Conduct Yourselves in Fear

I think is well needed. I did not plan this, but within this hour, I really believe that the church of Jesus Christ, especially God's people, believers in Christ, need to hear this. And I would to God this little building was full this morning.

You would think it would be, wouldn't it? You know, with all that's going on, the Lord's soon to return, apostasy on every hand in the church, our nation divided. It's a mess, but God's got everything under control in His kingdom.

God's kingdom doesn't diminish. In the political realm, it'll diminish. God, man's kingdom is going to come down, but it must come down. It has to come down for God's kingdom to come, because our kingdom must go.

God's will will be done. You know, think of that. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray that, God's will, God's kingdom is always done, and His will is always done in heaven, always. But not yet on earth.

But that's why Jesus taught His disciples to pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is on earth, as it is in heaven. And that's why He taught us to pray that. It's going to come. But I'd like to speak to you this morning about conduct yourselves in fear.

Conduct yourselves in fear. So turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. We're going to look at just one verse, and it's really loaded up. What it has to tell us. Hear the word of the living God.

If you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear. Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth. Let's stop right there, and let's pray.

Father, we would look to You this morning, O God, Lord, only by Your grace can we know how to fear You, rightfully so. Lord, I pray with the psalmist, deal palatably with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word, open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

Let the meditation, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. May the gaze of our soul be upon Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray in His name and for His glory.

Amen and amen. This particular verse from 1 Peter is the third command of the Christian life. I find it very interesting that there are three commands that we have been looking at. This is the third, two commands we've been looking at.

Today's the third of the believer's life. It is inseparably linked to the believer's obligation to respond to the salvation that is in hope, that the salvation is in holiness, and it is our responsibility as believers to honor God.

Now, I want you to notice, there's hope, there's holiness, there's honor. Hope in God, holiness unto the Lord, and honor in God. Verses 1 through 12, as we looked at, were a celebration of what God has done to make us His very own forever and ever.

That's the Christian message. That is the gospel. Don't you love that? This is to the glory of God, and that is the glory of the gospel and Jesus Christ, because the gospel is the glorious story of what God has done through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Aren't you glad? It's not what man has done. As a matter of fact, man, what he's done, has made a mess of things. Man-made institutions, man-made religion, it's all going to lead to hell. But God has made a way, and it is the right way.

Scripture says there's a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death. But the way, the truth, and the life is Jesus Christ. That's the gospel, and that's the gospel story. It's what God has done through His Son in Jesus Christ.

That's the story of redemption. And again, all religion can do for us is take us straight to hell. That's why so many people are going to hell. They're religious. Why do you think the Scripture says they have a form of godliness, and they deny the power thereof?

Amen.

Story of the gospel can be given in two words, but God. But God. Where would we be without God? And we wouldn't be, because in Him we live and move and have our being. We wouldn't exist, and we wouldn't have salvation.

But God is the one that reconciles the believer to Himself through Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life to heaven. He is the door. Now, that's exactly what verses 1 through 12 basically says.

I'm not going to read it, but that's everything that we have covered up until this point. Verse 13, as we look at, well, series of holiness and how to be holy unto the Lord, which I think has been wonderful because it's been right in sync, right in step with us reading Leviticus.

Isn't that beautiful, the way this has been timed? It's not been planned. It's just the way it's just fit in our worship. And I believe that's by the providence of God. I really do. Verse 13 comes and tells us the first command.

Now, I want you to see this. The first command is in verse 13. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. He basically tells us specifically how we are to live holy. Notice this. He speaks about the hope.

And rest your hope upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In other words, there's another translation that says fix your hope completely. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Why can't we get that?

Fix our hope completely on the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Not to fix our hope on politicians or presidents or men, but to fix our hope on Jesus Christ. That's where our hope is.

Now, that's the first command. The second command is a follow-up after our hope is to be fixed on the Lord and in Jesus Christ. The second command is in 14 and 15. What does it say? It says this. As obedient children, obedient children or children of obedience, literally, do not be conformed to the form of lust which were yours in your ignorance.

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, all your conduct, because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. Now, that's the second command. That's a command, not a suggestion from God.

Our command from God is to hope in Him.

Get this.

Any other hope is going to go down the tube. It's going to go down the drain. Eternally, the only hope, a living hope, will make it through eternally is in Jesus Christ. That's the hope that we have. That's the living hope we have to offer to this sin-sick world.

It's the only hope. And the second command, which we spoke there in 14 and 15, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust, your former desires, the desires that you used to have in your ignorance, but as He who called you, God has called us to something.

