Freedom from Fear
Jesus Sets Us Free…Free from Fear
Richard Bannister, Children’s Minister
In my 40+ years of being a follower of Jesus, I have been amazed at how often the Lord brings me back to the basics of what it means to be His disciple. One of the many things I love about being a Children’s Minister is not only the opportunity to constantly be teaching the basics of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, but to recognize that every time (and I mean EVERY time) I teach basic faith lessons, the Holy Spirit continues His work in me by reminding me of what it means to believe and live the basic truths of the Christian Faith.
Basics such as what it means to be a follower of Jesus. What it means to abide in Him. Trusting God to provide. That the Creator of the Universe cares for me and has plans for my life. That Jesus sets me free.
So on this first day of devotions for Holy Week, let’s look at a foundational truth of our faith. That Jesus sets us free from fear. The “disciple whom Jesus loved”, the Apostle John, does a great job in his letters to the church to encourage us in that foundational truth.
In 1 John 4:15-18, the Apostle John writes:
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in them and they in God. So we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in them. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement: because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:15-18
The first thing I want to point out in this section of verses is that it begins with a conditional statement. The promises found in this section of scripture hinge on the condition that we have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the most basic, foundational element of being a follower of Jesus. Without that acknowledgement, the rest of the verses would not apply. But with that confession and belief, we have an amazing relationship with God promised to us.
The first promise is: God abides in us and we abide in God. I don’t know about you, but just that, and that alone, is enough to carry me through the rest of the day. Because we believe, God lives in us (His Holy Spirit) and we live in God. It would also be right to personalize that phrase: Because I believe, God lives in me and I live in God. Repeat that to yourself right now. Notice that the verb tense here is present tense – meaning that it is happening right now and it is continuous. It’s carried into the future…into eternity.
John goes on to say that “God is love.” Love is a fundamental characteristic of who God is. Everything God does is impelled and influenced by His love. In the Greek, this word is agape, and it refers to a benevolent and charitable love that seeks the best for the loved one. God’s very nature is always seeking what’s best for us. And we, in our agape response to God, seek what is best for Him. God actually goes a step further in His agape love by giving us His Holy Spirit to empower us to love Him and those around us.
The next promise I want to highlight is found in verse 17 – By this is love perfected with us… What John is writing here is that by God abiding in us, and our abiding in God, this love…this agape…is perfected, or made complete, in you.
I say “made complete” because the Greek word that John uses here, teleioo, although translated “perfected” does not mean the type of perfection that usually comes to our minds; that something was changed from a state of flawed imperfection into a state of flawless perfection. In the New Testament, the word teleioo generally means finished, or completed, or accomplished. When something like a task or an assignment, is finished, it is said to be completed, or “perfected.” As we abide in God, and He abides in us, love is made complete in us.
The last promise I want to highlight from 1 John 4:18 is that God wants us to know that when His love is made complete in us we are set free from fear. Free from the fear of His judgement…His punishment…both now and in the future, and free from the fear that God isn’t with us during times of trial, difficulty, and suffering. His love is made perfect in us…complete in us…as we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and we abide with Him every moment of every day. It’s not a promise that difficult times are not part of our walk with Him as believers (matter of fact, in John 16:33 Jesus tells us we will have many trials); but there is a promise that as He abides in us and we abide in Him we can be set free from fear during those difficult trials. God is good, and we can completely trust Him. He holds us in His hand and promises to never let us go (John 10:29).
Now that’s a foundational truth worth believing!