Stewart (SDA) Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 The first part of the first angel's message is "fear God". The fear of God, in practice, means that we are very careful with the things of God. It means that we treat nothing that pertains to God lightly. His words, His ways, ... all of them are treated with the utmost respect. Every word carries weight. But if holy things are trifled with, we expose ourselves to untold dangers. If we treat the name of God irreverently, or regard His possessions with contempt, we load a cloud of vengeance over our heads, and eventually that cloud will break over us. The Fear of Man. The fear of God stands in contrast to "the fear of man". (Neither attribute carries the primary meaning of "being afraid", but both imply awe and reverence for a person.) "The fear of man brings a snare" (Prov 29:25). The fear of man brings a snare. Does the "fear of God" bring anything? Yes, the fear of God brings liberty. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence" -- in that confidence there is a certain freedom, a certain boldness that liberates the soul. In old Greek society there was a highly developed HERO CULTURE, and that "hero culture" stood in opposition to the fear of God. Of course such a culture still exists in many countries today. "The fear of man brings a snare: but whosoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe." (Prov 29:25) If we are in awe of men, we will look to man for our security, but in the end we will be disappointed. Many are in admiration of soldiers, fire-fighters, celebrities, singers, scientists, etc. Movies continue to cultivate the hero culture to a frightening degree, but all of this “brings a snare”, a trap, upon the world, and today many people are caught in it. Let's not be among those that are caught in the trap. Deroypart, Ron Amnsn and Scuba 3 Quote
Scuba Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 The first part of the first angel's message is "fear God". The fear of God, in practice, means that we are very careful with the things of God. It means that we treat nothing that pertains to God lightly. His words, His ways, ... all of them are treated with the utmost respect. Every word carries weight. But if holy things are trifled with, we expose ourselves to untold dangers. If we treat the name of God irreverently, or regard His possessions with contempt, we load a cloud of vengeance over our heads, and eventually that cloud will break over us. The Fear of Man. The fear of God stands in contrast to "the fear of man". (Neither attribute carries the primary meaning of "being afraid", but both imply awe and reverence for a person.) "The fear of man brings a snare" (Prov 29:25). The fear of man brings a snare. Does the "fear of God" bring anything? Yes, the fear of God brings liberty. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence" -- in that confidence there is a certain freedom, a certain boldness that liberates the soul. In old Greek society there was a highly developed HERO CULTURE, and that "hero culture" stood in opposition to the fear of God. Of course such a culture still exists in many countries today. "The fear of man brings a snare: but whosoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe." (Prov 29:25) If we are in awe of men, we will look to man for our security, but in the end we will be disappointed. Many are in admiration of soldiers, fire-fighters, celebrities, singers, scientists, etc. Movies continue to cultivate the hero culture to a frightening degree, but all of this “brings a snare”, a trap, upon the world, and today many people are caught in it. Let's not be among those that are caught in the trap. Nice post... Quote Sometimes our behavior needs time to catch up to our salvation...
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