Luke 12:1-12
12: In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Reflection
We have a sinful yet natural tendency to be afraid of people who have the power to end our lives (Luke 12:4). Jesus shows how foolish this fear is, because the end of our physical lives is not the end of us; instead we should fear our Creator God, who has the power and authority to destroy both our bodies and our souls on the day of judgment (v. 5). We cannot understand the grace and forgiveness that the gospel announces unless we first understand that God is the final Judge of our sinful lives (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5).
Yet the kind of “fear” we should have of God should not be the same as the fear we have of other humans. Rather, we are to have a deeply worshipful respect for God because he knows us intimately and cares for us above all his creatures (Luke 12:7). When we know that the Judge of the universe is carefully and lovingly watching over our lives, we can simultaneously fear God (vv. 4–5) and “fear not” (v. 7). This is the kind of fear that Jesus himself demonstrates toward his heavenly Father (see Isa. 11:2–3).
Colossians 1:24-29
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Reflection
The only content of Paul’s ministry is Christ: “Him we proclaim” (Col. 1:28; cf. 1 Cor. 1:23; 2 Cor. 4:5). Our message is not fundamentally about good behavior or ethics, but Christ. Paul’s method of ministry was to teach the Scriptures in a way that focused on Christ and what he has done to save sinners, not on what sinners must do for God. Paul had learned to view all the Scriptures through this Christ-centered lens (Col. 1:25–27). God gives Paul the strength to labor tirelessly with this content and method toward a specific goal: to “present everyone mature in Christ” (v. 28).
Here we see an excellent model of Christian ministry: Paul’s content, method, and goal revolve around Jesus Christ, ensuring that people are served in the best possible way. When we follow this example we can be sure that others will receive the maximum benefit from our service, and that Christ alone will get the glory.
Psalm 128:1
128: Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
The fear of the Lord does not paralyze us but produces good fruit in our lives. Ask God that he would place this healthy fear within your heart so that you can live free from the slavery that comes from fearing the opinions and agendas of the world.