1212-02A 1 THE LORD’S REPROVING LOVE instance, causing its trusted walls to fall down flat (Zephaniah 3:6-8; Romans 8:1-17) before him. They should have considered the many SUBJECT: God’s love. F.C.F: If God loves us so much, why are we so messed up? cities that were utterly exterminated so that no one PROPOSITION: Since God’s love is a reproving love, we must fear him in walked their streets any longer. But they had love. forgotten. INTRODUCTION: B. There is little fear of the Lord in our land A. The American clothing brand, No Fear, today. People trust in technology to bring them ease was created in 1980. Later, the same company and comfort, entertainment to fill their days with joy, produced an energy drink of the same name. The and medicine to protect their precious lives. In clothing was quite popular in the 1990s. Associated growing majorities people even trust the experts and with extreme sports, the company offered apparel scholars who assure us that at the end of life there is touting brazen confidence in the face of death, distain either some bold, new adventure, or nothing at all, for laziness, and contempt for social norms. It sought but certainly no God on the throne of judgment, and to encourage a life that was edgy, risky, and utterly no hell or lake of fire. This is the great gamble that free from all fear. billions make, and all of them, every single one of Surprisingly, the Bible calls us to something them loses. not altogether unlike this. But instead of a life of no Please make no mistake: God’s judgment is fear, God’s Word commands only One Fear—the both fierce and final. The measure of his judgment is fear of the Lord. his own perfect holiness—his righteous wrath against B. What does it mean to fear the Lord? The all uncleanness and rebellion. In this sense that brave Bible itself seems to vacillate a bit on this notion of campaign of “No Fear” is the very height of folly and fearing God. For example, we have the plain stupidity. When Lot was warned by the two angels to statement in Psalm 111:10 that “The fear of the Lord gather his family and flee the doomed city of Sodom, is the beginning of wisdom.” But on the other hand, he pleaded with his sons-in-law to get up and get out. we have John’s declaration in 1 John 4:18 that But to them he only seemed “to be jesting.” In fact, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out Lot himself and his family scarcely believed it fear.” John seems to say that we should not fear God, themselves and the angels had to seize them by the not if we know his perfect love for us. So which is it? hand and drag them outside the city. And the fire fell, Our text for this morning from the prophet and the smoke went up “like the smoke of a furnace.” Zephaniah clearly states that God wants us to fear C. The point is that God’s judgment in the him. God showed them his awesome deeds and then past is only a small inkling of the judgment to come. said, “Surely you will fear me; you will accept In verse 8 we read: “Therefore wait for me,” correction.” God desires that we fear him. declares the LORD, “for the day when I rise up to Specifically, seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my I. WE MUST FEAR THE LORD’S JUDGMENT. indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.” Do you A. The context of God’s call for his people to believe that? This is the fear of the Lord. We must fear him was in the demonstration of his judgment fear the Lord’s judgment. against the nations. God says in Zephaniah 3:6: “I But even more…. have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in II. WE MUST FEAR OUR OWN WEAKNESS. them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant.” A. I suspect that when you heard of this They were to watch and learn. They should terrible judgment of the Lord, there was a part of you have seen repeatedly how God destroyed the nations that resisted, that either said, “Not really,” or “Not who did not worship him. They witnessed with their yet,” or “Not me.” There was a part of you, perhaps own eyes how the battlements of the nations, their most of you, that was not moved at all. You made no fortifications, were of no avail. They should have significant alterations in your plans for the day or considered how God had destroyed Jericho, for week. No friend or family member came to mind ______1212-02A 2 with great alarm so that you wanted to rush to them pleaded, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” And and warn them and plead with them to surrender to Jesus said only one of those men went home Christ. The fact is that part of your heart, perhaps forgiven. Only one could have been saved, the bad most of your heart was completely unaffected. It may person who knew he was bad. In his own eyes, the well be that you even began to daydream or nod off. Pharisee needed no saving. And it is this very weakness, this deadness of Beloved, we must fear our own weakness. We soul, this hardness of heart that you must also fear, certainly need a Savior, and we have one in Jesus. and fear with alarm and terror. This is a dangerous, But even more, hazardous, perilous aspect of our fallen humanity that we must learn to recognize and treat with cold, III. WE MUST FEAR OUR LORD’S ruthless severity. It is this unbelieving, wickedly DISPLEASURE. calculating propensity to reject the Lord and his Word and hurry off to follow other gods. A. Here’s where we resolve the apparent B. God reminded them of his terrible contradiction. Should we fear the Lord, or does judgment on the sinful nations, and then he reasoned, God’s perfect love cast out all fear? The answer is “ Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. found in how you define the word “fear.” In Romans Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to 8, the Apostle Paul helpfully distinguishes between all that I have appointed against you.” What kind of the fear of a slave and the fear of a son. A slave fear’s fool would not recognize this grave situation and flee the master’s whip. So he complies, but not out of any to Christ in repentance for refuge and salvation from love or respect for the master. If anything, the slave the dreadful wrath of God?! hates the master and would rather be free of him. But But here was their response: “But all the more Paul says that this is the fear of a sinner facing God’s they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.” judgment and wrath. If he could somehow escape The word translated eager is literally “to rise up God, he would. He wants to be god himself. early,” as when someone is rushing off to their The fear of a son is described in Romans heart’s desire, like black Friday shopping or off to a 