Matthew 10:24-31 – Five Biblical Fears – Bible study

Matt 10:24-31 Five Biblical Fears "What are you afraid of?" What really frightens you? We all have our fears but what scares you? Everyone has fear, but what most of our afraid of is unfoundedthat is, we will never face it. When most people associate fear and the Bible, they are thinking of the Bibles fear nots. Someone has said that there are 365 fear nots in the Bible, one for every day of the year, but there are also something which we are supposed to fear. Notice three times in the these verses, Jesus tells the disciples not to fear \#26,28,31\. However, once \#28\ Jesus tells us to fear. \#26, 28\ – Fear not them – People \#31\ – Fear not that – Circumstances \#28\ – Fear Him I believe the many fear nots in the Bible are an indication that man fears things that he should not while I also believe the commands to fear are because man does not fear the things that he should. This morning, let me give you Five Biblical Fears. I. \#28\ We should fear God. Matt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. A. When most people todayeven preachersthink of God, they think of Him as a heavenly Santa Claus, but the Bible tells us to fear God. Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire. Ps 50:22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. B. The Bible also introduces us to Jesus the Judge. Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 1. John had known Jesus and walked with Him for 3 1/2 yrs. but John had never seen Jesus like this, and John needed to be re-introduced. (a) \#13\ The golden girdle is associated with holiness. (1) It is mentioned as being the garment of the High Priest \#Ex 28:8\ and of angels sent forth to judge \#Re 15:6\. (2) That doesnt bode to well for those who see God earing it. (b) \#14\ "hairs were white as wool" – Speaks of His purity. (c) \#14\ "his eyes were as a flame of fire" – Speaks of His all-seeing and all-knowing. (d) \#15\ "his feet burned like fine brass" – Speaks of His swiftness to judge. (e) \#15\ "his voice as the sound of many waters" – Speaks of His awesome power. 2. \#17\ Notice Johns response when he sees God. He afraid and falls down as dead. 3. I believe this is the way every human will first see God! C. Why should we fear God? The reasons seem as infinite as God is infinite, but I will give you a few. 1. You start to get smart when you fear God. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Psalm 110:10) Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction a. A lot of people havent even starting getting smart. b. What does it mean when you "start to get smart"? It means you will start to listen to what God says. c. I believe America for the last 50 to 100 years has been testing the opposite if this truth, i.e. if you do not fear God, you will get dumber. d. The experiment is over. America has proven it true. 2. You will stop fearing things you should not. I made a partial list of things people fear: They are afraid of sickness, being asked to do something, losing a job, making a commitment, an IRS audit, a meteorite falling to the earth, criminals, pollution, over population, climate change, the Democrats being in charge, the Republicans being in charge, someone else getting the job, saying something they shouldnt say, losing their mate, not losing their mate, their children growing up, germs, war, AIDS, pain, failing a test, their children coming back home, staying where they are the rest of their lives, cancer, too much sun, too little sun, too much salt, too little salt, the next economical downturn, rising prices, losing their sight, losing their hair, gaining weight, what they look like, what they will look like, not fitting in, marrying the wrong person, not getting married at all, being out of style, and of what people might think. 3. Because God holds your destiny! a. Everyone is an eternal being that is going to live forever somewhere. b. God is the One who will decide where. II. We should fear hell. Matt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. A. This verse tells us to fear the Keeper of Hell but it is implied that we should also fear hell itself. B. Bible talks more about hell than heaven. WHY? 1. Because it is easier to frighten us out of hell than to entice us into heaven. 2. Most are parents and know the difficulty of getting children to brush their teeth, take a bath, go to bed on time and a thousand other things. a. You can explain on the good reasons why they should do those good things, but most parents know that there are going to be times when all of the enticing in the world is not going to get them to do the right. b. No, what you will have to do is to frighten them with the wrong. c. Apparently that is not just a kid problem because that is exactly what God does with us. C. Why should I fear hell? 1. It was created for one person, to torment those who rebel against and reject God. 2. It is a dreadful place. a. Three impossible things happen in hell. (1) Worms eat but never get full. (2) Fire burns but never destroys. (3) The bodies of those there are forever dying but will never be dead. b. These three things together make hell a most horrible place. 3. There is no way out. a. Gen 6-8 describes the world being destroyed by a great flood. b. We do not know how many perished and barged hand-in- hand through the gates of hell in those hours, but we do know some things. (1) In the years since, not one should has tunneled under, climbed over, and pushed through the gates of helland they never will. (2) In the years since, not one of them has had one second, one moment, nor even fastest twinkling of an eyes worth of rest, peace, comfort, and pleasure. (3) They never will. D. If we could get the smallest glimpse of hell this morning, we would turn to Christ in a heartbeat. III. We should fear death. A. Most people do not have to be encouraged too much for this one. The problem is people fear death for the wrong reasons. 1. They fear death because it means "game over." 2. They fear death because to them it is the "unknown." 3. They fear death because they think they must "Go it alone." B. If you are a Christian, I hope you know none of these things is true for you. 1. Christian never go through death alone. (Psalm 23, Jesus meets us and walk with us through that valley.) 2. The other side is not "unknown" to us, and what we still do not know is going to make heaven better than our minds and imaginations could ever comprehend. 3. It is definitely not GAME OVER but GAME ONE. Story of the pregame show. C. Why should we fear death? 1. Death can come without warning. 2. After death, we must meet God. 3. After death, you cannot be saved. Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: IV. We should fear a false salvation. A. Fear is not just good for the rebelliously lost. It is good for the supposedly saved as well. Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. B. Let me give you three clues you may not be saved. 1. You still want to deliberately sin. 2. You still deliberately sin. 3. You enjoy your deliberate sin. V. Fear sin. 1Peter 1:17 pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: A. Sin is the thing that got us into this mess to begin with. B. You have heard the illustration of the man who tried to make a pet out of the Boa Constrictor? It is so old it may be new to some of you. 1. Boa Constrictors can grow to be 15 feet long but their bite is usually not deadly. They kill their prey by wrapping around it and squeezing it to death. 2. The story is told of the man who raised a Constrictor from infancy. As a small snake, he trained it to wrap around his hand and release when he snapped his fingers. As the snake grew, it would wrap around his arm, then his leg, then his whole body. The man took pride in showing off his trained snake; until one day, when demonstrating the snakes talent, he snapped his fingers, but the snake did not release, it tightened. The man kept snapping but his pet tightened until he could snap no longer. C. Some things are just too dangerous not to fear, among them are Boa Constrictors and sin. There are some things that we ought to fear. The question this morning is, "Are you fearing the wrong things?" If you do not fear these things, you are.