Where Is Your Fear Of The Lord?
Do you have any fear of the Lord? I can tell you according to Scriptures God says we should fear Him. This is a problem for many people. Many don’t think it’s right to fear the Lord because why would a loving God bring fear to their children?
Fear of the Lord is something different than just being scared of Him or fearing for your life or feeling terror…it’s having respect and reverence for Him as our Lord. I love Him and respect Him and I know He is a just God and He rewards and punishes those He loves and having fear of the Lord is right and holy and it’s fear that keeps me humble and keeps me seeking Him. Hebrews 12:28–29~ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Another verse Proverbs 1:7~ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
I have joy and peace in the Lord and when I sin there is a degree of separation from God for a time that I fear. I instantly know I’ve stepped out of His will that has protected me and I feel the separation of his presence. Isaiah 59:2~ But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
It brings shame, guilt and I can even feel nauseous. He knows what I’ve done or didn’t do, said, thought, or felt that brings me so much sadness. The separation hurts because you know He can’t be with you when you are in sin and all you feel is regret and disappointment in your own self. Then as always, Scriptures remind you of how loving and forgiving God is because He offers repentance. God will not leave or forsake Christians that do sin. We experience separation from our Lord as a form of discipline to grow us. Those that don’t believe in God don’t have a fear of Him or His judgment which only leads to the worst separation of all, the eternal separation from God.
People that read the Bible, attend a Biblical church, and bear the name Christian should have no excuse to not fear the Lord. In my last article, I spoke on how short life is and where people may spend eternity. I spoke of several that were shown mercy by God and saved such as the blind man and the thief on the cross. Both were able to understand their need for forgiveness and salvation when they met Jesus and didn’t reject Him. However, there are people that claim to be Christians and believers in Christ that write books and hold studies and even serve as Pastors that live without fear of the Lord. They teach others a false God and blaspheme His character and tag God’s name on teachings that are NOT Biblical at all. These teachings are done without having fear of the Lord or the fear of consequence in any way for going against God. They don’t seem to be worried about the false teachings they spout that God never taught. They didn’t seem to show any concern that they put more faith in their own feelings than the truth in what God actually tells us in the Scriptures.
The deaths of a well know man and woman come to mind with this subject. The first one is Billy Graham. He died on February 21, 2018, at the age of 99. He seemed to have changed his belief from his younger years as one that believed the only way to heaven was through Jesus, compared to his later years of believing there were many ways to heaven. In an interview with ‘Robert Schuller, Graham is asked, “What’s the future of Christianity”. Graham says, “The body of Christ that comes from all the Christian groups from around the world or outside the Christian groups from around the World I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ whether they are conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And that is what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they have been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their heart they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved and that they’re going to be with us in heaven.
Ok, lots to unpack here. If people can be saved without knowing God or knowing the Gospel then why does God tell us to go out into the world to find those that “don’t know God” and preach the gospel? Graham believed people who are outside the Biblical Christian groups are saved, meaning they are not Christian and are non-believers. This doesn’t sound like the Gospel of Christ as written in the Scriptures. Let Scriptures reveal the truth to you, read Matthew 7:21-23 where we are told not everyone who calls on Him will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. They are to know God’s will, which means they need to know God. In Mark 16:15-16, we are commanded to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to everyone,“He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.” This clearly points out you can’t be an unbeliever and be saved. It’s just not going to happen. John 14:6~ “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 1 Corinthians 1:17~ “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
These verses explain why people can NOT find their way to God in any other way except through knowing and believing in Jesus Christ. We cannot be Muslim, or Buddhist, or a non-believer and still, be saved. How can a non-believer be of the body of Christ if they don’t believe in Jesus? If a person is truly saved, they would only claim to be a believer in Christ. Remember, “He who does not believe will be condemned.”Graham’s words and God’s words contradict each other.
Graham says that “They may not even know the name of Jesus so they turn to the only light they have and will be in heaven.”
Ok, so let’s think about this…How can we believe in something we don’t believe in? How can you love or even know something you are not conscious of? How can we be aware of something we aren’t aware of? How can we know something we didn’t know? Scriptures even tell us in Romans 10:14~ “How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” Good question! We all know that Graham was a preacher but he wasn’t saying what people needed to hear. Graham should have been bold and said that if they don’t know Jesus and are a non-believer or practicing Buddhists, or Muslims then they are not saved. All kinds of false religions say they believe in God but their god is not the God of the Bible. You can’t go to heaven believing in a different God like the god of Buddha or the god of the Muslims or the god of “Everyone can get to heaven without believing in Jesus” god.
