Holiness and Godly Fear

I would like to take a look today at the scriptural reality and truth that God has never changed anything about who he is. “And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them” (II Kin. 2:23,24). These children made a grave and fatal mistake when they chose to mock the mighty prophet Elisha, but what happened to them happened from the Lord, and with good reason. The prophet was just embarking on his ministry after God had taken Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind (II Kin. 2:11). If God had allowed this kind of mockery to go unchecked, it would have done nothing but spread and breed further contempt for the word of God that was in the prophet. I am certain that this one act of divine judgment was remembered in Israel for a good while, and made many afraid to revile God’s anointed servant. In other words, the point was graphically made. In the days of Samuel the Philistines took the ark of the covenant in battle, and later sent it back to Israel after great affliction was incurred in Philistia because of its presence (I Sam. 1:1,7,11). When the ark landed in Bethshemesh the people made the grave error of opening it: “And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?” (I Sam. 6:19,20). Once again, an act of divine judgment brought the fear of God on those who lived to tell about it. It amazes me how so many of God’s people today are somehow convinced that God has changed, and that the old covenant was a covenant of a judgmental God, whereas the new covenant is according to a merciful God. The changing of the covenants has not changed God, my friend. “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17). “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). No, God has never changed who he is or what he’s about, not since he has been God in fact; and that has been a very, very long time.

Not long after the new covenant began, God made it very clear that he was and is STILL the God of judgment, as well as the God of mercy: “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all [God’s people], and upon as many as heard these things” (Acts 5:1-11). So what do you figure was the result of the “great fear” that came upon God’s people here? Well, I think it’s a safe bet to say that nobody even thought about lying after this, especially to an apostle of Christ. The bottom line here, as well as with Elisha and with the ark of the covenant in Bethshemesh, is that we cannot be saved in a condition of lightly esteeming God’s holiness, and those who uphold it to his people in truth. So while it is true that it is the judgment of God for such things to take place, it is also true that it is the LOVE of God for such judgments to come. Without God’s demonstration of great displeasure against despite for his holiness, there would be far less fear of God, and maybe none at all among his people. The only sum total for such an equation my friend, is damnation for any and all who do not do “the whole duty of man,” which is to “fear God, and keep his commandments” (Eccl. 12:13). The Bible plainly shows that it is the wicked who do not fear God, and also that those who do not fear God will not be saved: “The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes” (Psm. 36:1). And, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psm. 1:5). Amen.