Do Not Fear: We are Perfectly Loved by a Perfect God

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. I John 4:18

I have often wondered about this verse and desire to be perfected in God's love, so that I won't let fear have any place in my life. It says that God's perfect love casts out fear but then I thought of Christ, He is Perfect Love personified and He did not fear any man. He was the ultimate picture of fearlessness as He stood before Pontius Pilate, who told Him that he had power over whether Christ lived or died.

So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” John 19:9-10

He was not afraid of offending the Pharisees by healing on the Sabbath, He was not afraid to cleanse the temple and drive out the money changers, He was not afraid to speak the Truth in love. It almost sounds a bit humorous in Luke 11 when He was pronouncing woe on the Pharisees, the lawyers told Him that they also were insulted by His statements.

Luke 11:45 "One of the lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.”

Did Jesus back off then and say "Whoops, I didn't mean to offend you lawyers?" No, the next verse records, "But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, bwhile you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." (Luke 11:46)

I wonder why I get so afraid then. Is it because I want to please people more than I want to please God? Proverbs 29:25 says: "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

Snare here can be defined as a noose. Did you ever hear the expression "the social loop can become the social noose?" The more I get caught up in people pleasing, the more tied I am in trying to meet others' expectations of me, instead of just trying to please God. Way back when I was in high school, I remember that if a certain person did not smile at me in the hall when classes changed, it could actually ruin my entire day. Why? Because I was trapped in the snare of wanting everyone to like me. What a fool. I was in a dangerous position, thinking that way, for Jesus warned us that we should not even desire wanting to please everyone around us. In Luke 6:26 He warned, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way."

But the Scriptures encourage us, whenever we are afraid, to look away from ourselves and our situation and to place our eyes on Jesus. If we aim to please Him, we have nothing to worry about. Repeatedly it tells us not to be afraid, to look and rely on Him to help us.

In Psalm 56:11 it says, "In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

The fact is man can do nothing to God's children without His sovereign permission. So if something that looks humanly bad happens to me, I can rely on the promise of Romans 8:28 which says "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." I can rely on the fact that God can work any bad thing for the good in my life if I will keep trusting Him.

Have you ever thought of what Jesus was saying in John 15:9: “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love."

We are loved in the exact same way by Jesus that the God the Father loved Him. That is a lot of love! In fact, you could not ask for any more love than that. If I am loved that perfectly by my perfect God, I really don't need to be afraid except of displeasing Him. As much as I think of the love of God, I also must remember that God is holy and just. Though my sins are all paid for, one day, I will stand before Him and give an account for my life, for what I did with what He graciously gave me. That is what I should have a holy fear of, displeasing Him, not being liked by every person I know.

Romans 11:22: Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

Paul is not saying that we will be cut off from eternal life if we do not continue in His kindness, but we can miss out on rewards that He longs to give us. In other words, this life is not a game. So, every day, I need to ask myself, "Whom do I want to please today?" Is it people who may say something nice about me to my face and then turn on me when my back is turned? Or is it in my perfect God, who never changes, nor will change His verdict He rendered about me when I believed in His Son.

Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

The Fear of the Lord

The Bible says there is only One Person we need to fear. If we feared Him, we would not be afraid of anyone else, nor what they could do to us. I think I have had this backwards all of my life. Instead of what the Proverb writer wrote in Proverbs 1:7:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I have feared man, their opinions, their reactions. And I have wrestled with this weakness:

Pro 29:25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Jesus had some strong words about fearing the Lord:

Mat 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Now that is Someone to fear. Only God has the ability to do that. Men can slander you, torture you, imprison you, even kill you, but they cannot separate you from God forever if you have rejected His Son.

What do we have to fear from man if we are Christians? They could take us away to prison, but that will not separate us from Christ's love. No, not according to my Bible in Romans 8:35-39. They can kill us, but according to II Corinthians 15:54-57, Christ has taken the sting of death away. They can condemn us, but there is no condemnation according to those who are in Christ Jesus in Romans 8:1. They could accuse us of all our past sins, but those have been buried in the depths of the sea in Micah 7:19.

So then, why should I be afraid of men? Men's opinions change from minute to minute anyway. They may like you one day and despise you the next. But God remains the same forever, as He tells in Malachi 3:6. He created you, He delights in you. He is the One Constant in this rapidly changing universe. Everything that appeared permanent in my life has come to pass, as the Preacher shares in Ecclesiastes. That book used to make me sad, but now gives me cause to rejoice. Because something far, far greater is waiting for us one day, when God calls us Home.

The trap for me has been people pleasing. When you people please, you aren't happy, because you are enslaved to what other people think of you.


Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psa 141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.