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The Rock Family Worship Center
Taking The Church Outside The Walls
The Rock Family Worship Center
Salvation Or Survival?
Fear-based belief may drive people to make religious commitments and avoid certain behaviors, but only love-centered faith produces genuine transformation and intimate relationship with God.
• Salvation is more than avoiding punishment—it's about union with the Father, restoration, transformation, and life
• The Greek word "sozo" (salvation) means wholeness, healing, rescue, and preservation
• "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18) and "the goodness of God leads to repentance" (Romans 2:4)
• Fear can make someone change behavior temporarily, but only love can transform from the inside out
• Many believers relate to God from fear rather than understanding their secure identity in Christ
• When our relationship with God is rooted in fear, we never feel secure in His love
• God is not portrayed in scripture as an angry judge waiting for us to fail, but as a loving Father
• Our standing with God is not conditional on performance—it is finished, settled, and secure
• We are not defined by our mistakes but by our identity as children of God
• What drives us determines how long it lasts: fear drives short-term compliance, love drives lifelong transformation
• Choose to live from identity not obligation, from grace not guilt, from love not fear
If you've been living in fear, make a decision today about what's going to drive you. Choose love that lasts forever, anchored in the finished work of Christ. Step into the freedom, joy and wholeness God has already prepared for you.
The last few months we've talked about a lot of different things and I hate that I'm still sitting up here having to sit and talk because it drives me nuts, because I want to walk. But I told Cindy this morning. I said, when this cast comes off, I'm walking. Anyway, we'll continue to do it like this. Sometimes it's a little bit of fun because you just kind of get to sit here and be a little different than it seems like we're just having a conversation sometimes and more than preaching, and that's really what it should be about. You know, it's not always a dialogue, of course, on Sunday morning, we do that on Wednesday nights, but we want people to ask questions. You know, if you have a question afterwards, get with me. We got a box back there. We want people to understand what we're talking about. Some of the things that we do talk about is I don't call it that, but some people would call it controversial, some people would call it radical, some people would call it unbiblical. I'm fine with all of that because I can show back it up with Scripture, anything that we say from up here. But we do talk about some challenging stuff and we do that on purpose, because my goal and I've said this from the very beginning. We talked with a pastor from the other church yesterday that we was at and one of my goals has always been to provoke people to think If you get stuck in a place and you're just settled and comfortable, that's not a real good place to be. I want to challenge people. I want to provoke people to ask questions. I want to provoke people to think outside the box that they've always been in, and I always give this warning here. I'm not asking for nobody to agree with everything I say, but have an open mind. Go research, study, you know, come back with questions if you have them. But I do want to challenge you this morning and I hope it's going to challenge you. I know I'm going to say some things that may come off a little bit different to some of you. It may challenge you a little bit, but that's on purpose, because I believe a challenge pushes us to go a little bit deeper.
Speaker 1:I had a conversation with somebody the other day and that's what you know. I always kind of tell you where this sermon come from and kind of what initiated it and I had a conversation with somebody on Facebook or a post and they reposted back and we was back at two and one of the things that come up was they had made the comment I was talking about something just finished work, inclusion, what it meant to be included in Christ and what the finished work of Christ means. And they came back with a post and said something about that. They grew up really that hell and fire and brimstone was just taught every Sunday and the wording he used was they preach hell so hot you could feel it. And he said that's what kept me from really even taking my life during some really difficult times in my life. And you know what? I can't argue that. I would never try to argue against that, because that was his truth. That was the thing that kept him from doing whatever. And his words were it kept me from doing it because I didn't want to go to hell, because I'd been taught so much about how bad hell was that I just did not want to go to hell. So it kept him from doing certain things because of that and I just lifted up that. I said hey, appreciate you sharing. Thanks for the input. You know I'm not going to sit there and argue with somebody's testimony.