What is it? He's called us to holiness. He's called us to holiness. You also be holy in all your conduct, in all your behavior. That's what it means. Conduct, the way you behave, the way you act, the way you live.

Be holy for I am holy. That's a command. And you know, when God gives commands, we better perk up and listen very closely. Today, we reach and come to the third command. This is a powerful command, beloved.

Those other two are very powerful as well. But they're triplets. These are triplets commands given to us by God through the apostle Peter. We see that we, in verse 17, really is to say, if you are called or addressed on the Father, address the Father, who without partiality, no respect of persons, judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time, your stay here in fear.

Now, I want you to pay close attention to this because this is a word for us. This is a word for me. God has really spoken to me about this. And I know He's going to speak to you about this as well. Because it's a call, it's a command.

So the third command is for Christian believers. And again, let me emphasize, these are not suggestions. God commands it, He means it. It's like in the military. When they give a command, you obey that command or you're going to be severely disciplined for it.

As a matter of fact, sometimes disciplined. I was in the military, in the army, for two years. If you disobey the command, they take disciplinary actions one by one, step by step. One command was, well, you got to show up in roll call.

If you don't show up, you'd be late to show up in roll call. They say you could lose a stripe. Now, to get one stripe in the military takes about a year. Miss Lilly knows what I'm talking about. She had someone that she was in the military.

And it's severe.

They don't play around. That's just showing up for roll call. Now, if you disobey an officer, a commander, folks, the next thing you know, you're in line to get ready to get ousted out of the army with a dishonorable discharge.

And if you go AWOL, you end up in Fort Leavenworth. And why I'm giving that illustration is, but that's man's military.

This is God.

This is the commander of the universe. The one that has called us to hope in Him, to love Him, to honor Him, and to be holy as He is holy. So we need to pay close attention to what He is saying. These are commands from the Almighty God.

So the first being hope.

The second is holiness.

And today we're going to look at honor. Honor. Hope, holiness, honor. So let's look at what it means to honor God, to fear in God. We need to remember that those three great words today, we live in hope, we live in holiness, we live in honor.

That means fear in God. With these three commands from God, we move a little closer to God, don't we? We're further away from the temperament of the modern world and the modern world which is passing away.

So we are to live in hope. Our only hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is our living hope. And we offer that living hope to a dying world that is without hope, right? You ever seen so many people without hope?

Have you ever seen so many suicides? People who are hopeless. But we have the hope. We have the truth. We have the Word of God. We have the light of the world. And we have the hope to offer to them. And the second command is to live in holiness.

Christ is our holiness. And He provides His holiness. He's provided His righteousness. He covers us with it. To live in a sin-stained world, in a sin-sick world, He even keeps us righteous.

Isn't that wonderful?

He not only makes you righteous and covers you with His righteousness, He keeps you righteous. He's a keeping God. Keep us separated from the pollution of the world.

Amen?

Keep us holy. Keep us separated. And there's another aspect of not only God keeps us. In the book of Jude, it says, keep yourselves in the love of God. So there's a dual responsibility here. We are to trust in the Lord that God keeps us.

But we have a responsibility as well to keep ourselves in the love of God. To be separated from the world. One's monogistic. Salvation's monogistic.

All of God.

Sanctification, as I've ministered to you about this before, some people say it's synergistic.

Yes.

But I believe it's monogistic and synergistic. Because it's God keeping you and sanctifying you in the process. But it's also you taking the responsibility to continue in the word. You cannot pull away our responsibility and holiness.

Paul talks about that. He says, work out your own salvation with what? Fear and trembling. Take that serious.

Amen?

I take that very serious. So the third command here is to live in honor.

Live in honor.

Let's look at it. We, as God's people, are to honor and reverence God. Honor and reverence God. Have you ever seen such a generation that has dishonored God? Oh beloved, this is so much needed in our generation.

The fear of God is missing so much among this world. Not only in America, the world. You go in other parts of the countries. They don't fear God. Now, our nation is in trouble, beloved. And you and I are called to be that light.

And that beacon light in a dark world. And salt that keeps it from decaying in our nation and in the church. Turn with me very quickly to Romans chapter 3. I want you to see this before we really go any further.

I've got a lot of scriptures. So have your Bible ready. This is what redeeming grace church is about. What about the word of God? I want you to notice here in chapter 3 of Romans. There's a beautiful order that God gives.

