¶ Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
37 ¶ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
38 ¶ Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.
39 ¶ Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
40 ¶ Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
Left to ourselves, what do we want to learn most? Is it God's word? How to love? The way of salvation? No, what we want to learn most is whatever will make us feel better at the moment. Face it, we all struggle with the same condition. We are fallen men or women who, when left to ourselves, always seek self before God. It takes a constant effort on our part to follow God. The psalmist begins this section with a cry to God. 33 ¶ <HE> Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Charles Bridges, writing on this passage states, "We need no instruction in the way of sin." (Eccle. 7:29; Isaiah 53:6; Job 21:14; Romans 8:7) We do not need directions to sin, we need guidance to walk with God. Thus this prayer. Bridges continues, "But for a child of God, this is a prayer of constant use. The outward revelation is of no avail with out the inward teaching. The Divine Instructor must interpret and apply his own rule." We can not follow God in our own strength but only through the grace and strength of God in Jesus.
This verse, actually this entire passage, helps us to see the connection between our practice and our hearts. It is not enough that we know how to live, how to walk with Christ, we must also know, deep in our hearts, how He wants us to live and walk. We need the Divine Teacher to show us how. Only with his divine guidance will we ever be able to keep God's statues to the end. What a blessing this is, as we grow in our relationship, our knowledge of the Word, our nearness to Christ, we will be able to keep his word to the end. Our perseverance as his people is directly tied to our relationship with Him. As He teaches and keeps us, we are then enabled to keep His word for eternity. We are dependent upon Christ for our eternity and in that is blessing (Revelation 2:26-28).
Many talk of discipleship and evangelism today. Yet, why do we not see more true disciples of Christ? Could it be that we really don't know what we are talking about? Oh we know the basics, the Sunday School stories, the great stories of the Bible, but do we really know God? The previous verse showed us our utter dependency on God for revelation of His Word. In this verse, the psalmist cries out for more understanding that he might apply it to his life. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Bridges writes, "Man cannot teach what he does not know; and of God and of his law, he knows nothing." What an inditement upon our churches. We know how to run the best programs, draw the most people, have the most fun and excitement but we don't know how to make disciples. Why? We do not know God and his Word.
Look at this verse again. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. What should be our attitude toward studying and learning God's Word? Our response should be to whole heartedly embrace it. Is it not sad that the groups and classes in the church that are the smallest and worse attended are usually those that are the in depth expository (verse by verse, book by book) study of God's Word? My friends, our walk should include a passion to know more about God and this passion should drive us to the Scriptures. There is no use for us to be saying that the American church is Biblically illiterate. Christians should be learning and keeping God's Word with their whole heart.
Verse 35 continues in this path. 35 ¶ Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. We, as I said earlier, are incapable of following God without God. As we look down the road God has for us, to many of us it is frightening. We wonder how can we ever make it. We question and doubt our way through church and life, wondering if we ever really will make it to heaven. The psalmist points us back to our source of hope and strength. Lead me in the path of your commandments... we can not and will not venture forward in our lives and walk without the gracious work of Christ in our lives. In our own strength, not only could we not make the trip, we would not want to. There are too many obstacles, to many trials, it is easier to leave it all alone. To sacrifice the fun and pleasure of the world is too hard for many. The only way to make it is to rest and trust in Christ. Like the paralytic, we must simply trust, pick up our bed rolls and begin to walk Matt 9:6).
We must not be content just to walk. I try to walk/jog for exercise. I confess, I hate it. By itself it is boring and seems a waste of time. However, I know that the benefit of it will pay off, that I will be blessed by it in the end. So, to get through, I find ways to make it fun, enjoyful. I may sing, or pray or take my ipod® and listen to a sermon. The walk along God's path is much the same. No where does God say it will be fun and easy. Yet, over and over again, we are told to delight. In this passage, for I delight in it. Bridges again, "Delight is the marrow of religion." God does not want forced contrition, passive aggression in our obedience and faith, He wants delight. Maybe that is why the Westminster Divines added that phrase, " and enjoy Him forever." to the end of the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism; "What is man's chief end?" Look at these encouraging words.
Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (KJV) Read this along with Hebrews 10:7 - 18. God rejoices in our delightful obedience to him.
Verse 36 continues in this vane, 36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Our own inclination will be toward selfishness. One of the first things our kids learn to say is not, "sure you take it, I don't mind." but "No! Mine!" We are in desperate need of God's grace in our hearts to move us toward Him and His Word. We need Christ to be able to resist the selfishness of life. Our constant prayer should be, "God work in me to not be me but to be more like you!"
