The Cowardly Christian-No Such Thing

Fear is one of the most commonly given into emotion that people suffer from today. Fear is not only an emotion but it is also a thought and belief system. Fear includes anxiety, worry, timidness, and doubt.  Why do so many who profess to know Christ, suffer from fear? When I first started writing this post, the first thought that came to my mind was the cartoon character/show 'Scooby Do'.  This animated cartoon entertained children and adults for years. It's main theme was how the title character Scooby Do, was a 'scaredy cat', as dogs stereotypically are seen as fearless and brave, but Scooby Do acted like a 'cat' instead: fearful, shaking, and quaking at fake monsters/villains.  There are two spiritual implications here: the irrational fear of Scooby and the fact that he was scared of unreal monsters.  This is the same scenario for Christians; their fear is irrational and they are afraid of unreal, fake 'monsters'.  The 'monsters' in Christians lives are mostly fear of the future and fear of the past. It didn't take much for Scooby Do to become terrified and hide under the bed or jump in Scraggy's arms; the actual 'monster' did not even have to be seen, just the 'thought' of hearing about the monster was enough to send Scooby scampering away to hide. This is an example of a very common irrational and distorted thought pattern called 'Fortune Telling'; when a person 'fortune tells' they assume something 'bad' is going to happen, and this thought leads to feelings of fear and anxiety which leads to unhealthy and cowardly behaviors.

What does the Bible have to say about fear?  The ONLY thing/One that people are to fear is GOD! Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, concluded after experiencing EVERY pleasure, EVERY man-made materials/entertainment, EVERY activity, that at the end of the whole matter, ALL THAT MATTERS is, "FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS."

Now, I can hear the arguments, "You don't know what I'm going through. There are things to be scared of like being raped or murdered or losing my job or losing my house or losing my kids or getting a disease". Are these issues to be 'concerned' about? Yes, but Christians are not to be afraid of these things;and, most definitely are not to obsess over them either;and that is what many people do, they obsess and live in a constant state of 'fear', shaking and quaking in their boots at imaginary foes. The truth of the matter comes down to one fact: this kind of fear is disbelief of God, pure and simple. 'Oh, but I do believe there is a God, I just can't help being afraid'. If this is the case, what 'about' 'God' do you believe? No where in any passage or in any verse in the Bible are God's people EVER given the 'ok' to be fearful of anything besides Him. NEVER.

• 'Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees, say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, DO NOT FEAR! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' Isaiah 35:3-4
• 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID." John 14:27
• 'Have I not COMMANDED you (not a suggestion a COMMAND!!!!)? Be strong and of good courage: DO NOT BE AFRAID, nor DISMAYED, FOR THE LORD GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.' Joshua 1:9
• 'Therefore DO NOT WORRY about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble". Matthew 6:34

 There are many more verses with the same message: DO NOT BE AFRAID! So I ask again why are so many of those who think they are Christians afraid?  The Bible says it's because of unbelief and no faith. Psalm 27 verse 1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, WHOM SHALL I FEAR?" Yes, David is asking a rhetorical question- a rhetorical question means no answer is expected or the answer is obvious. The logical and rational thoughtful contemplation to this question, 'whom shall I fear' is based on the presupposed notation that God, All Mighty, All Powerful, Creator of All things, The Great I Am, The One who rescued the Hebrews from slavery in miraculous ways, This God, I know is REAL and this God knows me, and This God has my back, This God I can depend on, If I have THIS GOD, the answer to the question, 'whom shall I fear?' is NO ONE!!!!!!!

• 'But I could lose my job, I could end up being homeless, I could die from this disease, I could lose my children, I've lost my children/my spouse does God not care????' This is just another ignoring of the previous statements. This is a stupid question, 'does God not care'.  Of course He cares, He cared so much for an ungrateful, utterly depraved mankind that He came and DIED a very terrible death to save us! "Surely He Has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;..But He was wounded for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5. The God who created the moon, the stars, the sun, the earth, the universe and other planets, and everything in the earth, but this God can't help you with your housing, your relationships, your job, your finances, your health, or anything else? 
• 'But, what I'm going through is the worst thing ever, the pain is overwhelming, I'm a good Christian, God doesn't care, if He did why am going through this?' So you want to compare pains, so you lost a child, what about God's pain, His pain of losing not one or two but countless trillions of 'children' /souls since the beginning of time that have choose to reject Him and instead worship satan and end up forever alienated from God. Can you compare your pain to His? "Yet I will leave a remnant, so the you may some who escape the sword among the nations when you are scattered through the countries. Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations." Ezekiel 6:8-10. 
•  'Well I'm homeless now, this proves God doesn't care."  Does God not understand what it's like to not have a physical roof over His Head? Jesus knows about being temporarily homeless, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Matthew 8:20.  
• 'But I have no money, I can't buy food, I can't pay my bills." Is it ok to worry in this instance, the answer is still no. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life MORE than food and the body more than clothing." Matthew 6:19 and verse 25.
• But I could be murdered or killed, someone is being killed every day, this proves God doesn't care. "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28.

