The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is…
Romans
8: 31 – 39
I. Introduction
Have
you ever been asked to walk across a tightrope with a rope tired to a harness
across your waist? Have you ever been
asked to jump off cliffs? Have you ever
been asked to eat bugs to win a contest?
There’s a popular television show on where contestants are asked to do
dumb things, disgusting things, dangerous things. Have you seen it? Yes, it’s Fear Factor. Contestants are asked to show that they can
overcome any fear. Real fear of a real
danger. If not, they lose.
Have
you ever been truly terrified in your life?
Envision that moment in your mind.
Was it something of your imagination or was it a real person, place, or
object that terrified you? In the long
run, were you justified in your fear?
II. Unreasonable Fears
Now
that you’ve thought about being afraid, I want you to close your eyes for a
moment so you can picture something more pleasant. Picture in your mind baking nice, fluffy,
buttery, delicious smelling biscuits.
You have that picture in your mind and along comes a helper – a fluffy,
white ball of dough with 2 arms, 2 legs, a head with a cute little smile, a
chef’s hat. Yes, that’s right it’s the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Yes, the one where you press on his chubby, elastic
tummy, and he has the cutest little giggle and almost blushes.
Keep
that image in your mind while I tell you a story– you can open your eyes:
It was a very, very hot day in
All
of a sudden - BOOM!
She
feels something sticky on the back of her head, grabs her head, and slumps over
the steering wheel. A policeman sees
this and runs up to see if the woman is okay.
The lady responds, “NO, OF COURSE NOT!!!! I have been shot in the back of the head and
my brain is falling out. The police
officer couldn’t help himself and started to laugh as he exclaimed, “It must
have been the Pillsbury Dough Boy who is out to murder you.”
I
imagine that the woman felt foolish.
Why? – because she had succumbed to an unfounded fear.
III. Real Fears
Have
you ever succumbed to an unfounded fear that kept you from doing something
important – from doing something fun - or going some place special? Sometimes, our fears are unfounded in fact –
like the lady in our story. Other times
the fears are very, very real. Either
way, it doesn’t matter – fear can be a hindrance or stumbling block in our
path.
We
are going to hear from an author who knows a lot about fear in our scripture
lesson today – the Apostle Paul. Think
back to what you remember about Paul.
His persecutions of the Christians and seeing Stephen stoned to death –
now that could definitely leave some marks on a psyche and produce some
nightmares. If that’s not enough –
imagine being blinded on a trip to Wal-Mart.
And then hearing the voice of Jesus as he jumps down your throat for
your actions while you are lying there totally helpless. Not to mention, enduring the beatings
administered by people who want you to change, being thrown into a dark, damp,
dirty prison with steel shackles smelling from the blood oozing from his
ankles, and knowing that today could be the very day that you are executed for
your faith. This man can truly teach us
a few things about fear. Real,
ever-present fear – not imagined fears.
IV. Turn to the Scripture (Romans 8: 31-39)
Let’s
look at our Scripture lesson for today – Paul’s letter to the Romans, the
eighth chapter beginning at the 31st verse:
31 What then are we to say about these
things? (about being saved, patience,
hope for future glory, justification discussed in the previous section of
Chapter 8.) If God is for us, who is
against us? (the Revised English Bible has “if God is on our side” – that’s
comforting to me – if I were playing football, I’d sure want the top players,
maybe Peyton Manning or Too Tall Jones a power player for protecting the
quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys – a player I watched in high school, on my
side. Here we have THE CREATOR OF THE
UNIVERSE on our side!)
32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but
gave him up for all of us, will he not with him give us everything else (give his all, 100%, that is the ultimate team player.) 33 Who
will bring any charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies.
(the
Revised English Bible keeps with the legal terminology of a charge being
brought by answering “Not God, Who acquits.”)
34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus,
who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed
intercedes for us.
(the
Revised English Bible again uses legal terminology by saying “Who will
pronounce judgment? Not Christ,
who…pleads our cause.”)
35 Who will separate us from the love of
Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written “For your sake we are
being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us.
(the
Revised English Bible says “overwhelming victory is ours through him who loved
us.”)
38 For I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There
is definite fear in this passage – past, present, and future
A.
Strength in Times of Fear
Let’s
put this into perspective today. Think
about some of the fears in our lives:
Fear
of exams
Fear
of failure
Fear
of speaking in public – without a script
Fear
of cancer – or heart disease – or mental illness – or any of a host of other
diseases
Fear
of loss of a loved one – or self
Globally
– terrorism, war, famine, economic disaster, pollution, etc.
If
you really look at it, we’re not that much different from the people of Paul’s
world in many ways. Our biggest fears
have to do with violence, death, and judgment – both eternal judgment and
judgment of those around us.
B.
