Friday: Further Thought ~ Fear God and Give Glory to Him

Further Thought:

Think about the amazing words of Paul in Hebrews 7:25, which, talking about Jesus as our High Priest, says that “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him” (NKJV). Save to the uttermost. The Greek word for “uttermost” means “full, complete, total.” It is Jesus who saves us; our job is to surrender to Him, claiming His victory for us.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Our trust must be in Him, not in ourselves.

“We can summarize the force of the expression ’fear God‘ in Revelation as God’s final call to humanity to choose Him as their glorious and majestic God, … who will be victorious over the forces of evil that oppose Him and His plan for the human race (cf. [Rev.] 14:9-11). This fear does not manifest itself, at least not for now (cf., [Rev.] 6:14-17), in terror and trembling, but in joyous and loving submission to God’s law and to His exclusive worship. No other power should be acknowledged as worthy of such devotion and loyalty. In fact, there are no other options, because what shows itself on the horizon of the cosmic conflict as possibilities are actions of demonic powers destined to extinction (Revelation 16:13-14; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 20:11-15). The fear of the Lord is therefore a positive divine invitation … to take God’s side in the cosmic conflict in order to stand before His most glorious presence, filled with joy in eternal fellowship with Him (Revelation 21:3-4; Revelation 22:3-5).” — Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages, unpublished manuscript, p. 27.

Discussion Questions:

Think about the incredible power of God, the One who created and sustains the entire cosmos. We can barely grasp the idea of the cosmos; how then could we even begin to grasp the Creator of it? Think about how much greater and vaster and more powerful He is than we are. And this God will one day judge us? How do these facts help us understand the idea of the “fear of God” and what it means?
How can we avoid legalism when we discuss the biblical concepts of holiness, overcoming, and victory? Why must we always understand that it was Christ’s victory for us, at the cross, that alone remains the foundation of our hope of salvation, regardless of our victories (or even failures) here now?
Why, even with all the promises of victory over sin, do we often find ourselves failing and not living up to the standard of righteousness that Jesus Himself modeled for us and promises us could be ours, as well? What mistakes are we making in not allowing God to do the work in us that He has promised?

<–Thursday

Amen!