The Good Of The Father (The Fear Of The Cross) # 2207

 

For God gives us, not a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of sanity 

Paul to Peter (2) 1: 7, Concordant New Testament 

I have asked this question of more than a few people that I have come into contact with while sharing the good news of Jesus.  Why are you afraid of God?  What is it about Him that you're afraid of?  Is it His love for us that causes you to be afraid?  Surprisingly, I recently had a conversation with a gym friend which shed some light on this issue.  When asked why it is that they are afraid of God, they said that they feared His ultimate judgement of the world and if they would be deemed good enough to get to heaven, BINGO!  Now I was at the heart of the issue, the root cause if you will.  Growing up in the mainstream church I was taught that I was indeed saved, but that I needed to live a good life lest God change His mind and revoke my salvation.  Somewhere along the line, something I do could convince the Lord that I was no longer worthy.  I suggest that this is not a God, but a man-made religion issue.  For it is the church which has convinced us that salvation is not only something which we earn, but something which can be revoked as well.  This is what I call the fear of the cross.  That despite the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, that we would somehow still need to worry about if we are good enough for the Father to redeem us.  I believe that a lot of this fear is based upon our short-term belief of the death of Jesus on the cross, that His willing sacrifice only covered those sins of our past, and that sin still remains an issue for the believer.  Fortunately, we have the words of the apostle Paul in his evangel to convince us that this is simply not true.  Paul has written that Christ Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  That when Jesus cried out "It is accomplished," He meant it {Johns Account 19:30}.  The question is, do you trust Him at His word?  Do you trust that Jesus did what He came to accomplish?  Do you trust that Jesus took all which was sin or imperfection within us upon Himself at the cross? {To the Hebrews 9:28, Peter to the Dispersion (1) 2:24}. That He Who knew no sin Himself became that sacrifice for us? {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Do you trust in this truth? 

When I was still "In the church," I swallowed the religious theology hook, line and sinker.  It was all which I knew about God because it was I that I was taught to believe.  I also had that fear of the cross, that despite knowing that Jesus had died in my place that I could still be deemed unworthy for that which I had done.  I would suggest that this fear of the cross is but another lie spoken by those within the church.  That when Jesus proclaimed "It is accomplished!" that He meant just that.  That He had accomplished all which He had come to do.  And what exactly was He dispatched to do?  Was Jesus sent to spread a lie to Gods creation?  Because when we trust in the false teaching of the church, we are basically proclaiming that Jesus lied when He announced His victory over sin {Johns Account 19:30}.    That sin somehow continues to be a major issue in our lives.  The truth is that Jesus is incapable of lying, and that His sacrifice on the cross has cleansed us of ALL sin past, present and (GASP!) future.  When Paul speaks of Jesus dying to sin "Once for all time," this is what he is referring to.  That "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}.  THIS is the truth of the sacrifice of Jesus which you will never hear spoken from any church pulpit.  That Jesus has carried upon Himself all which we feel could impede our salvation.  That ship has sailed.  What remains after Jesus has stripped away all which was against God within us, is what the Father always intended for His children.  That we have been reconciled unto Him {Paul to the Ephesians 2:16}.  We're not sinners saved by the grace of God, but new creations in Christ Jesus {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Not sinners, but we are dead to our former offenses {Paul to the Ephesians 2:4-5}.  When we know and understand the truth of our life in the Fathers love, we have no need to fear the cross.  We also understand that the image of the cross is simply a prop used for thousands of years by man's religion, but that's a topic for another day.  The truth is that God has not given unto us a spirit of fear, but of love {Paul to Peter (2) 1:7}.  

Fear is not in love, but perfect love is casting out fear, for fear has chastening.  Now he who is fearing is not perfected in love

First Epistle of John 4: 18, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~