Speaker 1:You know it did provoke some questions in me. You know, that's just the way my mind thinks and that's kind of where this sermon come from. I forgot how to say it and how to get it going across this morning. So, because some people will ask the question sometimes, you know, why don't you preach on hell? Why don't you preach on judgment and fire and brimstone? Doesn't it work? Doesn't it get people saved? And the short answer is yes, but the long answer is yes, but there's always a but in there and I like to kind of hit that. But because that's where you get to really researching a little bit and digging a little bit deeper, and I like to kind of hit that. But because that's where you get to really researching a little bit and digging a little bit deeper, you know, and saying what is the but, what? What is that? That next step? Uh, it provokes question. And that's the hope, that's my, that's my goal. My goal is not to change your theology. My goal is not to tell you how to think. My goal is to provoke you to think, provoke you to just again get out of your comfort zone, think a little bit different, be willing to go there, have enough confidence in what you believe to say hey, if you don't believe what I'm saying, it's okay. You're still family, we still love you. There's a lot of people I don't agree with, but I respect them and I listen to what they say. I may not agree with them on some things, but that's okay. But I want to provoke questions.
Speaker 1:Does fear-based belief and you'll see this up here just salvation or survival? Does fear-based belief lead to salvation or just survival? That's a question that I think we really need to ask. And here's the truth. Fear can make a person move, no doubt about it. Fear can make someone get out of their seat in church, walk up an aisle and come to an altar. Ain't no doubt about that. Fear can even make somebody quit a bad habit for a specific reason. But let me ask you this If the only reason someone comes to God is because they're afraid, have they actually found Him or are they just running from punishment? It's something to think on, see, because I don't look at that and say that's salvation. I say that's survival. I'm just trying to survive. I don't want to go to hell, I don't want to burn, I don't want all these things that we've been taught over the years. So, would you argue? I think you would agree with this statement.
Speaker 1:There's a big difference between running from fear and being drawn by love. Big difference in that. And we see a lot of people in churches that they are there and we're glad they're there. Don't take that the wrong way. We're glad people's in church this morning, but they're there and they have what they call a relationship with God, simply out of fear, because they don't want to go to hell, and to me that is great that they had that relationship. But it's different when I'm doing it because of fear or I'm doing it because I was truly drawn to the love of Christ. Big difference there, and I'll show you in a few minutes why it makes a difference.
Speaker 1:To truly compare these two and to look at them, I think realistically we have to ask ourselves what definition of salvation am I looking at? It's easy If you ask most people, most Christians, and say what is salvation, most people are going to give you a pretty generic answer Salvation is being saved. That's it. Salvation means being saved and that's true. But I think that's a really weak definition. Okay, I'd like to go a little bit further than that. When I think of salvation, here's what comes to mind for me Union with the Father, restored Transformation, life. Those are just a few of them. There's a lot more, but those are just three of the main words that come to mind, and then we can step into the biblical word of salvation. The Greek word is actually sozo, and when you look at that word and you look at what it means, it means wholeness. And when you look at that word and you look at what it means, it means wholeness, it means healing, it means rescue, preservation. It's about being made whole, not just in the spirit, but body, soul and spirit being made whole in every area of our life.
Speaker 1:I want to share two verses with you and look at these and we'll break them down just a little bit. But I want you to look at 1 John 4, verse 18. And then we'll look at Romans 2 and 4. 1 John 4 and 18 says there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. A powerful verse right there. I'm just going to go straight over to Romans 2 and 4 in just a minute. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance and the longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God that's so important here, the goodness of God leads to repentance, not the fear of God that leads to repentance. It's not the fear of hell that leads to repentance, according to the Bible, the goodness of God leads to repentance. That's why we can make the comment sometimes when we're talking about the gospel Last week or a week before, the title of my message was you know, the gospel, that we're not preaching, because a lot of times we're preaching things that we say is biblical and we say is the gospel, but it's not good news.
Speaker 1:And the definition of gospel itself is good news. And I kind of have a thing I say there is no bad news in the good news and the definition of gospel itself is good news. And I kind of have a thing I say there is no bad news in the good news. If it's bad news, if it's bringing you down, if it's making you fear for or guilt, or bringing guilt and condemnation into your life, that is not good news. Now, I know there's verses that do that in the bible. There there's things that talks about stuff like that, but we can't call that the gospel, because the gospel is good news. What Jesus is, what the disciples taught. So notice in these verses that we just looked at here.
Speaker 1:Notice what John says in 1 John. He says fear and love. What he's talking about is fear and love. Do not mix. You cannot mix the two.
