Transparent Christian Magazine

John Bevere is the author of Drawing Near and interviewed a well-know minister who was in prison for fraud. He had also committed adultery. Bevere asked the minister, “When did you fall out of love with Jesus?” Without hesitation, the minister said, “I didn’t!”. Bevere responded by saying, “But what about the fraud and adultery?”. The minister said, “John, I loved God all the way through it, but I didn’t fear Him. There are millions of American Christians just like me. They call Jesus their Savior and love Him, but they don’t fear Him as their supreme Lord!”

The minister’s comments reflect the recent research of George Barna which concludes there is basically no behavioral differences between persons who call themselves Christians as compared to non-Christians.

What is the take away from this?

God does not want us to be scared of Him, but to fear Him. Paul writes, “God has not given us a spirit of fear.” (2 Tim 1:7) John writes, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn 4:8) There is a huge difference in the “sprit of fear” and the fear of God. In Philippians, Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil 2:12) The writer of Hebrews states his case very plainly-”Serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire!” (Heb 12:28-29) Peter bluntly states, “It is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” (1 Peter 1:16-17)

Perhaps this is the essence of what Jesus meant in Matthew 7:21 when he said, “”Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance— isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ (Matt 7:21-23 The Message)

Christ has eliminated my guilt
His Spirit tells me I am his child
Awesome victory is mine
My mind is set on his Spirit
Power is made perfect in weakness
I have the intercession of the Holy Spirit and Jesus
Only God knows why bad things happen to good people
Nothing separates me from his love
Satan has been defeated!

Mike Cowart Sr. is an author and a teacher, a mentor and a friend. You can read more of his excellent C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S series here. Contact Mike here.