Jesus sent out His twelve apostles to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. They were given the power to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:8). But Jesus knew that the message that they were to preach would not be well received by some. He warned the apostles that persecution would come and He gave them instruction on how to handle the persecution. Then He told them in Matthew 10:26-31 “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.“
Jesus had given his apostles a task that would result in persecution. Because they were preaching Jesus, they might be hated, beaten, and even killed. It would be natural for the apostles to be fearful. So, Jesus warned them not to fear their persecutors. He further explained that God knows everything that happens; there is nothing hidden from Him. Small sparrows are worth very little, yet not one of them falls to the ground contrary to the will of God. He also knows everything about you; He even knows how many hairs you have on your head. The conclusion is that God is all knowing and nothing is going to happen to you that is contrary to His will. Therefore, don’t be fearful.
That doesn’t mean that you won’t receive persecution; God may allow that to happen. But persecution should not be looked upon as a bad thing. Remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The persecution that most of us face today is small compared to what the apostles faced. But if you stand up for Jesus Christ and for the truth that is revealed to you in the Bible, there will be those who do not accept that truth and you may face persecution. Don’t be afraid of the persecution you may face.
But I want to address fear in general. Besides persecution, there are many things we can fear. We can fear what an evil person might do to us. We can fear animals such as lions or even spiders. We can fear lightning, devastating storms, floods, and earthquakes. We can fear heights, tight quarters, public speaking, or even clowns. We can fear cancer that can take over our bodies and cut our lives short. We can even fear a virus that can cause us sickness, pain and death. There are so many things that we can fear. Many people live their lives in fear. But as a Christian, should we have fear?
Of course we should have an appropriate fear for God. Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” He is the creator of all things; He is all powerful; He will take vengeance on all those who follow unrighteousness. But we also know that He is a loving and merciful God who has made us His children. The fear Christians should have for God is a respect and reverence for Him. Just as we respect God, there are other things in life that we should also respect. For example, we should respect wild animals, but we don’t have to live in fear of them.
Fear is the opposite of faith; it is actually a lack of faith. It is a denial of the hope that God will take care of us no matter what trials we come up against. As Christians, we should be people of faith and not of fear. We make a choice between faith and fear. In our minds we can imagine the evil and harm that can come to us because of certain situations and we can develop fear. Or we can trust in God and choose faith.
God has promised to be with us. Hebrews 13:5-6 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Do you have faith in the promises of God? Do you believe that the Lord is your helper? Do you believe that He will never leave you or forsake you? Choose faith over fear. Psalms 118:5-6 “I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
When we trust in God, we can have peace. Jesus taught in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The world sees peace as a lack of conflict and problems. The peace we receive from God is not a lack of trials, tribulations or conflict because we all have those things in our lives. But the peace that God gives is a peace of mind and spirit. In our minds and hearts, we do not fear anything that comes along because God is our helper and He will never leave us or forsake us. We don’t have to be troubled; we don’t have to be afraid. Peace results when we truly trust in God. Nothing happens outside of the will of God. God still loves us; He is still our helper; He will still give us eternal life.
Jesus told the church in Smyrna not to be fearful in Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” My encouragement is that you do not fear anything you might suffer. Be faithful until death and you will receive the crown of life. That is what truly matters.