Speaker 1:If my relationship with God is rooted in fear, I'll never feel secure in his love. I said so many times, and I use this as an example I can make a child fear me, but as a human I'm never going to have the intimate relationship that I need to have with a father that I'm afraid of. If I'm scared of him, I'm not going to create an intimate relationship with him. It's the same way with the Father in Heaven. If I'm fearful of him, how close of a relationship can I really have with somebody that I fear? So just something to think about, because I'll never feel secure in His love if there's fear there. I'll always be wondering am I good enough? Have I prayed enough? Have I given enough? Have I sinned too much? Have I went too far? Is my life redeemable? Those kind of questions come up when I look at the Father from a place of fear. So Paul takes it even a step further in Romans 2 and 4. And he says it's the kindness of God that changes us, that leads us to repent. So think about it like this Fear can restrain you, it really can.
Speaker 1:Fear can stop you from practicing certain behaviors, because if you're scared then you're not going to do it. There's a lot of people that don't break the law, not because they don't want to drive 100 miles an hour. I'd love to just drive the way I want to drive, but I'm fearful of going to jail. So fear stops me from doing certain things. Okay, there's people out there that maybe used to use drugs or drink or do whatever. They don't do that anymore because the fear of what's that drug being laced with? Now we don't know. Pentanol's being put in everything you know. So there's a fear there that does what Stops them from doing the behavior. So fear works in stopping that behavior. So it can restrain us. But only love can truly transform us.
Speaker 1:If you think about raising children, you've got kids or you've been around somebody that does. A parent can make a child behave by yelling at them by. You know, sometimes it just takes a look, you know. You know some people say mama's look, you know daddy's look. All you got to do is just turn and look at them and they know what the deal is. So that fear, that yelling, that threatening, that punishment can actually work and, yes, that child will obey Temporarily Temporarily, okay, because when you're not there anymore, those thoughts and those things are going to come right back to them again the moment the parent isn't watching the child's tempted to go right back to what they were doing. But when a child knows listen to this now when a child knows they are loved, when they know their parent's heart, they begin to act different. Really do Not because they fear loved. When they know their parents' heart, they begin to act different. They really do Not because they fear punishment, but because they value the relationship between them and the parent.
Speaker 1:I hope you can see that when I'm talking about stuff like this, I'm talking about our relationship with the father as well. We're the child in this, he's the father. We're the child in this, he's the father. And things are different when we value the relationship because of love versus fearing him because of punishment. God's not raising slaves who cower in fear. That's not what he's looking for. He's raising sons and daughters who walk in love. So let's bring this back to.
Speaker 1:I mentioned the gospel. Let's bring this back to. I mentioned the gospel. Let's bring it back to the gospel, the good news, because the fact is, many of us have grown up in churches where hellfire, brimstone you're going to burn, turn or burn. We've all been taught those messages over the years. Most of us have. We've all been taught those messages over the years Most of us have. We've heard the sermons that paint God as some kind of judge, a figure who is angry and waiting for the moment that we slip up so that he can get us. See, in these messages, god is not portrayed as a loving father, he's portrayed as a threat, almost Like you got to walk this line and as soon as you mess up, as soon as you slip, he's bringing a hammer down on you. That's kind of the way a lot of us were raised.
Speaker 1:Okay, and with that, I think salvation is effective. Now listen to me right here, I'm going to try to make this make sense If he looks like a threat and salvation is framed as avoiding fire, avoiding going to hell, rather than embracing life. So that's why I asked a while ago about the definition. It's according to what definition of salvation that we're looking at? Because if I'm looking at salvation and my salvation. The framework of my definition is simply I just don't want to go to hell, so therefore I'm going to obey. That's a lot different than just saying I have a loving Father who embraces me, who loves me, who cares for me, and we have a relationship and he's done everything for me. He sent His Son to the cross for me. That's a different way to look at it. So fear, if we look at it this other way, as an angry father, fear becomes a primary motivator in the situation. Do this or else. So faith becomes really like a transaction.
Speaker 1:It's like a checklist of do's or don'ts. It's designed to keep us safe. Keep us safe from what? From burning. Do this and God's pleased with you. Do this and he's going to get you. So it's a little rules and regulations and do's and don'ts, and it's designed to keep us safe from destruction, and people are seen mostly as sinners in danger rather than as loved image bearers.
Speaker 1:How many times have y'all heard the phrase I use it here all the time, but I use it jokingly Just an old sinner saved by grace. I'm not a sinner, you're not a sinner. They might be things that you ain't got right in your life yet, but I don't have time today to go back to it. But when you look at the word sin in the Bible, it is not talking about behavioral things. It is not talking about those things that we slip up and do. It's talking about my knowledge of God and my knowledge of who. I am being turned away and not seeing clearly who the Father created me to be. That's the sin nature. That's what it is. It has nothing to do. But if I don't see myself in the way God created me, if I see myself as just an old sinner, if I see myself as bad, then what's going to come out of that thinking?
