Fear Not… but Fear
Someone has said that “fear not” is the most repeated command in the Bible. Perhaps
you have heard that there are supposedly 365 “fear not’s” in the Bible, one for every day
of the year. According to my count (in Blue Letter Bible) the phrase occurs 331 times in
144 verses in the KJV and 327 times in 138 times in the ESV – so not quite one for every
day of the year.
An important text that comes to mind is Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 2 Tim 1:7: “For
God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power, of love, and of self-control.” Apparently,
Timothy was timid and fearful by nature, prone to anxious care and maybe even
insecurity (1Tim 4:12). We don’t know too much about Timothy’s makeup, but we do
know ourselves. Isn’t it the case that we often experience fear and anxiety over things we
cannot control; over situations we cannot remedy; and over people whose actions we
cannot influence.
Two of the “fear nots” are recorded in Luke 12: “Are not five sparrows sold for two
pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God? Why, even the hairs of your head
are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12: 6-7).
As the passage progresses, Jesus told his disciples, “Do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on… (12:22).” He called them
to consider how the Father cares for the birds and clothes the flowers. Instead of
concern for temporal needs, our focus should be to “seek his kingdom and these things
will be added to you. Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom” (12:31-32).
This is massive encouragement when we consider the relative insignificance of hair,
birds and flowers compared to people who bear the image of God. Christ’s point is clear:
if the Sovereign Creator of the universe deliberately concerns Himself with the lesser
things, we may certainly trust Him for the necessary things.
But this is not all of what Jesus taught in this passage. It is easy to pay attention to the
blessings of the “fear nots” and neglect an important truth. In verses 4-5, Jesus tells us
that there is a legitimate and necessary fear. “Do not fear those who can kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you, fear him, who
after he has killed has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
Jesus turns our thinking upside down in this passage. We fear loss of life, we fear death,
and everything that may bring it, whether violence, accident or disease. But Jesus calls
us to fear the one who has authority over life itself and that which is after life; that
which involves one’s eternity. And who has this authority to cast into hell? Not Satan for
he is on a divine leash and can only do as our God permits; not you, because, although
you may reject the path of life and choose the path of darkness, you will not cast yourself
into hell, though that may be the outcome of your choosing. Clearly, we are to fear God,
because he is the only one who has the authority to cast into hell.
What an interesting situation: don’t fear, but fear.