As they stood at the foot of Mt Sinai, the children of Israel were terrified by the fire, thunder, trumpets and smoke that accompanied God's voice. After they heard the ten commandments direct from God, they plead with Moses to mediate.
"You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die" (Ex 20:19).
Moses answered, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin" (v 20).
They weren't to be afraid of God's voice. He wasn't going to wipe them out because they heard his voice. Rather they were to fear God so they wouldn't sin. Be seeing and hearing the power and majesty of God they were to realize that God was to be feared. That was to motivate them to keep from sin.
Although we haven't seen or heard the same thing that the Israelites experienced, the fear of God should motivate us to fight sin.
Often when faced with temptation, we remember that God is a forgiving God. He has forgiven me in the past and He'll do it again. Or we remember that God is a loving God. He loves me, so He won't hold this against me.
Or sometimes we choose to think that God is not all-knowing, not present everywhere, not caring - or any other of His attributes.
But how could the fear of God keep us from sinning?
Remembering the price that God paid to redeem us.
Remembering that He is all-knowing, present everywhere, caring and loving.
Remembering that He is pleased when we are obedient and displeased when we are disobedient.
Remembering that He has poured His grace into our lives.
Remembering the power that He has given us to withstand temptation.
We don't need to see fire and smoke, we need to remember who God is and what He has done for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment