A Lesson in Fear - An Apologetic's Point of View

As we continue to progress in this pandemic with no end in sight, I'm beginning to understand better what is happening here. While I'm not willing to talk about COVID-19 in great detail, I do want to address how it is affecting the world. Therefore, I want to help others understand what they are going through, and what they can do about it. This is a message of hope, and expresses my faith in Christ.

Please be aware that I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I felt lead to leave this here, so therefore I encourage anyone who doesn't like this post to not leave any disrespectful comments. Also, please forgive the TL;DR format, but if you want to live a life without fear, do read this in its entirety.

Is It True That Fear is a Liar?

We are living in a world of fear. Fear of a virus. Fear of our government. Fear of life. I am led to believe that this is a demonic attack on the world, and measuring it based on my beliefs and my devotion to God, it makes sense. The following is a copy of an article from GotQuestions.com (read it in full here) which I hope will help others understand.

A popular song by Zach Williams, “Fear Is a Liar,” personifies fear and assigns falsehood to it. Of course, fear itself is non-personal, but song lyrics and poetry often use personification to communicate a theme or make a point. In the case of Williams’ song, fear is referred to as a “he” who tells us various lies and who must be withstood.

The claim that “fear is a liar” is broad, and we must ask, is all fear a liar? In other words, does all fear come from an evil source that should be rejected? No. There is a good type of fear (not addressed in Williams’ song) and a bad type of fear (that Williams is correct to take a stand against).

We are rightfully fearful of God, and we are rightfully fearful of dangerous things (slick roads, rabid bats, the effects of alcohol abuse, etc.), in the sense that we exercise caution and apply wisdom. A man ignorant of rattlesnakes may traipse through the Arizona tobosa grass with no fear of being bitten, but he is being foolish; it is better to have respect or a healthy fear for what rattlesnake venom can do. The Bible warns us of the consequences of sin so that we develop a healthy fear of sinning. To understand the depth of God’s hatred toward sin and His intention to destroy it should be scary to everyone, including believers.

There are situations in which fear is definitely not a liar; that is, sometimes we should be fearful and seek help or a way to escape the source of fear. For example, when a truck is coming straight toward you at 100 mph, it is not sinful to fear; in fact, that fear is a gift prompting you to avoid the truck and save your life. Similarly, when a sinner is afraid of hell, knowing it is not a place he wants to be, that fear is just, right, and biblical. Sometimes allowing a little fear is better than trying to alleviate all fear: the statement “Hell is a real place of torment” may be fearful to some, but it is true; “There is no hell” may dispel fear, but it is a lie.

So, not all fear is a deception. Fear is not always a “liar.” Of course, there are fears that have a demonic origin. The fear that God is not truly good is one such fear. When fear says that God has forgotten His children or turned His back on them, then it is a “liar,” because those statements directly contradict the promises of God.

The truth is that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and the Bible repeatedly admonishes God’s people not to fear. Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9). When we are told any lie, it is of Satan, who has no truth in him. The devil will try to dishearten us with lies, and unwarranted fear is one of his tools.

While there are many fears that are lies used by Satan, there are also many fears used by godly men to try to turn people to God. God showed fearful and powerful signs to the Israelites so that they might turn to Him. Elijah called down fire from heaven so that Israel might turn from their false gods to the one true God. The apostle Paul sternly rebuked the Corinthians and threatened excommunication to those basking in unrepentant sin, hoping to prompt godly fear in them.

The difference between warranted fear and unwarranted fear is important: when God uses fear, it is based in truth; but when the devil uses fear, it is based in lies. When Jesus spoke of hell in fearful ways, it was to show the truth about God’s punishment of sin. Hell is not a place we want to be, and fear of it is warranted. When Satan urges us to fear man rather than fear God, he is advancing the lie that we owe more respect to fellow human beings than we owe to God. The fear of man is unwarranted; it is a “liar” and lays a snare (Proverbs 29:25).

Other common lies the devil uses to instill fear in people include “Jesus’ death wasn’t enough to cover your sin,” “Even if you trust in Christ, you’re not good enough to be with God,” and “God doesn’t love you, and this tragedy proves it.” The fear induced by these statements could rightly be called a “liar,” because the fear is biblically unwarranted. Faith in God’s Word will dispel such fear.

