If You Don't Fear God, You Don't Love Him Either

Christians have spent more time trying to find ways to make God not to be feared than they have not fearing Him. The irony is that for all their efforts to present a wedge between  the Old and New Testaments, distort the Bible, water down passages or simply ignore them, it demonstrates that they understand, by virtue of those efforts, God is to be feared. That is to say that if they take the Word of God, which is His testimony of Himself, at face value, He is most certainly to be feared. For both the people of God and His enemies (nonbelievers); thus they feel the need to "tone" Him down.

But God's consistent testimony of Himself and His people make clear that there is no wedge between the Old and New Testaments especially when it comes to His holiness. Adam and Eve hid from God in fear when they rebelled and first encountered the God in their fallen state (Ge. 3:8), Job despises himself after all his questioning of God; when God appears to him in a whirlwind and questions him (Job 42:1-6). When Isaiah encountered the holiness of God he became unraveled and pronounced a curse upon his own head (Is. 6:5)!

This is all consistent in the New Testament as well. When the soldiers and officers came to arrest Jesus and He reveals Himself as the great I AM, they fall down before Him (Jn. 18:5). John (along with Peter and James), the disciple that Jesus loved and often wrote much about the love of God, even became fearful (the text says they were "terrified") when he glimpsed the glory of Christ and heard the voice of God the Father (Matt. 17:6). Even Saul, the hater of Christ and persecutor of Christians, stood in fear of God when He too encountered the risen and glorified Christ (Ac 9:1-9).

Is not the fear of God consistent in both the old and New Testaments? Of course it is because the Bible is one as a whole and God does not change. If it needs to be pressed even further, we find these verses of Scripture "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied" (Ac. 9:31), "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (2 Co 7:1); "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:21). 


It is obvious that all these godly men were loved by Christ and loved Christ yet they still feared Him. Of course they did not fear the wrath of God for that was absorbed by Christ for all of His sheep (1 Jn. 4:18). Yet they sill are well aware of it and it moves them to stand in awe and reverence or fear of Him. Let me try to explain it another way. Many people have recorded tornadoes knowing they are perfectly safe but they see the destruction being caused as they watch the tornado from safety and yet still stand in awe and fear of it. Many even muttering, as they record, "wow!" Christians know they are safe in Christ but should be well aware that God is absolutely "holy, holy, holy."

It is true that not all people that fear God love Him. Martin Luther is a classic example before his conversion. But it is also true that all who love God fear Him and hope in His steadfast love just as the Psalmist declares, "but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love "(Ps 147:11). 


To be sure God was and is and always has been "holy, holy, holy" we find deaths like this (even in the New Testament)- "On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last" (Ac. 12:21-23). Now you must ask yourself why such a passage like that is recorded and revealed to Christians in the Bible.

If you do not fear God, you don't love Him either, for the two go hand in hand.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Weekly Dose Of Lloyd-Jones

If you want to understand Christianity, do not shut your Bible—open it, read it! Read the books of Moses, the prophets, the Psalms; they all point to Him. Study your Bible. It is ignorance that blinds men and women of this generation and keeps them outside of Christ. So do not have a hurried service at nine o’clock so you can go out and play golf and bathe in the sea—listen for your life! Here is the only message of hope for you.

Then our Lord went on telling His disciples the meaning of His coming. Luke writes: “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:45–47). There is his own explanation of why He came and why He did all He did. It is the only way anybody can be saved. Every one of us is born in sin. We are born under the wrath of God. We do not know Him, and we are evil by nature. Our greatest need is to be reconciled to God, to have our sins forgiven, to know God as our Father, to be blessed by Him, and to start as a child of God. And Jesus came in order that men and women might know this. This is His message—not that we improve the world but that you and I be redeemed. You may set out with your political program. You may say, “Now, if we can get this onto the statute book this year, then that, then the other …” But you may be dead before tomorrow morning and be in eternity facing God and the judgment.

How can this message be made known? The answer is this: Jesus. In effect He said to the disciples, “I’m going to send you out to preach, and I want you to tell people that repentance and remission of sins is only possible in My name. Preach it among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. I do not care what color, class, or creed people are. The human race is one; humanity is one in sin, one under the wrath of God, one in its destiny in hell. And there is only one Savior. Tell them about Me, and be witnesses to Me.”

Soli Deo Gloria!


*Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2000). Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed.) (14–15). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

Weekly Dose Of Lloyd-Jones

The starting point, the fundamental thing, is that Christianity is about Jesus. “I’ve written to you already about Him,” said Luke in effect, “and I’m going to tell you more about Him.” Christianity is not a teaching—it is a person. It is not merely a moral outlook that is to be applied in the realm of politics. You start with a historical person. Luke was a pure historian. He was giving an account of events and of facts.

The Lord Jesus Christ was the theme of the preaching of the early church. He is the theme of the Gospel of Luke. He is the theme of the Acts of the Apostles. This is the tragic thing that has been forgotten at the present time. “What we need,” people say, “is the application of His teaching.” But it is not. What you need is to know Him and to come into a relationship with Him. You do not start with His teaching—you start with Him. This is the message: “All that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Our Lord Himself said to his disciples, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8). He was sending these men out to preach. He said, “You are not simply going to preach My teaching. You are going to preach about Me.”

As you read the book of Acts, you will find that our Lord’s disciples always preached “Jesus, and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18). They went to people and told them about this person. This was the whole of their teaching. You never find them starting with the political or social situations. They said, “Listen, we have something to tell you about a person whose name is Jesus.”

And what did the disciples say about Him? The facts are all-important. In the Gospel Luke gave facts, and here in Acts he gives them again. But he does not stop at that; he is equally concerned about the meaning, the significance, of these facts. And he expounds that. He writes not only about all that Jesus did, but also all that He taught. The two must always go together—our Lord’s acts and His teaching.*

Soli Deo Gloria!


*Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2000). Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed.) (10–11). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

It Needs To Be Said

Justin Peters took the words right out of my mouth:

Some fifty or so years ago a trend began to emerge among many evangelical pulpits. Preachers slowly but surely began to abandon the preaching of God’s holiness and wrath as the primary means to lead sinners to repentance and faith in Christ. The preaching of wrath and coming judgment fell out of favor because it was seen as too harsh and unfriendly. Preachers became increasingly reticent to offend the sensibilities of their congregants. They wanted their churches and denominations to grow and prosper and telling people that they were sinners who had offended an angry God and in peril of eternal punishment was not seen as conducive to those goals. So, many pulpits began to offer a kinder, gentler gospel: Come to Jesus because He will give you a better life; He will fill the “God-shaped” hole in your heart; Know Jesus, know peace – no Jesus, no peace; God will give you prosperity and healing; God will give you a purpose driven life; God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Of course, this was done to varying degrees by varying churches and denominations. Some softened more than others to be sure. However, over the years and decades, the trend continued. Like the proverbial frog in the pot of water slowly heating up to the boiling point, most people did not notice and few raised objections. Generations have now been raised under soft preaching. Generations of parents in Christian homes have outsourced their responsibility to teach their children the Bible to Sunday School teachers and youth ministers. Now, however, the water is boiling. Most professing Christians today are stunningly ignorant of basic Christian doctrine and are biblically illiterate. Most do not know what they really believe and have even less idea of why they believe it. Most are incapable of giving a reason for the hope that, they say, is within them (1 Peter 3:15). Some faithful preachers and laymen have been sounding the alarm but the point of no return may well have already been reached. The softening of the Gospel has led inexorably to theological and doctrinal compromise. The seeds which have been sown in the last half-century are now reaping a harvest of biblically ignorant, theologically confused, uncommitted and unconcerned masses with a post-modern worldview...

The problem of false conversion is the theological elephant sitting in the living room of evangelical Christianity. Many are aware of the problem but few have the courage to address it in a meaningful way. It is an immense problem that is getting worse. Weak preaching produces false converts who seek out more doctrinally weak churches (if they seek out churches at all) which must continue to soften the Gospel to attract more false converts. It is a vicious cycle which shows no signs of being broken. That is the bad news. The good news, though, is that some are sounding the alarm. Some do care. There is and always will be a remnant of faithful preachers who rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15) for God’s faithful remnant who desire it and will not settle for anything less. The power to right the ship is available – it always has been. The power of God is the Gospel. As bleak as the plight of today’s church may seem, there are rays of hope. There seems to be underfoot a move of God to awaken His people from their spiritual slumber. There seems to be a growing number of young people who are being awakened to the dangers of false conversion and who take doctrine seriously.*

Soli Deo Gloria!


*Vincent and Lori Williams (2012-02-01). Falsified: The Danger of False Conversion (Kindle Locations 138-148). WestBowPress. Kindle Edition.

Calvin Answers The Accusation(s)

We've all heard it before, "Calvin killed Servetus!," "Calvin forced the death of Servetus!," "Calvin wanted Servetus dead and had him killed!" These cries that are still echoed today are nothing new. Calvin himself had to address the rumors and slander of his name while he was alive.