In Deuteronomy 6:14 and Jeremiah 25:6 we are warned not to go after other gods. Isaiah 44:6 says “besides me, there is no god.” With Graham being a pastor it’s very strange that he credits a “light” to salvation when he says, “they turn to the only light they have.” Salvation is through Jesus, not through having a light. If they are turning to the only light they have yet it’s not from Jesus, then it’s not of God, and if it’s not of God, it’s not the true light they need. Their light is counterfeit and weak. I might also add that Satan is “LIGHT” too! 2 Corinthians 11:14~ “And no wonder, for Satan himself, masquerades as an angel of light.”
In another interview, Larry King asks Billy if God loves Satan, all he said was, “Well, he created him as Lucifer. In the 22nd of Ezekiel, it tells us about it, and he must love him, but the end of Satan is hell. Hell was created for the devil and his angels, or his demons, not for men.” Then King asked if he thought homosexuality is a sin. Graham says he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. Then King says, “If homosexuality isn’t a choice, it can’t be a sin. Right?” Graham says, “Well, maybe. God will make that judgment, not me. I’m not deciding who’s a sinner and who is not.” King says, “How about abortion?” Graham says, “Same thing.” King asks him if he is against it totally and Graham says, “yes but I won’t get involved in it.” King asks if he believes it’s the taking of a life and Graham says yes, he does. King says, “But to protect the life of a mother you would permit it, right? I think you said that.” Graham says,“Oh, yes.”
(you can find both links to these interviews at bottom of this article)
With Graham being a preacher, his job is to warn the sheep of dangers and keep them safe. Doesn’t that mean for him to warn when something is sin and that Jesus is the ONLY way? Anyone that teaches the Word of God needs to be careful in handling God’s Word, and be very respectful of it, don’t you think? As Christians, we should know what sin is yet every time King asks Graham if something was a sin Graham never just says, yes, it’s a sin. He just gave what appears to be his opinion on things and then tells the viewers that God judges, not him and that he’s not deciding who’s a sinner and who is not. He had a platform in which to speak the truth and point people to Christ but doesn’t. Oh, I understand his fear, I’ve been there and it’s not easy. I’ve upset many but you do it anyway. We either have a fear of man or we have a fear of God. Obviously, Graham had more of a fear of man because he doesn’t speak the truth. Graham makes the statement that Christians don’t judge. So, how are we to discern God’s commands if we are not allowed to judge sin or discern right from wrong? Having discernment means knowing right from wrong according to the law of God. If God says not to commit adultery, to keep the marriage bed pure, do not murder then to do any of that as a Christian or preacher or pastor means to know it’s a sin. Graham should have exposed the sin and said, yes, homosexuality is a sin, yes abortion is murder and murder is sin. Graham taught that he doesn’t judge sin and everyone goes to heaven. What’s troubling is Graham did teach some good things so it makes him look good but then turned around and contradicted God’s own Scriptures. When Graham says “God must love Satan because God made him” makes light of Satan. Satan is evil, why would God love evil? He doesn’t. Psalm 11:5~ The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Psalm 5:5~ The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.
There is a perfect answer to this simple question with the following link below, “No, God does not love Satan, and neither should we. God cannot love that which is evil and unholy, and Satan embodies all of that. He is the enemy (1 Peter 5:8); the evil one (Matthew 6:13); the father of lies and a murderer (John 8:44); the accuser of God’s people (Revelation 12:10); the tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5); proud, wicked and violent (Isaiah 14:12-15); a deceiver (Acts 13:10); a schemer (Ephesians 6:11); a thief (Luke 8:12); and many more evil things. He is, in fact, everything that God hates. The heart of Satan is fixed and confirmed in his hatred of God, his judgment is final, and his destruction is sure. Revelation 20 describes God’s future plan for Satan, and love for Satan has no part in it.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/does-God-love-Satan.html
There is a very popular yet unbiblical saying that goes around in the Christian community, “God loves the sinner and hates the sin”. Although that seems loving for a God to love, love, and love some more and love everyone even if you live in sin, it’s just not biblical. We need to understand that it’s the sinner that is thrown into Hell, not the sin.