God is a God of order. And you see this in the Lord Jesus Christ's teachings. Especially the Sermon on the Mount. There's a perfect order. It's like a step. It's like a pyramid, a step. There's one step to go to another step.

And we've got to look at these steps. And we've got to take the steps of God. There's a perfect order here that the Apostle Paul is given. In Romans chapter 3 verses 1 through 18. The Apostle quotes without formal instruction.

A number of different verses from the Old Testament. The first half, let me say this. The first half is made up of negative statements. Emphasizing humanity's deficiencies. Humanity's deficiencies. We see that in verse 10 and 12.

Then he goes on to give the second half. Mainly that it exposes man's depravity. Man's depravity in verses 13 through 18. Hear the word of God. This is the commentary from God himself. On man's corrupt deficiencies.

And man's corrupt depravity. This is the word of God. This is what's wrong with the human race folks. Of all that you've been seeing today. It's not a matter of one side of politics and another side. Or one color to another color.

It's the heart. And that's what God gets to. God gets to the heart of the problem. That's the problem. It's the heart. But notice what the problem is. Notice in verse, let me begin with verse 10. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one.

There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All, all, yeah all. All have turned aside together. They have become useless.

Wow.

There is none who does good.

None, none.

There is, does not even one. Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of Asp is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood.

Destruction and misery are in their paths. And the path of peace they have not known. Notice verse 18. This is our subject. There is no fear of God before their eyes. No fear of God. A man's true spiritual condition is nowhere more clearly seen than in the absence of a proper submission to and the reverence for God.

Folks, this is what we are seeing today. But you know, biblical fear for God consists, and this is what MacArthur says. Number one, all of His greatness and His glory. Two, dread of the results of violating that holy nature.

And that's pretty much summed up. And that's what we're looking at. There's no fear of God before their eyes. There's no fear of God in the choices they make. In the way they live. Moment by moment, minute by minute, day by day.

When they wake up, when they go throughout the day. When they lay down in bed. They're thinking of selfishness and how they can gain on their own. How they can hurt other people. No fear of God. Five, no fear of the judgment to come.

You know, I like what Martin Luther, the reformer, said. The reformer. He says, there's a two-day calendar before me. Today, judgment day. That's what we need to keep before us. Today and judgment day.

There's no fear of God before their eyes. Now, what is being said here is an Old Testament expression. For respect and reverence for God. Now, folks, I'm telling you. We can do a whole series on the fear of God.

You take it through the Bible. You know what I'm talking about. You take it through Genesis all the way through the 66 books of the Bible to Revelation. Constantly speaks about the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord. The fear of God. The fear of God. Well, I'm going to touch just a little bit on it. I got a wonderful, a wonderful definition of the fear of God. Given to me by a good friend and a good brother.

And it's a definition from Tim Challies. It gives us a good definition of what the fear of the Lord is. I love this. I had another definition, but it's pretty much closely related. I just like the way that Tim Challies sums it up.

And listen very closely to what he says. What is the fear of the Lord? Listen to this definition. Quote, it is a holy mixture of reverence and awe, wonder and amazement, love and gratitude, trust and obedience.

It is when you know the depth of your depravity, but marvel at the grace of God showered upon you in Christ Jesus. It is the response of one who knows who God is in his holiness. Righteousness, goodness and truth and rejoices at the privilege it is to come before his presence.

It is the response of one who knows God is greater. Listen to that. That he is supreme sovereign. Who rules over all and ensures that nothing can snatch his beloved children from his hand. End quote. I don't know a better definition.

I love the way he just put in that holy mixture, that beautiful mixture of fear in God and awe. That's what, you know, the scriptures, the psalmist even says, you know, we rejoice with trembling. It's like there's a mixture of we rejoice, but we rejoice with trembling in our hearts.

You have the goodness of God, but you also have the severity of God. You cannot take away the both of it. God's great mercy that he has shown us in Jesus Christ at the cross, but also the wrath of God towards sin that God had put upon his son Jesus.

And you think about that, that should cause us to fear because it's because of our sin. You know, beloved, I was thinking about this morning on the way here to worship. It's indescribable to even put in human language this morning how much God hates sin.

We even as a child of God and we have the revelation of God and the light and we know what God has to say, but that is as close as we can get is what the revelation of the scripture says about how God hates sin.

God is so holy and yet people constantly live abominable, damnable ways. And we all need to watch ourselves. I think it's even a greater sense that God's people should live holy because of the grace that's been showered upon us.