To be sure Calvin was no friend of Servetus. He did not tolerate the heresy and perversion of Christ's name from the man. Of course Calvin was patient and personally kind to Servetus, going so far as to visit him in prison and trying to convince the man to repent of his errors; even warning him not to come to Geneva where he was wanted.

Of course all that goes unmentioned by those that lay blame of Servetus's death not with himself but on Calvin.

Calvin's dealing with Servetus is a great example of being gentle with opponents (attempting to meet with Servetus, visiting him in prison, warning him) "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will" (2 Ti. 2:24-26) and being poignant and severe in proportion to the false teaching, "Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh" (Phil. 3:2); "Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" (Gal. 2:4-5).


Here are Calvin's own words in response to the false teaching of Servetus and the accusation that he wanted him put to death. Calvin does not mention Servetus by name, as he does others in his refutation of other men, but as I was reading I wondered if he was indeed referring to Servetus and so I searched the footnotes which say that it is. I underlined the portion I wish to emphasize.

  The Pastors of the Church of Christ, at Geneva, pray, that God would grant to those most excellent Men, their supreme Lords, and to the Syndics, and Senate of Geneva, a just and holy administration of the State; and all happy prosperity and success.

THE same motive which impelled us to write this Book, most excellent SIRS, constrained us also to DEDICATE it to YOU; that it might go forth under your name and auspices.—THE FREE ELECTION OF GOD, by which He adopts unto himself whom He will, out of the lost generation of men, has been hitherto publicly declared by us, in this city, with all reverence, sobriety, and sincerity; and has been peacefully received by the people. But now, Satan, the father of all strifes, has subtlely introduced by means of a certain worthless person, a wide spreading error; and has attempted to root out our doctrine, which is drawn from the pure Word of God, and to shake the faith of the people. But since this hungry hunter after vain glory wishes to gain notoriety out of the very flames of the temple of God;—lest he should catch that reward of his unholy audacity, for which he has laid his nets; let his name be buried under our silence; while we leave it purposely unmentioned.

But since the trouble which this vain mortal endeavoured to cause us, reaches unto you also, it is but just that you should partake the blessed fruit which God brings out of it. And as we have ever found you strenuous and hearty defenders of our holy cause, we have felt it to be our duty to testify, with all our ability, our gratitude. The performance of this our duty will also plainly shew, what that doctrine is, which you have protected by your favour and authority. And although it becomes neither the rulers of the State, nor the ministers of Christ, to be too anxious about rumours and tumults; and though all insidious revilings (which are generally lost, by degrees, in the noise which they make) should be despised, both by rulers and ministers of Christ, with fortitude and an exalted mind; yet, it is of the utmost importance, that the great reality of the matter concerned, should ever be kept in the hands, and (as engraven on public tablets) before the eyes, of all; that the plain statement of it may condemn and stop the false tongues of the foolish, the vain, or the wicked; and may, at the same time, repress the frivolous whispers of the people in general.

There was spread abroad, in many places, a rumour, that this vain person was severely bound in prison: whereas, he was perfectly free, and flying about the city openly, every day. And with what malignity some virulent ones imagined and stated, that we wished him to be put to death, you are yourselves our best witnesses.* To refute such calumnies, until they shall have vanished, by contempt and tranquil magnanimity, is the becoming duty of gravity and prudence.

On the other hand, however, lest some unstable ones should be moved; of whom serious care must be taken;—to set forth plainly, before all, the real state of the case and cause at issue, is no less expedient, than a solemn duty, on our part. For iniquity, unless it be resolutely met, makes its creeping way (as saith Paul) “like a canker.” (2 Tim. 2:17.) Now, this DEFENCE, which we offer to all the godly, will, we hope, be a strong and effectual remedy, to those who are healable; and will serve also as a wholesome antidote to the sound and the whole. And the subject itself is one to which the children of God should devote their most studious attention; that they become not ignorant of their heavenly birth and origin. For some fools, because the Gospel is called “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,” would blot out, under this pretext, the election of God; whereas, it ought to have entered into the minds of such, to think, from whence faith comes! Now, the Scripture everywhere proclaimeth aloud, that God giveth to his Son those, who were ever his; that He calleth those whom He hath chosen; and that those whom He hath adopted for sons, He begetteth by his Spirit; and finally, that the men whom He hath taught within, and to whom his “arm is revealed,” believe! Wherefore, whosoever shall hold faith to be the earnest and pledge of adoption, will assuredly confess, that it flows from Divine election, as its eternal source. And yet, the knowledge of salvation is not to be sought, from the secret counsel of God.—Life is set before us, in Christ: who not only makes himself known, but presents himself to our enjoyment, in the Gospel. Into this mirror, let the eye of our faith ever fixedly look. Nor let it ever desire to penetrate where access to its sight is not given.