Speaker 1:Bad behaviors, so the behaviors themselves is not the sin. The wrong thinking and the wrong opinion of myself is the sin. But it produces this other stuff. So that's why we want to get out of it and that's why the church, why so many people's not in church right now because they know they got stuff going on in their life. They know they got things that they hadn't cleaned up yet and they don't want to walk in because they've been told and taught from the church that you got to get everything right and then we'll welcome you. We're going to welcome you when you've got everything wrong and we're going to love on you and we're going to help you turn that image from where you see yourself, to turn it back to the way God created you. That's what we want to help people see, to change that image, change the way we think about ourselves.
Speaker 1:We talk about the word repent all the time, but it don't mean coming to an altar saying I'm sorry. It means change the way I think. When I look in that mirror, what do I see Makes a difference. Let me ask you this If God's love is unconditional, if we truly believe it's unconditional and I like to break that word down Unconditional means without condition. That means, if I love you unconditionally, it don't matter how bad you were. It don't matter how bad you are right now. I love you in spite of what you may be doing or what you may have done. I love you without any conditions attached to it. So if God's love is unconditional, why would fear of destruction be the central message that he would want us to hear? Why would we push so much on fear and on destruction if His love is unconditioned? Just something to think about.
Speaker 1:Fear-based preaching often narrows our vision of God. It focuses on what might take away, what might be taken away from it. You do this or you do that, or you mess up, you slip up. What are you losing? You're losing heaven. That's kind of what we're taught. So fear-based preaching often narrows our vision of God. It focuses on what might be taken away instead of focusing on what he offers. Everything that Jesus crawled on that cross for and he said it is finished, we're entitled to it. I preached a message one time and said you are entitled. You are. I know that's a word people throw around and say they use it as a negative word, but from this sense, as a child of God, you are entitled to certain things. Everything Jesus done on that cross he give to us. We are entitled to it.
Speaker 1:So we've got to convince ourselves and we've got to ask ourselves does the kind of fear-driven faith that we're teaching in the churches a lot of times, does it draw people closer to God or is it pushing people away? I believe that's a legitimate question. I'm not just saying that, I'm saying the church as a whole. I think the church needs to ask that question because I fear that we're pushing people out. I fear that we're pushing people out. I fear that we're keeping people out of truly understanding who they are in Christ because they don't feel comfortable coming to a place that's going to look down on them and beat them down because of what they may be taught up in. So we've got to ask ourselves that question Does it teach people to live in love and wholeness, or does it teach people to live in guilt and fear? I want people here to know who they are. I want people to truly understand their identity is in Christ. It's not in who you were, it's not in what you did, it's in Christ.
Speaker 1:Now, that don't take away from the fact that you may have did that. Listen, we've all done some stupid stuff. There's some of us, man. We may still be doing some really dumb stuff that we're not proud of, but my condition never changes my position as a child of God. What Jesus done on the cross and he said it is finished nothing I do changes that, don't matter how bad it is. It does not change what is already finished. It doesn't undo the work of Christ.
Speaker 1:But I'm telling you we preach that all the time that what we do undoes what Christ done. You can hear it worded like that, but that's the way that what we do undoes what Christ done. You can hear it worded like that, but that's the way we teach it Slip up, mess up, do something wrong, get out of the will of God and you have undone the forgiveness of sin, you have undone redemption, you have undone all of these things, and it's simply not true. But that's what we believe, because that's what the church is so often teaching. God's heart is not like a judge in a courtroom. I talked about this a few weeks ago because I'm just as guilty as anybody else. That's the same stuff I used to teach too.
Speaker 1:I mean honestly, I used to teach it and I've stood up here many times and I've used that as an example that we walk into a courtroom and God's the judge and we're the guilty one and Jesus is our attorney, he's the advocate and the judge is fixing to bring the hammer down on us and what happens? Jesus jumps in the way. He says, no, daddy, I got this. Seems really awesome, sounds good, but there's more to it than just that. That's not denying that Jesus actually accomplished that, but there's more to it than that. That's why we use the terms that we was co-killed with Him, that we was co-crucified, we was co-resurrected with Him. Why? Because now we are co-seated with Him. It says we are seated with Him in heavenly places. He didn't just do it for me, he did it with me. I died with Him. He said the old man has passed away. Behold, everything has become new. We are a new creation. Old things have passed away.
