Removing the Shackles of Fear.

By:  Dale Weckbacher

This Saturday we begin a six-week series on empowered evangelism.  The studies are based upon the Book Empowered Evangelism, which is available on my book page at https://sites.google.com/site/dalesrbooks/

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

NKJV

Fear is a powerful emotion.  Through fear, tyrannical leaders have been able to keep those they lead under control.  Advertisers use fear to create a need for their product.  Fear of losing someone’s friendship may cause us to compromise our values and make bad decisions that could harm us.  Fear of rejection can also prevent us from sharing our deeply held beliefs with others, including our faith in Jesus Christ.  

Fear acts like shackles imprisoning us and stopping us from accomplishing what God has called us to do.  However, fear is not from God but is a powerful tool of Satan designed to prevent us from doing God’s will in our lives.  This is especially true when it comes to sharing the Gospel with others.  In order to remove the shackles of fear we must begin by looking at the three types of fear,

1)      Fear of physical harm – In Matthew 10:28-29 Jesus cautioned his disciples not to fear those that could bring harm to our physical bodies but to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  This, however, does not mean we are to fear God as we would fear someone threatening to kill us.  Rather this is a reverent fear or worship of the majesty and greatness of our God.  The only people that need fear God destroying their souls and bodies in hell are those who have not yet entered into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  However, our flesh does have a strong desire to survive and thus, fears anything or anyone that threatens it.  The recent beheading of 21 people simply for the fact they were Christians appalled both Christians and non-Christians.   (1)  However, in countries like the United States where religious freedom is constitutionally protected, people generally do not need to fear physical harm for their beliefs and in fact if they are threatened, they can go to authorities for protection.  However, in most of the world professing belief in Jesus Christ as savior comes with the threat of physical harm, loss of property, and death.  Interestingly though, it is in this atmosphere of potential harm or loss that the church seems to thrive.  This is possibly because for Christians living in this environment, faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing in their lives.  We in the United States and other nations of the free world should learn from their commitment to their faith for I believe this commitment will help us overcome many of the fears we have preventing us from sharing our faith.

2)      Fear of rejection – Even though in nations like the United States we have little need to fear physical harm, we do have a fear of rejection.  The fact that the church seems to thrive more in an atmosphere of the fear of physical harm provides evidence that the fear of rejection is actually stronger than the fear of physical harm.  Perhaps this is because we are dependent creatures.  We are born dependent on our parents.  As we grow up, we like to believe we are totally independent but the truth is we are still dependent on others.  This past Tuesday I went to the store to buy groceries.  Not being a great farmer or hunter makes me dependent on others to harvest or kill my food.  We all have a group of friends we hang around with and when we encounter tough times, we lean on these individuals for support.  We fear rejection because we fear losing this support group.  When we accept Jesus as our savior, we do risk losing our secular support group but we also have an opportunity to form a new and stronger support group of others who share our faith.  This is why it is imperative we find a local church and attend it regularly.  (Hebrews 10:25). 

3)      Fear we are inadequate – Sharing our faith with others causes us to risk encountering a tough question from someone just as committed to their atheism as we may be to our belief.  We must be on guard not to let these people derail us from our firm belief in Jesus Christ.   To overcome this fear we must first have a firm grounding in the Word of God and our faith.  Regular daily Bible study accompanied with regular church attendance at a church that teaches the Word of God equips us for these situations.  In addition, we should familiarize ourselves with knowledge of secular philosophies that permeate our society.  In next Saturday’s posting, we will look at some of these philosophies. 

Fear can be a paralyzing and crippling emotion but since fear is not of God, there is no need to let it stop us from sharing our faith in God.  We need not fear physical harm or loss of property for Absence from the body is to be ushered into the presence of God (2 Corinthians 5:8) and we can trust God to supply our needs (Philippians 4:19).  We also have no need to fear rejection for Jesus Christ accepts us just as we are (Ephesians 1:6) and as believers, we have a tremendous support team through our local church.  We also need not fear inadequacy for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). 

Next Saturday we will look at how to overcome secular philosophies and teaching permeating society.

1. Rousselle, Christine. 21 Coptic Christians Beheaded by ISIS Recognized as Martyrs in Church. www.townhall.com. [Online] TowhHall.com, February 23, 2015. [Cited: March 26, 2015.] http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/02/23/21-coptic-christians-beheaded-by-isis-recognized-as-martyrs-in-church-n1961238.