37 ¶ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Some of us walk as if we are impervious to everything. We read, "There has no temptation...." and some how think, "that is right, nothing can tempt me, I am king of the world." Then, we sit down and turn on the tv and watch our six hour average of tv or head off to the movies to watch killing, mayhem and sex. All the time we are wondering, "how is this stuff affecting me." The saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out." The Christian should be in prayer daily, seeking God and asking for His strength to avert his eyes. Not just his physical eyes but his inward, spiritual eyes also. Averting them from those things that are worthless, time wasters. Rather than focusing on the worthless, we are to focus on God's ways. "The sincerity of our prayer will be proved by the watchfully avoiding circumstances and occasions of temptation. The fear of sin will manifest itself by a fear of temptation." (Bridges p. 90)
38 ¶ Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Fear is a characteristic to be desired by a Christian as long as it is in the right mind set. We are not to fear spiders or snakes but to have a godly fear of God. It is a honor to fear God for we know that our fear draws us closer to Him. Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. The promises of God, salvation, forgiveness life, etc... give us the hope and strength to maintain our godly fear. Our fear of God is not like our fear of heights (personal confession time), but like the fear of a son toward his father. He is not scared of dad, just fearful of letting him down, or breaking the relationship. This fear, as it rests on God and his promises, moves us to know more about God, to study Him in the Bible, to seek to draw near to Him. Verse 39 is speaking of this type of fear.
39 ¶ Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. As hard as our parent's rules are for us as we grow up, we ultimately learn they were for our own good. As hard as God's Word is to live and understand, we know that it is ultimately for our own good. To that end, we fear reproach, God's disapproval, and so we seek to apply and live by His Word. If we are driven to study God's Holy Writ to learn more, to be able to debate better or even to share the gospel we miss the mark. We are to learn God's Word that we might know God better, that we might not see his reproach but may rest in His promises. The reason we have the Bible is not to promote religion but to know God. That knowledge and relationship should be the driving force behind our evangelism and worship.
The psalmist writes, 40 ¶ Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life! Life is found in Christ (John 10:10). The Bible teaches us where and how to find that life. Our prayer should be that the Word of God would be opened more and more that we may know Christ and all he is and that in His imputed righteousness we will find and live life.
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
Psalm 199 Daleth
Posted on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 11:30 AM by David Zavadil
Originally posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 at 1:48 PM by David Zavadil
25 ¶ <DALETH> My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!
26 ¶ When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 ¶ My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!
29 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!
30 ¶ I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
When you sin, how do you feel? Does it drive you crazy until you confess and repent or do you just move on, as everyone sins? The Psalmist provides a picture of how he deals with sin in his life, what it does to him internally and how he reacts. 25.My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! The sin in his live is such that it knocks him to the ground. The picture he paints for us is of a man prostrated before God, confessing and even then not feeling he is low enough. If you have seen the movie "Luther," you may remember a scene where Luther is praying in his chamber and is laid out on the floor with his arms spread wide confessing his sinfulness to God. This is the picture the psalmist creates here. Bridges writes, "To have a soul cleaving to the dust, and not feel the trouble, is the black mark of the sinner, dead in sins - dead to God." The power of sin in our lives should continually remind us that we came from dust, created by God, but over taken by sin. Apart from our clinging to our creation and crying out to God for help, we can not overcome our sin. No matter how hard we try, how hard we pray or study, if God does not cleanse us, we will not find forgiveness. What a blessing we have in his promise, 1 John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We may, in our hearts, be led to cling to the dust over our sinfulness, but we can rest in the sure confidence that God will forgive, and this is according to His word!
26 ¶ When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes! We find a simple picture of the believers walk with Christ. As we lay our hearts before the Throne of Grace, God works in us. To often we question, "Why do I need to confess my sins, God already knows?" That is true, God does know our sin. A better question, and the one addressed here, is, do we know our sin? I can tell you, the reason I fail to confess and repent of sin is not that God already knows, but that I am not convicted of it or know it. The psalmist finds and reveals to us the way to dialog with God, open ourselves up. Confess and talk to him. When we confess our sinfulness it let us know and God know that we realize what we have done. When we confess, he answers with forgiveness. It is only as we come before God in His righteousness that we can then begin to understand His Word. Forgiveness leads to illumination. As we confess our sin and come to the cross, the Scriptures are opened up for us, leading us closer to the throne.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. How often do you, like me, open the Scripture up and read only to find yourself saying, "What did I just read?" The sin we just spoke about can often lead to a lack of understanding. Blinded by our sinfulness, we find ourselves blinded to all of the things of God. As our hearts come under the caring hand of the Holy Spirit, we are taught. Joh 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. What the Church needs most today are not smarter teachers and preachers, but men of God who go to God daily to find clarity to the teaching of Scripture A knowledge of Greek and Hebrew doesn't make my preaching deeper, it doesn't allow me to expound any deeper, it is only as my knowledge, via my walk with God, grows, that I begin to find a new deepness in my preaching and teaching. I am to seek God's guidance through the Holy Spirit to understand and interpret the Scriptures and then I am to meditate upon them. Dwell on these teachings until they become and integral part of my life. The wondrous works spoke of here are not necessarily miracles of God's mighty hand, but the wonders we find in Scripture. In your next quiet time, instead of just reading, ask God to show you His wonders in the passage you are reading. Write them down and meditate on them. How do they apply to your life? How do these wonders make God even more real in your life?
