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Part 38 of a series. Read part 37.
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How does the fear of the Christian differ from that of the lost?
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. (Luke 2:9)
The reaction of the shepherds to the appearance of an angel accompanied by the glory of the Lord was, to render the Greek literally, that they were filled with mega-fear. The words denote being gripped by the kind of terror that would normally cause a person to flee for fear of his very life. It was, apparently, only because the angel immediately said to them, "Fear not," that they remained and listened.
An Angel of the Lord
It is noteworthy that in the original language the text reads "an angel of the Lord came upon them" (as rendered in the New King James version, for example) and not "the angel of the Lord" (as rendered in the Authorized Version). There is no definite article in the original text.
The title "the angel of the Lord" was used on several occasions in the Old Testament to denote appearances of the pre-incarnate Messiah. But at this moment the Messiah was now incarnate in Bethlehem as prophetically promised. And so God sent one of the angels of Heaven, one of the created beings, to announce this great fact to men on earth. He "came upon" them, or more literally, stood over them.
And it is said that the heavenly messenger was accompanied by the glory of the Lord, which shone around the shepherds. The word translated "glory" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word that was used to describe both the glory of God in the Heavenly sanctuary, and His shekinah glory which appeared over the mercy seat of the earthly tabernacle.
Why Fear?
We are told that the shepherds "were sore afraid" - literally, filled with mega-fear. The amateur psychologists (or, increasingly, the professionally trained ones) who occupy many pulpits today tell us that "phobias" of any sort - and that is the Greek word for fear in Luke 2:9 - are unhealthy or even sinful. But what does Scripture say?
It is true that Christians are not to fear what the hand of man may do, because we abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We are not to fear the future, because we are secure in Christ. We are not to fear to speak the truth of God to a darkened world, because Christ has commanded us to do it and His Word will not return to Him without effect. But what is the state of man in darkness, man without Christ? The Holy Spirit tells us vividly in Romans:
As it is written:
"There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one."
"Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit";
"The poison of asps 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 ways;
And the way of peace they have not known."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18)
It is noteworthy that in this divinely-inspired collection of quotations from the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul summarizes the litany of man's depravity as the absence of the fear of God. Biblical fear of God is neither unhealthy nor sinful. On the contrary, it is the proper response of the individual who truly understands God's greatness and power, as well as the dreadful results of violating His holiness.
"I Am Undone"
When Isaiah received his great vision of the throne room of God, his reaction was exactly this:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." (Isaiah 6:1-7)
Dear reader, is this how you react to the glory of God? Do you understand that apart from faith in and submission to the person and work of Jesus the Messiah you are "undone" - in the original, literally, "cut off"? Do you welcome the purging of sin that permits ready access to the throne of grace? Or is there "no fear of God before your eyes" - indifference toward Him, or even open hostility? If this is true of you, dear reader, my prayer is that you "shall hear and fear" the Word of the Lord and turn from evil (Deuteronomy 19:20).
The unrepentant sinner should indeed live in fear. It is only to those who are truly in Christ that the words, "Fear not" can justly be spoken. We shall focus upon this wonderful truth as we continue.
Next: "Fear Not"
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