The fear of God in the life of the Christian- final draft 1 Peter 1:13-19
The fear of God in the life of the Christian
Opening question: What is it that you fear most?
What we are not talking about in this discussion of fearing God
The unbeliever of course should fear God- God will punish them for their sin
Romans 2:1-11 (NASB95)
1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
The fear of God in the life of the Christian
Proposal: Fear of God should be one of the primary characteristics of the believers life.
1 Peter 1:1-19 (NKJV)
observe the flow of thought
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.”
Summary: We have been adopted into the family of God and made heirs on a heavenly inheritance. As a relult we have living hope and joy inexpressable. We additionaly are blessed to have post cross understanding and aplication of salvation.
Point: We have such a privledged position as recipitrnts of salvation and children adopted by faith into the family of God!
Our response:
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 even 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; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
We are children of God. We a loved by God our adoptive Father. God will never kick us out of His family. Christ has paid for our sins. God will never send us to Hell.
Side note: For God’s children His judgment of our sin is discipline not destructive.
But this discilpne is no light slap on the wrist.
Hebrews 12 (NKJV)
4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons….11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it…
Hebs 12:6 “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Scourges used 7x in the NT. % of them in the exicution narritves of Christ, once in refernce to Christians being persecuted “they will scourge you in their synogogues.”
This chastening and scourging can be through physical illness or even death.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (NKJV)
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread…26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (are dead). 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
The Israelites and Moses saw the fear of God in an overwhelming way
18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
We are dealing with the same God but an even more serious situation
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.”
Yes, we are loved children of God.
BUT
V17 even (and,even,also) 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
Why should we live in fear of God?
1) v15-16 God our Father is Holy- God hates all sin
2) v17 God our Father is a impartial judge- God responds disapprovingly to all sin, even that of His children
3) v18-19 God our Father paid and incoprhesabley high price to pay the penalty for our sins and redeem us: the very precious blood of Christ
Definition of the “fear of God”
MacArthur
…Scripture tells us repeatedly that fear of God is the very foundation of true wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps.111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Mic. 6:9). People often try to explain the sense of those verses away by saying that the "fear" called for is a devout sense of awe and reverence. Certainly the fear of God includes awe and reverence, but it does not exclude literal holy terror. "It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread" (Isa. 8:13). We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God's righteous anger…
Melissa’s story about breaking the table and hiding in the closet
Jonathan Edwards All True Grace In The Heart Tends To Holy Practice In The Life
The principal thing meant in the Scriptures by the fear of God, is a holy solicitude or dread lest we should offend God by sinning against him. Now, if a man do truly fear to offend God, and if he habitually dreads the thought of sinning against him, this will surely tend to his avoiding sin against him.
Edwards, RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS - The Scriptures place much of religion in godly fear; insomuch, that it is often spoken of as the character of those that are truly religious persons, that they tremble at God’s Word, that they fear before him, that their flesh trembles for fear of him, and that they are afraid of his judgments, that his excellency makes them afraid, and his dread falls upon them…
2 Results of the fear of God in the life of the believer
“in any person whatever, just so far as the fear of God reigns, just so far will it lead its possessor to avoid sin and to aim to be holy.” Edwards
1) The fear of God causes the believer to hate and avoid sin
RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS Part III Sec 14
Proper evidence of the true fear of God:
Pro. 8:13, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” Psa. 34:11, etc., “Come, ye
children, hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Keep thy
tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile: depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.” Pro. 3:7, “Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” Pro.
16:6, “By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.”
______Could be omitted________________________________________________________________________
A telling pair of verses that explain this aspect of the fear of God
I think these two verses are parellel in this respect: they reveal the mind of God: the first in a demanded disposition, the second in a described deeds of those same charectors
attributed
2 Samuel 23:3 (NKJV) David’s last words
3 …‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God.”
outworking
James 1:27 (NKJV)
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
JOHN FLAVEL- 5 rules to finding God’s will
“If therefore, in doubtful cases, you would discover God’s will, govern yourselves in your search after it by these rules:
1. Get the true fear of God upon your hearts; be really afraid of offending Him.
2. Study the Word more, and the concerns and interests of the world less.
3. Reduce what you know into practice, and you shall know what is your duty to practice.
4. Pray for illumination and direction in the way that you should go.
5. And this being done, follow Providence as far as it agrees with the Word, and no farther.”
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2) The fear of God causes the believer to purse holiness
This could be observed in a variety of places.
We have already noted in 1st Peter that Peter insists that the fear of God should be one of the primary characteristics of the believers life when he writes, “ even 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”
In 1st Peter we find the truth that the fear of God causes the believer to purse holiness.
