The Earth is the Lord's

Preached on 03-26-00

FEAR OF THE LORD

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Lk. 12:4,5)

OUR BELIEF IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD has a profound effect on our attitude towards death. Because we know that our spirits are immortal, we do not have that horror of death which is all too common in the world around us. We do not, or need not, fear the death of the body.

While New Church people are relieved of this fear, it is not uncommon for them to be afflicted with a much greater dread. While having no need to fear natural death, they can nevertheless have a fear of "the second death," as it is called in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 2:11). This death is the death of the soul -- in other words, damnation (AR 106). Though our spirits cannot die in the sense of ceasing to exist, they nevertheless can die a spiritual death -- by which is meant a turning away from and removal from the Lord (AE 78). We can turn away from the Lord and so live a deadly existence in hell to all eternity.

None of us enjoys reflecting on the possibility that this might happen to us. But few of us are so naïve, so ignorant of the teachings of the Writings, as to completely dismiss this possibility. Most of us know only too well that we cannot assume that only other people go to hell. Indeed, we know that if we life evil lives, we will most certainly end up there. And is not this a dreadful thought? When we think about it, it can produce within our hearts a deep, chilling, and even terrifying fear. We know what hell is like: the Writings have many graphic descriptions of that cold and dismal state.

Is such a fear of hell useful, though? At the beginning it does serve a use in spurring us along the path of regeneration. Indeed, at first, such a fear involves a fear of the Lord Himself --a fear that He will punish us if we do evil. The literal sense of our text warns us to fear the Lord in this way: "Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" What is more, throughout the literal sense of the Word, we are admonished time and time again to beware the punishment of the Lord.

Our first reaction might be to dismiss this warning as an appearance of the literal sense. We know from the Writings that the internal sense teaches that the Lord does not punish. He does not get angry. When the literal sense of the Word ascribes anger to the Lord, it is speaking according to the appearance. But let us not belittle this teaching of the literal sense. Especially, let us not contradict it in front of those who cannot understand otherwise. If we do -- if we deny this literal truth before children and before those who are simple -- then, the Writings say, we may destroy their faith in the Word (AC 9033:2). We are taught that a general understanding of the truth must begin first with a simple belief that all things come from the Lord (AC 6997:2). Even though such a belief includes the idea that evil also comes from the Lord, for those who believe this is simplicity, we are told, such an idea is not harmful. On the contrary, it preserves them from harm. The appearance that the Lord gets angry and that He Himself punishes evils, is present in the literal sense of the Word so that children "may learn to fear God, lest they should perish by the evils which they themselves do" (AC 6997:2).

This is the teaching of the Writings, and we can see the wisdom of this teaching. A child, or a youth, who has no fear of punishment if he does evil, is in danger of falling into actual evil -- that is, into the habit of committing evil actions. For a child or youth to acquire such a habit is a tragic thing -- for it brings both him and others grievous problems later on. Only a parent with a merely natural love for his children will allow this to happen. Such a parent, the Writings say, closes his eyes to his children's faults, excusing them, and favoring them (CL 405e). A parent who truly loves his children, though, punishes them when they do what is evil (TCR 407).

If even a parent here on earth can see the necessity of fear as a deterrent, lest his children transgress from good into evil, it is no wonder that the Lord Himself allows children to fear punishment. For those not yet capable of understanding the nature of Divine permission, there is, in the literal sense, the appearance that the Lord punishes those who do what is evil.

TWO THINGS HAPPEN AS WE GROW UP. First of all, there is the development of the rational faculty. We become capable of discriminating between those things which come from the Lord, and those things which come from man. We can begin to comprehend the difference between Divine will and Divine permission -- the difference between what the Lord wills and what He allows. We can begin to understand the teaching that the Lord provides good, but only permits the punishment of those in evil. We come to see that an evil person brings punishment upon himself. The Lord Himself does not inflict penalties, and we no longer fear Him as the source of punishment.

As we continue to increase in maturity, a second thing happens. There is the development of the will or love. The person begins to turn away from selfishness, away from loving himself above everybody else. He is introduced into charity, into loving others as himself. This is spiritual maturity, and comes with reformation and regeneration. It does not come with everybody, for, as is well-known, there are many adults who are little more than selfish little children -- little brats -- inhabiting adult bodies. But if spiritual maturity does come, and if preoccupation with oneself does indeed diminish, then a person no longer fears the punishments of hell.