No matter what exactly it is you are fearing, it doesn't matter, Christians are to fear NOTHING.

If you are a self confessed Christian struggling with the enemy called fear, God has a very crucial warning in Revelation Chapter 21 verse 8, the very first 'sin' that 'people commit and don't repent of' listed that WILL NOT inherit the Kingdom of God are 'the cowardly'(fearful, timid); and right after that 'the unbelieving'.  These two sins go hand in hand, because it is unbelief that underlies fear-not believing in God or His power or His abilities or His Word. And something to take note of, fearing in the manner discussed so far is a sin.  I'm not calling fear sin, the Word of God is calling it sin.

So what's the solution?

1. Believe- There is absolutely no rational or logical reason a True Christian should not believe God. It is impossible to please God without faith. When Jesus walked on the water in Matthew chapter 14, Peter asked to walk on the water too; Jesus told him to come, and Peter started out ok, but when he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm, Peter became afraid.  That is what we do when we fear, we take out eyes off of Jesus.  Jesus's response to Peter was not, "I understand why you are afraid, it's no problem." No, Jesus made a statement to Peter which is the same statement for ALL followers of Christ, "WHY DID YOU DOUBT, YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?" Peter's response is a perfect example of an irrational response. Peter had been told by Jesus to come, Jesus is God, so if God tells you do something, why would you fear?   Peter's fear indicated a belief that Jesus was going to let him drown. He didn't think about all the miracles Jesus had performed up till them, but right there in the moment he forgot Who God was. Prior to this, Jesus had told the disciples that the very hairs of their head were known by God, and that they were more valuable than many sparrows. Why after Jesus had called out the disciples to follow Him, would He suddenly just let them die? The obvious answer is HE WOULDN'T.  That is why we are instructed to THINK RATIONALLY about the Word of God.  Now this does not mean that we will not have concerns or grief about real life issues. The problem is when something 'bad ' happens, many people just wallow in self pity and disbelief and doubt, they live in fear and its associated unstable emotional state. "Weeping may endure for a night, But Joy comes in the morning."Psalm 30:5. This verse does not say, 'weeping will endure every night or for years' and it doesn't say 'joy 'may' come or 'could come possibly'. Our reactions to the consequences of living in a cursed world should be timely with ending. Weeping and mourning is for normal grief inducing life events. but believers are not to 'endure forever' in weeping/mourning.  It is amazing how many Christians struggle with fear because they have been hurt in the past, they act 'surprised' that they have been victims of some kind of abuse.  It's as if they don't even READ the Bible because Jesus said, IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE!!!John 16:33 Not might, not maybe, but WILL.  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace (not fear). In the world you will have tribulation/trouble/persecution; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."; and that since the world hated Him, the world would hate His followers-John 16:18. So what happens if you don't believe?  "Therefore I say to you that you will die in your sins if you do not believe that I am He."John 8:24  These are Jesus's words to the unbelieving.
2. Repent- "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you" Revelation 3:3 and "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent." Revelation 4:19. "Essentially, to repent is to turn away from sin and to turn to God and trust in the Gospel. It involves the altering of both the inward emotions of the mind and heart and the outward actions of the body," KcMcaul.  Gods goodness should lead you to true repentance and Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. 
   
3. Let Go- "Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you". 1 Peter 5:7
   
4. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM- Instead of worrying or being afraid

  5. Pray- "The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous". Proverbs 15:29.  "Rejoice Always" and "Pray without ceasing" In EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.  So don't be anxious, fearful, timid, doubting about ANYTHING.

6. Trust- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart (mind, and soul), And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5

I REPEAT FOR THE FINAL TIME:

               Gospel Song ''No Fear in Love' by Steffany Gretzinger

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The Good News  is Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.
Bible verses related to this post: Isaiah 35:3-4;John 14:27;Joshua 1:9; Psalm 27:1; Matthew 6:33-34; Matthew 6:19 and verse 25;Matthew 10:28; Ezekiel 6:8-10; Isaiah 53:4-5;Psalm 30:5;John 16:33;John 16:18;John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6: Matthew 14; Revelation 4:19;Revelation 3:3; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Romans 2:4;1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22; Proverbs 15:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 41:10
references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo; http://www.christianpost.com/news/5-characteristics-of-true-repentance-to-clear-up-confusion-120018/