You see what I'm saying? Causes me to fear to even say that. Oh, what a, oh, we need a revival of the fear of God. We need the fear of God before us more than ever. You know, the early New Testament church, you read it in the book of Acts, they walked in the fear of God.

You know, you think about what happened to Ananias and Sapphira after God struck them down for lying to the Holy Ghost. The fear came upon the church and none would dare join the church. Beloved, we need to see this today.

That was an example.

People say, well, pastor, why doesn't God smite people down? I'm telling you, I'm glad He doesn't because there would be thousands smitten down of all the robbing against God and robbing from God in the name of God.

God has shown us grace, but there are warnings. There are warnings to us. And Peter tells us believers are to conduct yourselves throughout your time. Your stay here in fear from the time that you're born again to the time you take your last breath into heaven and glory.

We are to fear God. Oh, Lord, help us to fear you. It is a phrase, beloved, understood as something between.

Now, look at this.

I got this from a biblical dictionary. It is a phrase that is understood as something between terror and reverential awe. I like that. There is the terror of the Lord. Paul says the terror of the Lord persuades us to warn people that there's a judgment to come.

You ever understood why the prophets and the apostles got up? And I'm sure they were trembling as they said, flee from the wrath to come. That's what John the Baptist said. You flee from the wrath to come.

You have no idea how horrible it is and your sin. But he pointed them to the Lamb of God, the one that was perfect, and the one that took away the sin. You know, we need to always remember that God is a merciful, loving Savior, beloved.

Notice in verse 3 in 1 Peter, back to 1 Peter, I want you to see this. That's what he says. That God is merciful in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to what?

His great mercy has caused us to be born again.

He caused it.

To what? A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You know, that should give us cause to fear. But there's also another cause to fear. And also remember that God is a perfect, holy judge.

You see this in verse 15 through 17. As we read, both always needs to be before our eyes, before our eyes, before our eyes. On either side of this third commandment, to conduct ourselves in fear is a reason to fear.

I hope that doesn't sound like a contradiction, but let me say that again. The third command here, to conduct ourselves in fear, in fear is a reason for this fear. You see what I'm saying? On the front side of this verse, first half of this verse in verse 17, is the reason if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges.

Notice what he says. Judges according to each one's work. That's what we're going to be judged by. That causes me to fear. A .W. Tozer told Leonard Ravenhill this, and I used to hear Ravenhill talk about this.

And he would speak about, well, Dr. Tozer, he says, he said, Len, this is Dr. Tozer speaking to Leonard Ravenhill. He said, you know what causes me to fear? Not what, not the works that I'm going to be judged by, but the things that I didn't do.

I had the opportunity and I passed it up. And he said, oh Len, it causes me to fear that I'm going to go to the judgment seat a pauper. Oh beloved, that we would have that kind of sense of knowing that we're going to be judged by the motives.

Not just what we do, but by why we did it. The motives. Now, here's the first reason for conducting ourselves in fear.

Why?

Is that the one we call Heavenly Father, the one we address as our Father judges everybody on the same kind of evidence. The bar is the same. The scales are the same.

Why can't people see this?

Because they're blind. The God of this world has blinded their eyes. The God of this world. But you know, at the judgment, it's going to be equal. And God's not going to bend that judgment for nobody.

Because it's based upon His character. Namely, what is He going to judge our lives? What do our lives and our deeds say about our heart? You see, doesn't that make you fear to think about that? I fear there will be a different set of rules for different people.

It doesn't matter what the nationality is.

They could be Indian, Hispanic.

It could be African American. It could be Caucasian.

It doesn't matter.

I kind of think of it, you know, how God looks down. And I think in the scriptures, it says in Nahum, that the clouds are above us and the clouds are the dust of His feet. And as Brother Keith mentioned this morning, that heaven is His chair, His throne, and the earth is His footstool.

God is so high above the heavens, He looks down and think of it.

We're like specks of dirt.

Just different colors of dirt with different languages that God calls. Because they were disobeying Him, trying to be God, going to the heavens, and He confused the world. Oh, beloved, every person that the millions has lived is going to stand one day at the judgment.

We're going to stand before the One that has an eyes as flames of fire. And He's going to judge us according to our works.

That's what the scripture says.

Judges according to each one's work.

That's what He says.

That's what Peter's talking about. There's only one thing that saves us, beloved, and that's faith in Jesus Christ. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad for that? It doesn't mean we're going to escape the judgment from our works.

We're going to be judged even as a believer for our works. I think it's going to be even more severe. Especially those who teach the Word like I'm doing now. That's why I'm being very careful what I choose and say.