Speaker 1:Until you get in church and then the church is going to tell you all about those old things. They're going to bring it up and they're going to tell you why you're not qualified and what you need to fix and what you need to do about it. It's sad that that don't come from people on the outside. It comes from the church. And I'm telling you I get people mad all the time. I get pastors mad all the time about some of the things. I say I'm okay, I don't care about that, because I'll challenge any one of them to go in the Bible and look it up and see. Prove me wrong, but prove me wrong with Scripture, don't prove me wrong with your opinion. It's like I'm not going to try to prove you wrong with my opinion, because we can all be wrong with our opinion and I can believe. It's true all day long.
Speaker 1:But Scripture, show me in Scripture what it says. Show me what Jesus talked about in the Bible, all these things that we teach in the church. Many years ago I went back and it just hit me one day and I said you know, jesus didn't teach this. Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus talk about this or talk about that. His disciples didn't talk about this stuff. But yet that has become the foundation of what we teach in the church. And it just hit me one day and I said you know, if Jesus didn't preach it then it probably wasn't real important.
Speaker 1:Jesus taught the good news of the gospel. That's what he taught on. He didn't teach about. We're not going to get into it today, but there's a lot of things that we teach he never went into. You will not find a single verse in the Bible where Jesus talks about it or His disciples. But yet we teach it all the time and we tell people all this stuff and we get them fearful. We get them to a place of condemnation where every time they look at themselves, they're condemning themselves. They're looking down on themselves Rather than looking at themselves and saying you know, god chose me before the foundation of the world.
Speaker 1:And I always like to say it like this when he chose you, as that verse says, he chose you before the foundation of the world. What did you have to do with that? Absolutely nothing. But he didn't ask your opinion. He didn't ask is this okay if I do this? He says I'm going to choose you anyway simply because I love you. When he went to the cross and he said this is what's going to happen, he didn't ask your permission to do it. He says I'm dying for you, I'm going to the cross for you and I'm going to forgive the sins. Not only am I going to forgive them, but your sins will be held against you. No longer Hard thing for church people to get, because all we want to do is hold sins against each other. Sin is our way to separate each other. You're over here, you're a good guy. You're over here, you're a bad guy. That's our way to separate. But God's not about separation, he's about inclusion. He said everybody's included in this. How do I know everybody's included? Because he didn't ask anybody's opinion when he did it. He did it for all. He went to the cross for everybody. He died for everybody. Sins were forgiven for everybody.
Speaker 1:I know this is tough because we don't teach that. We teach that you've got to do something, then your sins are forgiven. You got to say a certain prayer, then you are saved. Find that in the Bible you won't, because it's not there. That's not the way the Bible teaches it. That's not the way Jesus taught it. So I just simply one day, you know, just come back and said you know, I want to teach it the way he taught it. I mean, I really do. I want to teach it the way he taught it, because if I'm created in the image and the likeness of him and I'm here to be an example of Him and he was my model and that's what he done here for 30 years he set the pattern of how this should be done.
Speaker 1:But if we look at the church and the church ain't speaking like Him, there's a problem. There's a a problem. There's a serious problem. I'm not saying that stuff ain't morally good information. There's things that is not considered the gospel that I teach sometimes and talk about. It's just good moral stuff, but it's not the gospel. But we want to teach the things Jesus taught. But it's not the gospel. But we want to teach the things Jesus taught.
Speaker 1:If your picture of God is an angry tyrant that's just waiting for you to slip up, then you're always going to keep him at arm's length. I don't want to be around people that's angry with me all the time. I don't want to have a relationship with somebody that's angry with me all the time. I don't want to have a relationship with somebody that's angry with me all the time without to get me. You'll pray, you'll go to church, but only because you're scared.
Speaker 1:And again I'll say it like I said a while ago I'm glad people's in church this morning and all the different churches in Bacon County, but there's a lot of people there simply because they're scared. And what is our goal? Change that? Tell them you don't have to be there just because you're scared. You can be there because you're loved. You can be there because you're forgiven. You can be there because you're redeemed. You don't have to be there because you're scared. You're going to burn one day.
