[quote]I John 4:18 "Perfect love casteth out fear".
Psalm 23:4
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."[/quote]
If we have perfect love for God,we have no reason to fear evil.
Why is it then that so many Christians believe we must fear evil and satan.
As Christians we have no reason to fear either.We are taught that we must be afraid
of demons,cults, new age religion or no religion. We are to shun those, but not be afraid they will
influence us.That's what fear is all about.It has very little to do with being concerned about others and
more to do with thinking we will be influenced by their presence.
[quote]I fear that the condition of too many Christians these days is more akin to the fear
demonstrated by Chicken Little than to the faith to which we are all called by
Baptism. It seems wherever I look Christians are afraid, complaining, or worse,
actually causing others to succumb to fear or despair. What happened to faith,
hope and love, those “theological virtues” infused within us when we rose from
those waters? Why, of all people, do those who know the real King and Sovereign
of the entire universe so easily give in to the kind of crippling fear which is
such an impediment to living faith?
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34093[/quote]
Fear tactics are often used in churches in reference to punishment for disobeying God.That is in
contradiction to the belief that we are not under the law and therefore not subject to
the law or it's punishments.It is also contradictory to the belief that once saved
always saved.If we can't lose our salvation we can't fall into satan's trap.
We are to shun evil, but we are also told not to be afraid of evil.
[quote]Proverbs 3:7
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.[/quote]
To shun evil is akin to fearing evil. Being vigilant is not akin to fear.Fear, in fact,
will often have the opposite effect. Fear will cause us to concentrate more on evil than
we do God's promise. When we are searching for evil, it will often find us.If we concentrate
on God, evil will not find us,according to the Bible.
That does not mean that bad things will not happen.It doesn't mean that we will not see bad things,or
even evil things.It only means that evil will not take over our Soul or body either as long as our
faith is strong.Not every unfortunate incident is evil.Some things actually do happen with no evil intent as it's
cause.Evil will find us if we refuse to allow God to keep His promise. We do that by taking on the responsibility
of ridding the world of evil.We put more faith in ourselves to avoid evil that we do in God's ability to keep evil away.
Evil is not an airborne virus.Satan will not kick in the door to get us, and evil
will not enter a gate left open by our being around evil.To believe that is anti Biblical.
[quote]Psalm 49:5
Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-]/quote]
We are to hate evil and withdraw from it.We are not to be afraid of it.
Christ said that we are not to resist evil.
[quote]Matt. 5:9, "But I tell you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." [/quote]
That's not to say that we are supposed to invite evil in or surround ourselves with
evil doers.We are to not strike out against the evil doer.Turning the other cheek
also means to shake the dust off and go somewhere else.It does not mean that we are to
condemn others for what we perceive as evil.
The fear of evil makes us look for evil in everything.If our thoughts are continually
on what is or isn't evil, we are not focused on God the way he wants us to be.
The Bible teaches us to worship God in spirit.We can't get into the spirit if we
are focused on how others are living their life.We are also told to fear God.
We fear God out of faith. We fear satan out of faith.We can't give satan glory and
God glory at the same time.
Colossians 3:1-
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above,
not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God.”
If we set our minds on things above, we won't be thinking about evil.
Evil does not exist in the above.If we set our minds on evil,we are not thinking about
the things above.
As Christians we are taught to fear satan and demons.Christ didn't. He faced demons
head on without any fear of being drawn into evil.Christ was surrounded by evil, yet He
said not to resist evil.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear not only shows a lack of faith in God,it can
cause us to lose whatever faith we may have had.When Christians have complete faith
in God, there is no reason to fear evil.The Bible never claims that satan can do
anything to us He wants to.The Bible teaches that satan can do nothing more than
God allows him to do.To believe that satan can force us to do evil is putting more
faith in satan than in God.Satan was created as an angel.He has no more power over
humans than any other angel.There are cases of possession in the Bible, but no explaination
of whether or not the victim invited the demons in.Jesus had the power to eject demons
from those possessed humans.They obeyed Him.Satan can do nothing without permission from God
or humans.He is not omnipotent.His power is limited.In reality Christians have more power over
satan that satan has over them.We can resist and refuse to let evil in.
We can call on God to fight satan for us.Satan can't force us to accept him and He can't
call on God to force us to accept Him.
Evil does exist,but for the faithful it's as if it didn't.
Every Christian should be able to walk throught the valley of the shadow of
death and not fear the evil there.That's what God expects us to do.
While it true that where or treasuer is there also is our heart, it is also true
that where our mind is there also is our heart.A lack of faith causes fear and fear
causes paranoia.We are told to keep a sound mind and body. A mind that concentrates more
on the evil of others is not a sound mind.A mind that concentrates more on how another
lives is not a sound mind.
Being around evil does not open a gate in which evil can enter.
That is contrary to Scripture.A faithful Christian has nothing to fear from
satan,cult practices,paganism or new age beliefs.If there is fear there is not faith.
(Psalm 112:7)
"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord''
Those who have a fear of evil usually teach others to do the same.
By doing so, they have placed a stumbling block in front of their brother.
Satan thrives on fear.Satan knows that complete faith in God make is almost
impossible to turn that Christian toward evil.The fearful are weak enough in
faith that satan's job is already half done.They are looking for evil and not for
God to deliver them from evil.Fear can be spread to others. we are to be strong in our faith.
Fear won't allow us to do that.Fear is often spread to others.
Fear can come from being obsessed with eliminating evil from everything we come in contact with.
We cannot focus on God and on the evil of others at the same time. We need to focus only on God to be
in the Spirit.
In the Bible satan did not have the ability to do anything that God did not allow.Satan cannot take over anyone that doesn't
allow it, because God as stated that he won't allow it.
[quote] James 4:7
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”[/quote]
Resisting evil is all that is required of us. If we go through life looking for evil, we will attract evil, instead of resiting it.
There are instances in the Bible of demon possession.No Christian could truthfully say that it doesn't happen.
The Bible does not tell us under what circumstance they happened, but it is clear that no such thing will take place
if our faith is great enough. Jesus faced demons head on.He talked with them and yet he never showed fear of them.
He cast them out,but the Bible says not a word about Him going about searching for evil to cast out.
There are no doubt Scriptures in the Bible that can be interpreted as to mean we are supposed to be terribly afraid of evil, but
like any other interpretation, if it doesn't align with other scriptures it is probably misinterpreted.
It is not evil that is contagious.It is the fear of evil.
[quote]Pro 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide
satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.[/quote]
[quote]Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. [/quote]
(Proverbs 16:6) .... Whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil. ...
II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” Matthew 10:31
“So don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows”
Matthew 10:28
“Do not be afraid of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul”
John 14:27
“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” Matthew 8:26
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ”I John 5:18
“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who is born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”Why should anyone be afraid that sin will rub off on them and that evil will invade them when God has clearly stated that as long as we have faith in Him that will not happen.