And I write it down because I know I'm going to be judged for it. Jesus says every idle word that we speak will be given an account of judgment. All the words, all the actions, even our thought life. You know, Spurgeon said that.

He said, your thought life is like speech before God. I said, oh, that makes me fear. Because sometimes my thought life runs rampant and I think thoughts I shouldn't think. And I'm saying, Lord, help me to gird up the loins of my mind.

To pull it together and think like Christ would think. There's only one standard of judgment and that's going to be God's standard. Our lives and our deeds and our works are going to be judged before Him.

Jesus taught the disciples to pray, to address the Father. Our Father who is in heaven, what did He say? Hallowed be thy name. God's name is holy. Here's reverence for you. You know, the word address and the present middle voice in the Greek here means to call upon or to appeal to God that way.

That we believers should address Him with reverence and awe. And when we come into His presence with thanksgiving, knowing that God is a holy God. You know, the Apostle Paul affirmed the legitimacy of such an intimate form of address when he told the Galatians in Galatians 4 or 6, because you are the sons, your sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father.

Abba, Father. In a sense, this is not disrespect. But it's saying like, our Father is like our daddy in heaven.

He is our daddy.

We, as His children, we can come to Him because we're part of the family of God.

We've been adopted.

That's what He's saying. That is the appropriate manner for saints to call on God. The Apostle Peter did not want believers to forget that though they have an intimate relationship with their Heavenly Father, they must conduct themselves in holiness during their time and stay on earth because it is also one, God is one who impartially judges according to each one's work.

Now, how do we know this? How do we know this? First, because God's Word says so. Now, it's not because the preacher says so. But because God says so. God is an all-knowing God. An all-knowing God. Now, I want to establish this point very clearly.

God keeps a perfect record of everybody's works. Now, you think, how can God do this? Because He's God. He's God. He's all-knowing. He's all-powerful and He's ever-present. He's omniscient, omnipotent, and omniscient.

Let me establish this first from the Holy Scriptures that God has a perfect knowledge of man. A perfect knowledge of man. Psalm chapter 139. Go with me to Psalm 139. You know where I'm going. You know Psalm 139?

I know if you read the Scriptures here, I know you do. You know what this whole chapter speaks of? God is all-knowing, isn't He? The Word of God makes this very clear. And you know, let's establish this right now.

That God is an all-knowing God. That's why He knows all things. God's omnipresence and omniscience. This is David. Notice what he says. I want to just read the Scriptures and let the Scriptures speak for themselves.

Amen.

That's what Paul said. Preach the Word.

I'm going to do it.

Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there's a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is too high. I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn and if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

If I say, surely the darkness will overwhelm me and the light around me, I will be night. Around me will be night. Even the darkness is not dark to You and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Wow.

For You formed my inward parts. You wove me in my mother's womb. Listen to this inspiration. This revelation. I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works.

My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth, Your eyes have seen my unformed substance and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me when as yet there was not one of them.

How precious, how precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God. How vast is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God.

Oh, this is a prayer that's worthy of praying, folks.

Listen.

God would slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do not I loathe those who rise up against You?

I hate them with the utmost hatred. That's a holy hatred, folks. They have become my enemies.

And then He says this.

Notice. He prays this to His enemies. And then He turns the searchlight on His own heart. Search me, O God. O God, search me and know my thoughts. Know my heart. Try me.

Test me.

Know my anxious thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way, the everlasting way. Oh, what a song. And we've established it. Notice this.

God knows all things.

He knows everything. Every motive, every thought, every action. And He's taking account. That should cause us to fear. That should cause us to fear, beloved. Now, let me see how much time I've got. I've got a lot of Scriptures I need to pull forth here.

My time is clicking by. Let's cover a little bit from 1 Corinthians. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

We're going...

The apostle Paul speaks... The Old Testament says much about the judgment of our works before God. But I want to focus a little bit here what Paul the apostle says to the believers. It's all of it's to the believers, of course.

But I want us to get this. Notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, a few verses, 10 through 15. 10 through 15, notice. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, another is building on it.

But each man must be careful how he builds. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone, amen? And now, if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, wood, hay, straw...

What he's talking about is ministry, folks. And notice what he says. Each man's work will become evident. God keeps an account. For the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire. For the fire itself will test the quality, not the quantity, the quality of each man's work.

If any man, any man's work which is built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, yet so is through fire. Now, that pretty much speaks of the believer's judgment.