Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear

• Physical Death and Spiritual Death  - We understand from Gen 2:17, that man's sin, disobedience to God's command is the reason for the death. But did Adam and Eve die immediately? No, they did not die physically. In fact, we learn from Gen 5:5 exactly how long Adam lived. Physical death is the evidence that man is indeed sinful. It is worth noting that in this very important verse Gen 2:17, the Hebrew words for “surely (muth 4191)” and “die (muth 4191)” are identical, and the phrase literally means “dying thou shalt die”. Here God is not only emphasizing the process and the certainty of physical death, He also pointing to the spiritual, eternal “second death”. Sin leads to spiritual death, as Jam 1:14-15 teaches. Since Adam and Eve represented the human race, God’s curse of eternal death was transmitted to all of their descendants, as Rom 5:12 instructs. Furthermore, Psa 51:5 indicates that this happens at the moment of conception. Thus man is born physically alive, yet spiritually dead, as Col 2:13 informs. Referring to true believers as spiritual Jews, Rom 2:29 describes the only kind of circumcision required to enter the kingdom of God. To be spiritually “cut off” or “circumcised” refers to being cast into Hell as seen from Dan 9:26, which is speaking of the Messiah – the Lord Jesus – Who had to suffer Second Death, Eternal Hell for His elect people.

Gen 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely (muth 4191) die (muth 4191)”.

Gen 5:5 “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”

Job 34:15  “All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” 

Jam 1:14-15 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Rom 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…”

Psa 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Col 2:13 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses…”

Rom 2:29 “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

Dan 9:26 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

• Eternal Death and Fear of Death -  Those who do not have a Savior are spiritually dead from conception and will remain that way forever. They will have to face the bar of God’s righteous justice alone to be judged for their sins – their incessant violations of God’s Holy Law, the Bible. They will then be sentenced according to that Divine Law – the Bible – and will face eternal death in the Lake of Fire – the just punishment prescribed in that same Law – the Bible. The presiding Judge is the Triune Godhead, in the presence of all the Redeemed and all the Holy Angels. Dan 7:9-10 and Rev 20:12b and 15 outline the fearful events of that fast-approaching day. Let’s examine the reason that people fear death. It is interesting that unsaved people do not fear God, as we learn from Rom 3:18. Yet they do fear death because they are aware that God exists and that one day they will have to give an account to Him, as 2 Cor 5:10 explains. However, the idea of facing God on Judgment Day is so unthinkable that man desperately attempts to suppress and ignore this truth – he desperately tries to forget about it altogether. Indeed, death is a great enemy that only the Lord Jesus can destroy, according to 1 Cor 15:25-26.

Mal 3:2 “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?”

Dan 7:9-10, Rev 20:12b, 15 “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened… and another book was opened, which is the book of life [consists of all who are made alive by Christ - born again]: and the dead [spiritually dead] were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Rom 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

2 Cor 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Rom 1:32 “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Heb 2:14-15 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

1 Cor 15:25-26 “For he[Lord Jesus]  must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

• Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear - As sinners, we are born spiritually dead in “bondage”, or enslaved to sin and to Satan, as Eph 2:12 states. The “spirit of bondage” versus the “spirit of adoption” are also apparent in 1 Cor 2:12 as the “spirit of the world” versus the “spirit which is of God”. Furthermore Satan’s downfall is also pictured in 2 The 2:8. Why does “fear” have “torment”? Mat 25:46 is the only other place where the same Greek word for “torment (kolasis 2851)” is used, and it is a very significant passage where the word is translated as “punishment”. It describes the end of the world and the final destinations of the unsaved as well as the saved. Now we can see why “fear hath torment” (or “punishment”), and why unsaved man fears death because of what awaits him – the trial of the last day and the sentence of eternal damnation in Hell. 1 John 4:18 also indicates that “perfect love casteth out fear”. What is “perfect love” and how can it “cast out fear”? Let’s read 1 John 4:16-19. The Christian has “boldness in the day of judgment” because his salvation is totally dependent on the work and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wonderfully, he can rejoice in what 2 Tim 1:9-10 proclaims.

Eph 2:12 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience…”

1 Cor 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

Rom 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

2 The 2:8 “And then shall that Wicked [Satan] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth [the Word of God], and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming…”

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment (kolasis 2851). He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Mat 25:46 “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment (kolasis 2851): but the righteous into life eternal.”

1 John 4:16-19 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

2 Tim 1:9-10 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”