FEAR: Part 2

Our Protection: A Personal Relationship with a heavenly God.

“28. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven. 33. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 10:28-33)

Jesus lists two fears in this passage.

One is de-fanged and one is sharpened. The de-fanged fear is found in verses 29-32. Here he says,

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven.”

Jesus is saying here that if you’re a person who acknowledges Him before other people, in other words, if you’re an obvious Christian, your life is in God’s hands. Nothing can kill you unless God wants it to. And if something or someone does kill you, it just means your job on Earth is over and you’re going to Heaven.

Every single Christian who has a real relationship with God in those WTC buildings died exactly when and where God wanted them to. Their deaths did not surprise Him and they’re not grieving their deaths now. They’re in Heaven with Him. If you’re a Christian this morning and your children are Christians, and if you’re living a life for Him and are close to Him, there is nothing that can happen to you that isn’t a part of God’s perfect plan for your life and that He won’t use some day for absolutely good purposes. If you are close to God, it is impossible for you to die in vain. God promises this over and over again in His word. So, you have nothing to fear. The wolf is defanged. He really has no ultimate power over you.

But there is another fear in the passage that Jesus doesn’t de-fang. And that’s the fear of the afterlife for those who don’t know Him. Take a look at v. 28. He says, “28. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell”

Check out the 3rd part of this topic on my next post.