Post by Watchman on May 3, 2007 10:01:56 GMT -5
God Bless
The fear of God is the secret of life, the one key to the whole mystery
of the universe. Not only so, but it is an integral part of all
evangelical experience. "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry,
but
that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly
manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow
of
the world worketh death. For be-hold this selfsame thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea,
what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear,
yea,
what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things
ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter (II Corinthians
7:9-11)."
Such is the apostle's description of repentance. One of the Greek words
translated repentance in the New Testament, literally means a change of
mind. Because men fail to comprehend the total significance of this
word
they have founded a completely false doctrine of repentance upon it,
one
that is almost universally accepted by modern Christianity. Repentance
does not mean that men simply change their minds. As a matter of fact,
no man can change his mind. Men can and do change their opinion, but
only God can change men's minds. Men may change their fancy or the
object of their eye, but not their mind. The expression, "they changed
their minds (Acts 28:6)," is in the original, "they changed," nothing
more.
Repentance has nothing to do with opinion. Repentance has to do with
life. We do not reason to repentance. We are not educated to
repentance.
We do not think to repentance. Repentance is moral, not intellectual;
spiritual, not mental. There is no mental process to repentance. "The
carnal mind is enmity against God: For it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God (Romans 8:7-8)."
What then is repentance? It is total regeneration. "And I will give
them
one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away
the stony heart out of their flesh, and I will give them an heart of
flesh (Ezekiel 11:19)." "I will put my laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts (Hebrews 8:10)."
We sorrow to repentance. It is not just any sorrow that works
repentance, but godly sorrow, or as the margin reads, a sorrow
according
to God-a sorrow from God, the consequence of His dealing with us-a
sorrow wrought by God and not by ourselves. The apostle says in effect,
it was not I that made you sorry, it was not the world, it was not
yourselves; it was God, for you were made sorry after a godly sort and
sorrowed in a godly manner. Repentance is not man's work. It is God's
work and His alone. Men repent after regeneration, not before. "Surely
after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I
smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did
bear the reproach of my youth (Jeremiah 31:19)."
Those who do not fear God have not repented of their sins, nor have
they
believed to the saving of their souls. "There is no fear of God before
their eyes (Romans 3:18)." This is the infallible mark of unrepentant
and unbelieving souls. The fear of God in men is sure evidence that
they
are regenerate, and have repented, and do believe. Said the repentant
thief on the cross to the unrepentant one, "Dost thou not fear God
(Luke
23:40)?" "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the
which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness
which
is by faith (Hebrews 11:7)." In both cases, one of repentance, and one
of faith, the moving cause and motivating factor was the fear of God.
The fear of God is the fountain of life, the source of all things that
pertain unto life and Godliness. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life;
it has a definite relation to life. There can be no life without it.
Where is the fear of God today? Is this not what is wrong with us? Is
it
not the whole story? It is. We, of the present generation, are so
enamored with the idea of our own importance and so taken with the
philosophy of the dignity of man that we no longer fear God. We have
therefore cast off all restraint, broken all bounds and trespassed all
divine law. We are presumptuous, self-willed, unruly we are on the
verge
of total ruin because we no longer fear God.
Irreverence is the characteristic of the hour, and is the one word that
accurately and truthfully describes the attitude of the modern church.
In the ancient churches there was a vacant chair in which no one dared
sit; and they always counted one more than their visible number. The
person for whom the chair was reserved, and the unseen presence
counted,
was God the Holy Ghost. Such is now regarded as superstition totally
unworthy of sophisticated minds. Sophistication will yet kill the
present generation. Men go to church today to patronize God, not to
worship him. The majority of church going people, judging from their
attitude, believe that in attending church they are conferring a great
honor upon God. Church attendance is an excuse for a fashion parade and
a show of pride. Men go to church to be entertained and amused. They
insist that the preacher be a good mixer, an entertainer, a consummate
actor and a pulpit clown. That preacher who dares to declare the gospel
of Christ is considered hopelessly out of date and woefully behind the
times. Said Jesus Christ, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8)." The only power the church can
possibly have is the power of holiness. How is the church to have this
power? "Having there-fore these promises, dearly beloved, let us
cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1)."