28 ¶ My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! This verse brings to us a contrast of hearts. As our heart is is set on self and sin, we experience sorrow. I don't know about you, but in my life, when I focus on self, I am almost always led toward sorrow. Why? Because the sinner that I am, I always want what I want. Sorrow enters because I rarely get what I want. Sin only begets more sin, it never brings fulfillment. So where do we go for fulfillment? Where do we go for strength The psalmist points us back to the Word of God. He cries out, strengthen me according to your word! In the last verse I challenged you to look for God's wonders in the Scripture. In this verse I want to challenge you to seek those passages that provide strength to the weak of heart. Passages like, Ex 33:14 And he said, ‘‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’’Mt 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Our strength is found in God and the promises of God found in Scripture bring us assurance and hope.
29 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! Do you find yourself struggling with the same things over and over again? Are you like the addict that just needs one more hit and then they will quit? Our struggle with sin is often like that, it is addicting and difficult for us to over come. It is this power that the psalmist calls us to overcome by calling out to the only one who can help. For some of us, we will always have a weakness say for chocolate. It is not enough to say we won't eat any more, sometimes we need someone just to remove ever last crumb of it from our lives. We need God to remove those false ways from us. Sin over powers us, often keeping us from fighting back. We need to seek God and ask that He show his mercy to us by removing the temptations far from us. Ask God to remove those things that tend to tempt and then fill your mind with His Word. As we meditate on Scripture, we find we have less time to think of those things that taunt us daily.
30 ¶ I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. 31 I cling to your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame! 32 I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! These next three verses highlight the paths set before us. One path is laden with lies and deception, the other with truth. As Paul writes, 1Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. We will all be tempted. We will all face a decision, walk the way of God or follow our temptations. Here we see the writer, dealing with the fine line between God's active work in our lives and our responsibility. He makes clear that we have a responsibility in this thing we call sanctification. We are to choose, cling and run.
First we are to chose the way of faithfulness. He is not talking about our salvation but our sanctification or holiness. Jesus said, Lu 9:23 And he said to all, ‘‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Every morning as we arise, we have a choice to carry the cross or to leave it by the bed. To follow Christ and grow in our relationship or to watch our relationship stagnate on the vine. My friends, you will never draw nearer to Christ if you never choose to read the Word, let alone set His rules (Word) as your guide for life. You can not have it both ways. I believe in Christ, but I want to live my own way. No, you must chose the way of faithfulness and then set about to live according to God's Word. This concept teaches me that I must make the Word of God and integral part of my life, not just light reading for late in the evening.
Second, we must cling to that Word of God. The world bombards us with all sorts of messages. Even within the Church universal, we are being told that the Bible is a nice story but is not authoritative. The efforts to downplay the power of the Scripture is evident in everything from the evening news to the local school system. Yet, look where we are today. We have seen more advances by intelligentsia in the last hundred years than in all of history and still we have poverty, our kids struggle with drug and alcohol addictions, sexual addictions and people in general are no more happier than they were even fifty years ago. The Word of God promises fulfillment and satisfaction. It teaches they are found in the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. What a shame it would be if on that day we stand before God, He asks, "Why should I let you into my heaven?" and our only answer is, "uh, cause I didn't drink, I didn't swear, I didn't chew and I did not date any girls that do." The Word of God provides the teachings that will keep us from being shamed. As they point us to Christ, we find our confidence in Him.
Finally, we are to run in the way of His commandments. Paul writes of our walk being a race. 2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The life of a Christian isn't a one and done proposition. We don't simply pray and all is over, we must daily hit the track we call life and live as though we are His chosen people. Again the psalmist reminds us of where we will find the strength to run this race, we are to find it in Christ. As we run according to the Word, our hearts will be enlarged, we will be enabled to see and receive more and more of what Christ offers. We do not receive all of our understanding of Christ and our relationship upon conversion, as we grow, as we walk, more and more comes clear. We need to run our race in such a way as to draw nearer to the prize, "for which we have been called heavenward." We need to run to Christ, that we may run with Him.
Edited on: Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:07 AMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
Psalm 119 Gimel
Posted on Saturday, December 08, 2007 at 11:17 AM by David Zavadil
Originally posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 at 11:18 AM by David Zavadil
17 ¶ <GIMEL> Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 ¶ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 ¶ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
21 ¶ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
22 ¶ Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
23 ¶ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 ¶ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
The author of this psalm changes pace on us. In Gimel, we find a change to a prayer. The psalmist request of God and as we will see in Daleth, his confession.
Verse 17 begins with the phrase, Deal bountifully with your servant. When you think of the word bountifully what comes to mind? Abundance, greatness or goodness? In 21st century American Christianity bountiful blessing is always to be desired, but then so is a bountiful plate, family, household, job, etc... We struggle with wanting the most of everything. The psalmist however is not seeking bountiful blessing of material things but the bounty found in God's dealings with His people. He desires the most God has, God himself. His eye is first on God but then also on himself. Note, your servant. God provides the bounty, we are to be the stewards of that same bounty.