Our feelings should not decide whether something is of God or of the devil. For example, we cannot say, “This makes me feel scared, so it must be of the devil.” Rather, our discernment of right and wrong should be rooted firmly in the truth of God’s Word. We know that Jesus’ death was sufficient to cover our sins because God said so (Hebrews 10:10; John 3:16). We know that we shouldn’t be scared to meet God because Christ gives us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We know that God will not stop loving us because nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38–39).

Is fear a liar? Sometimes, it is. The devil will use fear rooted in deceit to try to get our eyes off the Author and Finisher of our salvation. Unwarranted fear is a liar. But not all fear is from the devil, and some fear is biblically warranted.

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Governments Around the World - Invoking UnGodly Fear?

Amending that a bit, understand that there are two types of fear here. Fear in God is not the same thing as fear caused by Satan and his minions (there's another GotQuestions article about that: What does it mean to have the fear in God?).

Also, while it is important to not be foolish and risk your life just because you can, we should not be afraid to die if we are in a life-threatening situation we can not escape from. Even if COVID-19 is as serious as the media is reporting, that does not worry me, for I know that I will be eternally in heaven with my Savior and my Christian brothers and sisters if I was to get the disease and become terminally ill. Of course, I don't want to kiss a sick person just to find out! However, these drastic measures of safety are not necessary if you truly trust in God. You trust in him no matter what; he can heal you and allow you to continue doing good in this world, or take you home to escape the evils of this world. Either way, God is in control, and we should not be afraid of COVID-19 as much as we are now.

That is why OCD is considered a mental disorder! If you have a phobia of germs, you will obsess about them, and be taking drastic measures to not get them. Touching things with clean cloths or gloves, staying away from everyone for fear of being contaminated by something, constantly cleaning off everything before touching it - these are signs of OCD. Yet this is what our government wants us to do! The governments, run by humans of which most of them are not basing their guidelines on the word of God, seem like they want us all to have OCD! Now, I'm not saying to become anarchists and overthrow all forms of government, for having no rules is worse than having some. However, while there are many laws that restrict us, remember that Jesus freed us from the laws set by God himself, so that we will not be judged for our sins if we accept the gift of Grace (Romans 7:6). Since many of our laws are based on old laws set by God, the governments of this world are guilty of not abiding by the grace of Jesus and the new guidelines of living a Christian life.

While I still believe that the virus is not as serious as it is being reported, what I find serious is how this has caused people to be anti-social and afraid. If we are going to withstand viruses, we need to do what we can to research them, understand their impact and how we can combat it properly for ourselves, and not merely rely on what is being told by the common media and following everything the governments tell us to do. In the United States in particular, the government was made to serve the people, and not the other way around. Therefore, if those of us who live in the U.S. truly are an independent, free-thinking body of people, then we should do what we can to convince the government to keep our freedoms, or what is considered our God-given rights, without there being anarchy or mass violence. These mandates and rules that are about COVID-19 are against the First and Fourth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Any rules that restrict our freedoms, even if it is meant for good, is against the Constitution and should be abolished, because our Constitution was based on Godly principals, and these modern laws which go against the Constitution also go against the grace of Jesus and our freedoms as individuals!

Of course, this is my own interpretation on the matter, but I hope it will make sense to others. I am not here to cause discord among members of GBAtemp, only to help in a crisis.

A Word to the Hecklers, Trolls, and Disbelievers (The "Un-Christians")

To anyone who disagrees with any part of this message, I am not posting this here to try to sway your minds. Rather, I am trying as best as I can, in my own way, to help in this situation. I realize that I have posted things which have caused arguments in times past, but I will not go quietly if it is about my faith. What you say will not directly change my mind, and I am not here to beat the Bible on your heads and threaten you to "Come to Christ - OR ELSE!" Rather, I would hope that even if you do not accept my words about Jesus that you would find a logical, rational explanation on why you shouldn't be afraid of COVID-19 or anything else for that matter.

So, don't be afraid, even if this situation was to return in the near future. Live a life without fear!