The Love Of God - Part 5

The Love Of God - Part 5

1 John 4:18a

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.”

We tend to look at the great Bible verses about love in terms of personal relationships. That’s the case with I John 4:18. I often read that passage in counseling and at weddings but we need to remember that the Bible has a primary purpose to teach us about God and our faith.

When the Bible talks about fear, it often refers to awe and respect for God. But, there is also an evil side to fear. That’s what we see in this verse.

The Greek word for fear is Phobos. We get our English word “phobia” from it. In Ancient Greek, phobos described a fear that caused someone to run away. It hinted at cowardice and self doubt. It was a fear in the face of something bigger and stronger.

When John uses that word, he’s not talking about our relationships. He’s talking about our faith. He’s telling us that fear inhibits our ability to follow God wholly and completely.

Fear takes us down the road of legalism which makes God a Lord of vengeance instead of grace. The legalist thinks of God in terms of punishment and wrath. Those are all elements of fear and they overshadow grace.

There antidote to fear is love. The perfect love of God conquers fear. Love literally expels fear from among us.

In the New Testament, fear prevented others from sharing the truth about Jesus (John 7:13), it silenced Joseph of Armithea to the point that he hid the fact that he was a follower of Jesus (John 19:38). Fear led the disciples to hide in their homes behind locked doors (John 20:19). Fear is the mortal enemy of God’s people. It swallows up grace, hinders faith and obscures the Truth.

Peter told his church to overcome their fear (1 Peter 3:14). Our weapon in that battle is love. God’s grace and mercy are built on it. That’s how we defeat fear.

1 John 5:2-4

“For this is the love of God ... whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”