Speaker 1:There's more to it. What I'm saying don't make the other stuff untrue. I'm glad they're in church I'm not meaning nothing negative by that but there's more to it than just being scared and loving Him and having a relationship with Him simply out of fear. I want to do it out of what he's done for me. I want to choose Him because he first chose me A little different. You'll still serve Him, but only because you don't want to be punished. I'm just throwing some things out here for you to think about.
Speaker 1:But when you see the truth of the finished work that Christ carried us all into His death, that he raised us all into His life, everything changes. When you look at the Bible and you look at the Father through the lens of a finished work, everything changes. And I like to use the terms finished work versus futuristic, because there's a lot of things that we think that we're waiting on one day. And Jesus says no, you're entitled to it now. You can have it now. I know we're all hoping and waiting to get to heaven one day, but you know he told His disciples what he says pray thy will be done, thy kingdom, come on earth now as it is in heaven. We're entitled to it now. You can have heaven on earth Now.
Speaker 1:See when I make that statement, what religious people do is they say, oh, he just said there ain't no heaven. I never said that. I'm just saying we can have access to it now. There is a heaven and you can access it today In your life. You don't have to wait and die to get it. You can have it today. And that's all we want to teach people is you have access.
Speaker 1:What did the cross do? It brought you to a place of access. He says you're entitled to this. It's yours While you're living and while you're here. So what does that do? When he carried us into His death? And he carried us and we were raised in His life again.
Speaker 1:Everything changes when you do that, so you can stop asking the question, am I safe from Him? And start realizing I'm safe in Him. I am in Christ. He is one with me and it's amazing that the things that we teach how many times have you heard maybe you haven't, but I've heard it so many times that the more we mess up, the further God's getting from us and the separation is there. Why? Because God can't look on sin. That's a whole other subject we'll get on later.
Speaker 1:So we've been taught and we've been trained that the more we sin, the further we are from God. And one day it just hit me and I said you know God? You said in the Word that you chose me, that you created me after the likeness and image of yourself and that we are joined together as one and that you reside on the inside of me. And you then went on. Not only that, but you went even further and you said I will never leave you nor forsake you. So if that's the case, god, why are you separating yourself? Every time I mess up? And then one day it hit me and he said I'm not, I'm not, that's what the church is, and I swear I'm not trying to bash it.
Speaker 1:There's just so many things that we as a church were teaching that is putting this thought process in us. That is leading us away from who we're called to be. He's not leaving you. There is no separation. He lives on the inside of you. He is one leaving you. There is no separation. He lives on the inside of you, he is one with you. And if he separated Himself from you and he left you, he would be a liar, because he said I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you.
Speaker 1:So see, we've got to change our mindset. And if I'm living a life to where I'm scared to slip up and I'm scared to do something wrong because he's going to leave me. I'm going to live a life in a certain way. But the reason we don't want to teach that is because we think if we tell people that he's in you and he's not leaving you and there's no separation, that they're just going to keep going on sinning and not worry about it. And that's not the case, because when we change on the inside and that transformation begins to take place, it changes things on the outside. It's an inward-outward change. It transforms from the inside out.
Speaker 1:When I change my heart and I change my thinking, I don't have to worry about changing behavior. They change themselves. We focus on get it right. Get it right, stop doing that, stop doing that, and we never change the heart. And that's why we go back to doing that and doing that again, because it's temporary. Why? Because we've done it out of fear. But if we truly change on the inside, the only way we can do that is to truly understand what he did for us, truly understand who I am to Him.
Speaker 1:I'm not just some old sinner out there that I'm hoping to just barely slip in one day. He loves me, he died for me, he redeemed me, he has forgiven me, and then he says all that image that you had of yourself, I will not hold that against you, remember. He says I will not hold your sin against you. We're not talking about the behavior. Again he says that image that you had, I will not hold that against you. See yourself as I've chosen you. See yourself as I've created you. But my image begins to change and when I can look in the mirror and I don't see a sinner and I don't see a failure and I don't see a nobody anymore, but I see a man of God who is created in the image and the likeness and he loves me and he's in me. I talk different, I walk different, I hold myself differently. I speak with a confidence, not an arrogance, but a confidence, because why I figured out my identity? And my identity was never based off of what I did. It was based off of what he did. That is the key to it. When we can find our identity in Christ and not in ourself and most of our identities are based in ourself what kind of job do I have? How much money do I make? What's my education level? Things like that I've got to find this identity in Him.