Specifically, the fear of God causes the believer to imbrase God’s established system of authority and submission (government-citizen, husband-wife, parents-children, master-slave, elder-concregation)
The concept stated
I find this concept of mutual submission in the fear of God stated in two introductions to the discussion of mutual submission
Ephesians 5:15-21 (NKJV)
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.”
1 Peter 2:11-17 (NKJV)
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man (institution, human social structure) for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not rusing liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
Notice the concluding sentence to the paragraph which is seemingly parell to verse 13
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”
2:17 πάντας τιμήσατε, τὴν ἀδελφότητα ἀγαπᾶτε, τὸν θεὸν φοβεῖσθε, τὸν βασιλέα τιμᾶτε.
Everyone honor brotherhood love God fear king honor
Restatement- The fear of God is seen in your life by the way that you submit to God’s established system of authority and submission (government-citizen, husband-wife, parents-children, master-slave, elder-concregation)
The practicle outworking of “fear- of- God” based submission to God’s established system of authority and submission
Ephesians 5:21 “submitting to one another in the fear of God.”
1 Peter 2:13-3:16 (NKJV)
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every human social structure for the Lord’s sake,
whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, …
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 … this is commendable before God. …
3: 1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. …
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Commenting specificaly on 1 pet 2:18 but noting the other uses of fear here Macarthur comments, “The word is phobos from which we get phobias, it means fear, do it with fear. What are they fearing? I believe it's the fear of God here, not the fear of man. Peter is really concerned about that. Look at verse 17, he says, "Fear God." Back in chapter 1 verse 17, "Conduct yourselves in fear," and there too he means the fear of God. Chapter 3 verse 2 he says, "As they observe your chaste and fearful
behavior," and again it's fearing God. Verse 15 also says that you are to make a defense with gentleness and fear, the end of verse 15. And in each time he uses the word "fear," he does it
about five times, he has in mind the fear of God.
Eph 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 t “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Remember the introduction Ephesians 5:21 “submitting to one another in the fear of God.”)
Colossians 3: 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
4: 1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Additionaly: general rightousness 8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Additionaly: Conduct in vitnessing for Christ
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”
How can we cultivate the fear of God in our life
One suggestion so far
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (NKJV)
14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses…when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
Another issue- Mutual submission in the fear of God is closely connected to evangelism in 1 pet 2:11-ch 3 , col 3 and 4, eph 5:199ff, 6:16
1 Peter 5:5-11 (NKJV)
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Hebrews 12 (NKJV)
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. 18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NKJV)
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Mac on fear and submission
The word "servants" here, oiketes basically is the word for
household slaves. Most of the slaves were household slaves,
that is they served some home owner, some estate owner in
some way...whether they were out plowing fields or doing
medicine as doctors or whatever they did, they did it for some
house owner, land owner, estate owner. So they're called
oiketes, the word oikeios means house. Masters is the Greek
word despotes from which we get despot, it's a strong word, it
means absolute ownership and uncontrolled power. So he's
really talking about controlling people and submitting people.
And he says to these household slaves, be submissive. That's a
Submission in the Workplace--Part 1 -- John MacArthur
present participle continually be submissive.
And do it with the right attitude, look at verse 18, "With all
respect...with all respect." The word is phobos from which we
get phobias, it means fear, do it with fear. What are they
fearing? I believe it's the fear of God here, not the fear of man.
Peter is really concerned about that. Look at verse 17, he says,
"Fear God." Back in chapter 1 verse 17, "Conduct yourselves
in fear," and there too he means the fear of God. Chapter 3
verse 2 he says, "As they observe your chaste and fearful
behavior," and again it's fearing God. Verse 15 also says that
you are to make a defense with gentleness and fear, the end of
verse 15. And in each time he uses the word "fear," he does it
about five times, he has in mind the fear of God. So we are to
be submissive to our masters with all due fear of God.
Now why does he say that? Listen to me, because God has set
up social order...social structure. The employee/employer
relationship is designed by God. And so they were to submit
to that social order, for safety, for productivity, for the
carrying on of the enterprise of human life.
You say, "Yeah, but you don't know who I have as a master.
He's brutal, cruel. You don't know what they do to me on my
job." Well keep reading. "Be submissive to your masters with
all respect, not only respect for God who instituted this
system, not only to those who are good and gentle but also to
those who are unreasonable." You didn't want that to be there,
did you? You wanted out of that one. Good and gentle means
virtuous and mild. The Greek term for gentle means
reasonable, fair, yielding, ready to forego rights, it even means
content to take less than do. This is a magnanimous generous
kind gracious person. It's easy to submit to that kind of person.
But also he says in verse 18, to those who are unreasonable,
skolios, you've heard of scoliosis of the spine, curvature.
