We live in a time in which the Church is more afraid of losing people than of losing God. The holy respect and the fear of the Lord and the fear for His Word and Spirit have made way for the fear of people, which doesn’t bring forth obedience to God and a holy life, but advocates the freedom of the flesh.
Is the church led by the Holy Spirit or the spirit of fear?
The Church is led by a spirit of fear instead of the Holy Spirit. The Church is afraid to tell the truth of the Word of God, because they’re afraid of the opinion, response, and possible retaliation of people and losing people, who are members of the church.
The Church doesn’t want to be offensive in society and insult or hurt people’s feelings. But the Church wants to be accepted and loved. Therefore many local churches have adjusted their words and policy.
They’re not concerned about God and of losing Him, but they’re concerned about the people and of losing them.
Instead of being faithful to God and standing firm on His Word and call the people to repentance and changing their lives, they assume that God wouldn’t mind if they change a little here and there.
They think God understands their decision and changes in the church.
While they make the changes and ignore and withdraw from the Head and enter self-chosen ways, only to please, entertain, keep, and draw people, the adversary of God and ruler of the world executes his plan.
The devil goes around as a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour
While the devil goes around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he can deceive and devour and making many victims, Christians, who received the power to stop the devil and his minions and their works, wisely (at least that’s what they think) keep their mouth and stay silent. They let them go ahead and continue their destructive work, because they don’t acknowledge the problem and don’t want to cause problems for people
But the problem is, that we do have a problem. Even if many Christians, including church leaders, bury their heads in the sand.
if people don’t acknowledge, name, or proclaim something, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. That also applies to the spiritual warfare and the ongoing battle between the light and darkness, the Spirit and flesh.
Where did the fear of the Lord go?
The fear of the Lord was present in the church in the old days. The people in the church believed and obeyed Jesus Christ and lived in submission to the Word and the Spirit. Therefore, the call to repentance, sanctification and living a holy life, judgment and hell was preached. But nowadays, it’s almost gone.
The message of the cross and the truth of God’s Word was too hard to endure for many people.
However, this message and truth did bring forth real converts and life. And the spiritual mentality, resilience, and power of people were much stronger than the spiritual mentality, resilience and power of people today, which are mainly formed by faith in worldly science and the application of it.
Through the rise and influence of modern philosophers and psychologists and their false doctrines and the television (programs and movies that originate from the spirit of this world and cause the people to approve of sin and do the will of the devil), the Bible has been pushed aside and is no longer the highest and final authority in the lives of Christians, the family, school, and the church.
Christians don’t think and live from the Word and the Spirit but from their carnal mind, which is influenced and developed by the knowledge and wisdom of the world. Their carnal mind has more faith in science than in God and the Bible. Therefore, they reject the words of God, because they are foolishness to the carnal mind.
Many Christians don’t take God and His feelings and will into account, but they take the people and their feelings and will into account.
The spirit of new age and humanism deceives people
The worldly spirit of New Age and humanism that deceived people, and still deceives people, and reigns as god in people’s carnal minds and lives, has great power and gains more power as Jesus’ return approaches.
If believers feed themselves with the knowledge and wisdom of the world, they’ll become victims of this deceptive spirit that looks harmless, but causes great damage in the Church with his false peace, love and grace and compromising with the darkness.
This dangerous spirit that looks pious, peaceful, loving, and innocent, affects the boldness of Christians and silences the Holy Spirit.
The old Peter was led by a spirit of fear of people, the new Peter was led by the Holy Spirit
The old Peter, who was born from the corrupt seed of man and belonged to the disobedience unfaithful generation that is put beneath the (fallen) angels and subjected to the spirits of the world, denied Jesus.
Peter was lead by a spirit of fear of people. Because of that Peter denied Jesus not once, but thrice.
However, after Peter became a new creation in Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit, he rose and stood before thousands of people and preached boldly the life, the cross, the death, the resurrection from the dead, the ascension in heaven, and the kingship of the Messiah Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, Who is seated at the right hand of the Father, the Majesty, in heaven (a.o. Acts 2; Colossians 1:13-14; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; Hebrews 1;2).
Peter was no longer led by his flesh and by fear for the opinion and consequences of his confession, as before when he was still the old creation, who was subject to the worldly spirits and governed (ruled) by them. But Peter was led by the Holy Spirit and had become a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter preached boldly without any constrain the truth of God about his Lord and the Messiah. (Read also: Simon Peter, the man who loved Jesus).
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
2 Timothy 1:7-10
That’s the result of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s life. And that’s still the result of the coming of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord
Instead of staying silent for the sake of keeping the peace and harmony, and adjusting the words of God to the carnal lusts and desires, and considering what is evil in the eyes of God as good, and tolerating sin in the Body of Christ, and preaching lies, which derive from the kingdom of darkness, the Holy Spirit speaks the truth of God, which is written in His Word. The Holy Spirit represents and preaches God’s holiness, righteousness, and judgment and calls to repentance.
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6)
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord and brings about a fear for the Lord in peoples’s lives instead of a fear of people. (a.o. Isaiah 11:2; Acts 9:31).
The Holy Spirit is not appointed as Comforter (Helper) to approve of sin (which is rebellion and disobedience to God) and to condone and accept the works of darkness, but to expose and destroy them. (a.o. John 16:8-9; Ephesians 5:8-16).
As long as people are not truly born again by faith and transformed by the renewing of their mind with the Bible (God’s Word), but be conformed to this world and walk after the flesh, they shall be deceived.
They shall believe the words and lies of the world, instead of the words and truth of God. They shall bow for sin and the ruler of the world, the devil, do his will, and condone his works.
They’ll remain the old creation, who walks after the flesh in darkness and doesn’t do what God pleases and wants, but what man pleases and wants.
The fear of people brings a snare but the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life
The fear of people brings a snare and hinders the gospel and leads to rebellion and disobedience to God and His Word, compromising with the darkness, the mockery and denial of Jesus Christ, and the defilement of His Body
However, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord leads to peace, joy, gladness and a righteousness life, despite the mockery, anger, resistance and persecution of the world.
The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe
Proverbs 29:25
‘Be the salt of the earth’
