Fear Factor

July 31, 2016        NOTES NOT EDITED

Fear Factor

John 19:38-39

SIS: Fear is not a factor for those who have been changed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A few years ago, a T.V. program began to air title, “Fear Factor.” Six contestants compete in various stunts to win a $50,000 prize.  The premise of the show is that people can overcome their fears and accomplish great goals.  That really is a good foundation for a show, but in reality the show was “disgusting.”  Each episode featured a segment where contestants competed by eating vile and disgusting “products” that I will not even mention because they are so vile an disgusting.  The early shows were not that bad, but the stunts became more and more gross and disgusting to the point where the show actually insults the sensibilities of anyone with even half a brain.  Eventually one contestant would win all the challenges and be pronounced the victor.  As the host of the show presents the $50,000 check to the winner, who has faced their fears and overcome them, he says, “It is apparent.  Fear is NOT a factor for you!”

One of the biggest changes that takes place in a saving encounter

with Almighty God, through Jesus Christ, is the elimination of “Fear.” The Bible declares (1Jn. 4:18):

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.

God led me to this message after hearing how political pundits—primarily from the liberal left—describe Trump’s campaign.  They call it, “A Campaign of Fear.”  The U.S. News and World Report on June 24, 2016 offered this Headline and Tagline:  “Fear Factor: Donald Trump is trying to spread the politics of fear in the presidential campaign.”

It seems evident to me that Trump is correct in pointing out the dangers of ISIS and global terrorism.  It seems Trump is clear in pointing out we should fear a massive national debt of nearing $20 trillion which threatens our national security.  It seems obvious that Trump is correct in pointing out that illegal immigration through a border that resembles a sieve is a threat to the American way of life. I agree with Trump that the heroin and drug problem in our nation epidemic.  I could go on, but let me summarize by saying, I think Trump has solid reasons to suggest there is much for our nation to fear.  I’d like to take a moment to play a video someone pasted on FaceBook that outlines the very real threat from Radical Islam.

VIDEO

Now, listening to Obama and his Vice President, Hillary Clinton, the Democrats don’t fear any of what I just outlined, or what we’ve seen on the video.  But, the Democrats pursue a campaign of fear ever as much as Trump . . . but, they seem to only have one fear.  Democrats fear Trump!

So, fear is and will likely be a major theme in our national political discussion for some time.  So, let’s see what God says about fear.

 The bottom-line of God’s Word is this:  Fear should no longer be a controlling factor in the lives of those who have met the Lord Jesus Christ.   Not only does this encounter remove the fear of dying – more so, it removes the fear of LIVING!  Let me repeat that for affect:  Not only does this encounter remove the fear of dying – more so, it removes the fear of LIVING!  An encounter with Christ turns cowards into conquerors.  When a person is “born-again,” they really experience true life—eternal in quality, as well as quantity.

There are many examples of this in Scripture, but we will look at two that are often overlooked.  These were both powerful, prominent leaders of the Jews—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

John 19:38-39

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

How we react to fear has profound consequences for our lives. I read a story this week about something that took place in Britain.  I’m not sure exactly of the time, but the story is purported to be true.  In fact, it will seem like a joke, but it is no joke.  It is a profound tragedy for one man lost his life.  A farmer picked up a hitch-hiker.  The hitch-hiker climbed into the back of the truck.  The farmer was hauling a coffin to town a nearby town for the undertaker.  As the truck bounced along the dirt road the lid slid open.  It began to rain.  The hitch-hiker saw that the coffin was empty and got inside to keep dry.  As the rain fell the hitch-hiker fell asleep.  Further on the farmer picked up two more hitch-hikers.  After a while the first hitch-hiker awoke.  Pushing open the lid of the coffin he noticed the two other passengers and said, “ Oh, it has stopped raining.”  You can imagine how frightened the other two passengers were.  Without a moment’s thought they jumped from the truck.  The tragedy of the story is that one hitch-hiker was killed.

Fear is a dangerous thing.

You will never in this life be completely free from fear circumstances.  But, you have a choice—you can either trust God and overcome your fears, or you can ignore God and be conquered by fear.  In our text both men conquered their fear they focused on Christ.

Never had anyone seen a man die like Jesus died, because never had there been a man who lived like Jesus lived.  After this one-day ordeal on Calvary with Jesus, fear was no longer a controlling factor in the lives of Joseph and Nicodemus.

What about fear in your life?  Is fear of failure or fear of the opinions of others, fear of hard work, fear of the future, or fear of death keeping you from realizing the dream God put in your heart!  Fear paralyzes the soul and makes success impossible.  An encounter with Jesus Christ, however, eliminates fear.  Fear should no longer be a factor for those who love Jesus and are loved by Him, except of course for the “fear of God.