Fear and Persecution
The
fear discussed by Paul that is probably less prevalent in our thoughts today is
persecution for our faith. It may be
less extreme, but many times we are afraid to discuss our faith and convictions
outside of church because we are afraid to alienate our friends. But even today, persecution occurs – often
overtly – sometimes - more openly and widespread and with violent results.
I am
reminded of a story that touched my heart – and probably had an influence on my
decision to enter the ministry. I did
not hear about this until 4 or 5 years after it happened. A young man, Michael Cromwell, was a music
student at the
As a
high school student – at the same school attended by my two sons – Michael was
approached by other students and asked if he was a Christian. They knew full well that he was involved in
many Christian activities before and after school. Michael was proud of his faith and not afraid
to profess it, so he told them yes – and why.
He was beaten by the other students and taken home bloodied and bruised
by his friends. The incident greatly
affected him – negatively at first. The
incident later developed stronger convictions and an increased desire to serve
God as he matured. That incident and his
whole life have influenced others in their struggles with following
Christ. We don’t often meet people
around us that are persecuted for their faith, but there are many all over the
world that must bear the stigma of being Christian if they boldly proclaim
their faith to convince others to follow Christ. How can we help them in their struggles? How can we be bolder in our own proclamation
of our faith in the midst of our fear of ridicule and rejection – real or
imagined?
The
struggles for the Apostles may have been more dramatic than the struggles we
encounter in our efforts to be faithful disciples and to win others to
Christ. Peter was crucified upside down,
Andrew was tied to a cross with thick ropes for three days, Bartholomew was
beaten unmercifully and then beheaded – I could go on. These men literally walked with God and paid
the ultimate price for remaining faithful.
They could echo the sentiment of Paul when he says “I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that
day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”(2Timothy
4: - 8)
Can we stay faithful in the midst of our fears? Can we echo Paul’s statement of faith when
our life is over?
C.
Fear and Judgment
We
have a fear of being judged because we are human. Sometimes we are afraid of what our friends
and coworkers think about us. Other
times we’re afraid about eternal judgment for our sins. Some of these fears are real – and some are
unfounded. Paul speaks of the judgment
of God in verses 33 and 34. The Revised
English Bible legal terminology for the translation of these verses is
understandable today since we are bombarded by legal TV shows, movies, and
newspaper stories. It is easy for people
to relate to the fear of appearing before a judge – a terror – provoking
image. Just think how it might feel if a
policewoman turns her lights on behind you while you are driving. Yet Paul states that we have nothing to fear
in the judgment since we are acquitted through the love of Christ. Paul is convinced that sin cannot separate us
from the love of God. Only our own
conscious choice for separation from God, can stop us from experiencing an
eternal life in the presence of God.
That
reminds me of a popular e-mail that comes around every few months. The writer dreams she is in a courtroom. The only person she sees is the prosecuting
attorney who makes chills run up and down her spine. The attorney starts presenting a list of
offenses and asks the woman each time if they are true. She knows they are all very true – “How does
he know so much about the wrongs that I’ve done?” She thinks to herself – “I don’t stand a
chance in this trial.” Then the defense
attorney comes in to begin questioning her.
She looks up from her sadness and fear and sees his kind, loving face as
he stands beside her. All he says is –
“Don’t worry, Father, she is one of mine and I’ve already paid the price for
those sins.” I think that is the same
message Paul wants us to hear in this text.
We have no need to fear judgment with an attorney – a mediator – like
Jesus Christ fighting for us. A loving,
caring judge like our God can take all fear of our past sins away.
V. Conclusion
The
life of a Christian is not an easy one.
We’ll suffer from trials and tribulations just like everyone else on
earth. Maybe even more due to our compassionate
nature coming out of Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors – even our
enemies, due to our heightened sense of remorse for our sin, and possibly due
to the ridicule and loneliness that may accompany that label – CHRISTIAN. There is also promise of hope in our text for
today – hope for comfort, strength, and most importantly for eternal life. As Christians, we are obviously not promised
a perfect life, but we are promised a perfect love to get us through the
difficult times.
Paul
does not leave us in the depths of our fears in today’s lesson. We hear the big promise – no matter what
illness, loneliness, or storm of our life – no matter what may befall us – that
when God walks beside us, we will come safely through the storm on the other side. And God also gives us a mission to touch
others going through similar storms, trials, and tribulations. We can walk beside them – with our arm around
them – just like God supports us. We can
help them to see the rainbow that comes after the storm in their life. Doesn’t that make life – with all the good,
the bad, and the ugly – worth the living – just because He lives? We don’t have to eat any bugs, perform any
dangerous stunts, or do anything else – except to have a firm foundation of
faith in the love of God shown through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the
cross.
That
brings me to the announcement of where Sue and I will be going after completing
this year of internship. I think back to
Rev. 21:5 – “Behold I make all things new.”
I have been called to be the senior pastor in
When
we give all our troubles, concerns, fears to God – we have strength beyond
measure and a peace that passes all human understanding. I pray that we all find that strength and
peace no matter what lies ahead for us.