There is no substitute for holiness and it can be perfected only in the
fear of God. Poor church! She has fallen into the snare of the fear of
man. She has laid aside her fine linen, clean and white, which is the
righteousness of saints, and donned the scarlet robe of the harlot. She
seeks to please men. She loves the praise of men more than the praise
of
God. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the en-grafted word, which is able to save
your souls (James 1:21)."
The one needful and essential thing in the church of Jesus Christ is
the
fear of God. Everything else is superfluous, and not merely unneeded
and
unnecessary, but a superfluity or naughtiness, and outright wickedness.
The church has but one Lord. "Ye are bought with a price: be not ye the
servants of men (I Corinthians 7:23)." "For do I now persuade men, or
God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not
be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10)." Those who please men cannot
please God for "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination
in the sight of God (Luke 16:15)."
Today the church serves men, pleases men, fears men. She has lost her
courage, strength, hope and faith. She is a moral weakling and a craven
coward. Why? Because she fears not God. Not only does the modem church
not fear God, she even chides the few who do fear Him. Proudly she
says,
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (I John
4:18)." Thus she seeks, not only to shame those who fear God; but also
tries to make God a party to her irreverence and responsible for it.
There is no fear in love; that is, no fear of man, no tormenting fear,
no spirit of bondage, no cowardly fear, but there most certainly is the
fear of God. Perfect love is perfect fear. Love can never rise higher
than fear, adoration, awe, veneration, dread and worship. In fact, it
is
impossible to worship without fear. Christ is ever our example, "Who in
the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, and was heard in that he feared. Though he were a son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made
perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9)." The fear of God is the fountain of life for
it is that fear that compels our obedience, wings our prayers, inspires
our faith, perfects our love and anchors our hope. This is the tie that
binds for, "They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations (Psalm 72:5)."
The fear of God delivers from all other fear. "I sought the Lord, and
he
heard me, and delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4)." Perfect
love
casteth out fear perfect fear is perfect love. Wouldst thou be made
perfect in love? Then seek the perfect fear of God. Through that fear
comes deliverance from our fears and therefore perfect love.
The fear of God is the perfect bond. It will hold in the dark alley of
death. Those who fear God will, in death's hour, be able to say with
perfect confidence, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4)." Com-fort-the word means to hold
together in strength. In death we shall be weak; in our last sickness
we
shall grow weaker and weaker until at last we grow too weak to draw
another breath; the death dews shall gather upon our brow and we shall
paler grow into colorless death; the light in our eye shall fade in
darkness; weaker, paler, stiller shall we grow in that helpless
weakness
and languish into complete stillness and strength less death; down
shall
we go to the "land of darkness and shadow of death; a land of darkness,
as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and
where the light is as darkness (Job 10:21,22)."
What then! Yea, friend, what then? "And, he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (II
Corinthians 12:9)." In the complete weakness of death we shall have the
complete strength of our Savior and be corn-forted, held together in
strength, omnipotent strength, not our own but God's; we shall traverse
the dark valley of death, as Jacob, leaning upon the top of God's
staff.
(See Hebrews 11:21.) Thus with our staff we shall cross over Jordan and
not be divided but become two bands, angels', and men redeemed by
blood.
(II Samuel 1:23; Genesis 32:10.) We shall be ruled, comforted, held
together in strength in the hour 6f death by the "rod of iron," which
from the divine side is the unbending, inflexible purpose and
omnipotent
will of God, and from the human side is the fear of God. (Psalm 2:8,9;
Revelation 2:27; 19:15.)
"Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror:
and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall
be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. And there shall come forth a
rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow up out of his roots:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom
and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 10:33; 11:2)."
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13)."
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give
them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the
good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them, to
do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall
not depart from me (Jeremiah 32:38-40)." "And I will cause you to pass
under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant
(Ezekiel 20:37)."
What is the bond of the covenant? "I will put my fear in their hearts
that they shall not depart from me." Will the bond hold? How long will
it endure? "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever (Psalm
19:9)." How strong is this bond? "Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel,
confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have
fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us: which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
entereth into that the Vail (Hebrews 6:17,19)." God's counsel and oath
are immutable. Because they cannot change, the bond of the covenant
holds. He confirmed it by an oath. He made salvation absolutely sure.
