No Fear is Not Wise, Fear God

The teenage years are often characterized by risk taking. I remember a marketing campaign that began about the time of my high school graduation that tried to capitalize on that drive for risk. Soon “No Fear” T shirts were popping up all over the place and the same logos could be seen in the back windows of teenager’s cars. Interestingly, a near animosity developed between those who gave into this latest trend and those who rejected it. Soon there was the response slogan, “No Fear, No Brains.”
-
Around that same period in my life, I also listened to advice promoting abstinence. Many of the arguments centered around fear. The warnings that I heard about included the dangers of STDs, unwanted pregnancy, emotional turmoil, violence, and a girl’s father with a gun.
-
So how effective are such scare tactics at reducing teenage sexual activity? Statistics tell us that few people wait until marriage. Some argue that with abstinence education, we could increase that number. I would not argue against such an approach, but the problem is that too many of the programs simply use scare tactics alone. The real reason to avoid sex outside of marriage is because God said so.
-
It seems that most people either do not know or care about God’s position on this issue. Many abstinence advocates actually tell teens to wait until they are ready instead of waiting until they are married. That is not what God says to do.
-
1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” Hebrews 13:4 tells us, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
-
Back to the fear issue. Teens love to take risks. Rock climbing, down hill skiing, and bike racing are all risky but not sinful. There is a difference between risk and sin. As a teenager I was willing to take risks. Given the opportunity, I would have ridden a bull or skydived. The reason I waited for intimacy until my wedding night was not because of my fear of all the dangers I had heard about, it was because of my fear of God. Further, sex outside of marriage is not just sinful for teens, it is sinful for all people.
-
If the dangers and consequences of sin were a sufficient motivator, sins like drunkenness would not be a serious problem, for the consequences are deadly. Immediate danger is not a sufficient motivator for many men. Perhaps it is because they have not grasped the concept that they not only need to fear consequences, but they need to fear God Himself.
-
The problem is that until you trust Christ, so many of the motivators to stop sin are quite ineffective. You see, Christ is the only answer to the sin problem. He is the answer both to having your sins forgiven and the answer to helping you to no longer be involved in them. Apart from Him, there is little motivation to even care about sin- let alone to get the victory over it. That is why you must come to the place where you admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive you as you agree with His standard of right and wrong.

Why Bother With Church

I love to spend time out in the garage. It can be both relaxing and fulfilling. No wonder my father-in-law calls his garage the men’s crisis center.
-
I was recently able to get an old John Deere B to work on, and it is small enough to fit in the garage and still allow room to work on the lawn mower. It has given me further incentive to spend my evenings in the garage.
-
This actually reminds me of a statement that I have heard quite a bit lately: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.” I am obviously not a car, but I fear many church goers may not be real Christians either. God knows.
-
So if going to church doesn’t make one a Christian, why bother going? Some may ask, “If I don’t get anything for myself from church, why bother?” Such attitudes have led to people staying home, and churches attempting to cater to man’s desires through entertainment.
-
What man and churches are missing in all this is the glory of God. Is Christianity all about us, or is it about HIM? As I realize that God loved me so much that Christ died to pay for my sins, I want to honor Him. I want to know more about Him so that I can tell others about how wonderful my Lord and Savior is. I want to know what He expects of me. I want to be equipped for service to Him.
-
We should desire to go to church so that we can learn from God’s Word and be equipped by it. That is what a pastor of a church is supposed to be doing for the saints as he teaches. Ephesians 4:11-16 says, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
-
Notice that we are to be taught so that we are not sidetracked by every doctrine or teaching that comes along- so that we understand God’s teaching and are equipped by it. If you really are a Christian and are not in a church that is doing that, find one. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)