Since this is the right way, let the children of God walk therein, lest by winging their flight higher than is lawful, they plunge themselves into a labyrinth deeper than they would wish to find themselves in. But as there is none other gate of the kingdom of heaven than faith in Christ, as contained in the promises of the Gospel openly set before us; so it must be the greatest ignorance not to acknowledge that the eyes of our minds are opened of God Himself, for He chose us unto faith in Christ before we were conceived in the womb. And yet, that the object of this impure and abandoned one was not only to blot out all knowledge of God’s election from the minds of men, but to overturn His power also, is clearly manifest from those mad dreams of his, which ye possess in your public records, written with his own hand; wherein he asserts that faith does not depend on election, but that rather election stands in faith, and that none remain in blindness on account of the in-born corruption of nature, seeing that all men are rightly enlightened of God; and that we do a great injustice to God when we declare that those are passed by of Him whom He deigns not to illumine by His Spirit.

This worthless being also maintains that all men, generally and equally, are “drawn” of God; and that there is no difference, except where resistance begins it; and that when God promises that He will make “hearts of flesh” out of “hearts of stone,” nothing else is meant than the making us capable of receiving the grace of God; and that this capability, or the being made capable, extends without distinction to the whole human race, whereas the Scripture most clearly affirms that this is the peculiar privilege of the Church of God.

As to the Providence of God, by which the world is ruled, this ought ever to be confessed and held fast by all the godly: that there is no reason why men should make God a sharer in their sins, or in any way involve Him with themselves in a participation of their fault. But since the Scripture teaches that the reprobate are also instruments of the wrath of God, by some of whom He instructs the faithful unto patience, and on others of whom, as His enemies, He inflicts the punishments they deserve; this profane trifler contends that no act of God is just, but that for which there lies a plain reason before our eyes. Thus, doing away with all difference between remote and proximate and immediate causes, he will not allow the severe afflictions laid on Job to be considered the work of God, lest He should be made equally guilty with the devil, and the Chaldean and Sabean plunderers (emphasis mine).*

Soli Deo Gloria!


*Calvin, J., & Cole, H. H. (2009). Calvin's Calvinism: A Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God (1–5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Thoughts On The Love Of God And His Other Attributes

Much of the confusion about God, in all His attributes, stems not from any lack of clarity on God's part in His self- revelation of His written Word. Nor do I believe it is because we do not have enough knowledge of God either. I simply think it is a result of ignorance and laziness. I do not say that to belittle anyone nor to be "mean spirited" but to be poignant. Some times the truth hurts no matter how it is put. As the Apostle Paul said to the Galatians "Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Ga 4:16)."

Let me explain what I mean by ignorance and laziness. There are believers out there that are well informed of the Word of God. They can quote to you passage after passage from memory and even direct you to where certain verses are. But they seem to be ignorant of how all these passages fit together theologically. To put it a different way, many Christians can quote to a person, believer or unbeliever, about the love of God in passages like John 3:16 and Romans 8:35-39 and Psalm 136. At the same time they can be ignorant of (whether deliberately or not I do not know) passages say God does not "hate the sin but love the sinner" but that He in fact hates the soul who does wickedness. The idea that God hates the wicked is not some theologians "fundamentalism" getting carried away. It is God's self-revelation in His written Word "The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence "(Ps 11:5). Now why is it that a verse like this is not only not memorized but it seems that numerous Christians are not even aware of it? We'll answer that momentarily. But when such verses are presented to Christians whether from an antagonistic atheist attempting to discredit the love and goodness of God or a liberal professing Christian that rejects much of the Bible, Christians cannot give a Christ glorying answer that doesn't contradict Scripture nor make apologies for God and water down Scriptural truth(s). Many will not even further study or  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Ti 2:15). They are quite content to fall back on John 3:16 as if that explains away Ps. 11:5 or trumps it.