Speaker 1:We can go on living in fear and it may scare us into religion, and catch that now. I said religion. It may scare us into religion, but love awakens you into relationship. It'll truly do it and here's the thought I want you to carry home today what you are driven by determines how long it will last. Think about that. What you are driven by determines how long it will last. If fear is driving you, it's going to be temporary, but if love is driving you, it's going to be eternal. So let's make that make sense a minute. The reason fear is temporary is because it's going to be eternal. So let's make that make sense a minute. The reason fear is temporary is because it's reactionary. Simple. It looks at what could go wrong, what we might lose or how God might punish us, and we react to what we don't want.
Speaker 1:The work on the cross was absolutely complete. He said it is finished, done, complete. There's nothing else to do, absolutely sufficient for everything that we need. There's nothing you can do to earn His love. There's nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you. I don't care how bad you slip up, I don't care how many mistakes you make. I don't care how many mistakes you make, he's not going to stop loving you. Your standing with God is not conditional on your performance. It is finished, settled and secure. When we understand that truth, fear loses its grip. We don't live with fear anymore. I'm not just trying to avoid judgment. I now live with freedom because I'm already realizing I'm truly embraced by Him. He really does love me.
Speaker 1:And again, fear drives short-term compliance. Take your belt out with a child. He's going to do what you tell him to do right. Then Put that belt back up and walk away and he's right back to that same behavior again. So fear drives short-term compliance. Love drives lifelong transformation. It changes from the inside out.
Speaker 1:Let's close today with a couple of questions. I always like to give questions. If God's love is finished, if it's settled, if it's eternal, why would I let fear dictate my life? Why would I let fear supersede the cross? Because we do it, we all do it. I mean, I'm not pointing, we all do it. At times we get into a place of fear, we get into a place of condemnation. But if I truly believe that what he said on the cross and what he done on the cross is absolutely finished, then I cannot let fear dictate how I live my life. How would my choices change if I believed I could never be rejected by God? Think about that. If I lived my life knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is never going to reject me, how could my life change Versus living my life feeling like I'm just about to fall off the cliff every time I take a step? We would do things different. We would live different.
Speaker 1:The gospel invites us into a radical shift, and I like to call it radical because it is. It is a radical shift, and I like to call it radical because it is. It is a radical shift. It's not unbiblical, it's not ungodly. It is radical Because it's different than what we've always been taught To live from identity, not from obligation. To live from grace, not from guilt, and to live from love, not from guilt. And to live from love, not from fear. That's the key to it.
Speaker 1:When love drives us, it doesn't just last, it actually transforms. It changes how we see ourselves. It changes how we see other people. It changes how we see the Father. It changes how we live every Father. It changes how we live every single day. You know, I look at people different than I used to now Because I see my lens of love, not fear. When I look at somebody now, I don't see the worst in them, even though I may know them. I may know the worst in them. I look at them and I see God in them, and if we see from that lens, then everything we do is going to be out of love, never going to come out of fear, never going to be based on condemnation.
Speaker 1:So today, as I close here, I want to challenge you. Make a decision on what's going to drive you. Make a decision today on what's going to drive you. Choose love that lasts forever, that's anchored in the finished work. Let fear fall away. Fear is not going to do any good. It's time to let it go. Step into freedom, the joy and the wholeness that God's already prepared for us. And you might say well, I'm waiting on that to come someday. It's here now. You have access to it now. I hear so many people sometimes boy, I just can't wait to get to heaven so I can do this and do that. I'm like, do it now, you can. We really do have access.
Speaker 1:Final thought If the Bible says and this is something that come up at the very end, that's why I put it. As a final thought, it hit me, if the Bible says that the fearful are cast into the lake of fire, think about that. Fearful are cast into the lake of fire and then they use fear of hell to get people to accept God. Doesn't that mean they're actually preaching people right into the very thing that they came to save them from? I mean, we don't look at it like that. But fear is going to make you burn and then we teach you fear. I mean, how much sense does that make? We are not going to teach fear. We're going to teach for you to see yourself through the eyes of God. And there is no fear in that. We read the verse. There is no fear. That fear has been taken away. That condemnation, that guilt, it's all been taken away and you see yourself through the eyes of Christ.