A Troubled Heart

Q: Why am I afraid of God? When I hear Christians say how eager they are for the Lord`s return, I`m just plain old scared of it. I am a born again Christian, and truly love Jesus. I believe He died for my sins, and I believe He loves and cares for me! Thanks for your time and considering this question.

A: Shortly before His death, Jesus Christ said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27)." Normally, we are afraid of those things we don't understand. It is possible that you are afraid of God because you don't have the "right God." Why would anybody be afraid of a God who became human, died on a cross for their sins and rose from the dead so He could restore His life to all who believe in Him? I bet that the fear you are experiencing comes from believing that you serve a God who is never pleased with you. A God who is ready to strike you down at the slightest indiscretion. A God who demands perfection from you and who always raises the bar of expectation on you. A God whose love is conditional on your ability to live up to His impossible standards. These types of feelings do not seem to match up with what Jesus said about leaving us with peace and to not be afraid. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." Contrary to what you might believe about this passage, this is not Jesus encouraging us to try harder because He believes we can be as perfect as our Father in Heaven. In fact, Jesus is doing just the opposite when He preached this sermon. What He was doing was turning us from our efforts of trying to be like God. He did this so we would come to the end of ourselves and turn to Him by faith.

When Eve was tempted by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, what did he say to her? "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5)." He said "you will be like God, knowing good and evil." What is it that we hear taught in most Christian circles? It is that we have to be more like Jesus or more Christlike in our behavior. Well, Jesus was God, right? And through various religious rituals, laws and tenants we do our best to "be like God." All we have done is accept the lie of Satan just like Adam and Eve did in the beginning. And as we give our best effort to be like God, we normally dedicate ourselves to a system of living designed to reach this goal. The more we progress, if we are honest, the more we realize we cannot be like God at all. And instead of throwing our hands up in defeat and admitting we can't do it, like God would want us to do, we redouble our efforts in vain. When Adam and Eve were discovered by God, after eating the forbidden fruit, their reaction was to hide from God because they were afraid (Genesis 3:10). Perhaps, in your efforts to be like God, you realized that you cannot and have become afraid of Him. But, let me reassure you that God knows you can't be like Him, nor does He expect it of you.

You say that you truly love Jesus, but are afraid of God. You acknowledge Jesus died for your sins, which is true, and thank God that He did. But, there is much more that He did that you may not understand. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:8-10)!" There was more to the death of Christ than you may realize. Many Christians believe that they are saved by the death of Jesus Christ. But, His death on the cross, while a necessary part of salvation, does not save anybody. When Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan, and ate the forbidden fruit, they died spiritually. This means that God removed His life from them that He breathed into them at creation. All mankind comes into this world spiritually dead to God in their sins. God, in His love for us, desired to once again indwell mankind. But, before He would be able to do that, He had to do something about the sin that caused Him to remove His life in the first place. Otherwise, the next time we sinned, after receiving His life, we would die spiritually again. Jesus, the only man who had a life to give for our sins, because He is God, was the only man who ever lived a perfect life. His death on the cross paid for our sins for all eternity and allowed God, through the power of the resurrection of Jesus, to offer His life to all who believe in Him. It is the resurrected life of Christ that saves!

Many Christians feel that they must live the Christian life only Jesus was able to live. If we could live the Christian life there would have been no need for Christ to have come. However, through His resurrected life that now indwells you, and every believer, He wants to live His life through you. If you misunderstand this truth, then you will live in fear of God because you believe that you must live a life that only Jesus was able to do. God loved us so much that He did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. That is why the Bible reminds us that there is "no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18)." If you fear God, it is because you believe He is holding you accountable to live a life only Christ can live. And when you fail to live it, you believe you will face His wrath through some form of punishment. However, Christians who understand the truth that we can't live the Christian life are the ones who eagerly await the return of Jesus. We are not afraid of God because we know what He has done for us, in Christ. God removed the burden of us trying to live a life we could not live so that we could put total trust in Him. And, even more, He lives that life in and through us in the power of the indwelling Spirit. Our faith in Christ to live His life through us removes our fear of God because we can now live in thankfulness for all that He has done for us. And we know that the what He has done for us is, in Christ, has made us perfect, holy, righteous and forgiven. Jesus does love you and care for you, so much so that He has done everything for you that you could not do for yourself. That is not something to fear, but to be thankful for, and embrace with every ounce of your being.