Week 7 - Saturday

The Root of the Problem

"There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:18)

Paul has spent a good part of the first 3 chapters of Romans showing that man is utterly sinful. In verses 10-17 of chapter 3, he lists thirteen charges against man. To prove that his accusations are true, Paul calls on the best witness possible. Paul calls on God Himself. All thirteen of his charges are quotes from the word of God. Now that all the charges have been made and all the evidence has been presented; Paul, in verse 18, tells us the root of man's problem. Once again quoting from Scripture, he says the reason men sin is because there is no fear of God before their eyes (Psalm 36:1). Ungodly people sin because they do not fear God. God has given man a basic knowledge of Himself (Rom. 1:19-20) and a sense of right and wrong (Rom. 2:14-15). People also have a general feeling through their conscience, that those who do what is wrong deserve God's wrath (Rom. 1:32). But when people choose not to believe in God, they remove in their minds the fear that God will judge them for their sins. Once any eternal consequences for their actions is gone, they are then free to follow the sinful desires of their hearts.

The Bible says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Fear has been translated from the Greek word fobos. This word can be used to describe dread and terror, or it can mean reverence and respect. When the word fear is used in the Bible, it often combines both of these meanings. There are two aspects to fearing God. One is to have a reverent respect for Him and the other is to fear His holy anger against sin. Having a reverence for God, and a fear of His wrath, are both necessary if a person is going to gain spiritual wisdom. Someone might try to obey God simply because they feared His judgment. For them however, knowing God would only be a negative thing. To truly know God a person must also be in awe of His majesty, power and love. It's these positive aspects of God's character that motivate people to love Him. Once a person has been saved, their love and gratitude toward God should give them reason enough to obey Him. However since Christians are still human, they struggle with sinful desires. It often takes punishment from God, or a fear of His punishment, to keep them from giving in to sin. Although a believer never has to fear eternal punishment in hell, they should be aware that God can and will punish them in this life for their sins. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are now a child of God and God disciplines all of His children. The reason God disciplines His children is because He loves them. He disciplines them for their own good, to make them more holy. The fear that God will punish us for our sins is one of the factors that helps motivate us to obey God. On the other hand, those who have not come to Christ have an immensly greater reason to fear God. They live in constant danger that they could die at any moment and then spend forever in hell, being punished as an enemy of God.

Readings for today: Prov. 16:6; Heb. 12:5-11; Luke 13:5; 2 Thes. 1:8-9