An interesting biblical tension is implicit in this text. On
the one hand the Bible says fear goes away when we seek the Lord. But very
often what we see in the Bible is that God shows up and people become terrified.
Remember, for example what happened when Jesus calmed the storm, or came walking
on the water, or healed a demon-possessed man? People were paralyzed with
fear. It makes sense. It is a rather frightening thing to think of God coming
into our existence and making His presence powerfully known in our lives.
You never know exactly what will happen. Is He going to kill me because of
my unholiness? What is He going to demand from me? Will I ever survive coming
face-to-face with God?
Our text for today speaks directly to those common concerns
with a fresh word: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives
out fear” (v. 18). Of course the critical question is, what exactly
is John meaning when he suggests a life at rest in God and a life of fear
are incompatible? Clearly it is not the normal, human fears that are in view,
such as natural reactions to threat that serve to protect us. It seems to
have more to do with what we might call fears of perspective. Or to put it
another way, fears that have to do with our failure to live in what God says
is real and true.
John contrasts this fearful way of life with another life—the
life we were really meant to live. It’s a life characterized by confidence,
instead of fear. He uses the foundational word “love.” And he
puts it in terms of judgment. When God’s love really fills us, we move
from fear to confidence and love, because we are no longer concerned about
punishment. This is where I know that I am His and He is mine, no matter what
else happens.
The practical question is, how does one live there? John’s
simple answer is, when you are filled with God’s perfect love, fear
is driven out. It’s really not about forcing fear out of our lives through
a positive, mental attitude. It’s about opening up to the free flow
of God’s love that so defines us and shapes us that fear is driven out.
An important piece of exegetical work here of course is what
John means by “perfect love.” Our people get hung up on the English
word “perfect” because of what it means to us. The word behind
the translation is a form of telios, which doesn’t mean “flawless,”
but “fulfilling its purpose.” Eugene Peterson has it right when
he translates, “well-formed love” (in The Message).
When your love, the most powerful part of your self, is fully
captured by Christ and released from the values of this world—that’s
when love is made perfect and that’s when love drives out fear. It’s
all grace. That really is the heart of the matter. But there are also some
specific clues to how this works in this fourth chapter.
For example, in verse 1 John says, “Do not believe every
spirit.” There is at work in this world a spirit of anti-Christ that
would rob us of joy and confidence. Another specific clue is in verse 4 when
John suggests we need to get the powers right. “The one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world.” We dare not give the evil
one too much credit. Yes, there is a real enemy of our souls, but victory
has already been won in Christ. We have nothing to fear. One more clue comes
in verse 7 and following: live toward others with love, not with suspicion
and self-protection. When we hold in and protect, we can’t know the
freeing love of God and thus can’t know fearlessness.
What it really takes to live here is to be fully surrendered to God, so nothing the world throws at us can threaten who we are in Christ. This is what I would call a “captured love.” It’s when by grace I move to the place in my spiritual life where my capacity for love makes a real shift from being captured by the world (fear), to being captured by (or secured by) the perfect love of God.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
It’s interesting how confronting our fear has become a
major theme in the popular culture. Television shows like Fear Factor find
an audience because at some level we all have a need to confront our fears
and talk about them. I began by guiding the people to think honestly about
how fear might evidence itself in their lives.
I then moved to remind (or inform) my hearers that the Bible
has a lot to say about fear, both directly and indirectly. Well over 300 verses
in the Bible say something about fear. Some describe the problem and others,
like our text for today, prescribe the solution. Others simply describe the
reaction of people when God bursts on the scene: fear! And then the gospel
word: Fear not.
I told my people that one of my favorite verses about this outside
of our text is found in Psalm 34. It says, “I sought the Lord and he
answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” What a wonderful and
amazing promise of God. “He delivered me from all my fears.” Could
that be our true experience? Is that really part of what God offers to us
in Christ Jesus?
The exposition of the text provides substantive help in moving from fear to rest and confidence in the Lord. But as the Psalm mentioned above points out, the condition of that gift is clear: “I sought the Lord.” In other words, the starting point for this is precisely what we’ve already talked about in this series. It’s when my life is oriented totally in God’s direction and not my own.