Oftentimes when I mention things like this I often get objections like "But that is an isolated example" or "that's an overstatement!" Here's my challenge- ask the average pew sitter who makes people blind, deaf or mute. Many will stumble for an answer similar to something like "God allowed it." But, again, the antagonistic atheist that is familiar with the Bible will (correctly) point out Ex. 4:11 "Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?," and say something to the effect "The Bible, which you believe in, says that your God made them that way and what kind of  loving, kind, righteous or just God would do that? That is not a god but a monster!" At this point many a believer will be tripped up and implicitly through their answers make apologies for God and resort to the "allowed" cliche.

So why are such passages like Ps. 11:5 and Ex. 4:11 not memorized but brushed away and avoided? Well, partly because many pastors will not preach on them for fear of offending people and emptying their churches but also because Christians have long let the secular world define for them what good, righteous, justice, love, kindness and grace mean. They have allowed the world to determine what is acceptable about God and what isn't. And those difficult passages do not fit in with what many perceive to be the "goodness," or "love" of God. That coupled with ignorance of many difficult passages of God's revelation about Himself and you have a mass of confusion that hinders that proclamation of God's greatness, along with a lopsided worship of only a distorted view of His love.

Christ does not need our approval of who He is and how He acts in His created world. He demands our worship, praise, adoration, submission and love. If He receives it not then He is angry and will punish His enemies. Without my help see if you can spot both the justice of Christ and His love, mercy and grace in this passage- "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Ps 2:12)?


Here are some final thoughts from John Wenham in his book The Enigma Of Evil: Can We Believe In The Goodness Of God?:

The intention is to show that, in his attempts to understand the ways of God, the Christian must eschew easy answers- in particular those answers which dismiss the uncomfortable features of the Bible. We must look at reality-look at it hard- till at last we realize that there is no way out; till we realize that we are children, that we are fools, that we are at heart conceited, stiff-necked rebels, who will get everything wrong, unless we are prepared to give up telling God what he should be like and what he should do; till we realize that we can know only what God is pleased to tell us. We must listen and try to understand.

God and his revelation need no defence. Apologetics, in so far as it is valid, consists of two things: clearing away of misunderstandings of the revelation and showing the weaknesses of alternatives to it.  

...It becomes clear now that our initial questioning of God's goodness arose from an imperfect idea of goodness. It was altogether too shallow a concept to match up to the terrors and glories and compassion of the God who is. Instead of allowing the Bible to mould our notion of goodness, we let our false standard of goodness become a standard whereby to criticize the Bible. In doing so we lost the purity of our doctrine of God, and blunted the razor-edge of theism. We lost something of that awe and fear of the Lord which is the beginning of true wisdom and worship, and which is the necessary prelude to a realization of the depth's of God's love.*

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it (Job 38:1–5)?"


Soli Deo Gloria!

* John W. Wenham, The Enigma Of Evil: Can We Believe In The Goodness of God? (Grand Rapids, MI.; Zondervan, 1985), pp. 10, 180

The Holiness Of God In Worship

I just received this book Worship in the Presence of God and have been reading it in bits and pieces. I turned to the chapter on worship and preaching; immediately came across  this quote:

When God is loved only for His love-necessary as noble as that is in itself-, the time will come when the 'why's' will rise up in one's heart. Divine providences, which tend to push all men to the breaking point at one time or another (Jam. 1:2), will precipitate cries such as "Why, oh God? Do you not love me anymore?"

Such cries, however tempting, are indicative of a man- centered attitude and preclude worship, which is God-centered. The 'why's' to God will silence the worship by definition. To love God centrally for His holiness is to escape that trap. In light of the awesome purity of God, man sees himself in his ruined state (Is. 6:5), which admittedly deserve eternal damnation. In the face of any providence of God, even the kind that seemingly presses the last drop of blood out of an individual, the response of anyone who acknowledges his ruined state as his own fault and damnation as his just desert will never be 'Why?' but rather 'Why Not?'. This response, and this response alone, which can not be produced except through a vision of God in His holiness, will pave the way for worship that seeks God (John 4:23) and with which He is satisfied.

In fact, love for God in His holiness always goes hand in hand with a desire for holiness before God. That ultimately will produce thankfulness, not just in spite of or in the circumstances, but because of the circumstances. After all, everything in the lives of those who love God aims at their 'good,' that is, their transformation into the image of Christ, their sanctification (Rom. 8:28-29). Never do 'bad' things happen to good people. To complain that something bad is happening  to 'me' is to imply 'I' am a bad person. For God's people there are literally no stumbling blocks to worship. Everything fosters it!* 

Soli Deo Gloria!

*Frank J. Smith and David C. Lachman, Worship in the Presence of God (Fellsmere, FL.; Reformation Media Press, 2006), p. 158