Title: “No Fear” Love!
Text: I John 4:7-21 (17b-21)
Thesis: Fear inhibits our ability to experience the love of God and impedes our ability to love others… but perfect love casts out fear!
Series: The fifth in the series from I John 4:7-21, “The Christian’s Litmus Test,” based on the premise that love is at the core of what it means to be a Christian.
Introduction
It may just be my observation but my sense is Doomsday Preppers are fearful people. They are afraid that something cataclysmic is going to happen that will cause worldwide panic. They fear the effects of global warming and food shortages. Solar flares may cause electromagnetic pulses that wipe out the electrical grid essentially putting us in the dark and back into the Stone Age. They fear terrorism and civil unrest. They fear a worldwide economic collapse, asteroid strikes, earthquakes and even the possibility that the earth will be knocked off its axis resulting in a polar shift. Worldwide pandemics could wipe out most of the population. And then there is nuclear war and the apocalypse…
So, motivated by fear, doomsday preppers prepare for the worst. They have bug-out bags stashed should they need to leave immediately. They have bunkers in their homes, backyards or strategically located where they can go to hunker down until it is over. The 1% (rich people) is investing heavily in weighing the odds for their survival… some are spending upwards to $20 million to secure a celebrity condo in an abandoned missile silo in Kansas or North Dakota… Bunkers for the rich and famous are referred to as Beverly Hills Bunkers.
Preppers are stockpiling food and water to feed themselves for up to five years. They are taking self-defense courses and arms training. They have stockpiled weapons and ammunition. And at the core of it is their fear of death and instinct to survive.
Isn’t it interesting that we would think of a hole-in-the-ground as our safe place? (Think Saddam Hussein and his hidey-hole.)
I suspect that most of us fear other people and we do what we can to alleviate those fears… we may not be hidey-hole or hunker-down bunker fearful but we fear people.
Whenever I see someone who is obsessed by the fear of others I wonder if the underlying fear is of death, the hereafter… and God.
I. Love Expels Our Fear of God, I John 4:17-18
As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. I John 4:17
Once when Jesus was teaching his followers he said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you than that. But I will tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.”
And then he continued, “What is the price of two sparrows – two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single sparrow. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:4-7
Two things are immediately apparent:
1. People can only take your life
2. God determines the destiny of your soul
It would seem that Jesus is reminding us that fearing what people might do to us is short sighted. Of course, no one I know, who is in their right mind, is anxious to experience pain, suffering and a tragic or dreadful death. But Jesus wants us to know that the long view sees beyond the temporal to the eternal. The long view sees life beyond physical death and is concerned about the destiny of the soul.
An earthly death is not the ultimate loss… the destiny of the soul is of eternal significance. So our ultimate concern is for when we meet our Maker, so to speak. That’s why Jesus warned his followers to spend less time worrying about what people can do to us and more time considering our relationship with God.
Basically, there is no hidey-hole, safe place on this planet. Ultimately, the only safe place is not a place at all but a relationship with God.
As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. I John 4:17
Beirut, Lebanon 1986. I cannot remember when there has not been conflict in the Middle East. This story reaches back to Beirut, Lebanon in 1986. During that time Beirut, which was known as the Paris of the Middle East, was engulfed in a civil war that lasted from 1985 – 1987.
In January of 1985 Islamic militias supported by Syrian forces mobilized against Christian villages… The Lebanese army was collapsing. There was total destruction of property and people were either massacred or escaped to refugee camps. Lebanon was not a safe place.
At that time a missionary from Lebanon was visiting one of his supporting churches in the U.S. The missionary was planning to return to Lebanon as soon as possible. So, the pastor asked, “Is it safe to go back there?” The pastor said the missionary gave him a penetrating gaze and while tapping his breastbone said, “It’s safe in here.”
When we live in God and God lives in us, we are in a safe place. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. I John 4:18a
So what does it mean if we live in fear of God?
II. If we are afraid of God we have not experienced his perfect love.
If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. I John 4:18b
The earlier text specifically stated that, as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. I John 4:17
If we live in God and God lives in us and if that relationship results in our becoming increasingly loving and Christ-like people, we need not live in terror of standing before God. We are in a safe place, so to speak.
From Romans 5 we are reminded that “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though some might perhaps be willing to die for someone who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Romans 5:6-11
And from I John 3:1, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” This “wonderful new relationship with God” is a love-based relationship, not a fear-based relationship.
VW Passat Ad, “My dad’s going to kill me, dude!” One of my favorite television commercials focuses on two teenagers standing on a sidewalk discussing the repercussions for having just wrecked the car. One teenager is especially panicky because it is his dad’s car sitting there with a dinged fender and a broken headlight. He blurts out, “My dad’s going to kill me, dude!”
