FEAR GOD | Proper 18 | 05. September 1999 | Ezekiel 33:1-11, Matthew 10:28, Revelation 14:7 | Bruce E. Shields |<\/p>\n
1. How many of us think of God as One to be feared? Do you lose sleep because you fear God?<\/p>\n
1.1. I once asked a church elder why he was so faithful in attending church services. He said he was afraid that if he missed a Sunday and the Lord returned the next day, he would go to Hell. Are you like that? Do you picture God as a heavenly policeman watching for your mistakes?<\/p>\n
1.2. Martin Luther so feared God that his drive to be good nearly killed him. It led him finally to hate the God who demanded more goodness from him than he could possibly give. Luthers are few and far between these days, but that is where such negative fear of God can lead us.<\/p>\n
2. And yet, the Bible tells us time and again that we should fear God. We should fear God, but not because God hates us. We should fear God because God is God. God is not just an idealized projection of our human imaginations. God created this awe-inspiring universe and continues to manage it. God is not a toy for human beings to play with. God is a person with ultimate power whom we should take very seriously, whom we should fear.<\/p>\n
2.1. In the midst of a discourse meant to be reassuring, Jesus told his disciples (Matthew 10:28): \u201c Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.\u201d He was referring to God, the only Being with the power to cast people into hell. How should fearing God reassure us? By reminding us that God has the only ultimate power, and God is the one who cares for sparrows and counts the hairs of our heads.<\/p>\n
2.2. In the book of Revelation (14:7), as John the seer attempts to encourage his flock to be faithful in spite of persecution, he describes an angel who brings a comforting command: \u201cHe said in a loud voice, \u2018Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.\u2019\u201d Yes, we can both fear God and worship God the Judge, because we have been assured that God is on our side if we remain faithful.<\/p>\n
3. Our Ezekiel text shows this plainly. [READ TEXT] God is the ultimate Enemy, but God also appoints ministers to help us. Ezekiel\u2019s commission as sentinel is his third vocation, his third career:<\/p>\n
3.1. As priest he tried to keep God\u2019s people on the right path. His work was primarily in the Jerusalem temple, where he correctly carried out the prescribed priestly duties and carefully instructed and led the people in their worship of God the law-giver. At least until the Babylonians destroyed the temple.<\/p>\n
3.2. As prophet he spoke God\u2019s word of judgment 3.2.1. The people are exiled in Babylon\u2014Ezekiel with them. They need a prophet more than a priest. This prophet did not just thunder God\u2019s message from a mountain top. He experienced God\u2019s judgment with his people. He mourned the death of his beloved wife. He was carried off into captivity with the others. He knew first-hand the judgment of God. The prophet experiences God\u2019s judgment with God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n
3.3. As sentinel he guards against God\u2019s attacks on God\u2019s people. God sets him up in a place where Ezekiel could be on the lookout, watching both the people and the enemy\u2014but who was the enemy? As we saw in the teaching of Jesus, the ultimate enemy is God himself. This is really strange\u2014God the enemy sets a lookout to warn God\u2019s people of God\u2019s impending attack, so they can defend themselves\u2014against God. Ezekiel\u2019s third vocation signals the hope for future redemption which the prophet now proclaims to God\u2019s people. God does not want to destroy the people, God wants only to purge them of their sin\u2014he wants to destroy not sinners, but sin.<\/p>\n
3.3.1. The mutual responsibilities of the sentinel and the people he or she serves are complex and demand trust in both directions. The pastor is committed to guard the flock, which means ultimately to be their first line of defense. Such a minister will warn people any time they put themselves in danger, even if they would rather not hear the warning. This makes the lookout very unpopular at times, but the people should support that ministry even when it hurts. The minister-lookout must be responsible to warn the people when they are transgressing God\u2019s will, but be careful not to confuse God\u2019s will with the will of the minister.<\/p>\n
3.3.2. So we see the role of the priestly prophet- sentinel. Let\u2019s not forget that the role is written and cast by the God whose people have rebelled, the God whose people are being punished for their sins, the God who has become the people\u2019s enemy number one. The enemy establishes the defense of the opposition.<\/p>\n
4. God punishes sin, but God wants the sinner to live. What sort of God is this? Here we get to the primary issue\u2014not how we human beings should live, but what sort of God is in charge here.<\/p>\n
4.1. This is the God who judges sin in his wrath and moves toward the sinner with grace to restore. God\u2019s wrath and God\u2019s grace are both parts of God\u2019s righteousness.<\/p>\n
4.2. This is the God who is both righteous and loving, and not at different times but at the same time. God is not arbitrary in his dealings with us. Our salvation is not a gamble. We can count on our God\u2019s grace to be for us, not against us. And since God is for us, nothing can defeat us in the long run.<\/p>\n
5. Therefore, we are invited to fear God and to love God at the same time\u2014to fear God and to trust him, to fear God and to worship him.<\/p>\n
5.1. Martin Luther finally came to that realization. Later, while recalling his struggle with Romans, he writes: \u201cI did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him\u2026. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that \u2018the just shall live by his faith.\u2019 Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n
5.2. And that elder I mentioned earlier? The last time I saw him he was much more relaxed with his God. Oh, he still feared God, but now that fear was wonderfully mixed with love, because he had come to know the God who is both Judge and Redeemer\u2014the God who threatens people with an attack and at the same time offers to defend them against attack.<\/p>\n
5.3. Do you fear God? I hope so. God is not to be trifled with. Does your fear of God paralyze you or keep you from enjoying life? I hope not. God loves you; so let your fear of God lead to worship and the joy of living under God\u2019s protection. Amen.<\/p>\n
Bruce E. Shields<\/p>\n
email: ShieldsB@esr.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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