This we would expect, for fear of punishment is a fear for oneself, and preoccupation with this fear comes from preoccupation with self. Though fear of punishment is one of the means by which we are at first induced to live the life of religion, this fear decreases insofar as the love of self decreases. Love for others becomes far more important than any concern for oneself, so much so, in fact, that the angels of heaven, who love others more themselves, would willingly die and even undergo hell itself, if it were possible to save someone else from hell in this way (AC 2077:2). Of course, in reality, it is impossible to save someone by going to hell in his place.

Natural and spiritual maturity bring with them freedom from childish fears of the Lord and of punishment. This is as it should be. Such fears, though useful for withholding a person from evils before regeneration, and for encouraging him to begin the process of spiritual growth, are, nevertheless, merely natural. Because of this, the Word, in many other places, teaches us not to fear (AE 696:24). In fact, immediately after our text warns us to fear the Lord, we are comforted by the command not to fear: even a single sparrow, it is said, is not forgotten before God, and so we, who are of more value than sparrows, have no need at all to be afraid (Lk. 12:6,7).

Nevertheless, though natural fear begins to fade away with the onset of spiritual adulthood, there is another kind of fear that must replace it. We do not outgrow fear. Instead, its quality changes as we develop. We are taught that, during regeneration, the fear we have had is insinuated into love (AC 8925). This fear then becomes what is called, in the Writings, "holy fear" (AC 6997:2).

Holy fear is not a fear of the Lord punishing, nor a fear of punishment. It is a fear of offending the Lord, of sinning against Him, and this for the reason that we love Him (DP 140). It is also a fear on account of good. When someone loves good, he fears to act against what is good in any way, lest he destroy it (AC 6997:2). Now this fear does not appear as fear, for it is of a totally different nature than the dread which motivates the natural man (cf. AE 696:24; AC 3718). Nevertheless there still is this fear, and it performs an important function.

Without holy fear, love to the Lord is said to be like food without salt, and, consequently, insipid (DP 140, AC 3718). Such a love is superficial (DP 140), or shallow. Holy fear is said to be an aversion, an aversion to doing or thinking anything against the Lord (AC 2826:13). It is a fear, indeed a horror, of doing anything which might harm our relationship with Him. It is thus the protective boundary of this relationship (ibid.). Anyone who truly loves the Lord has this holy fear, for he regards his conjunction with the Lord as precious, as something which must not be harmed or violated in any way.

To regard our conjunction with the Lord as precious is what is meant by holy fear. It is this fear which makes true love differ from an insipid, superficial love. And we regard our relationship with the Lord as precious if, deep within, we have a sense of wonder for what is Divine, and in our hearts we long for the Lord (cf. AC 3718). When we feel this way about the Lord, then we hold Him in reverence, and we consider those things which come from Him to be sacred.

A feeling of reverence, a feeling that certain things must not be harmed or violated in any way . . . this is holy fear. It is a powerful feeling. A person who has this fear has so great a longing for what is from the Lord that, when he first receives spiritual life from Him, there is sometimes a sacred tremor within his mind. There may even be shuddering, so intense is the his love and joy (See AR 56).

If a person is to one day experience this intensity of love, it is important that he be given some feeling for the preciousness of holy things. If, as a child, he is allowed to feel that he can be disrespectful to the things of worship, or if he is allowed to transgress Divine laws with impunity, then he is a child who is truly deprived. The words of the Writings are clear: "fear must precede love in order that in love there may be holy fear" (AC 6997:2). The child must have a fear of breaking Divine law. He must not be given to think that this is a casual matter. That this fear is at first based on fear of being punished does no harm. This natural fear later becomes spiritual fear or holy fear, when the Lord later joins it with love. Natural fear is thus far to be preferred than natural disrespect, which can lead only to an insipid and irreverent love.

We may thus take comfort if we see that we also have a natural fear. It can at first be disturbing if we see, within ourselves, that we are, to a large degree, motivated by the fear of punishment in hell, rather than by love. But most do begin the life of religion from a fear of hell. We must, it is true, eventually progress beyond such a fear. In the meantime, though, we are gaining something. We are acquiring a feeling for the horror of evil. We are learning what a grave matter it indeed is to cross that line between good and evil. From a natural fear we can begin to acquire a spiritual habit, the habit of not crossing the border from good into evil at any cost. We are gaining respect for that boundary. Later we will learn to respect the good itself within this boundary. We will respect the Lord, who is good itself. We will fear to sin against Him at any price.

This sacred and reverential fear will then form a boundary, protecting our love of the Lord. It will protect it and sustain it, in order that this love -- this love for the Lord Himself -- this longing for His ever closer presence -- may endure and increase forever and ever.

Amen.

Lessons: Deut. 8:1-6; Lk. 12:1-7; AC 3718 (part)