Fortunately they were driving a VW Passat. We all know that Volkswagens are indestructible, life-saving machines so the lads are safe and well and ripe for a killing by Dad. And then the ad says, “He can only kill you if you’re okay.”
One could surmise that all Volkswagen owners are wanton murders who kill their children if they so much as ding the family Passat.
Some fathers may cherish having fear-based relationships with their children but I suspect most of us would prefer that our children respect us but not live in fear of filicide. (Filicide is the “cide” for a parent killing a child.)
It is important that we know that God does not act like we might expect God to act.
In Luke 15, when we read the story of the Prodigal Son we get the distinct idea that the son was not inclined to believe his father was going to be all that forgiving of his having wished his father dead so he could collect his share of the estate, go to Vegas and squander every last dime of it.
The story line does not say it but I suspect the son was thinking, “My dad’s going to kill me, dude!” It does say the ruined son, with no where left to run, returned home expecting the worst but, “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
The bible says, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ… we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. God has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” Romans 5:1-2
When we live in God and God lives in us, we are in a safe place. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. I John 4:18a And we love each other because he loved us first. I John 4:19
God does not want us to allow fear to inhibit our ability to receive and give God’s love. But God does want his love in us and through us to be authentic. (By authentic I do not mean perfect… I mean we are on track, growing in Christ and becoming increasingly consistent in Christ-like love being the primary expression of our lives.)
III. Love and Hate Are Incompatible
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God whom we cannot see? I John 4:20
Ref. Jesus’ teaching on good fruit and bad fruit from the same tree: “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce good fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit… just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, you can identify people by their actions.” Matthew 7:17-20 (Luke 6:43-44)
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And you must give an account on the Day of Judgment for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Matthew 12:33-37 (Luke 6:43-44)
Ref. James teaching on the words from a person’s tongue - can fresh water and bitter water from the same spring or well: Speaking of the words that come out of our mouths James wrote, “Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing pour out of the same mouth. Surely this is not right! Does a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. James 3:9-12
This text is a call to authenticity!
Using the images of trees and water-wells or springs we begin to understand that when God lives in us and when we live in God the fruit of our lives is more consistently good and the water that flows from our lives is more consistently sweet. When we live in God our love grows more consistenly perfect! I John 4:17
Conclusion:
I began this morning with some thoughts about Doomsday Preppers who wish to be prepared should some catastrophic, cataclysmic or apocalyptic event change the world as we know it. They want to be prepared to survive and defend themselves against those who would threaten their survival.
While I understand the instinct to survive I also said that I think it is short-sighted to think only of the survival of the body and not the survival of the soul.
When we come to grips with our mortality we can embrace our earthly demise confident of the eternal security of our souls. It seems to me that preparing for life afterlife takes the long-view and is of greater importance…
So we may prepare for eternity by laying to rest a couple of things that inhibit our ability to embrace and live out the love of God.
We need to dispel two fear…
1. We need to dispel the idea that God is an under-cover lurker intent on spying on us.
I think that we subconsciously think of God as a kind of Santa Claus. We want to love Santa Claus but we are intimidated by him. Santa Claus does come once a year and bring all kinds of great stuff that make us feel loved but because Santa Claus is always lurking we are just a little bit afraid of him. After all, “He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake; he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.”
So we may be inhibited by the thought that God is watching and keeping a balance sheet accounting for our assets or our goods and our liabilities or our bads.
We are afraid of God because our eternal destiny rests in his hands and the emperor either gives us a thumbs up or a thumbs down. In which case we are living in a fear-based, performance-based relationship with God.
Ref. Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 43:25 and Jeremiah 31:34!
2. We need to dispel the idea that we have to be worthy to be loved by God.
We may also be inhibited by our limited understanding of love. We only know love as being based on the worthiness of the person to be loved. We love our families because they are our family. We love the love of our life because we are attracted to that person. We love our friends because we like them. The people we love are all in some way worthy of our love.
But God’s love and the love of God for us and the love God would live out through us is not worth-based love. God’s love is an unconditional love that does not necessitate that the person being loved be worthy of that love. God’s love is unconditional.
While we were a long way off God saw us and filled with love and compassion ran to us and embraced us… when we were still sinners, God showed his love for us by sending Christ to die for us. Luke 15:20 and Romans 5:8
Our relationship with God is a “no fear” love relationship.
When we live in God and God lives in us, we are in a safe place. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. So we will not be afraid of judgment because we are living like Jesus here on earth. I John 4:17-18
