Killing Fear
In this series, I take our law homily from our church gathering each week (The law homily is where we read from the law of God and let His law examine our hearts so that we can be a tender-hearted and repenting people), and I post them here for your edification.
"Then God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.' - Exodus 20:1-3
As we reflect on the first commandment, we must understand what it truly means to have no other gods before our God. This commandment is not a mere suggestion to avoid placing idols above God in a hierarchical list. Instead, it demands the total eradication of idolatry from our lives. We are to bring no idols, unclean desires, rogue emotions, or sinful affections into His presence. Given that all of reality falls under "His presence," this commandment calls for the complete and eternal abolition of idolatry.
This understanding teaches us how to approach our thrice-holy God. We cannot enter His presence boldly with our idols in tow, expecting grace to abound despite our blatant disobedience. Instead, we must approach Him in purity, with undefiled allegiance and perfect loyalty—a feat impossible without the justifying work of Jesus Christ. For those justified by faith in Christ alone, we must also embrace the necessity of repentance. To enter and commune with our King in an idolatry-free manner, we must abandon our petty idols and refuse to carry them even a step further. Why? Because He is utterly holy!
THE IDOL OF FEAR
Today, let us focus on one of the most pervasive and insidious idols: fear. Fear must be mortified so we may live abundantly unto God and in His presence (Romans 8:13). When we fear anything other than God, sin festers within our hearts, eroding our faith and destroying our trust in the Almighty. Fear indicates a lack of confidence in God's sovereignty. If we truly believed that God controls all things, what would we ever have to fear? Unchecked fear leads us to question God's goodness, doubt His promises, and indict His character and love for us.
Fear drives us to disobey God's clear commands, avoiding where He calls us and neglecting His directives due to the anticipated cost of obedience. It erects idols of self-preservation and control, preoccupying us with our circumstances and making us functional narcissists. Fear compromises our integrity, leading to lying, panic, anxiety, hopelessness, and despair. Ironically, fear often reduces our engagement in prayer, worship, fasting, fellowship, and trust in God—our true sources of encouragement and hope.
The Westminster Larger Catechism highlights "hoping" as a fundamental duty of the first commandment. Without active labor to cultivate hope, we fall into fear. Like coveting, fear is a default mode of the heart, growing easily. Contentment and hope require diligent effort, faithful labor, and time.
CULTIVATING HOPE
Trust in God's Promises To combat fear, we must trust and confide in God's character and promises. Scripture is replete with God's promises to be with us, provide for us, protect us, comfort us, care for us, resource us, redeem us, sanctify us, and bring us into eternal glory. Hoping in God means knowing His promises and relying on them daily.
Command Yourself In Psalm 42:11, the psalmist asks, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." In moments of despair, we must speak God's promises to ourselves, commanding our hearts and minds to trust in Him.
Confidence in God's Providence Romans 8:28 assures us, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Hoping in God acknowledges His sovereign rule over our lives, trusting His perfect plans even when unseen.
Expectation of Future Blessings Hoping in God means living with an expectation of future blessings. Our God delights in giving good gifts to His children, and we should anticipate His goodness both now and in eternity.
Cultivation of Future Hope Lamentations 3:24-26 declares, "The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." We look forward to the fulfillment of His promises and the blessings that await us.
Patience and Endurance Romans 15:13 encourages, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Our hope in God requires patience and endurance, trusting in His timing and ways.
CONCLUSION
The duty of hoping in God, as required by the first commandment, calls us to be killing fear, exiling it and banishing it from our hearts, and cultivating hope. As John Owen once famously said (but with my modification, of course), “If ye be not killing fear, fear will be killing you!” This is certainly true and needed in our day and hour. Maybe you are asking, how do I kill fear? What is the murder weapon I can use to slaughter it? The answer is repentance. Repent from harboring fear. Repent whenever fear comes in. Do not pet it like a baby ignorantly playing with a cobra. Kill it every time you see it. Murder your tendencies toward shallow obedience, laziness, and sloth in repentance, and for not actively fostering hope and trust in God. Today is the day for that repentance. Turn away from fear and stab it with the sword of hope, living lives anchored in God's faithfulness.
