Grace Bible Church
pastor teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
040420
The Doctrine of Fear.
Learn how winner believers handle fear when it comes their way.
Point 1. Definition.
Fear is used for a mental attitude sin, characterized by panic when in a dangerous situation as well as intimidation.
Fear is also a painful emotional distress aroused by impending pain, danger, disaster, evil or by illusions regarding the same.
Fear is used in the Bible is for reverence, respect, or awe.
Point 2. Introduction – Legitimate Fear and Illegitimate Fear.
Jacob’s fear figured into the problem with his brother Esau only to find out something we all have gone through at times and that is unfounded fear in our imagination. Jacob is now on the way back home to his promise land of Canaan and immediately he will bump into Esau who has an army of 400 men and has been very successful in cheating people and robbing people, etc.
Apparently these two brothers saw things totally different even though they were twins for the older brother Esau was a hairy man while Jacob was a momma’s boy who apparently had very little hair.
Jacob was living in fear of his brother Esau coming for him because he was getting even with him for stealing his birthright, which he really stole by deceiving his father Isaac into thinking that he was Esau and not Jacob.
The messengers returned with terrible news according to Jacob’s human viewpoint thinking with fear.
This is Jacob’s main problem now which is fear, a mental attitude sin, characterized by panic especially when you are in a dangerous situation.
Every time fear comes into your life; you know you are not living the Christian way of life.
If you have personal love for God the Father you will understand His character and His integrity.
If you love God, that means that you “know” God. The winner believer knows how to handle unjust treatment, unfair treatment, but most of how to handle fear when it comes our way.
The verb translated confidence is translated is in the subjunctive mood of the word confidence which says maybe you will have confidence, maybe you will not.
What is the antithesis or the opposite of God’s love? It is fear!
The nominative singular noun phobos can refer to many types of fears.
Claustrophobia = a fear of being confined in a room or a small space.
Acrophobia is a dread of high places.
There’s the fear of animals which is called Zoophobia.
Social phobia is the experience of intense anxiety when an individual is presented with a social situation.
Acarophobia is an abnormal fear of mites, other small insects, or worms.
Arachnophobia = an abnormal fear of spiders.
Astraphobia = an abnormal fear of lightning and thunder.
Batophobia = an abnormal fear of being near an object of great height, such as a skyscraper or mountain.
Nyctophobia = an abnormal fear of the night or darkness.
Ochlophobia = an abnormal fear of crowds.
Triskaidekaphobia = an abnormal fear of the number 13.
Just to name a few. Many people live in fear because they subject themselves to idiotic periodicals or idiotic television programs that are always anticipating the worst.
Like perversions of thoughts. Perversions of News. Perversions of Religion. Perversions of Politics. Perversions of false doctrines.
Watch out for Ozone level. Watch out for the big black hole. Watch out for the poison that crazy individuals use to attack the innocent.
Like nuclear warfare and everyone is going to die!
The markets going to crash.
Fear constantly manufactures the most awful self-torture or self-induced misery in this life.
Awful because most of the things people fear never happen but they go through these things as though they did happen.
Fear is nothing more or less than a system of self-torture and frightened people are constantly torturing themselves.
“Do you entertain a lot of fear in your life?”
“Do you entertain a little fear?”
“Are you frightened by what the future holds?”
It is a marvelous device by that creature genius Satan to confuse and distract the human race from reality.
As far as the Christian way of life is concerned there is really no excuse for being frightened about anything.
When Jacob starts to come back into the land and bumps into Esau’s army, he falls back on human viewpoint and tries to use his smarts or deceptions again.
If he had learned to wait upon the Lord a divine solution would have become manifested again and he would not have had to use human viewpoint and carnal thinking as the solution to solve his problems.
ISA 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
“Do you entertain a lot of fear in your life?” “Do you entertain a little fear?”
“Are you frightened by what the future holds?”
Fear is described in the Bible as a mental attitude sin, 1SA 17:21-26, ROM 14:23.
Fear is a sign of backsliding or going AWOL in the Christian life, 1SAa 18:12; 21:12.
Fear can also produce sickness and depression, in Gen 21:17, Hagar was worried sick and ailing physically because of fear.
Fear can produce suicide, in 1Ki 19:4, Elijah was so afraid of the threat of a woman that he wanted to die.
In Neh 2:2, Nehemiah’s countenance was sad and sick because of fear.
Rejection of Bible doctrine; PSA 53:5, The fool rejects doctrine and is in great fear where there is no fear.
Fear is worrying about the details of life, MAT 10:29-31, “Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Fear is a breakdown in the mentality of the soul over the pressures of life, LUK 21:26 “Men will be fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken,”
Fear of witnessing for Christ, fearing what others might say or do, JOH 7:13 “No one was speaking openly of Him [TLJC] for fear of the Jews.”
The fear of death, Satan uses this fear to keep people in bondage all their lifetime, HEB 2:15 “And might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
GAL 2:12, For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he [Peter] used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
Fears of old age or getting old, in ECC 12:1-8.
Fearing the floods of ungodly men or fearing what the ungodly or the wicked might do, PSA 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me, and the violence of ungodliness terrified me.
Another cause of fear is when the body is weak and weary and cannot think properly, 2SA 17:2.
Words can cause people to live in fear, in ISA 37:6 the Lord said, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard.”
Fear of sin and guilt, GEN 3:10, “And he said, I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
In EXO 14:13-14, Moses said to believers who were freaking out under pressure, “Fear not, be still and see the deliverance of the Lord, the Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace”
DEU 31:8 also tells us that fear is not a part of God’s plan, “And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed.”
ISA 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Fear will manifest itself by worry, anxiety, insecurity, and nervousness.
Fear destroys the believer’s ability to think, to reason, to apply doctrine under the pressure, and to advance in the circumstances of life.
Fear is total disorientation to the plan of God.
Fear destroys any personal sense of destiny.
HEB 11:27, “By means of doctrine resident in the soul, Moses left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”
Moses knew the principle of Heb 13;6, “the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man may do to me.”
PSA 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee “In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid, what can mere man do to me?”
JER 23:4 “I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
ISA 35:4 “Say to those with anxious heart, take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, and He will deliver you.”
DEU 20:1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.”
NEH 4:14 “When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “do not be afraid; remember the Lord who is great and awesome,
JOS 1:9 “have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
For the mature believer, in PSA 112:7, “He will not fear evil tidings or bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
In GEN 32:9-12, fear of Esau drove Jacob to humble himself and seek God.
In LUK 8:50, fear of his child dying drove a man to seek the Lord.
In MAT 8:26 fear drove the disciples to run to the Lord and wake Him up.
PSA 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.”
In Mat 14:30, Peter walked on water, but he became afraid and began to sink, however fear also caused him to cry out “Lord save me.”
Mat 14:30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
ROM 14:23 and whatever is not from faith is sin.