The phrase your servant calls to question our mindset or attitudes concerning our relationship with God. How do we view ourselves in light of God and His Word? Do we see ourselves as deserving of God's attention and bounty or as servants, serving a Holy God and being blessed by God's bounty. It causes me to ask as the Westminster Divines, "What is man's chief end?" I then must cry out in prayer, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!" Only as we grasp this concept and apply it to our lives will we be able to fully live and keep God's word.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. The prayer turn to God's illumination of His Holy Writ in our lives. There is a doctrine within the Church called Perspicuity. This doctrine states that the Scripture as written is clear enough for us to understand what is needed about God. Within the text of the Scripture the gospel is clear enough that some deep theological interpretation known only to a few is not needed. The psalmist here prays that God will open his eyes even more.
18 ¶ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Consider the thought of God's wondrous works. As you read the Scripture, do you see God's "wondrous things?" Our prayer, like that of the psalmist, should be that our eyes would be open to see God's "wondrous things" throughout the Scriptures. A challenge I gave to the members of Grace Presbyterian Church was to read through the Book of Numbers and list all of the "wondrous things" you find in that book. Try it, you will be surprised how many wonders you find.
19 ¶ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! We are all sojourners, pilgrims in this life on earth. Our citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. Php 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We travel this earth, for God's glory, until we are called once again to come home. As we travel we are not alone, we have the body of Christ, the Church, joining us in this journey. Our brothers and sisters feel our pains, struggle with us as we pray and rejoice with us. Yet, too often we live as though we are alone and can do it ourselves. It makes me wonder, why did the psalmist pray that God would not hide the Word from him? I see him finding in the Word, friend, counselor, teacher and guiding light. Through our journey on earth, the Word of God is the one place we can always turn for a true answer, for guidance, for direction. As sojourners we need to have our eyes opened to see "wondrous things" as God leads us to pursue the call of the heavenly prize.
In verse 20 we continue the theme of a traveler. 20 ¶ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. The picture that comes to mind is one we have seen in all of the old movies and cartoons involving the desert. In those movies there always seemed to be some man, crawling around crying, "Water! Water!" He was consumed with one thing, his longing for water. In our journey hear on earth we are to be consumed with longing also, not for water or material things, but for the Word of God. We should be consumed with a desire to know what God desires of us, to know what He wants to teach us, to know how we are to live. Is your life consumed with longing for God and his Word? What are those things that consume you? I am a fan of the music of Rich Mullins. In his song, "My One Thing," he sings,
Save me from those things that might distract me
Please take them away and purify my heart
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing
'Cause what will I have when the world is gone?
The life we call Christian is not a problem because God is too difficult to understand, no our problems stem from our distractions. We are not consumed with a longing for God and His Word, we are consumed by the distractions, the TV, the radio, our cars, our jobs even, at times, our families. The psalmist calls us to radical living, open our eyes, seek the cross, and be consumed with the things of God.
21 ¶ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. Sin will be with us throughout this journey on earth. It is the common trait among all human beings. God does and will deal with each of us as we struggle. The sins of sinners, the pagans, the heathen, we can understand. The sin and wanderings of the saints are often more difficult to understand. The psalmist reminds us that God will take care of the sinful. He will bring the rebuke. This statement is in contrast to our eyes being opened and our longing for God consuming us. If we continue in faithfulness upon the path of righteousness, we will not be rebuked. If we stray, even the slightest, we will find God's rebuke. Not our of anger but love. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
22 ¶ Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. Our prayers of repentance and forgiveness will bring cleansing. Here the psalmist prays for a removal of the reproach or scorn and a removal of the contempt or anger. How often have you found yourself struggling with some secret sin and live a bitter angry existence Friends, pray that God will open His Word to you and that you will find freedom from the angry bitter existence Search out the Scripture and see God's blessings and desire to make you pure. Pray for His purify power to be active in your life.
23 ¶ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. This verse seems odd in light of the earlier discussion. Yet it serves to address our attitude as we take our journey. We are to plant our minds and hearts upon the Word of God. Rather than dwelling on what other people are doing or thinking about you, focus yourself on God and His teachings.
24 ¶ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. He closes this passage with a reminder of what brings him the most gratification, the Scripture. Where do you go when facing trials? What or who is your source of counsel when problems arise? Take joy, delight in God's Writ for in it you will find guidance and direction for the weary traveler. Come to Jesus, and find your rest. Delight in his teachings and statutes as they carry you through the day. Meditate on His wondrous works and consider all of his promises to a sin filled world. God's Word is truly amazing.
Edited on: Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:22 AMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
Mortification and Belief
Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 at 1:33 PM by David Zavadil
"Mortification is the soul’s vigorous opposition to self, wherein sincerity is most evident." - John Owen
When we contemplate our position in Christ, why do we most often focus on what we are not instead of what we truly are? Every ounce of my natural man can't stand the thought of puting away sin, of mortifying the old man. I rationalize my sinful attitudes and behaviors by arguing, "At least I am not... or I don't act like ..." I focus on what I am not, failing most often to see who I really am, a blatant sinner. I joyfully confim Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and then use the same passage as an argument for why I should not or do not mortify my sin. The thought of mortification is so, pardon the play, mortifying that I yield to the flesh more often than not.
