Articles
Do You Not Fear God?
Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? And shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” (Jer 5:20-29)
Do you fear God? Some of the most terrifying people alive are religious people who do not fear God. The people who Jeremiah speaks to are not Gentiles from the nations or pagans who have never heard of God. God calls them “my people” among whom are found “wicked men” (Jer 5:26). They lived in the land of Israel, had access to the temple of the Lord, engaged in regular worship and sacrifice, and (supposedly) had some consciousness of their covenant with God. However, all of these religious behaviors were merely superficial. Inside, the people had no fear of God. And when a person who believes in God has no fear of him, there is no end to the depravity that they will accomplish.
There is a substantial difference between a person who has not learned the way of the truth and not had their conscience trained, and a person who has learned the way of truth and decided consciously not to follow it. The former commit sins purely out of ignorance, but can still be taught the fear of the Lord and hopefully learn how to love the Lord. But the latter commit sins in spite of their knowledge of God. They know that God created the world and set the boundaries for the mighty ocean. But they don’t respect the boundaries that God made for them. In their arrogance, they proclaim themselves to be mightier than the sea itself! As Peter notes, “It would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them” (2 Pet 2:20). If a person knows a thing is wrong and does it anyways, one would be justified in wondering if that person truly had a conscience at all. In the same way, one would be justified in asking, “Do you fear God?”
The world is full of adulterers, embezzlers, swindlers, liars, and con artists. These people live in the domain of Satan and do his will, just as the whole world ultimately lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). But the most unnerving and disheartening of worldly people are those who we find in local congregations of professing Christians! We expect them to serve the same God we serve and love the same truth we love. How discouraged do people feel when they learn that one of their trusted brethren is really a criminal embezzler, or a serial adulterer? How much more criticism is drawn when people who preach for a living are found to behave this way? There is a decisive irony in a man choosing to preach the fear of God, but then going on to disregard the most simple of the Lord’s commandments: “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal.” Does a person who knows what God expects and does the opposite anyway fear God?
Just this week, my newsfeed was flooded with news of a preacher involved in a ponzi scheme—one who is known by friends of friends to me. It’s easy to look at cases like that and wag our heads. We might be tempted to say, “He should know better! Doesn’t he fear God?” But such questions are insufficient for our spiritual well-being if they do not ultimately turn to the inward reflection: “Do I fear God?” If I know how God feels about bearing grudges, do I let the sun go down on my anger? If I see that God values self-control, do I practice it? If I know that God expects me to practice kindness and hospitality, do I work at these things? In short, do I fear God? As we worship the Lord who made the world, let us reflect on that simple idea.
