Warning: The following may be hazardous to your sense of self-righteousness.
As we’ve studied fear, we’ve concentrated on fear as a result of a lack of faith. We’ve looked at replacing our fear with faith.
Here is a different take on fear: Sometimes we are not afraid but we should be. The Bible tells us that there is only one appropriate fear – the fear of God. If you did a quick search of the Bible for phrases such as “fear God” or “fear of the Lord” you would be convinced that it is an appropriate fear.
Jesus said it this way:
“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.” Luke 12:4-5 (NLT)
Now the great news for the believer is God is not throwing us into hell. He is going to welcome us into his kingdom as a joint-heir with his son Jesus. PRAISE GOD!!!!
But that does not eliminate my fear of God. I must have the utmost respect and sense of awe when it comes to God. The point of this passage is that we should fear God because of his awesomeness.
I must take him very serious… very, very serious. So how do I do that? For starters, I need to see things the way he sees things. I should love what he loves and hate what he hates. God loves people and God hates sin.
One day, as a believer, I will give an accounting to God for my actions, my attitude, my words, and even my thoughts. This is the one we think of most often and most of us can understand the concept that we are accountable for what we “do.” But what about this one -- I will give an accounting for my lack of action. I will give an accounting of how I used, misused or never used my spiritual gifts, material possession, and time.
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
We have a promise of our salvation… we can not lose it. But we can “suffer great loss.” What does “great loss” look like? It includes lost opportunity; lost time. It includes the times we lived for ourselves: our wants; our greed; our selfishness. It even includes thinking that church and life is all about me.
Ultimately it is a loss of eternal investment. Instead, we invest in the temporary. We invest in the self-serving.
It is very easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature as believers.
What about that phrase “The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”? What does that look like?
Remember when smoking was allowed almost everywhere? Even on airplanes? When I was growing up, smoking was not allowed in our home. However, many of my relatives and neighbors smoked. I was around it all the time so I didn’t think about it. Today, however, someone can be 2 blocks away when they light up and you immediately smell it.
When Mack and Mary had the doc sommers band, they played everywhere. Sometimes they played in venues where smoking was allowed. I remember going with them to the New Brookland Tavern. Even though we did not smoke there was plenty in the room. By the end of the concert, our clothes reeked of smoke. I even had a smoky taste on my tongue! I had to step outside many times that night just to get a breath of fresh air. Then we packed into the van to head home… yep… it reeked of smoky clothes. We couldn’t wash them fast enough.
Maybe that is what it will be like for those who “barely escaping through a wall of flames.” They get into heaven because of Jesus, but they smell as if they ran through hell to get there. They aren’t burned, or even singed, but they reek of the smells of hell.
Don’t let that be you.