I have been telling the congregation of Eastminster PCA that too many of us are professing Christ but living another way. We talk the talk, but fail to live the walk. What would happen if we truly lived as we profess? We would flee sin, the hatred of sin would be so strong we would be driven to our knees in prayers of confession. My major failure with repect to mortifing sin all revolves around my belief. I give assent to the Scriptures on sin, Christ's forgiveness and my redemption in Christ. My unbelief then leads me to ry to work my way into His good grace or to fail to trust and have faith that God's work will be effective in my life. As I mortify my sinfulness, my faith is challenged, and my faith in Christ is enriched. As I see who I really am, I cannot but run to the Cross. We have all believed the deception that we are not that bad, and no one could be that good. Do I, do you really believe that?
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
The Great High Priest, knows all that we go through, struggle with, dwell on and harbor deep within. He pours out his grace upon His children, calling us to run to Him. When I mortify my sin, I am stripping myself of an encumbrance keeping me for Jesus. Each sin put aside is a burden lifted giving us more strength for the journey. I wonder what would happen in Churches if we really believed and practiced the mortification of sin. What other areas of our faith would be challenged and increased? If we put our sin to death, would we really believe that we can do all things through Christ who strenthens us? (Phil 4:13)
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
Mortifying Sin
Posted on Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 12:45 PM by David Zavadil
Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. - John Owen, The Mortification of Sin
As many of you may know, I am taking part in the Challies dot com book club. We are reading Owen's The Mortification of Sin. This book is a must read, that is being said after just two chapters. In a Previous Post I posted the address to download a copy of the book. You should also be able to find it at your local bookstore. Download or purchase it and join is in our reading, it is not too late.
In Chapter one, Owen set about to clarify and define what is meant by the term mortification. It is a term we rarely hear any more. We may here that someone is mortified, "scared of or afraid of something," but ask if they have mortified anything and most people will go, "Huh?" Taking Romans 8:13, "If you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live," as his foundation, Owens demonstrates that mortification means to put to death. We are to put to death the sin that reigns in our bodies. He writes:
"The mortification of indwelling sin remaining in our mortal bodies, that it may not have life and power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh, is the constant duty of believers.... The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh." (pg 49)
Chapter two begins, see quote at top of this article, by challenging the reader to make mortification a daily habit. He warns of that happens when we allow sin to abide and do nothing to resist and fight temptation.
"When sin lets us alone we may let sin alone; but as sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at all times and in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion." (pg51)
"If sin be subtle, watchful, strong, and always at work in the business of killing our souls, and we be slothful, negligent, foolish, in proceeding to the ruin thereof, can we expect a comfortable event? There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed on; and it will be so while we live in this world." (pg 52)
What a challenge to us in this day and age. Though the author was writing in the 1600's, the issue is timeless. In a day when everyone wants it easier, the true road is one of constant fighting. We are to be daily putting our sin to death. To rest even one day is to give victory to the evil one. Though he has lost the war, through our slothfulness he is daily winning battles and leading "professors" into sin at astounding levels. We have become so enraptured with our needs, our wants, our work, our families our everything that we forget the challenge to forsake it all for the cause of Christ. Anything that causes us to take our eyes off of Christ leads to sin. Think about it. Is it any wonder that our churches are so weak and ineffective today? Listen again to Owens.
"If vain spending of time, idleness, unprofitableness in men’s places, envy, strife, variance, emulations, wrath, pride, worldliness, selfishness (1 Corinthians 1) be badges of Christians, we have them on us and among us in abundance." (pg 56)
I read that passage and stood condemned. Like Paul, I find myself crying, "I am chief among sinners!" How often during the day do I spend my time allowing sin to fester instead of putting it to death. I have begun a diet and workout regimen and have become a legalist with it. I want to discipline my body and must also work to discipline my soul. Daily I, WE, must be seeking out the sin in our lives and be putting it to death. "The root of an unmortified course is the digestion of sin without bitterness in the heart." (pg 56) Oh that we, the Church, would get past our complacency and learn to hate sin to the point of wanting it to die, totally. "The good Lord send out a spirit of mortification to cure our distempers, or we are in a sad condition!" (pg 56)
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
The FEAR of Isaac
Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 12:11 PM by David Zavadil
Ge 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.’’
Ge 31:53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.’’ So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,
Isa 8:13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Jacob had set out to find a wife and ended with two. In the process he had found himself indentured to Laban, the father of his wives. In Genesis 31 we find Jacob having another of his famous dreams. The angel of God tells him to take his wives and flocks and flee Laban's abusive treatment.
Jacob drives his flocks toward home as he and his wives flee Laban. When Laban hears of their flight, he gathers a posse and sets off in pursuit. After seven days he catches up to them and confronts Jacob. Unknown to Jacob, Rachel had stolen her father's idols, seeking some sort of inheritance. Laban lays into Jacob. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, ‘‘What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?’’
Jacob expresses that he feard Laban, that he would take his daughters back by force leaving him without a living and without his wives. He tells Laban to look around, if he finds the idols, who ever has them will be killed. Laban searches but can not find them. Neither relized that at that moment Rachel was sitting atop them on her camel. When Laban comes to search the animal's bags, she tells him (this is my paraphrase) 'Daddy, you don't need to come near me, it is that time of the month." Laban steps back, fearing becoming unclean, and does not check her saddle bag.
After Laban's failure to prove his claim, Jacob begins to berate Laban and in the course of this monologue shares what we read in verse 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.’’
As we continue in our look at The Fear of God we come to this passage. The word translated fear is used only here in verse 42 and in verse 53. It literally means "the dread or terror." Here we find Jacob ascribing to God, as a name of God, "the FEAR of Isaac." Isaac had become the spiritual leader of his people. He was a man of God and as Abraham's son, the first in the Abrahamic promise of blessing. Jacob was not saying that Isaac was fearful of God like we might be scared of the bogey man or dreading God like we dreaded the announcement in school calling us to the office. I believe that Isaac had learned something on the altar in Genesis 22. That day he saw the hand of God in ways many of us never will and at the same time came to a greater understanding of Jehovah Jirah so that his fear was not on of fear of what God could do, but a fear of what would happen with out the God who sees all.
Jacob is learning a lesson, obviously taking more time to learn than his father, that without God there is not hope. He is learning, as we all must learn, that to fear God is to fear what our lives would be like without God. He is confessing here, that if God had not seen what was happening and moved on his behalf he would be undone. The thought of being alone, without God's protectiona and guidance, produces a godly fear.
The prophet Isaiah develops this thought in Isaiah 8: 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.’’ As we fear life without God, not just fear it but dread it, we find our true sanctuary and rest. My friends, when was the last time you truly thought about what your life would be like without Jesus, with out the salvation you now profess? Does the thought bring chills and dread to you? Can you not bear the thought of life without the Almighty in your life?
The FEAR of Isaac brought santuary to Jacob and there he found hope. Isaiah paints a picture of our life in Christ. As we are in awe of our relationship, in fear of being separated, we find sanctuary, protection and strength to be what he desires of us. In fact, as we grow in this holy fear of God we become living rocks of stumbling for the lost. As the see our hope they will literally stumble all over trying to figure out how they can have it. It is only as the Spirit convicts them and brings to light Proverbs 1: 7 ¶ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction, that they will truly be able to find sanctuary. Only as they see that apart from Christ they can do nothing (John 15:5) will they be able to know true peace and salvation.
Edited on: Sunday, November 18, 2007 3:18 PMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
The Fear of God is
Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 2:52 PM by David Zavadil
Ps 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
Ps 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Pr 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Pr 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Pr 15:33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Isa 33:6 and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
As we continue in our study of the subject of the fear of God, let me move to some Biblical descriptions of the fear of God A search of the Scriptures finds eight verses including the phrase, "the fear of the LORD is." Today I want to look at each of these verses and seek to learn a little more about what it means to fear the LORD.
Ps 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
This verse from Psalm 19 states that the fear of the LORD has two characteristics; it is pure and it is enduring. First, let me address the thought that the fear of the LORD is clean. The phrase could also be translated that, "the fear of the LORD is pure." There is nothing in holy fear that defiles God or the awe we are to have. It is a fear looks to the ultimate source of purity, Jesus Christ, and realizes that apart from Christ we can not be pure. "And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." 1 John 3:3, ESV. Thus for the New Testament believer, the fear of the LORD intimately involves our relationship to Jesus Christ. To be pure in Christ is to be able to fear the LORD. Without Christ we could not and will not fear God, but will fear that which is impure and unclean. "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled." Titus 1:15, ESV. A healthy fear of God brings clarity of mind, brings purity of thought and clean, right decisions.
This verse also tell us that the fear of the LORD is enduring forever. The fear of God didn't end with the Old Testament. It was not some how intricately linked to the Mosaic covenant and with the entrance of the New Covenant in Christ the fear of the LORD is no longer necessary. As Christ reigns eternally, the fear of the LORD continues eternally. As the Spirit of God works in us, each and every day for all of our known and unknown days we will be confronted with the awesomeness of our Almighty God. The fear of God is not that one time event that occurs just before our conversion but a daily life style that is based on our faith in Christ. An understanding of the fear of God is missing from many Christian's lives. This passage tells us that the fear of God should be an everyday happening as long as we live.
