The End of Wisdom

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"Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. " (1 Corinthinans 1:24)
It amazes me how much Christians want to hang on to Old Testament theology in their relationship to God. John tells us without reservation that "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." We are not to fear God, but teachers insist that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"*, and that we should have a healthy, reverent fear of God." I say this is faulty teaching. It confuses young believers who are used to being motivated by fear, so they naturally transfer that conditioning to their relationship with God. Yes, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but not the end of wisdom. When we fear God, we know we need a Savior, when we receive salvation, God's perfect love is to relieve our fears. We are no longer motivated by fear. Christ is now the Wisdom of God....the Omega of Wisdom: "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30) Christ meets all of our needs, all things have become new and we are now motivated by faith, hope and love, not fear. The motivation of fear is worldly, and preachers and teachers who use it to motivate the flock are not shepherding the flock according to God's word. They are using worldly methods to build their own churches, keeping those that are more than conquerors in bondage to the law. Repent and teach the good news...fear is gone for the believer! Come quickly Lord Jesus.
*Proverbs 3

Comments

Anonymous said…
Amen Brother.

I noticed my old pastor flying back from Houston last week. I noticed he flew first class and I flew in the back of the plane.

He does a nice job of motivating his flock by fear.

Jonesy
May 9, 2008 at 2:01 PM
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