That's the word, it means bent, crooked, curved,
metaphorically perverse, unfair, unreasonable is a good
translation...harsh, hard to deal with, unbending, unkind,
ungracious. But in either case, what are you to do? What?
Submit.
Now in our situation you can always get another job. In that
culture you didn't have that option. Right? Because you were
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Submission in the Workplace--Part 1 -- John MacArthur
owned. And if you walked away and said...I think I'm going
down the road, get another job... you couldn't do that. The
master could take your life because you'd be a runaway slave.
You remember in the case of Onesimus who ran away from
Philemon, he ran to the city of Rome, ran right into Paul, Paul
led him to Christ, sent him right back. Read Philemon. He
said, "Onesimus, you're a Christian, go back to the man who
owned you and serve him with all your heart." And then he
wrote that marvelous little epistle to Philemon, says, "Accept
Onesimus back, he's become a Christian, I send him back with
love. If he owes you anything, put it on my account." And
Paul upheld that the slave was to submit to his owner, even
though the owner and the slave were both brothers in Christ.
The system stands.
So in any case, whatever kind of boss you have, you are to
submit. You say, "Well now what if my boss is cruel?" Look,
God will take care of your boss, right? Just like David said.
By the way, Scripture condemns the oppression of slaves.
Exodus 21:26 and 27, Deuteronomy 23:15 and 16, Leviticus
25:39 to 43, very clearly, God condemns the oppression of
slaves. God even instituted a seven-year release of the slaves
and then the 50- year Jubilee release of the slaves. But God
did not condemn people working for other people. And He did
call us to submission.
In Ephesians 6 and verse 5, "Slaves, be obedient to those who
are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling," again fear of God because God has established
this social order, "in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ."
Oh my goodness what a statement! What he is saying is you
should serve your master as if you were
serving...whom?...Christ-- Christ. Look at verse 7, "With
goodwill render service as to the Lord." He says it again
because they probably wouldn't have believed the first time,
"and not to men and knowing whatever good thing each one
does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or
free. And masters, do the same thing to them and give up
threatening knowing that both their master and yours is in
heaven and there's no partiality with Him." And he warns the
masters that God's going to deal with them if they're unfair.
So Paul there is reinforcing what Peter says. We're to do it the
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Submission in the Workplace--Part 1 -- John MacArthur
right attitude, sincerity of heart, as if we were serving Christ.
The mandate then, no walk outs, no strikes, no hold outs, no
protests, no mutiny, submission. Why? Why? "In order
that...verse 15...you may silence the ignorance of foolish men
and give a godly testimony, a testimony that says patiently and
humbly, I take whatever you give and I serve you with all my
heart and not only that, I commit myself to God who will
properly reward me and you for how you treat me."
That takes us secondly to the motive for submission...the
motive for submission. And he simply says it in verse 19, "For
this finds favor...for this finds favor."
What does God expect out of us in the work place? This is it,
this is it! He expects us to submit and not with a grudging
cantankerous ugly sullen spirit. But back to Ephesians 6,
"With fear and trembling," that is fearing God's chastening on
you if you don't do it right. Can I introduce a thought into your
life and your thinking? You're having problems you can't
figure out why. It may not have anything to do with
quote/unquote your spiritual activity, it could be the
chastening of God because you're such a gripping complaining
employee. Ephesians says you are to do it with fear and
trembling, that is you have a healthy fear of God who will
chasten those who do not have a right attitude. You are to do
it, your obedient service as a slave of your master, whatever
kind of master they might be or he might be or she might be,
in the sincerity of your heart as if you were serving Christ.
And he says not by way of eye service. What does that mean?
Doing good when they're watching. Busy, busy, busy, happy,
happy, happy...as long as they're looking. As soon as they turn
their back...growl, you know. Doing it as slaves of Christ. And
then this statement, Ephesians 6:6, "Doing the will of God
from the heart." Did you know this is the will of God? This is
the will of God, do it from the heart as if you're doing it for
the Lord. And know that the Lord will pay you back, that's
Ephesians 6:5 to 9, what a great passage. Be submissive.
You say, "Well, the end result of this is what?" Well, the Lord
will pay you back for all your effort. Number two, that kind of
life particularly under an unreasonable, unfair boss will act as
a constant rebuke to his wickedness and a constant testimony
to the grace of Christ in your life. It will silence the critics and
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Submission in the Workplace--Part 1 -- John MacArthur
perhaps even lead them to the knowledge of the Savior.
Some of you are going to have to take a stand very soon, you
should do it with joy and the Lord will honor you and the Lord
will take care of those who are treating you unfairly. I'm not
saying that sometimes the employees' concerns are not
justified, sometimes they might be. But I am saying that God
requires that our attitude be right and that we simply commit it
to God and don't take vengeance ourselves and don't demand
our rights and God will take care of it.
