WHY YOU SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID

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The phrases “do not be afraid” or “fear not” appear throughout the Bible more than 80 times. Scripture relentlessly emphasises fear and our need to view it correctly — biblically. If this is woven so deeply into the text of God’s word, does that not signal severe significance?

Psychologically, fear hijacks our brains, thrusting us into “fight-or-flight” mode. As our minds scramble to assess the threat, our bodies react with pounding hearts and quickening breath. For some, fear acts like a paralysing fog, dulling our senses until we can barely hear, see, feel, or think straight. Science has exhaustively mapped these mental and physical tolls. But there’s a deeper layer we must confront: What happens to us spiritually when fear takes hold?

These men would not renounce their Christian faith and embrace Islam. They died martyrs.

Just as fear cripples us physically and mentally, it devastates our spiritual vitality. It blinds us to God’s presence, as if a veil covers our eyes. It deafens us to His voice, muffling the whispers of comfort and guidance. Hope slips from our grasp like a fading sensation. Our thoughts? They drift far from our Saviour, lost in the chaos of our own panic. Fear doesn’t just cause us to stumble — it wounds us, cutting deeper than we often dare to admit.

Fear’s hold is devastating when we take our eyes off God and fix them on lesser things. When our gaze is captured by the clamouring woes and suffocating worries of this fallen world, we will inevitably end up in a distracted, vulnerable state.

When fear appears to have conquered, it’s crucial to recall the following Scriptures:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18a

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

When the weight of our fear begins to feel like too much to bear, we turn to Christ and cast them on Him. The Bible couldn’t be clearer where our hope, rest, and security are found:

“When the cares of my heart are many, Your comfort brings me joy” Psalm 94:19

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” Psalm 23:4

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalms 118:6

When we know and genuinely believe that our trials cannot sever us from God’s grip, fear loses its power.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Fear holds no genuine power over those in Christ, and it’s not because of what we have done, what we can do, or who we are. Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to be our helper, our counsellor, our teacher, our comforter. He lives within our spirit, being the oil that enables us to be the lamp of the Lord, empowering us to live the Christian life.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

We can persevere because it’s God Himself who grips us fast, vowing with divine certainty to never leave or forsake us.

DID JESUS FEAR ANYTHING ON EARTH?

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The Bible tells us: “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7,

John the Beloved, said “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18,

Jesus was perfect. He was tempted in all ways as us yet without sin. Jesus embodied perfect love.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jesus feared. Yes, he experienced great anguish. Yes, he desired the cup to pass from Him. Yes, he felt the limitations that came with being human but He who knew no sin didn’t sin.

Often Jesus would rebuke the disciples for their worry and their fear and unbelief. He would ask them why they didn’t believe and rebuke them for not believing. He stood against their unbelief, fear, and worry.

This is why the Virgin Birth is so important. Jesus was not born with a sin nature due to how He was conceived. Without the Virgin Birth, Christ could not have been God. His conception determines the validity of His Deity. Just as His sinless life determines His qualification to be the sinless sacrifice for our sins.

As we look at the life of Jesus there is much that we can relate to. His sufferings were very clear. He sympathizes with our weaknesses and is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession on our behalf. These things are very relatable and authentic and do not tamper with his Deity.

But to say that Jesus “feared” is to say, “Jesus had a spirit in Him that was controlling Him that was not from God.”

This is not inaccurate, it is heresy. It is heretical. It is unbiblical and very damaging because of the implications it creates and the conclusions it requires regarding His Deity.

When we represent Christ to others, the Bible must be our sole authority to determine our view, values, and vernacular that we choose to help people relate to Jesus and experience a real relationship with Him.

Extract from article in patheos.com: Did Jesus Have Fear Like Us? April 14th, 2022 by Pastor Kelly M Williams

WHOM DO YOU FEAR?

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Let us be encouraged by David and his courage in the face of fear. Moreover, Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer so we can have the same confidence that David did that God will be with us in times of trouble.

​”The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.” Psalms 27:1-3

“Though my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will receive me.” Psalms 27:10

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalms 27:13-14

Two more inspiring Psalms one from David and the other from the Songs of Korah: they fear no evil because they know God is with them in times of trouble.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalms 23:4

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah.” Psalms 46:1-3

CHRITIANS NEED NEVER FEAR DEATH

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Those in Christ should never fear death. The love of God continues from temporal life through to eternal life.

“The church is the only society in the world that never loses any of its members, even by death.” John Blanchard

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Psalms 116:15

The death of God’s people is safeguarded, watched over, protected, and secured. Much as we safeguard something highly valuable, so God safeguards His people when they die. As Jesus protected His disciples in life, so God protects them in death.

“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:12

“For He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life, and precious is their blood in His sight.” Psalms 72:12-14

When the wrath of God is poured out on an unrepentant world we are told that the lost will seek death but it will elude them.

“And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” Revelation 9:6

If you are an unbeliever and you are reading this post I hope you will repent of your rejection of God and His values and seek to know what Jesus Christ has accomplished for you when He died on the Cross over 2000 years ago. He died to pay the penalty for your sins so that you might inherit eternal life and not fear death.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18

WHOM DO YOU FEAR?

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“Do not fear” is the most common commandment in the Bible; it appears more than any other commandment. God uses this phrase whenever he asks someone to do something scary or something that they are not used to doing. He says, “do not be afraid, fear not, or don’t be afraid.”

Read these amazing passages:

David and Goliath “And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” 1 Samuel 17:37

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:13-14

But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” Numbers 21:34

“See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’” Deuteronomy 1:21

“And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” Judges 6:10

Look what God says to Ruth, “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.” Ruth 10:29-30

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It is only God you should fear:

“Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?” Job 4:6

Practical wisdom for living is the central concern of the book of Proverbs. We are told that the beginning and essence of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).

How did the church grow: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.“ Acts 9:31

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God” 2 Corinthians 5:11

“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Philippians 1:14

Time is short may we be bold to speak the word of the Lord and the Gospel to others without fear.