He
interposed himself:
Come Let Us teach the fear of the Lord. Brother Stair
The fear of God is the secret of life, the one key to the whole mystery
of the universe. Not only so, but it is an integral part of all
evangelical experience. "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry,
but
that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly
manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow
of
the world worketh death. For be-hold this selfsame thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea,
what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear,
yea,
what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things
ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter (II Corinthians
7:9-11)."
Such is the apostle's description of repentance. One of the Greek words
translated repentance in the New Testament, literally means a change of
mind. Because men fail to comprehend the total significance of this
word
they have founded a completely false doctrine of repentance upon it,
one
that is almost universally accepted by modern Christianity. Repentance
does not mean that men simply change their minds. As a matter of fact,
no man can change his mind. Men can and do change their opinion, but
only God can change men's minds. Men may change their fancy or the
object of their eye, but not their mind. The expression, "they changed
their minds (Acts 28:6)," is in the original, "they changed," nothing
more.
Repentance has nothing to do with opinion. Repentance has to do with
life. We do not reason to repentance. We are not educated to
repentance.
We do not think to repentance. Repentance is moral, not intellectual;
spiritual, not mental. There is no mental process to repentance. "The
carnal mind is enmity against God: For it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God (Romans 8:7-8)."
What then is repentance? It is total regeneration. "And I will give
them
one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away
the stony heart out of their flesh, and I will give them an heart of
flesh (Ezekiel 11:19)." "I will put my laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts (Hebrews 8:10)."
We sorrow to repentance. It is not just any sorrow that works
repentance, but godly sorrow, or as the margin reads, a sorrow
according
to God-a sorrow from God, the consequence of His dealing with us-a
sorrow wrought by God and not by ourselves. The apostle says in effect,
it was not I that made you sorry, it was not the world, it was not
yourselves; it was God, for you were made sorry after a godly sort and
sorrowed in a godly manner. Repentance is not man's work. It is God's
work and His alone. Men repent after regeneration, not before. "Surely
after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I
smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did
bear the reproach of my youth (Jeremiah 31:19)."
Those who do not fear God have not repented of their sins, nor have
they
believed to the saving of their souls. "There is no fear of God before
their eyes (Romans 3:18)." This is the infallible mark of unrepentant
and unbelieving souls. The fear of God in men is sure evidence that
they
are regenerate, and have repented, and do believe. Said the repentant
thief on the cross to the unrepentant one, "Dost thou not fear God
(Luke
23:40)?" "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the
which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness
which
is by faith (Hebrews 11:7)." In both cases, one of repentance, and one
of faith, the moving cause and motivating factor was the fear of God.
The fear of God is the fountain of life, the source of all things that
pertain unto life and Godliness. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life;
it has a definite relation to life. There can be no life without it.
Where is the fear of God today? Is this not what is wrong with us? Is
it
not the whole story? It is. We, of the present generation, are so
enamored with the idea of our own importance and so taken with the
philosophy of the dignity of man that we no longer fear God. We have
therefore cast off all restraint, broken all bounds and trespassed all
divine law. We are presumptuous, self-willed, unruly we are on the
verge
of total ruin because we no longer fear God.
Irreverence is the characteristic of the hour, and is the one word that
accurately and truthfully describes the attitude of the modern church.
In the ancient churches there was a vacant chair in which no one dared
sit; and they always counted one more than their visible number. The
person for whom the chair was reserved, and the unseen presence
counted,
was God the Holy Ghost. Such is now regarded as superstition totally
unworthy of sophisticated minds. Sophistication will yet kill the
present generation. Men go to church today to patronize God, not to
worship him. The majority of church going people, judging from their
attitude, believe that in attending church they are conferring a great
honor upon God. Church attendance is an excuse for a fashion parade and
a show of pride. Men go to church to be entertained and amused. They
insist that the preacher be a good mixer, an entertainer, a consummate
actor and a pulpit clown. That preacher who dares to declare the gospel
of Christ is considered hopelessly out of date and woefully behind the
times. Said Jesus Christ, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8)." The only power the church can
possibly have is the power of holiness. How is the church to have this
power? "Having there-fore these promises, dearly beloved, let us
cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1)."
