Hello Siloam,
I understand this but what I do not understand is why you are saying it here. No one has attacked or been rough on any one. No one has said any one was wrong or in sin.
This is what I am asking.
Is fear a sin?
- Thread starter Mykuhl
- Start date
Hello Siloam,
I understand this but what I do not understand is why you are saying it here. No one has attacked or been rough on any one. No one has said any one was wrong or in sin.
This is what I am asking.
For 20/20 vision, read Exodus 20:20 and tell me what you see?
I am getting back to the issue of application. There are many things that I can say are sin, even though those things themselves are less of a problem than the heart from which the wrong stems. I can be confident that those that spend their time in strip clubs are sinning. I really can't say the same for someone that is fearful that a neighbor's watchdog may attack their child, regardless of whether the watchdod got out, or the child went into the neighbor's yard to retrieve a ball.
I have been thinking about this thread today.
I like to draw examples from my own life (this is what a witness does).
Example 1:
When I observed a problem in my body, (discolured urine), I became concerned and kept asking my doctors for tests to see what was going on. When the tests confirmed cancer, I became fearful. That fear gave me the drive to see what could be done. Once I had a good medical team, and my course of treatment was set, I was at peace. I found chemo relaxing and could sit and read or listen to audio books.
When I finally had my surgery, I was content and no longer fearful.
Fear got my headed in the right direction. The Lord does heal, but His way for me was through my journey. I now counsel others that are headed for or habe had that surgery.
If cancer flares up again, I will may again be fearful, and I pray that it compels me into action, or acceptance.
Example 2:
When I was a software analyst, I kept track of errors automatically reported by the software. The project used numbers derived from these logs to track quality. Soon the log was taken to be the errors themselves. I can remember when it was jokingly said that our goal of reducing the error counts could be reached easily be removing the logging function.
When we feel fear, it is a warning that something may need correcting. The fear itself is not usually the root problem. Do not blame the alarm for the fire.
As for application issues, if I fear, I need to find the cause. If someone comes to me in a fearful state, my first response should not be "gee you should have more faith".
No one may have said that they were advocating the latter, but our attitude toward sin in general is one of reproach.
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Thank you for that verse, it is very concise. It is very interesting that Moses says "do not fear", then talks about the fear of the Lord right after as a means not to sin. It seems to me that any emotion used outside of it's God ordained manner is a perversion of that emotion...even fear. In this case fear towards God is proper use of fear.
Just to clarify, the Word says "... that you will fear Him and will not sin"
Go read the whole verse again, but to me it says, if my fear for God is in the right place - I will not sin. If I fear Him, I will not sin, in other words. If I do not fear YHVH, then I will likely fall into sin.
Check it out. Am I wrong, or have I taken hold of a golden nugget here?
For the record, someone explained this to me in the same way some time ago, it's not something I "discovered". But was to me a massive revelation moment.
Go read the whole verse again, but to me it says, if my fear for God is in the right place - I will not sin. If I fear Him, I will not sin, in other words. If I do not fear YHVH, then I will likely fall into sin.
Check it out. Am I wrong, or have I taken hold of a golden nugget here?
For the record, someone explained this to me in the same way some time ago, it's not something I "discovered". But was to me a massive revelation moment.
I agree with you but I also believe that we need to understand what compromises that fear or we will not know how to apply it. Thank you for that bit of wisdom[emoji2].
Thank you...I was thinking about that same verse! It is certainly applicable.
In response to the original post about doubt being a sin. Scripture says faith is credited as righteousness. The opposite of faith, would be doubt. So if faith equals righteousness, and the opposite of righteousness is sin, and the opposite of faith is doubt, does that make doubt sin?
Until someone can intelligently refute CS Lewis' account of what went on with Jesus in the garden just before His arrest, then I will say fear is not a sin. It's what you do and how you react to that fear that makes it a sin or not.
My post is in regards to the doubt part. I don't have an opinion on the fear part right now, because I just got my in n out burger.
LOL. I'm with you brother, but at 250+ lbs, I had to opt for the small salad.......bleghMy post is in regards to the doubt part. I don't have an opinion on the fear part right now, because I just got my in n out burger.
When I am counselling someone who is fearful of surgery, even when they know it is necessary, should I concentrate on treating that fear, and that of their caregiver ( usually the spouse, recently the sister of an unmarried gentleman ), as a lack of faith???
This is really far from how I was taught when I received training to be a counselor.
It is also foreign to the response by other ostimates when someone comes to our support group to see how others have faired.
By straightforwardly answering their questions, and letting them see that we who have had this kind of surgery are not defined that way, they receive the information they need to bolster their faith (whether it is Christian faith, or worldly faith).
This is really far from how I was taught when I received training to be a counselor.
It is also foreign to the response by other ostimates when someone comes to our support group to see how others have faired.
By straightforwardly answering their questions, and letting them see that we who have had this kind of surgery are not defined that way, they receive the information they need to bolster their faith (whether it is Christian faith, or worldly faith).
The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is faithlessness. In fact you need strong belief in order to have grave doubt. Doubting and researching the issues behind doubt and prarerfully meditating on what you find can be an important step to refine the faith you already have.
Doubting and leaving it at that can be considered.
I believe a doubting heart is suffering with unbelief, and that is counted as sin, and at the very least, defeat.
James 1:6
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
We need to always be willing to encourage people who know the Lord yet suffer with doubt, speaking words of wisdom and hope, and set them up on solid ground in their faith, teaching them that their faith is in a strong tower, our anchor, Jesus Christ, who will never leave us or forsake us and who is interceding on our behalf even now, and fighting for us.
Jude 1:22
And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
I do not believe that what Jesus was suffering in Gethsemane was fear.
Reinhard Bonnke says this:
"Fear is irrelevant in the exuberance of winning the battle. That is our Captain of salvation, the Rider on the white horse, our Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no fear and never will. "