Sadly, Graham is still leading people astray today with those videos and interviews even though he is gone. Where was Graham’s fear of the Lord? Saying those things should have convicted him instantaneously. I noticed when King asked a question about a certain sin; Graham never truly addressed it or called it sin or quotes Scriptures of what God says about it. He just gently reminds the viewers that God forgives whatever sin you have. Nothing is said about them needing to repent and ask for forgiveness. Many will see it as they don’t need to repent because God loves the sinner and automatically forgive us.
Next, the woman I referred to is Rachel Held Evans, she died May 4, 2019, at the age of 37, and left behind a husband and two children. She died so young and so suddenly it was a shock to many people. She wrote books, had blogs and many believed in her teachings to be good. None of that is wrong until you look at what it was she actually taught. Long story short, she taught that God is not a ‘dude’ (her words) and has referred to God as a woman and mother at different times. She supports LGBTQ causes and contradicts what God says women’s roles are in the church and denies and rejects the authority of God’s Word and teachings.
For more information on RHE, Michelle Lesley provides info below with attached links as well. https://michellelesley.com/2016/10/10/the-mailbag-do-you-recommend-these-teachersauthors-volume-2/
I know many believe that talking ill of the dead is wrong and disrespectful but I say it’s downright evil to speak ill of the Lord and make Him out to be something He’s not. Rachel has disrespected God and His teachings in the things she has said about Him. It’s out of respect for God and His Truth that I speak of her false teachings because we should not hold our tongue when it comes to exposing lies and sharing the truth of the Scriptures. According to God, we are to warn of false teachings and that’s more important than respecting someone’s death. I’m sure people could say she was a nice person but the deception and poison she taught to the thousands of her followers are very concerning and wrong. What is more concerning for her is if she never repented of them, God will hold her responsible for every careless word she spoke and taught. Matthew 12:35–37~ “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, son the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.”
I knew nothing of Rachel until a few days after she died. I saw pictures of her posted on Facebook by several different people and became curious about who she was and why so many were posting about her. I discovered many things about her beliefs but it was an article by Pastor Gabriel Hughes that shocked me most and showed where she stood just weeks before she died. I was disheartened by the deadly teachings she spewed just shortly before her last breath. She defended her beliefs in her comments to the very end of her write-up to Pastor Gabriel which was concerning a video he made titled, “Is God a Woman?”, below
Gabriel says, “Though I will never have another opportunity to address Rachel, what she taught continues to damage the souls of countless thousands of people, and will do so for many more years. What I had prepared to say to her, I say now for the sake of those misled by her teaching.”
Below is Pastor Gabriel article; http://pastorgabehughes.blogspot.com/2019/06/remembering-and-responding-to-rachel.html
Her beliefs were so disturbing but my heart truly hurts for her. I found it surprising that not knowing anything of her before; I would now suddenly find my heart so sad concerning her. I then started thinking of those who are still being fed her books and teachings. Sadly, and unfortunately, there is no more we can do for Rachel. No one can try to reach out to her and help her see her unbiblical ways; no one can help her know the truth of who God is. It’s too late. What time we Christians do have should be to fight for the faith, to fight for the Truth. Her very last act as a living, breathing human being was to take that dark stand and completely destroy the truth of who God is, and then suddenly, just 3 short days after that she became seriously ill and put into the hospital with the flu and infection. She died about 3 weeks later. No one knows if she could have been aware enough to even repent of all that. She could have, but no one knows. Even if she did repent, she left behind teachings that many will still be hurt by today and will cause some to doubt God for years to come. Rachel Held Evans is described as a progressive Christian author but I don’t think of her as a Christian because she taught a different God and a different Bible and she had no fear of the Lord even up to her last posts with Pastor Gabriel.
Links to Billy Graham’s interviews below.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/16/lkl.01.html
Above is an article written by Tami Dykes, Gina and Tami write Through the Narrow here at Tulips & Honey Hub. They’ll be posting articles every other Tuesday. Both are published authors, you can find Tami’s book here, and Gina’s book here. We’re blessed to have them apart of our team, and pray their writing will be as edifying to you as it is to us. – Lauren Hereford
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