There is no substitute for holiness and it can be perfected only in the
fear of God. Poor church! She has fallen into the snare of the fear of
man. She has laid aside her fine linen, clean and white, which is the
righteousness of saints, and donned the scarlet robe of the harlot. She
seeks to please men. She loves the praise of men more than the praise
of
God. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the en-grafted word, which is able to save
your souls (James 1:21)."
The one needful and essential thing in the church of Jesus Christ is
the
fear of God. Everything else is superfluous, and not merely unneeded
and
unnecessary, but a superfluity or naughtiness, and outright wickedness.
The church has but one Lord. "Ye are bought with a price: be not ye the
servants of men (I Corinthians 7:23)." "For do I now persuade men, or
God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not
be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10)." Those who please men cannot
please God for "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination
in the sight of God (Luke 16:15)."
Today the church serves men, pleases men, fears men. She has lost her
courage, strength, hope and faith. She is a moral weakling and a craven
coward. Why? Because she fears not God. Not only does the modem church
not fear God, she even chides the few who do fear Him. Proudly she
says,
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (I John
4:18)." Thus she seeks, not only to shame those who fear God; but also
tries to make God a party to her irreverence and responsible for it.
There is no fear in love; that is, no fear of man, no tormenting fear,
no spirit of bondage, no cowardly fear, but there most certainly is the
fear of God. Perfect love is perfect fear. Love can never rise higher
than fear, adoration, awe, veneration, dread and worship. In fact, it
is
impossible to worship without fear. Christ is ever our example, "Who in
the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, and was heard in that he feared. Though he were a son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made
perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9)." The fear of God is the fountain of life for
it is that fear that compels our obedience, wings our prayers, inspires
our faith, perfects our love and anchors our hope. This is the tie that
binds for, "They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations (Psalm 72:5)."
The fear of God delivers from all other fear. "I sought the Lord, and
he
heard me, and delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4)." Perfect
love
casteth out fear perfect fear is perfect love. Wouldst thou be made
perfect in love? Then seek the perfect fear of God. Through that fear
comes deliverance from our fears and therefore perfect love.
The fear of God is the perfect bond. It will hold in the dark alley of
death. Those who fear God will, in death's hour, be able to say with
perfect confidence, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4)." Com-fort-the word means to hold
together in strength. In death we shall be weak; in our last sickness
we
shall grow weaker and weaker until at last we grow too weak to draw
another breath; the death dews shall gather upon our brow and we shall
paler grow into colorless death; the light in our eye shall fade in
darkness; weaker, paler, stiller shall we grow in that helpless
weakness
and languish into complete stillness and strength less death; down
shall
we go to the "land of darkness and shadow of death; a land of darkness,
as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and
where the light is as darkness (Job 10:21,22)."
What then! Yea, friend, what then? "And, he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (II
Corinthians 12:9)." In the complete weakness of death we shall have the
complete strength of our Savior and be corn-forted, held together in
strength, omnipotent strength, not our own but God's; we shall traverse
the dark valley of death, as Jacob, leaning upon the top of God's
staff.
(See Hebrews 11:21.) Thus with our staff we shall cross over Jordan and
not be divided but become two bands, angels', and men redeemed by
blood.
(II Samuel 1:23; Genesis 32:10.) We shall be ruled, comforted, held
together in strength in the hour 6f death by the "rod of iron," which
from the divine side is the unbending, inflexible purpose and
omnipotent
will of God, and from the human side is the fear of God. (Psalm 2:8,9;
Revelation 2:27; 19:15.)
"Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror:
and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall
be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. And there shall come forth a
rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow up out of his roots:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom
and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 10:33; 11:2)."
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13)."
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give
them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the
good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them, to
do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall
not depart from me (Jeremiah 32:38-40)." "And I will cause you to pass
under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant
(Ezekiel 20:37)."
What is the bond of the covenant? "I will put my fear in their hearts
that they shall not depart from me." Will the bond hold? How long will
it endure? "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever (Psalm
19:9)." How strong is this bond? "Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel,
confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have
fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us: which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
entereth into that the Vail (Hebrews 6:17,19)." God's counsel and oath
are immutable. Because they cannot change, the bond of the covenant
holds. He confirmed it by an oath. He made salvation absolutely sure.
He
interposed himself:
Come Let Us teach the fear of the Lord. Brother Stair