To overcome fear in our lives we must understand its CAUSE,

its COST, and its CURE.

1.  The CAUSE of fear (verse 38)

Let me define what kind of “fear” I am referring to in this message.  First, I am not talking about the “fear of God” which is the basis for our worship and devotion to Him.  The Bible instructs us to “fear God.”

Look at verse 38 again: Joseph was a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly because he feared the Jews

This text is not an admonishment to never experience fear in your life.  Fearful circumstances are not eliminated when a person becomes a Christian.  In fact the Bible includes the exhortation, “fear not,” many times in the Bible.  According to the debate scholars contend that the The King James version includes 29 instances of the phrase "be not afraid." The New American Standard Bible includes the phrases "do not fear" 57 times and "do not be afraid" 46 times. Some argue that "fear not" and similar phrases are present in the bible 365 times (web search).  Regardless of the exact number the Bible encourages believers to “overcome fear” many times.  Fear will always be an issue; it will always be a challenge to overcome.

The cause of fear is an improper focus.  Joseph and Nicodemus “feared the Jews.”  They should have feared the Lord.  Jesus reminds us, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul;  rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28).

We cannot live in this life without experiencing “fearful circumstances.”  We can live in this life without focusing on our circumstances and focusing instead on Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Joseph and Nicodemus did this in a very physical way by taking care of the body of the Lord.  It was too late to be bold while the Lord was alive, but, as the saying goes, “better late than never.”

It was the Roman custom to give the body of a crucified criminal to the family, except in the case of a person who committed insurrection, which was the trumped up charge the Jews used to get the Romans to kill Jesus.  The Jews actually wanted Jesus dead for blasphemy, but that was not a Roman crime and Jews were not allowed to practice capital punishment.

In the case of insurrection, the bodies were not buried at all.  They were left to rot in the sun and be eaten by buzzards to make them an example to others who might consider rising up in revolt.

The bodies of common criminals were remanded to the family, but the family did not have either the courage to ask for the body, or the means to approach Pilate, or both.  In such cases, the body would be buried in a pauper’s grave.  Joseph of Arimathea had both the means and courage to seek a proper burial.  This also fulfilled the prophecy,

They made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death (Is. 53:9)

Joseph’s proper burial not only fulfilled a 700 years old prophecy, but with Pilate setting a guard at a prominent tomb, it guaranteed that only a resurrection could account for the disappearance of the body from the tomb on the third day.  As with every other event—even those that look like chaos and failure—God is working out His plan.

Joseph (and Nicodemus, see Jn. 3:2) feared the wrong things, like so many of us.  The word, “secretly” means “to hide, conceal, or keep safe. Too many people live there Christianity only in the safety of the church.  For too many people the butter never touches the bread!   We hide behind stained glass and comfortable sermons, never daring to take our faith to the streets.

We fear people, not God.  The greatest source of our fear is to fear “people.” You see this all throughout the Bible and you see it in life.  We call it, “peer pressure.”  We fear losing our status with others more than losing our fellowship with Jesus.  Peer pressure paralyzes a person and makes success and true happiness impossible in life.

We also fear physical pain and suffering.  Like peer pressure the fear of pain causes us to seek safety rather than sanctified service to Christ.  The cause of fear is a misplaced focus.  There is only One Person we need fear in this life, and that’s the Lord. 

When we start fearing man rather than fearing God, we might as well scurry under a rock because we will never have the courage to stand for what is right.

The CAUSE of fear is a misplaced focus.  It is said of Joseph (and applied also to Nicodemus), “he feared the Jews.”

Fear God, not man: and fear will not be a factor.
The cause of fear is a misplaced focus.  Keep your eyes on the Lord
and everything else will look small.

Let us examine for a moment the

2.  The COST of fear.

We’ve all heard the cliche, “there ain’t no free lunch.” Well, this applies to fear.  Living a cowardly Christian exacts a very high price in your life.

1.  It strips us of rewards we could have had in this life.

Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in regard to the burial of Jesus in all four gospels.  Mark (15:43) describes Joseph this way: Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin.  Matthew mentions that Joseph was rich and Luke echoes Mark pointing out the fame that Joseph possessed as a Jewish leader.  It would appear by earthly standards Joseph possessed many temporal rewards, including fame and fortune.  As we often say, “Joseph had everything money could buy.”  The tragedy of his earthly life is this:  “when a person has everything money can buy, they often have none of the things money CANNOT buy.  Consider this:

Joseph had fame and fortune, but never had fellowship with the Lord.

