FREE FROM FEAR Part 18
We have established the Adam and Eve divorced the life of trusting in and being intimate with God and that they embraced the life based upon the law of self and performance. Because of their decision, they were thrust into a life of shame, condemnation, and fear. They realized they were naked and were afraid, so they hid from the very God who created them and loved them beyond measure.
Adam and Eve stepped into a world of trusting in themselves instead of trusting in God and, therefore, entered into the world of fear. Let’s not forget this most essential truth, “Perfect love drives out fear.” 1 John 4:18
Just because God sent Jesus Christ to set us free from the life of shame, condemnation and fear does not mean that we automatically enter into it. Though God loves every person on earth, only a few truly believe that he is in love with them. So how does a person go deeper into a life of trusting God and resting in his love that drives out fear?
It is important at this point to define faith. What is faith? What does it mean to trust God? Remember, Adam and Eve stepped into the world of fear and condemnation through the power of knowledge, a revelation or understanding. Remember that I said that if it was knowledge that brought men into bondage, then it is knowledge that can bring them into a place of freedom.
Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
This verse gives us a clue to what faith is. Faith comes from hearing a message. Faith in this Scripture is more than hearing any old message; it is speaking of hearing and receiving a special kind of truth. The Scripture declares that the message is heard through the word about Christ. The term “word” in this Scripture comes from the Greek word Rhema, and it means a word from God that is specific for you and is revealed to you by God. Therefore, faith is the result of hearing and receiving something that God has specifically spoken to your heart from the word of God. It is those specific words that a person must humbly receive and become intimate with to be able to step into the world of faith.
Adam and Eve divorced the life of intimacy with God and became intimate with the knowledge of good and evil. Those who are going to experience freedom from fear will be those who receive God’s word and become intimate with it. Romans 12:2 tells us that we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. A life that is transformed by the love of God is a life that has divorced the old lover – self and self-righteousness and accepting the new lover – Christ.
John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
To step into a life that is free from fear, a person must hold tightly to the truth that can make them free. Adam and Eve decided to hold tightly to a knowledge that was a lie, and that brought them into bondage. They became intimate and bound to the knowledge of good and evil that released fear and death to all humanity. Tomorrow will dive deeper into what makes it possible for this truth to launch you into the life that is…
FREE FROM FEAR
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