Identifying Sinful Fears, Pt. 1: The Fear of Man

On April 27, 2011, we had our children huddled in the bathtub of our Alabama home, wearing bicycle helmets. Weather sirens were blaring in the background as 62 tornadoes touched down throughout the day. My children were terrified by the ordeal, and it took one of them nearly five years to overcome the memories of it.

Fear lies deep in our weak hearts and minds and affects us every day in some way or another. You may fear you won’t satisfy a deadline, will disappoint your parents, or that someone may harm you physically. During the pandemic, fear of dying from a plague gripped the hearts of many.

God teaches his people in Scripture to distinguish between holy fear and sinful fear. It is godly to fear the Lord, your Creator. In Deuteronomy 6:13, he commanded, “It is the LORD your God you shall fear.” When your heart fears God alone, you live for his glory alone. He has said, “So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him” (Deuteronomy 8:6). You sin against God when you don’t fear him alone.

For instance, we all have a sinful fear of man. You fear what men will think about you, say about you, or do to you. The general of the Assyrian army stood outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem and shouted, “Do not let (king) Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria” (2 Kings 18:30). The general wanted the people to fear his army more than they feared God. The same temptation to fear men more than God confronts you and me daily.

Because your heart and mine are sinful, we are tempted to give in to the fear of man, even ordering our entire lives by this fear. You choose a career that promises a certain income so that you can buy cars, clothing, and Carnival cruises to gain your neighbor’s respect. This becomes sinful when you obey the expectations of men even when they contradict God’s commandments.

Others refuse to submit to the Lord and pursue holiness. For instance, if you take your child to church instead of the baseball tournament, your friends might call you a “zealot.” So you fall in line to avoid the criticism. Joshua responded to judgments like this by saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Many have this as a placard in their homes, but it does not hang on the walls of their hearts.

Your first step is to recognize this fear of man leads you away from obedience to God. But he is gracious and invites you to confess this sinful fear and receive his forgiveness through Christ Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit is to re-orient your fear to God alone. When he does so, you will know the peace that surpasses all understanding.