Fear God, Not Man
Let’s review last month’s article:
Noah trusted God and obeyed Him as he led his family and built the ark. Chances are Noah did
not understand the totality of what he was doing and what the outcome would be, but He obeyed
what God told him to do.
Joshua trusted that God would act as he led his seemingly defenseless army around the walled
city of Jericho. He probably did not understand, but he obeyed.
King David was so excited by who God is, that all he thought about was praising Him.
Hananniah, Mishael and Azaria chose to obey God rather than the king even if it meant death.
Likewise, Daniel, chose to continue praying to His God as he always had, even though it was now
illegal. He too, trusted God to do His will and chose obedience.
Esther, chose to put herself in danger in order to save God’s people. Esther and the Jews fasted
and prayed for three days and nights before she went to face the king. She left her fate in God’s
hands and said, ”If I perish, I perish.”
Our first New Testament oddball is John the Baptist. In Luke 1:11-17, God gave his parents
specific rules in raising their unusual child in order to prepare him for the work God created him
to do. When John was still in Elizabeth’s womb (6 months gestation), it seems that he recognized
his cousin, Jesus! Luke 1:41 says, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her
womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” and, in Luke 1:44, Elizabeth says, “As soon
as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” As John
grew, he wore weird clothes, ate weird things and was fearless in calling people to repentance
throughout Judea as he prepared the way for Messiah to come. (Mark 1:1-8)
Both Mary and Joseph embraced God’s plan for their lives even though it was not easy.
The social stigma of being “with child” while betrothed, yet before the marriage feast, undoubtedly
caused their families as well as themselves humiliation as the knowing smirks and whispers of
friends and others must have followed them. They knew they hadn’t done anything wrong, but no
one else did. And what a daunting task it must have been to be responsible raising the Son of God
as a human baby and child! Let alone the pain when watching the son you love be mistreated and
killed in such a horrible way.
In Acts 5, the Apostles were arrested by the high priest and his associates and thrown into
jail. During the night, an angel of the Lord brought them out and told them to stand in the temple
courts and tell the people the “full message of this new life.” Rather than sneaking home and lying
low, the Apostles entered the temple courts at daybreak and taught the people. When the high
priest and his associates called an assembly of the full Sanhedrin to question the Apostles, imagine
their shock to find the jail still locked and their prisoners gone! The captain of the temple guard
found the apostles teaching the people in the temple courts and brought them back to be questioned
by the high priest. The high priest confronted them for disobeying his order not to teach “in this
name” and Peter and the Apostles replied in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men!”
This infuriated most of the Sanhedrin, but they were afraid of the people and were persuaded to
only “flog the apostles and order them not to speak in the name of Jesus…”. In Acts 5:41-42, we
read, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering
disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never
stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
I am thankful God gave us human examples to follow. There are other examples in the
Bible, Stephen and Paul, Elijah, Joseph, Deborah, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Job. God wants
us to follow Him no matter what. Sometimes, He saves us physically, sometimes He doesn’t, but
He is ALWAYS with us. God wants us to trust Him.
As His children, God’s will for us is to confront our culture and stand bravely declaring His truth
regardless of the ridicule or anger that may be thrown at us. May we be found faithful.
So let me ask you, what are the things God is asking you to confront? Where is He asking
you to stand firm?
There are uncomfortable places in my life where God is asking me to stand firm. It is not
easy. Actually, it hurts…a lot, but it is necessary. My desire is that God is glorified by how I
speak, what I do and how I live. I choose to fear God rather than man and live accordingly. May
my life measure up to His Word. As the Psalmist says:
“Direct my steps by Your word,
and let no iniquity have dominion over me.”
Psalm 119:133, NKJV
Christ Driven. Reality – Based.