FEBRUARY 4 "I DO NOT FEAR, I LOVE"

   Have you ever met the Christian, who tells you, with that glaze in their eyes, "I don't fear The Lord, I just love Him". Fear is negative, Love is Positive.  It's interesting though, that the Christians I have met that spout this non-sense always find themselves involved in the most egregious sins. In our reading today we are clearly told by God Himself, to the people "..so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."  I really don't care what you think or what you feel, it's irrelevant. The Word of God, the Wisdom of God, tells us, "fear will keep you" when nothing else will.  Love is great, my children love me to death. I come home and their arms are outstretched towards me, "daddy, daddy, you're home, I love you!"  However, with all their love they have towards me, there are days, when the only reason they don't sin, misbehave, talk back to my wife or pull and tear at each others hair and limbs, is because of the fear of the father. "You keep that up and you're going to get it when your father comes home" are some of the most persuasive words a child can hear.  As much as we love God, we are human and we have a sinful nature that often will override that love of God, temptation will quench out that love and in those times, you'd better have a healthy dose of the fear of God in you, to keep you from sinning, as our text, tells us.  Proverbs (The book of Wisdom) tells us over and over. "The fear of The Lord" is the beginning of Wisdom & Understanding".  If you are a Christian and you say, "I don't fear God, I just love Him", there is something wrong with you and you are not a biblically sound Christian.  Subjective Christianity will lead you down many roads, that will bring shame to you and to the name of Jesus Christ.  The Fear of God and the Love of God can co-exist together and should co-exist together.

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