Joseph had the promise of salvation, but never had assurance.

2.  It strips us of rewards we could have had in the next life.

Paul was bold and open in his witness as we read in the New Testament.  As death neared, here’s Paul’s assessment of his life:

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Tim 4:7-8).

Paul could have had fame and fortune but opted instead for the “crown of righteousness” in the next life.

There are no rewards for secret discipleship.  Paul mentioned a “fight.” Fights are not secret.  Paul mentioned a “race.” Races are not secret.  Paul mentions, “faith.” Faith, like fights and races, is not secret. There are no crowns for “secret Christians.”  Jesus mentions this also:

I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man  will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,  ⁹ but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God (Luke 12:8-9).

3.  It strips the world of a Gospel Witness.

Recall what I said would have happened if these two prominent men had not petitioned the government for the body of Jesus?  The body would have met a very demoralizing and denigrating fate.  It would have been cast on the smoldering trash heap outside of Jerusalem, referred to as Gehenna.  Or, it would have been place in some mass grave with other criminals without any ceremony or dignity.  Of course, we know this is an “argument against fact” for we know God had always intended for Jesus to be buried just as He was buried.

Nevertheless, there is a lesson to be learned by reflecting upon the cost of “secret Christianity.”  It robs the world of the positive influence of gospel.   Secret Christianity allows Christ and His message to be cast aside by culture and ignored by the multitudes. The cost of secret Christianity robs persons of the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel and be saved.  Surely, you would agree that the costs for “secret Christianity” paralyzed by fear of persecution or rejection are costs much too high to consider.  We need to break out of fear and break onto our culture boldly with the saving message of Jesus Christ. The cost for being bold in Christ may no doubt be high, but not so high as the cost of fear.

There is a cost to facing your fears and living for principles–but the cost of cowardice is much greater.  Thank God there is a cure for the fear that paralyzes us to inaction.

3.  The CURE for fear (1Jn. 4:18)

The cross cures our fears by revealing God’s unconquerable love for us.  I quoted earlier from the passage, 1 John 4:18.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,

Was Noah afraid when God commissioned him to built the ark?  Of course he was.  Knowing God loved him, drove doubt and fear to the margins of his life and left him free to accomplish all God intended for him to accomplish.  Was Abraham afraid when God called him out of the comfort of his hometown to a land he had never seen or even heard of?  Of course he was.  God’s love for Abraham overshadowed Abraham’s fear of the the future.  Was Joseph afraid when he was thrown into a pit and then imprisoned in the house of Pharaoh?  Of course was. God’s love sustained him. Was David afraid when he faced the towering giant Goliath?  Of course he was. God’s love for David put Goliath on the ground.  Anytime we risk life or limb for the gospel there is going to be a measure of fear.  But, God’s perfect love, “casts out fear.” And, for the most part, the greatest risk American Christians face is the risk of being ridiculed. This seems like a small matter compared to the risk of being exiled, having your house burned down, or even being killed!  It seems silly really, to even talk about fear and witnessing in America in the same sentence.

If you can ever come to any kind of understanding of God’s love –however weak or feeble that understanding is – you will become a “giant killer.”  Knowing that Almighty God Who created the heavens and the earth loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life makes you invincible in the face of life’s greatest challenges.  The world may kill your body for your testimony but the world can never conquer your soul! 

Joseph and Nicodemus may have been late coming to a point of boldness, but they came, because watching the Lord die such a horrible death for them, changed them from cowards to conquerors!

The cure for fear is not courage – it is love!

Love conquers all.  Love never fails.

Once you gird your loins with the belt of love you will be an invincible soldier for Christ.  No fear will ever paralyze you.  No foe will ever cause you to cower.  You will become “More than a conqueror through Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:31-39). Your love relationship with God will cure your fear.

True love can never remain a secret.  Love is too powerful a

principle to hide away in a safe place.

Not a day goes by that I am not faced with some fear, whether it is the fear of death, or just the fear of a Hillary presidency.  The future is a great unknown, and always will be. Fearful circumstances are inevitable. My greatest fear though is not death, or even a Hillary presidency; my greatest fear is the fear that I will not love My Lord and My Savior Jesus Christ enough to live boldly and openly for Him each day.  My fear as a pastor is that I would make church a “safe” place for secret saints, rather than a strategic place to train Christian soldiers.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were “cowards for Christ.” That’s a sad legacy but true.  It was not until they encountered the Crucified Christ that they were transformed into bold witness.  We all need to keep our eyes on Christ and remember what He did for us on Calvary.  There is not “safe road to heaven!”

