October 19, 2022 — “Fear and Love G-d”

“He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Mark 7:6-8

“When people fake their religious devotion or when they bend God’s Word to justify the way they want to live, then it is hypocrisy no matter who they are. Jesus hates hypocrisy. Jesus will not let folks sink into hypocrisy and pretend with them that they are righteous. So what do we do with these harsh words from Jesus? First, we need to ask ourselves if we are guilty of the sin Jesus condemns! After all, in one way of viewing things, aren’t we the religious ones today? If we are guilty, then let’s change and put our lives where our mouths are! Second, we need to not be so bashful with each other when hypocrisy creeps into our lives. We need to lovingly and humbly help each other identify and correct any hypocrisy. Hypocrisy destroys our hearts and ruins the influence of Jesus’ people on the world!” (What Jesus Did: Mark 7:6-8 – Spiritually Unclean!, heartlight.org)

There are denominations that focus on Hell and the fear of G-d, and there are those that focus on Grace and the unlimited love of G-d. And then there are those that are all over the spectrum between love and fear.

Which is better, to build a relationship on love, or to build a relationship on fear? That depends, I guess, on how important the relationship is to the person — and how you choose to define the word “fear”. If fear is defined as “to be afraid of”, then a relationship built on this kind of fear is one sided and controlling. But, if fear is defined as “awe” or “reverence and respect”, then the relationship is one of respect, and obedience that is based on love.

I guess we could have a relationship with G-d where we are always afraid, always concerned with whether we have done enough to earn our righteousness, but to me that relationship is one-sided and manipulative. But, as Martin Luther says, if we “fear and love God…” where fear is one of awe and respect, then we are truly building a relationship based on Grace and love, first, followed closely by respect — which leads to a life of obedience which understands that we will not always succeed in doing what we should, or loving like we should, but because of Grace, G-d still loves us unconditionally.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, sometimes we sin because we are weak and have strayed. Sometimes we criticize others for their sin. Remind me daily that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of G-d. Correct me gently so I can serve you without hypocrisy.Amen.

Pastor Dave