8:15: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to pleasure trip or vacation. And they were eager “to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of make all their deeds corrupt.” The same phrase was adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” applied to the people of the world in Genesis 6:12, The fear of a son is born not of hatred or dread, but of describing the wicked before they were drowned by love. The son so respects the father and so desires to the flood. honor the father, that he fears doing anything which C. Beloved, that’s us. That’s the sinner’s might displease or dishonor him. heart, our weakness, our stubborn propensity to reject B. I think all fathers and mothers understand God and his ways, and to plunge into evil. This is to this. Parents do not want their children to cower or be greatly feared. The weakest possible position of all slink away when the parent enters the room. They do is that “It will never happen to me. I could never do not want their children to flee from them, to long for that evil thing. I’m not really that bad.” Well, yes you the day when the tyranny is ended and they can could and you are. I know this not only because escape the cruelty and pain of their home. Parents God’s Word declares it so clearly, but because the want their children to take delight in them, to feel so same, wayward sinner’s heart beats in my breast. blessed and loved that their only desire is to bring There are only two kinds of people in the world: bad blessing and joy to their parents, even to imitate their people who don’t know they’re bad, and bad people godly example. This is what the Bible means when it who do know they’re bad. And only one of those calls children to “honor their father and mother.” kinds of people can possibly be saved. And this is what God is likewise longing for Isn’t that precisely what Jesus taught in his when he calls us to fear him. It is so to respect him parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector? The out of love, and so to desire to honor him in all ways, Pharisee went into the temple and thanked God that that we take delight in obedience, and find our he was such a good person, not like that tax collector highest pleasure in worshiping him. over there. The tax collector couldn’t even raise his C. Yes, that respect means that we take his eyes to heaven but simply beat his breast and judgments with the deepest of sincerity, and that we ______1212-02A 3 heed his constant warnings of our inherent and and disappointment to draw us back from straying or incurable weakness, our propensity to stray. We to teach us the folly of trusting idols. We need to be deeply fear these so that we flee them at every turn. praying constantly for ourselves and for one another But that respect is entirely positive. It is the true that we might see God’s reproving love for what it is respect born of love which propels us to him and not and gratefully accept it from his hand. Proverbs 3:11- away from him. We draw near and do not slink away 12 says, “11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s nor linger in the shadows. And this love is even more discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the enflamed when we know that it was through the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the sacrifice of God’s Son that we are reconciled to him. son in whom he delights.” Jesus took that terrible wrath of God upon himself so 5. The primary way God reproves or corrects that we could be forgiven and made right with him. us is through his Word. In fact, this is one of the D. One of the ways this fear of the Lord is stated purposes for which God gave us his Word, as practically expressed according our text is through we find in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed loving God’s correction. “Surely you will fear me; out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, you will accept correction.” And that’s often a tough for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 one. that the man of God may be competent, equipped for Let’s face it, the reason we so often resist every good work.” God’s love is a reproving, correction is because of that weakness we mentioned correcting love, by which he makes us competent and before. We want to imagine ourselves to be little fully equipped for every good work. And so we must gods who have it all together and do not need this apply ourselves diligently to the Word of God, kind of correction. But the truth is that we are none of accepting and embracing his correction, or we will be that, and so to fear the Lord we must not only accept incompetent and unequipped for any good work. his correction, but positively seek it and love it. 1. Boys and girls, you can start our right at the CONCLUSION very beginning by not resisting or becoming upset when your parents correct you, but by loving that R.C. Sproul tells the story of turning to his correction. God has given you parents for that very editor in the manuscript for one of his books. When purpose, to represent him to you, to show you the he got it back, it was severely marked up with right path, and to point out when you are straying. So numerous suggested changes in content, structure, you will be happy if you will learn at a young age to syntax, and grammar. He says he was a bit put out by listen to correction and take it to heart. all of the proposed changes, but he did not have time 2. But God has also given church elders as to go through it all, so he simply approved all of the spiritual fathers for our help, to show us the right path criticism and corrections the editor made. When the from God’s Word and by their godly example. We all book came out, several of his friends called and desperately need God’s appointed spiritual fathers to complimented him on the book, proclaiming it the guide us and even correct us. I know this is very best he’d ever written. And do you know how he much against the spirit of the age which absolutely responded to each call? He simply said, “Thank- deplores any kind of criticism, not to mention you!” correction. But we must fear the Lord and love his May God give us the grace and humility to correction, thanking him for all the ways he guides respond to his reproving love. us. 3. And you know that God has appointed  every other church member, every other brother and sister to watch over us and to point out when we need correction. May God grant us all the herculean courage to gently correct one another, and the greater humility to accept it and take it to heart. 4. Of course our Father himself often corrects us personally and directly through his temporal judgments. Our God often allows hardship, trouble, ______