Perfect love casts out fear

Believers, loving God does not involve the slavish fear of being punished when you sin. This is not love. This is slavery to sin. See 1 John 4: "18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us."

This perfect love is by no means our love for God but His love for us. The one who fears isn't established in His perfect love. He is afraid of bad things happening to him because he is not convinced of Christ's perfect love for him. Loving God is borne out of knowing how much He loves us: so much that He gave His Son to bear our curse and die for our sins.

Because of Christ's sacrifice for us by which we have the forgiveness of sins, there no longer remains any punishment or any curse (Gal. 3:13,) even generational curses, for us in Christ. In Him, our sins and lawless deeds God remembers no more, all because of Christ's one offering. See Hebrews 10:

"14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them

After those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws upon their heart,

And on their mind I will write them,”

He then says,

17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds

I will remember no more.”

18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin."

But the one who is afraid expects the punishment of the law to fall on him. He tries to do some type of offering or restitution to avert disaster or get back into God's good books when he sins. He tries to be godly (be like God) by human effort, just like Eve. But the only brand of righteousness that is acceptable to God is that which is from one Man's obedience: Christ's (Romans 5:19.)

Believers, in Christ, God will never be angry with us or punish us, ever. See His word to we who are under His covenant of blessing: Grace (Isaiah 54:9,) this immediately after Isaiah 53 where the suffering of our Saviour Jesus Christ was prophesied:

“Just as I swore in the time of Noah

that I would never again let a flood cover the earth,

so now I swear

that I will never again be angry and punish you."

Our Abba Father corrects His children, but His correction is for our profit and that we might live forever, according to Hebrews 12-

"9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness."

His correction is that we might live, is never unto death. The wages of sin is death. Christ died this death for us all. God will never lay this death (sickness, curses, fear, depression, etc are death begun) on anyone that believes.

Remember Corinthians 3:6 says: "who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Many seem not to realise that the letter that kills is the law which many people are trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God,) just like Eve who thought she could do same by human effort. But just like the tree that she and Adam ate of, the result is death. Their eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in order to be like God is a picture of trying to be godly by keeping the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil. We see this in Romans 7:8-

"Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

Just like the tree, "the letter kills" and Satan is still using it to seduce and deceive many into thinking that they can be godly by keeping it, just as he did with Eve.

Romans 5:17 says: "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

This death that is as a result of Adam’s offence and law-keeping (the letter kills) is not necessarily immediate. It is a process. Fear, stress, worry, silly mistakes, working so hard only to lose it all, sickness, lack, depression, fast-tracked ageing are all death begun. God said to Adam "for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die." Psalms 90:4 says of God "A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,"; Moses wrote this concerning God's view of the life of man (v.3.) Adam did not give up the ghost immediately after his death sentence came into effect; he lived for almost 1,000 years aka one day gone by in the sight of God.

With the abundance of grace and having Christ as our righteousness, we get to live in triumph over sin and this death, including all its symptoms of "death begun." Remember Hebrews 12-

"9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

With Christ as our righteousness, we get to live forever. And what a life! Proverbs 4:18 says: “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.” Things can only get better because in Christ, we have the only brand of righteousness that counts before God: Christ’s.

Instead of "death begun" and a deterioration into the physical and second death, we get to have Christ's perfect righteousness and enjoy ever-increasing good health, peace, prosperity and freedom from fear; everything good; our path shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day! We are not under law but we get to live a life that is in line with the moral excellence that the law demands, yet not us but Christ in us.

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.