Terrifying Fear vs. Respectful Fear

Berean Baptist on February 4, 2019


            After our year-long study of the Ten Commandments, many comments were made about the value of the study. Perhaps the best is in this vein— “this has been convicting.” One person told me, and I paraphrase, “I was doing well until the tenth commandment. One through nine, I felt I was okay, but the tenth was very convicting.” I was pleased with this comment because it demonstrated what I tried to prove in the exposition of the last. None of us do very well at all because the tenth exposes the root of all sin—the heart. None of the commandments mention the heart, but the last has everything do with it. Covetousness is not seen. It is the attitude of the heart exposed in the act. It is not the act, but the exposure of evil desire.

            In the final message, the intent was to elicit the same reaction as the Israelites had after hearing God speak in a thunderous voice from the mountain. The sights and sounds were stunning. The voice of God was accompanied by earthquakes and thunder and lightning. Fear was the expected result. Fear of God who judges and will not clear the one who violates His law. God got what He wanted. The people were so afraid they retreated and asked Moses to stand in for them. They asked him to speak with God because they were too terrified to hear His voice.

            God expects the same from us when we approach Him. If we come based on the law, we should be terrified because we are offenders. We will experience His wrath if our violations are still upon us. The happy news of this story is the temperance of wrath because of mediation. In like manner of the mediation of Moses for the people, we have a mediator who will speak to God for us. We need not be terrified if our confidence is in Him. We do not need to fear the judgment of God in the same respect as without Him. Our fear of judgment is turned to the fear of respect, and the awesome wonder of the God who will forgive our horrible transgressions because of the untiring, unfailing work of the mediator.

            The mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ. We dare not approach God to touch His holy mountain without His intercession. If we sidestep, if we slip around, if we circumvent His work, we approach God bare naked with the thoughts and intents of the heart exposed. The scriptures teach God is satisfied for our sins in only one way—it must be the work of Christ for us. When satisfaction is made, the terror of judgment is taken away. Justification by the merits of Christ’s righteousness is the only way God’s wrath is turned from us.

            The Ten Commandments leave no doubt as to our guilt. Perhaps we believe we do well, but we will not reach the last and announce our good spiritual health. The heart, the beginning place of all evil, will catch us. Our transgression of this commandment is enough. One violation is the heart fully exposed before the commission of the act. It is enough to condemn us forever.

            The epilogue of the law is to point us back to the first. The acts of God played out in the laws of chapter 20 must take us back to the prologue of the law in chapter 19. The prologue is grace— “Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians.” Look back to Calvary to see what God did to sin. You didn’t do it. You could not do it. Only God can. Respond to Him in faith and it is sure you understand the purpose of the law.

                                                                                                Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Wrong Worldview

Berean Baptist on January 29, 2018

As Christians, there is no need for us to be despondent over the way the world is headed. The future of believers is very bright as we are promised to reign with Christ in His millennial kingdom. Yet, there is a sense in which we are greatly dismayed because we know many family and friends will not be a part of it. They will fall in the destruction of Satan because of their rejection of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We must remember the gospel has great enemies to overcome. Satan and his demons are powerful. We are painfully aware of this because of the rapid deterioration of this country which was founded on principles of Christianity. A new worldview is now embraced, one that our Founding Fathers could hardly imagine. Although we may argue about their specific religious beliefs and whether any of them were actually born-again believers, we cannot argue biblical principles influenced their moral and ethical decisions.

The shift in our worldview could not be better elucidated than what George Lucas has done in his indoctrination of movie-goers is his Star Wars films. The religion of Star Wars is decidedly unchristian—in fact paganistic. Coinciding with the release of a new Star Wars film, Peter Jones explained this worldview in an article from Ligonier Ministries. He stated, “In spite of the fun elements we all enjoy, the message of the film is self-consciously pagan.” He goes on to describe the elements of Star Wars religion which are part and parcel of Oneism theology. He explains Oneism is worship of nature: “Worship of nature is Oneism because nature is all there is, and everything is made of the same stuff. ‘All is One!’ This is the essence of a pagan worldview.”

Here are the elements he describes as the Oneist principles of Star Wars. (1) Morality is what you make it. The Force is either good or evil, depending on how you tap into it via your emotions. There is no objective distinction between good and evil. (2) Existence creates itself. Obi-Won Kenobi says, “The force is an energy field created by all living things.” There is no Creator/creature distinction. (3) Spirituality is found within, not revealed from the outside. Luke Skywalker must trust his feelings, empty his mind of questions, and “feel the Force flowing through him” in order to create his own truth. (4) In redemption, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader optimistically “saves” the galaxy and destroys the Emperor, though evil cannot be ultimately eliminated because evil is an integral part of a Oneist world. (5) According to Yoda, death is eternal sleep.

At once we see this worldview is reflected in today’s society. (1) Everything is relative (2) There is no distinction between animals, humans, and machines (3) There are no moral absolutes (4) There is no unique divine/human mediator (5) There is no God separate from us who is Creator and redeemer.

Sadly, the last generation and this one has grown up on Star Wars instead of the Bible. If Star Wars did not shape their worldview, it certainly encapsulated it. It enunciated its principles very clearly. Someday there will be a real Star Wars. God is real, Satan is real, righteousness is real, and evil is real. Jesus Christ the Redeemer is real, and those who trust Him have eternal redemption. Neither those who trust Him nor those that reject Him will experience a death that results in “eternal sleep.” All will give an account to God. The righteous will shine as the stars forever. The wicked will not sleep forever but awake to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2-3).

God has never changed His worldview. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is the factual worldview. Fantasy is—fantasy. You had best make the right distinction between them. Eternity is also forever.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith