Heed God's Word

     What is the purpose of having the word of God if we do not pay any attention to it anyway? The bible is the most widely published and most widely purchased book in America; yet, I would venture to say that only a small percentage of those purchased are read with any frequency at all. Far more time is spent overall reading the newspaper than is spent reading the Bible. There is more concern of who won last night’s ballgame or what the latest scandal is than for what God says about the eternal soul!

     People are crying out about the sad condition of our society – crime, dishonesty in government, drugs, general discontent – and yet most of those same people are unwilling to accept the answer to the problems. The gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers for one’s own life, for his home, for his relations with his fellow man, and for his relationship with God. The difficulty, however, comes from lack of acceptance and lack of practice.

     Dear readers, to claim to be religious is of no value to you, your neighbor, or to God. To be religious and yet religiously wrong will not solve your problems now nor for eternity. Just to believe in Jesus does not solve the problems. Listen to Jesus: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). But also hear Jesus again: “Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).    The answers, the help, the assurances are often at our fingertips; so, you may be the only one standing between you and happiness here and heaven hereafter. Heed the Word of God; obey the gospel of Christ; live faithfully as God’s child. If your life is not what it ought to be, the answers are there. It’s up to you…            Oran Rhodes

                  "THE FEAR OF GOD"

                                      Larry Yarber

            "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7)

            Fear, as used above, means, "3374. yirah, yir-aw; fem. of 3373-yare; fear (also used as infin.); mor. reverence: - x dreadful, x exceedingly, fear (-fulness)" (STRONG, pgs. 457, 68). Thus, to fear God is to display a moral reverence toward Him.

            Time and again, we are told to hold God in reverence. Jesus said, "And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). Again, He warned through the hand of the Hebrew writer, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Peter penned, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king" (1st Peter 2:17). Man has been warned to possess an appropriate reverence for God.

            Lack of this reverence has attributed to the sins of many. Paul, in writing of the Gentile nations and their evil ways said, "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:18). This accounts for their unrestrained life-style. Jude spake of those who were of like manner when he penned, "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water; carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;" (Jude v12). Many of today display this same irreverent attitude toward God and His Word. Like Pharaoh, of yesteryear, they seem to say, "... Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice  ..." (Exodus 5:2). It is this lack of moral reverence toward God that has led our own nation into societal decay and corruption.

 One of the terms Strong used in defining fear is "dreadful". The Hebrew writer warned that those who live in willful disobedience can only view the judgment with fear or dread; "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26-27). To the contrary, while the Christian must always maintain a moral reverence for God and His Word, he nonetheless can live his/her life without the dread referenced above. John wrote, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1st John 4:17-18). To love God is to keep His commandments, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his command-ments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1st John 5:3). So, while the Christian must always maintain a moral reverence toward God, he does not live with the same fear or dread of judgment as do those who live their lives in disobedience toward God.

            Paul encourages us to seek after our own salvation in reverence toward God, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). But, perhaps the wise man said it best when he penned, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).