“Have You No Fear of God?”
At one time, watchful communities, moral education, painful consequences, shame, spanking, church-going, the death penalty, and the Judgment all worked together to limit the scope of evil behavior. One needs only to remember thirty or forty years ago when these restraints helped to deter evil and to promote good.
However, the more our government forces God (and morality) from the public sphere, the more our societal conscience grows calloused. Murderers, suicide shooters, rapists, thieves, hackers, liars, parents who kill their children, etc., face increasingly limited consequences for their heinous actions.
Today, many people—even some Christians—no longer believe that God punishes the wicked with everlasting hell. Well, I do! The fear of God makes people think twice before they act, and helps to foster “the better angels of our nature.” Better to do what is right now than to face heaven’s righteous Judge in the hereafter, culpable.
Proverbs 9:10-18 says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” However, the villainous evil person that disregards God's commands will make their bed “in the depths of Hell.” “For it is written—each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom 14:11-12).
“On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see His face” (Psa 11:6-7). Better to “see His face” through Christ's mercies than to face His fires of judgment.
Now, some of you may consider me a hell-fire preacher who takes pleasure in holding feet to the fire. Not at all! I would rather you heed God’s loving warning. For He takes no “pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Rather, God would have the evil man “turn from his [evil] way and live” (Eze 18:23). The fear of God helps keep us on the straight and narrow.
If I could accomplish one aim by raising this somewhat uncomfortable subject, it would be to plant a seed in the hearts of those contemplating evil, reminding them that “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Rom 14:10). That being the case, let’s make sure we don’t arrive with a smoking gun in hand!
–Pastor Scott (www.askpastorscott.com)
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