Here is John Powell on our relationship with God. I was totally smacked down with this.
Each of us has a unique and very limited concept of God, and it is very often marked and distorted by human experience. Negative emotions, like fear, tend to wear out. The distorted image of a vengeful God will eventually nauseate and be rejected. Fear is a fragile bond of union, a brittle basis of religion.
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Those who do not reject a distorted image of God will limp along in the shadow of a frown. They certainly will not love with their whole heart, soul, and mind. A fearsome, vengeful God is not lovable. There will never be any trust and repose in the loving arms of a kindly Father; there will never be any mystique of belonging to God. People who serve out of fear, without the realization of love, will try to bargain with God. They will do little things for God, make little offerings, say little prayers, and so on, to embezzle a place in heaven. Life and religion will be a chess game, hardly an affair of love.
(Why Am I Afraid to Love?: Overcoming Rejection and Indifference*
, John Powell, Tabor Publishing, Allen, TX, 1982, pp 5, 8)
I guess it’s time to quit playing chess with God.
*Yes, that is an affiliate link. Here’s another one:
Certainly no one can steal their place or buy their way into heaven. However, love alone is a distorted concept of God just as much as fear alone. One must consider the "goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22). It is the natural consequences of sin which include guilt, fear, and
expectation of punishment that brings us back to God. When these are no
longer present in our temple, God has vacated and Satan has found a place to live (1 Timothy 4:2). Yes, it is His love that binds us to Him (John 3:16), but there is more. Fear without love is miserable, love without fear is misguided.
Jason,
Thanks for chiming in. To some extent I agree. After all, who can argue with Romans 11:22?
However, I do have a different perspective on what brings me back to God. I do not return to God because I fear God or expect punishment. I return to God because I long for acceptance and forgiveness, things He has promised me as His child if I return to Him. This is especially illustrated by the parable of the prodigal son.
Certainly, when I continue in sin punishment looms. But as the parable demosntrates the natural consequences of wasting the inheritance are pretty miserable. When I look at God as a vengeful God, I might not return because I fear that if I turn to Him, He will blast me. However, instead of that, He has promised loving acceptance, forgiveness, and celebration.
I return to God because of His love for me, not because of my fear of His vengeance.
Of course, from a biblical perspective, love and fear are not as far apart as we might think. That, however, is for another post.
What happens to the person who continues in sin, yet has no fear of God, but believes that God will always accept Him, even if he does not repent? This is the underlying problem of not having a degree of fear for God. This is what I am trying to express. There are just to many passages on both aspects of our relationship with God to focus on one over the other. The Apostle John had fear for Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:17). Of course, Jesus told him not to be afraid. Why? John was faithful. John was humbled by the mighty presence of God. I believe I will be someday as well. Fear does not always mean I am trembling in my boots because I believe God is nothing but revengeful! Have you ever broken the law and not got caught? Then everytime you see a police officier driving behind you, you fear you will be taken to jail. But when you get home, you watch the local news and the police arrest the criminal that has been breaking into peoples houses in your neighbor and you feel more safe. You realize that God protects you, but at the same time can punish you. If one becomes unbalanced they will find themselves in trouble. I need to believe God will forgive me, that is love. But I also need to believe He will punish me if I do not repent, that is fear. I say it again. Fear without love is miserable. Love without fear is misguided. Fear with love is complete.
Hey Jason,
Thanks for your continued look at this issue. On the one hand, I completely agree with you. We need both fear and love of God. I like your parallel statements. "Fear without love is miserable. Love without fear is misguided."
Additionally, the person who continues in sin believing that God will accept him without repentance is simply wrong. The Bible is utterly clear on that. Please, don't think I'm suggesting that we see God's love as being absent of punishment.
Here is my concern. The atheists have a campaign now. It is called "Be good for goodness' sake." They accuse us Christians as only wanting to do good in order to avoid punishment. We don't want to do good because it is the right thing to do. In fact, we would rather do evil. But because we fear getting thrown in hell, we'll clean up our act enough to keep out of hell. That is the point of the quote. When we only want to do good because we fear the punishment a vengeful God will give, we spend our time trying to figure out exactly what we can get away with and still stay out of hell. That is trying to embezzle a place in heaven.
For too long, I've viewed teaching and preaching as a means to motivate people to do something they don't want to do. They don't actually want to be righteous. They want to be unrighteous but we have to manipulate them into being righteous anyway. The biggest club I can wield in that scenario is the fear of punishment. Certainly, if folks don't want to do what is right, they need to be rebuked. They need learn the fear of God. However, the fact is, if we don't hunger and thirst for righteousness, there is not much that will motivate us to draw near to God, not even fear. Yes, fearing God can be a proper motivation. But if I don't actually want to be righteous, then the fear of God isn't going to help me very much. What would make me want to be righteous or be like God? Recognizing His love for me and increasing my love for Him. I don't want to be like people I fear. I want to be like people I love.
So I ask, why do we Christians want to be good? If we really don't want to be good but are only acting out of fear of punishment, are we really hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Are we really surrendering our lives to God? Are we really going to be saved by that? I find it hard to think we are.
I'm a little scatter-brained today. I hope this was clear. Thanks for chiming in.