The Paradox of Kingdom Fear
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Understanding how and why to fear the God of love.
Text: Luke 12:4-7
Date: 10/29/2023, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 124
Description:
While the Pharisees plot and scheme of ways to trap and destroy Jesus, He teaches His disciples not to fear them. In fact, He teaches them not to fear anything in this world, because their loving Heavenly Father watches over them and is aware of even the most minute detail of their lives and struggles. But in sharp contrast, He warns them of two things they should fear: eternal punishment in hell and the Sovereign God who can send them there. Even though this might seem paradoxical, the knowledge of Who and what to fear is the beginning of true wisdom-- something the fallen culture (both outside and inside the church) seems to have forgotten. After analyzing the meaning of the words "fear" and "hell" in the way Jesus uses them, we will try to understand exactly HOW we should fear a loving God and WHY we should fear His eternal wrath. Ultimately we will realize three great Biblical truths embedded in Jesus' teaching: 1) We should fear God; 2) we should fear hell; and 3) we should run to the only One who can save us from the latter and reconcile us to the former-- Jesus Christ our Lord!
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I. Introduction, 1John 4:18, Luke 12:5.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 12:4-7.
A. Context, Luke 12:1b.
B. What humanity should fear.
1. Do not fear physical death, vs. 4.
a. The address.
i. A significant truth, Luke 12:1a.
ii. The address as friends, John 15:13-15.
iii. Reverence in friendship, John 15:14.
b. Be fearless in life and in death.
i. The intent of the agents of evil.
ii. The hint of the afterlife, Matt. 10:28.
iii. Fearless apostling, Matt. 28:19, Luke 10:3, John 5:20, 16:2,33, 14:1-3.
iv. A "hanging" question.
2. The instruction to fear God's holiness, vs. 5.
a. The warning of whom they should fear.
b. Describing who they should fear
i. Who not to fear, James 4:7, 1Pet. 5:8, Gen. 4:7, Luke 22:31-32a, Job 1:10, 2:6, 1John 4:4, 1Cor. 2:9.
ii. Establishing who they SHOULD fear, Psa. 39:4, Job 1:21.
c. The reality of hell.
i. Probing the meaning of the word, 2Kings 16:2-3, 21:3-6, 23:10; Jer. 32:35.
ii. A real place, Matt. 10:28.
d. A real fear.
3. The paradox of God's mercy and attention, vs. 6-7.
a. Two metaphors of attention.
i. Sparrows in the marketplace, vs. 6, Matt. 10:29.
ii. Hairs on your head, vs. 7, Psa. 147:4.
b. Do not fear!
III. Application
A. Understanding the paradox of fear.
1. Do not fear death or the perpetrators of death.
2. Fearing God for who He is and what He must do, Heb. 12:29, Isa. 6:5.
3. Christians should not fear anything!
B. The problem of fear.
1. We have lost the fear of God, Prov. 1:7, Psa. 35:1-2, Rom. 3:18.
2. We have ceased to fear hell.
C. Three emphatic biblical truths.
1. Fear God!
Prov. 8:13, 10:27, 14:26,27, 15:16, 15:33, 16:6, 19:23.
2. Fear Hell!
Matt. 25:30, Mark 9:43,47,48, Luke 16:24, Isa. 66:24, Dan. 12:2, 2Th. 1:8,9, Jude 6,7, Rev. 14:9-11, 20:10.
3. Run to Jesus!
Rev. 3:20, John 14:6, 6:48, 7:38, 9:5, Matt. 1:23, 16:16, John 1:1,14, Luke 19:10, 4:18-19, John 1:29, 2Cor. 5:21, John 3:16, 1:12,13, 14:2,3, 13:34, 1John 4:18.
IV. Conclusion