Ps 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
In these three verses we read that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and of knowledge. We should first note that the fear of the LORD is the starting place. We are not to wait until we become wise or until we reach some age of maturity to begin really "fearing God." If we truly desire to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the LORD, we must begin with a healthy fear of God. It is this fear of God that will bring us wisdom and knowledge and give us good understanding. My brother in law, when ever someone had a question about something, would say, "Ask David, he knows everything." It seemed that every time we talked I knew someting about the topic we were discussing. Now that was partly because I am a "know it all who has to be right all the time" ( a sinful attitude I am working on) and partly that my head is filled with all kinds of trivia. This is neither wisdom or knowledge, it is simply trivia. The beginning of my wisdom and knowledge is this, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5, ESV. Without Christ, I know nothing, I can do nothing, I am nothing. The fear of the LORD will bring about wisdom and knowledge, not trivia.
The writer of Proverbs writes, Pr 15:33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Here we find that not only is the fear of the LORD the beginning of wisdom, it is the way we learn about wisdom. To learn and know what is truly of God, what is true wisdom, we must fear God. My friends, if you desire to learn to be wiser in your life, begin by fearing God. To understand true wisdom, begin to understand the true and living God. The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom. As you humbly and reverently come before the King of Glory you will begin to learn more and more about Him. The word translated instruction literally means discipline, correction or chastisement. A healthy fear of the LORD realizes that the corrections God brings our way is beacuse He loves us and wants us to be more like Him. Heb 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." ESV A God fearing man begins to learn that to fall away, to turn to self, to rebel will lead to discipline, this brings about a beneficial and growing fear of the LORD and this is wisdom.
Pr 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
The fear of the LORD is also a hatred of evil. Many will read this passage and say, "well I hate satan and anything satanic. Is that all that is meant here? " The Bible makes it clear that anything that is opposite of the LORD is evil. Every thought that suplants a thought of God, every action that replaces a godly action, every word that replaces a glorifying word is evil. It is a perverting of God's creation in a way that is evil. It is far more than just "the Devil made me do it." The evil that is to be hated is anything that is contrary to God. We see evil around us every day. you turn on the news and hear about murders, rapes, drugs and alcohol addictions and say, "that stuff is evil." In Matthew 15 Jesus redefines our view of evil, Mt 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ESV Evil is no longer a toy of the Devil, it is in the heart of man. The man who fears the LORD will hate all evil, especially the evil in his own life. What thoughts in your life are evil? What influences around you are evil? Is your fear of the LORD greater than your love for these thoughts or vices?
Pr 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Isa 33:6c ...the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
The final two verses we will examine speak to our hearts and faith. The fear of the LORD is a part of and demonstrated in our salvation. To overcome death and gain new life we must come to Christ. Jesus, speaking to the Samaritan woman, said,''If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.''" John 4:10, ESV. Later He says, ‘‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37b, ESV. Jesus made it clear that He is the water of life, the fountain of life. To fear God apart from a loving faith in Christ is impossible. The fountain of life, we are told in Pr 14:27, turns us away from the snares of death. Jesus said it this way, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28, ESV. A God fearing man is one who is set in his relationship with Christ. His eyes are on the cross. A God fearing man will be drinking of the fountain of life daily.
Isaiah tells us that "the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure."Isa 33:6c ESV The fear of the LORD enables us to, through the Holy Spirit, be a storehouse, a treasure of God's. A treasurey or storehouse was used as a central keeping place to take care of an entire community. To fear God is to be treasured by God. God desires our hearts and souls. He wants our full devotion and life. As we come to Him in the Fear of the LORD, he imparts to us, throught the Spirit, all that is His. We become a living storehouse, treasure of the LORD's. We inherit all that He has as his adopted children. We now become the place that our neighbors and aliens in need of comfort are to turn. Though we are filled with the priceless treasure of life through Christ, it is not meant to be hoarded by us, but shared with those around us. We are not to hide our faith in a bottle in the ground but we are to let it be seen. A God fearing man or woman is someone who knows the treasure of God so intimately that he or she wants to share it with others, that they might be blessed also.
What is your perspective of the Fear of the LORD? Do you seek the purity found in Christ? Do you fear what would happen in your life without the purifying Spirit of God within you? Are you growing in your wisdom and knowledge of the LORD? Do you hate those things that are contrary to God? Have you taken a drink from the fountain of life? The fear of the LORD is all of this and more. Join me next week as we examine this topic further.
Edited on: Sunday, November 18, 2007 3:19 PMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)
The Fear of God
Posted on Tuesday, October 09, 2007 at 11:08 AM by David Zavadil
Months ago I mentioned that I wanted to begin a series on the fear of God. We occasionally hear phrases like, " He feared God." "He was a God fearing man." "The fear of God was in him." Maybe you, like me, have wondered about what is really meant in those type of statements. We rarely hear sermons on the fear of God, in fact it has become a forgotten topic in most churches. Yet the concept flows throughout Scripture.
To force me to go where I have been resistant, I shared with the remnant, (the name our evening service has taken), that we would study this topic for the next few weeks. My interest peaked, and now a new motivation, I begin today to move forward.