Ironically, this overemphasis on divine beneficence actually works against a sound understanding of
God's love. It has given multitudes the disastrous impression that God is kindly but feeble, or aloof, or
simply unconcerned about human wickedness. Is it any wonder that people with a such a concept of God
defy His holiness, take His love for granted, and presume on His grace and mercy? Certainly no one
would fear a deity like that.
Yet Scripture tells us repeatedly that fear of God is the very foundation of true wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps.
111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Mic. 6:9). People often try to explain the sense of those verses away by
saying that the "fear" called for is a devout sense of awe and reverence. Certainly the fear of God
includes awe and reverence, but it does not exclude literal holy terror. "It is the Lord of hosts whom you
should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread" (Isa. 8:13).
We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God's righteous
anger. We need to remember that God's wrath does burn against impenitent sinners (Ps. 38:1-3). That
reality is the very thing that makes His love so wonderful. We must therefore proclaim these truths with
the same sense of conviction and fervency we employ when we declare the love of God. It is only against
the backdrop of divine wrath that the full significance of God's love can be truly understood. That is
precisely the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. After all, it was on the cross that God's love and His
wrath converged in all their majestic fullness.
Only those who see themselves as sinners in the hands of an angry God can fully appreciate the
magnitude and wonder of His love. In this regard our generation is surely at a greater disadvantage than
any previous age. We have been force-fed the doctrines of self-esteem for so long that most people don't
really view themselves as sinners worthy of divine wrath. On top of that, religious liberalism, humanism,
evangelical compromise, and ignorance of the Scriptures have all worked against a right understanding
of who God is. Ironically, in an age that conceives of God as wholly loving, altogether devoid of wrath,
most people are tragically ill-equipped to understand what God's love is all about!
The simple fact is that we cannot appreciate God's love until we have learned to fear Him. We cannot
know His love apart from some knowledge of His wrath. We cannot study the kindness of God without
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The Goodness and the Severity of God
also encountering His severity. And if the church of our generations does not regain a healthy balance
soon, the rich biblical truth of divine love is likely to be obscured behind what is essentially a liberal,
humanistic concept.
In addition, two characteristics ought to signalize the witnessing: meekness and fear. Bigg has discerned the true meaning of this: ”Φόβος (cf. ii.18, iii.2) is fear of God, not of man. It is surely not fanciful to see here an allusion to St. Peter’s own experience. When the critical moment came upon him, he was not ready with his answer, and so denied his Lord. Further, it was through want of meekness and fear that he denied; of meekness, because he had fancied that he loved the Lord ‘more than these’; and of fear, because though he feared man, the Lord at the moment was not his dread.”2[i]
Worship as Fear of God
Worship also involves the “fear” (φόβη) of God. Although the word φόβη could mean dread that scares one to withdraw and escape from the object of fear (Rev. 11:11, 13; 18:10, 15), such dread or terror is not genuine worship.33 True worship is reverential fear that discourages disobedience on the one hand and encourages obedience to God on the other hand. The verb φοβέομαι is used almost three hundred times in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew יָרָא, which often means “fear.”34 To fear God is to turn away from evil (e.g., Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; Prov. 3:7), to obey His voice (1 Sam. 12:14; Hag. 1:12), to keep His commandments (Deut. 6:2, 24; Eccles. 12:13), to walk in His ways (Deut. 8:6; 10:12; 2 Chron. 6:31), and to serve Him (Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Josh. 24:14). In Jesus’ quotation of Deuteronomy 6:13 in Matthew 4:9–10, προσκυνέω (“worship”) is used as an equivalent word of the Hebrew יָרָא(“fear”; φοβέομαι in the Septuagint).
[ii]
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t Cited from Ex. 20:12
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r Gal. 5:13
2 2. International Critical Commentary, in loc.
[i]Dallas Theological Seminary, Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 101 (Dallas Theological Seminary, 1944; 2002), 101:85.
33 33. Elmer A. Martins, God’s Design: A Focus on Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 179; and Andrew E. Hill, Enter His Courts with Praise! (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 12–14.
34 34. Although יָרָא primarily means “fear,” it can also sometimes mean “dread,” “worship,” “reverence,” and “awe.” See H.-P Stähli, “ירא, yr˒, to fear,” in Theological Lexicon of the Old Tesatament, ed. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, trans. Mark E. Biddle (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997), 2:568–78; and M. V. van Pelt and W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “ירא,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, 2:527–33.
[ii]Dallas Theological Seminary, Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 158 (Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001; 2002), 158:82.