The Fear of Man
Pursuing Peace • Sermon • Submitted
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Diagnostic Questions:
“Have you ever struggled with peer pressure?”
“Are you over-committed?
“Is Self-esteem a critical concern for you?”
“Do you ever feel as if you might be exposed as an imposter?”
“Are you always second-guessing decisions because of what other people might think?
“Do you get easily embarrassed?”
“Do you ever lie, especially the little white lies?
“Are you jealous of other people?”
“Do you avoid people?”
Have you ever been too timid to share your faith in Christ because others might think you are an irrational fool?”
One of the reasons why we live in conflict and never follow the steps outlined in or have those difficult conversations stems from a fear of man. The above questions outline some of the times when fear of man might be a motivator. Tonight I thought it helpful for us to look a little at this fear of man as it underlies much of our relational conflict.
Ways we fear man:
We fear that people will physically hurt us
We f
We fear that people will reject us
We fear that people will expose us
Physical Harm:
-The bully down the street
-The violent spouse
-The violence in your neighborhood
-An angry person
-Sexual abuse and harassment
-Verbal mockery and insults
-Christian persecution/physical suffering for the Gospel
-Terrorism
-Racism
Reject Us
We judge and compare social standing: Where do I live, what do I drive, what else do I possess?
-Relationships: I am friends with him/her. I am a part of this inner circle. I was invited to that party or that outing.
-Experiences: I have traveled to these countries, been a part of these events, was there when “this happened.”
-Education: What assessments do you make of other people? What assessment do you make of yourself when you hear that someone went to an Ivy League school, state university, private school, community college.
-Character: Sharing the Gospel, being honest, telling the whole truth even when you know it won’t help your image, doing the right thing, etc.
*The fear of being rejected takes on different shapes depending on which side of these equations we find ourselves; if we lack any of these things, we may tend to feel inadequate, worthless, inconsequential; if we possess these things, we may feel contempt towards those that lack these things, we may feel superior, we may condescendingly pity others.
Expose Us:
-Pornography/lust, voyeurism, which at its heart seeks to separate sexual pleasure from the hard work and vulnerability of marital commitment and responsibility.
-Obsession with other forms of fantasy, video games, virtual realities, or role playing.
-Escapism: drugs/alcohol, food/eating disorders, music/television—at the heart of many addictions you will find this type of fear of man.
-Perfectionism
-Obsession with Work: the young person that comes to D.C. simply to “make a name” for himself, only to waste a lifetime hiding behind fading accomplishments.
-Hyper-masculinity and Feminism: We see a fear of exposure running through gender role confusions.
-American hyper-individuality and self-reliance
sin and shame related to sin
we escape to idols rather than fleeing to God
We seek to expose others
We run from God, we run from others,
Why do we fear man?
We fear that people will expose us
Why do we fear man?
Past experience
We are proud and self-centered
At the center of a heart that wrongly fears is a heart that loves self more than God.
At the center of a heart that wrongly fears is a heart that loves self more than God.
3.
We have a needs based view of other people
We have a wrong view of what we truly need
What does Scripture say?
It originated at the Fall ()
It is short-sighted ()
It is a destructive trap ()
It is the opposite of love ()
It minimizes the nature of our position in Christ (, )
It can only be overcome through the power of the gospel ()
What fruit does it produce?
Discontentment
Unhealthy dependency on others
Cynicism
Bitterness
How the world attempts to answer this question.
Mohler quote:
“We live in an age where the primary question asked by most persons is ‘am I well?’ What they mean is, ‘Am I well?’ in a psychological sense. We have to understand that for Americans this is normal. It is normal to be told that the self is the center of the meaning system, and that the self is a project that they undertake throughout the entirety of their lives. As a result, most Americans believe that their major problem is something that has happened to them and that their solution is to be found within. In other words, they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution. What the Gospel says, however, is that we have an inner problem that demands an alien solution—a righteousness that is not our own!”
The remedy is to properly fear God.
Fear is living in awe of someone or something. It’s a type of faith—it’s believing that something has power over our future and our happiness. This thing seems so big or so beautiful to us that it becomes all-important—we can’t risk losing it. If I think I can’t be happy if I’m not comfortable, I live in awe of my comfort and will never do anything that risks making my life less pleasant. If I’m in awe of my friend or partner or parent, I’ll always seek to please them and will avoid doing anything that risks upsetting them.
This is really what it means in the Scriptures when it talks about us fearing God and that being the beginning of wisdom. Or that the fear of man is a snare. Yes, perfect love casts out fear and so when we speak of fearing God we don’t mean this type of unhealthy fear. Perfect love will help us to fear God rightly.
This is what Jon Bloom means when he says this:
But we cut through to the heart of things if we remember a simple biblical truth: we obey the one we fear. The person(s) whose reward of approval we desire most — whose curse of disapproval we most fear to receive — is the person(s) we will obey, our functional god.
Remember and meditate on the character of God
Look to the compassion of God. Preach the gospel to yourself
How do you think God is going to cultivate in you a heart that trusts in him?
Worship is the remedy for fear of man.
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