What comes to mind when you hear "the fear of the LORD," "fear God," "the FEAR (see Genesis 31:42,53)?" Do you think, "Uh oh, here comes one of those old fashioned fire and brimstone messages."? Some would probably say, "The Bible says that?" If you do a search of the ESV you will find that there are 27 verses that use the phrase "fear of the LORD," 10 using "fear of God," 34 stating, "Fear the LORD," 15 more state, "Fear God," 5 say "fear of Him" and 24 "fear Him." I could go on for a while with numbers and derivations of the phrase "Fear of the Lord." It is suffice to say that the Scriptures are replete with references to the fear of God. At least two natural questions are raised. "What does it mean?" "How can we apply this to our lives today?' These questions will be our goal for the next few weeks.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (ESV)
The verse above is the first time the concept of fear, or one of its derivatives, appears in the English Bible. Adam and Eve have been created man and woman. They are placed in the garden and told not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. Satan enters the garden in the form of the serpent and deceives them and they eat. Now I am not going to deal with original sin or deception but I want to begin our look at the fear of God. After Adam and Eve's eyes were opened to their true nature, they realized they were naked. Hearing the voice of God in the garden they hid themselves.
9 ¶ But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
10 And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."
I want to focus for a few minutes on verse 10 for I feel it has much to teach us about the fear of God. The speaker in this verse is Adam. Notice that four times he uses the first person "I" to describe his actions and his state. I want to look at these four "I" phrases.
"I heard the sound of you in the garden." The word that is translated "sound" in the ESV (kole in the Hebrew) is most often translated "voice or the sound of your voice," in the Scripture. The man and woman are in the garden after eating the apple. With new opened eyes and hearts, they hear the voice of God in a new way, the way of a sinner. The word translated here is also used to speak of thunder elsewhere in Scripture. Before the fall there was no sin, no reason for God to "raise" His voice. After the fall we see both anger and wrath. Could it be that Adam and Eve heard God's voice thundering throughout the garden? At any rate, God calls out to Adam and Adam hears him. Rather than responding, "Here I am," Adam hides. Why?
"I was afraid." Adam heard something different in God this time out. He heard the thundering, powerful voice of the Almighty God searching for him. There was the fear of a child before his father, a child who knew he had done wrong. Adam says, "I was afraid because I was naked." Often I have read this and glossed over it. Adam had not had a need for clothing prior to the fall, now he realized his physical nakedness. As I read this verse again, recently, I realized that there was also a spiritual nakedness here. When Adam and Eve ate the apple, their eyes were opened up to the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was afraid because he realized his heart, his soul, was now naked before God. God saw and knew the sin that resided deep with in, he was naked before his Father and was afraid.
Think about what we have just seen. Adam hears the voice of God, thundering in his ears. He is caught and realizes that his entire life is laid open before his maker. He is petrified. We all are just like Adam. We hear, we read the Word of God. Through the Spirit we hear in our heart of hearts the thundering voice of God and are brought to fear as we realize we are opened up before God, naked. Today we call it conviction, but it is the same. A realization that our lives are naked before God, He sees everything. The fear of God is a healthy thing, a humbling thing. This fear reminds us of the creator and the creation. It reminds us of our need for God and our love for our Father. We fear God not because He is some cosmic vigilante out to rid the earth of sinners, but because He is the Heavenly Father and we stand naked and open before Him. He sees all of our scars, all of our warts, all of our blemishes.
"I hid myself." Adam's response was the same one we all too often face. When we are confronted with being wrong, with our sin, we want to run away and hide. Much like the child who was told, "Wait until your Father gets home" runs and hides when the door opens, we, when confronted with our nakedness before God, desire to hide. Adam hid that his physical nakedness might not be seen. Isn't that funny? Hiding from the very one that created the body that now Adam was wanting to hide? How often do you find yourself doing the same thing? God breathed life into you. He called you and brought you to Himself, adopting you as an heir to the Kingdom. Yet when the Father enters the doors of our heart, we run and hide and hope he doesn't see how dirty we have become.
As we begin to study the teaching of the fear of God, we must begin with an understand of our heart. We are opened up before God, naked before Him. Ps 139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Ps 139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. The writer of Proverbs begins, 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. To begin to understand the fear of the LORD, we need to know that we are before the Almighty God. There is nothing that He does not know, nothing that can be hidden from Him. We begin with a fear because he knows more about us that we can even begin to know about ourselves. When we hear from the Word of God, in study or message, we should rightly be afraid. It is piercing, it cuts and prunes, it convicts and renders us naked before our Father. Unlike Adam, at that time we come with fear in our hearts, but with repentance to our Father seeking forgiveness and restoration. One characteristic of the fear of God that jumps out to me is this, if this holy fear does not point us to the cross, does not convict us of our sin and our need for Christ, than it is not a holy fear. We may be fearing retribution or punishment and discipline, but we are not fearing God.
Today you stand before God naked and alone. If you are not afraid, you should be. Are you going to run and hide? Run to the cross and and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Put on the new self found in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Eph 4:24).
Edited on: Monday, October 15, 2007 10:42 AMPosted in Bible Study (RSS), Fear of God (RSS)