The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil. (Proverbs 19:23)
The church today is suffering from spiritual malnutrition due to their diet of a sugar coated gospel and cotton candy filled religion. Sin is still an issue if one continues to live in it. Salvation is not about rules and laws, however rules and commands are still part of the kingdom of God and they can not be classified as archaic or old testament. God’s word tells us that He is God and He changes not. It was not acceptable to live in sexual sin when Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery and it is not acceptable now. Jesus did not sanctify murder or stealing and it is not sanctified today.
When Jesus confronted the woman that was caught in adultery He said that He condemned her not. He was not telling her that He was in agreement with what she was doing, He said just the opposite. His last words to her were don’t do it again! When Jesus said,”I condemn you not”, He was saying that she didn’t need to be stoned for her sin, Jesus was still against her sin but He loved her.
The key here is that once we truly know Jesus and we receive the Holy Spirit, a conviction will guide us to do the right thing out of love for God. We now have His laws written on our hearts which means we know Him internally instead of externally. If we say we know Jesus and continue living in sin, we are liars according to 1 John 3:6. Pretty harsh words but those very words warn us of what to stay away from.
One of the greatest maladies of our society today is the lack of reverence that children and younger people have toward their parents and elders. This is because first we as a society have turned our back on the fear of the Lord. When we lose the fear of God, we lose all connection to wisdom. The fear of God is pure, converting the soul. The fear of God keeps us from placing ourselves into dangerous areas in life that would usher in pain, suffering and death. We were built with a natural fear to keep us from doing things that would cause us to bring heartache upon ourselves. This fear is not an evil spirit of fear, but a reverence toward the things that need be revered. A good parent will teach their child to fear the fire on top of the stove so that they don’t put their hand in it because they want to protect their child from being burned. It is the same thing with God. The fear that we need to embrace is the reverence of God, the awe of His presence and the bigness and greatness of His power.
The fear or godly reverence of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom. If you are wise you will follow God’s laws and keep His statutes and commandments. If you keep His ways, evil will not visit you. Stay away from sin. It will destroy you. Fear God and live in satisfaction. He wants the best for you and He has given His best for you, Jesus His Son. If we live in His love, we will understand that the fear of God is beautiful, not something to be despised.
Everyone sins in some way every day. There is no one perfect but Jesus and we depend and lean on His grace for salvation. While we are on this Earth we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling meaning we are to revere what He has done for us. He has saved us to the Father and from sin and death. In working out our salvation there is a daily fight against sin. Some of us have a more difficult fight than others according to what we’ve been through in life. He is able to keep us till the day we see Him face to face. Never give up, never give in. When you do fall, get back up!
Love God and ask Him to bring you the understanding that you need to know the fear of God that leads to life.
Pastor Michael Cannatello
TMMC-The Teaching Ministry of Michael Cannatello
