For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:7
Fear leads to ruin… but love casts out all fear
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 Jn 4:18
What is love? 1 Corinthians 13 summarizes love from a Biblical perspective but the most powerful verses are…
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not [easily KJV] provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity (sin, or breaking God’s law), but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”
1Co 13:4-8, NKJV
The Ten Commandments are, in essence, also a definition or “law of love (Rom 13:10)”. Thus, when Jesus was asked, “Which is the [greatest] commandment in the law?” (Mat 22:36) He responded, not with one specific commandment that should be seen as the most important to follow, but with 2 commandments that summarise the Ten.
Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.“
Mat 22:37-40
Love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13:10). However, fear will be an obstacle to that love (1 Jn 4:18). The only way to truly follow God and His law is to love Him (John 14:15). Without love, we will never truly obey God.
You see, the Israelites tried to obey God without love (Exo 19:8) but they miserably failed (Mat 23:37-39). Israel was one of the biggest experiments ever done in the history of this earth. Basically, God chose a nation to serve Him based on their lineage rather than their willing service. Yes, Abraham (the first “father” of Israel) obeyed Him wilfully (Gen 26:5) but, if you look closely, it wasn’t the first son that continued his lineage. Isaac was not Abraham’s firstborn and Jacob (Israel, by which the nation was named) was not Isaac’s. They were chosen by God because God foreknew (Rom 11:2) they would willingly choose Him.
This shows us a precursor that true sons of God are willing participants and not ordained by upbringing or lineage. However, once Israel had 12 sons, the rest of God’s people were “a chosen nation”, a literal nation. They were born through the lineage of Israel (formerly Jacob) and were, essentially, God’s people by force and not by choice; by birth and not by baptism.
Love and obedience go hand in hand (Joh 14:15, Rom 13:10). Jesus is our perfect Example. He loved us so much that He was a willing participant in His death for us. Even after He was spat on, mocked, hit, stripped naked and tortured, among other atrocities, He chose to continue until the end for our benefit (Mat 27:27-31, Rom 5:8, Eph 5:25).
Until we learn how to love Christ, we will make decisions out of fear. Many people don’t fully obey the Ten Commandments simply because of fear. The one, in particular, that is grossly neglected is the fourth commandment (Exo 20:8-11). People fear financial security, losing a job, leaving a particular church, going against their family or simply doing something that they’re not familiar with.
But, as we see in 1 Jn 4:18, there is no fear in love. Thus, we must question ourselves when we disobey God. “What am I afraid of?” And, “Why don’t I love and trust God?” Then we must humbly go to Him and lay our burdens at His feet. Tell Him what’s really going on and how we really feel so that He can heal us. Let us be vulnerable to God and He will help us to love Him.
I hear many Christians say that they don’t have to obey the law anymore because they only need to obey the first and great one, Love the LORD with all thy might, soul and strength. But if we truly love Him, will we neglect to honor Him on the day He has chosen? Will we resist the desire to commit adultery, fornicate, steal and covet? When you really love someone with everything you have, you will do everything you can to make them happy.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1 Jn 4:18