The cross changed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.  We must let the cross chang us.  The cross gave them the boldness to step up to the plate for Jesus.  We must let the cross stir us to step up for Jesus, also.  

I once read a book entitled, “The Secret of Happiness.”   I also,

have read more than one book on “The Secret of Success.”   Let me tell you: the key to happiness and success is no secret.  The Bible gives them to us.  The key to happiness and success is to leave behind secret Christianity and live boldly for the Lord Jesus Christ.

How I wish there were but ten of us today who learn from Joseph and

Nicodemus and decide to live, at last, as bold witnesses for Christ. Let us all resolve that Fear Will No Longer Be A Controlling Factor in our lives.

The great evangelist and world reformer, John Wesley, once declared:
“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.”

The fear of God makes one fearless in life.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE WORD, “SECRETLY”

FEAR VERSUS FOCUS

What seems like a simple, straightforward, unambiguous text upon closer investigation is anything but simple. The text says, After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’ body (Jn. 19:38).

Here we have a prominent, powerful leader of the Jewish community—a member of the very Sanhedrin that pronounced judgement upon Christ—who was himself a “secret” disciple [μαθητής (mathetes) . . . κεκρυμμένος (kekrummenos)].  This “fearful (secret)” disciple somehow musters the strength to approach the very Roman ruler that ordered the crucifixion just carried out to beseech the ruler for the right to bury the body of Christ.  The simple reading suggests, “a fearful follower of Christ overcame that fear to do the right thing.”  There was a simple transformation that takes place in the life of Joseph of Arimathea.

All of that is, indeed, the simple truth presented in the passage—simple, but not complete.  Here’s why the text is not so simple.  The Greek language, the original language of this text, has several different ways to indicate a past action, or in this case a past participle.  The common way to express that Joseph WAS a secret disciple would have been to use the aorist tense in the Greek. The aorist tense is a “simple past tense.”  This is what one would expect if it the emphasis is on Joseph’s prior state of mind.  If it were an aorist past tense, then the implication would be, “he was a timid disciple and the crucifixion impacted him to such a degree he became a bold believer.”  Break it down to a more basic statement, “Joseph was a secret disciple, but no longer.”

The text certainly supports the fact that Joseph had a new “boldness” about his faith after the crucifixion.  In fact, Mark clearly states, “Joseph . . . came and boldly went in to Pilate” (Mk. 15:43).  Yet, there seems to be something more intended by John’s text.  We do not find the participle (verb form) used here to be in the aorist tense, but in the perfect tense.  Jn. 19:38 literally describes Joseph as the disciple who “had been (perfect tense) secretly.”  The aorist tense, along with how Mark describes Joseph would imply that Joseph had been afraid, but was no longer.  The perfect tense in John implies that Joseph had been afraid and still was.  The perfect tense is a past action with present results, or a past action with results that continue indefinitely.

Now, perhaps I’m just a linguistic nerd and I’m making too much of too little, or perhaps John is saying something to add just a slightly different spin on the same event—as is the entire premise of John’s gospel in relation to the synoptic gospels.

By choosing the perfect tense over the aorist tense John indicates that whatever condition Joseph was in before he went to Pilate he was still in when he got there, and beyond.  In other words, Joseph did not stop “being afraid,” but stopped acting according to his fear.  It is not his circumstances that changed, but his focus.  His focus was now on the Lord Jesus Christ and how he (Joseph) could demonstrate his love and devotion, in spite of his fear.

This goes to the point of the “cure” for our fear.  The cure for our fear is not to seek to change our circumstances to that which is safer (the world for secret can mean to “make safe”), but to confront our fears with faith in Jesus Christ—that is, God’s perfect love for us.  This is the meaning of the verse, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear” (1Jn. 4:18). 

It is impossible to watch what is going on in our world and not experience a legitimate amount of fear.  Joseph had good reason to fear the Jews.  This is the importance of the words, “After this” that introduce us to Joseph and Nicodemus, the “fearful disciples.”  After what?  After Joseph watched his Lord suffer the most agonizing death at the hands of the Romans, and the prompting of the Jews.  Pretty scary stuff. 

After all, it was the very council of which Joseph was a part that orchestrated the crucifixion of the Lord.  Ultimately, we know the crucifixion was God’s plan, but that did not mean that the hatred of the Jews was any less fearsome or that the suffering of the cross was any less painful. 

If you are going through a difficult time in life, it is unlikely you will be able to completely alter your circumstances, but you can certainly change your focus.  Look to Jesus, “the Author and Finisher of your faith” (Hebrews 12:2).  His love will cast out your fear.