The Strength of a Godly and Fearless Life

 

Fear has a powerful effect on the human heart. It can torment the mind, weaken resolve, paralyze action, and hold people in bondage. Scripture warns that “the fear of man bringeth a snare,” because when people become more concerned about what others can do to them than about obeying God, fear begins to dictate their decisions. The sermon “Feared by Your Enemies,” based primarily on Deuteronomy 28, presents a striking contrast: God’s people are not called to live in continual fear of their enemies. Rather, as they walk in obedience to God, they are to trust the sovereign Lord who is able to protect them and even cause their enemies to fear them.

Deuteronomy 28 contains a series of blessings promised to Israel in connection with obedience to God. Among these blessings is the remarkable declaration that enemies who rise against God’s people will be defeated before them. They may come against them one way, but they will flee seven ways. The passage goes even further, declaring that the nations will see that Israel is called by the name of the Lord and will be afraid of them.

The great lesson is not that God’s people are naturally stronger than everyone around them. Their security is not found in superior numbers, greater physical strength, political influence, or military ability. Their confidence rests in the God whom they serve.

Fear Enslaves, but Faith Gives Courage

Fear is one of the most effective ways to bring people into submission. A frightened person can become so concerned about possible consequences that he refuses to act even when action is necessary. Fear fills the mind with endless questions: What if this happens? What if I lose something? What if someone harms me? What if everything goes wrong?

Scripture gives many examples of people making terrible decisions because they feared man. Abraham acted wrongly because of fear. Peter denied Christ because of fear. Throughout history, people have compromised convictions and abandoned responsibilities because they were more afraid of men than they were confident in God.

This is why faith and sinful fear stand in such sharp opposition. Faith looks beyond the apparent strength of the enemy and considers the greatness of God. Fear magnifies the enemy until God appears small; faith magnifies God until the enemy is seen in proper perspective.

The contrast can be seen clearly in Numbers 13. When Israel sent spies into the Promised Land, ten returned with an evil report. They had seen strong cities and men of great stature, including giants. Their conclusion was that Israel could not possibly prevail. They described themselves as grasshoppers in comparison with their enemies.

But that was their own estimation of the situation. Their fear had caused them to measure themselves against the giants while forgetting to measure the giants against God.

Joshua and Caleb saw exactly the same land, the same cities, and the same enemies. Yet their conclusion was completely different. They urged Israel not to fear the people of the land because the Lord was with them. The difference was not what they saw with their eyes. The difference was what they believed about God.

David Saw the God Behind the Battle

The same principle appears dramatically in the account of David and Goliath.

Goliath was an experienced warrior. David was young and comparatively inexperienced. From a merely human perspective, the contest appeared absurdly unequal. Israel’s soldiers saw Goliath and trembled. David saw Goliath and volunteered to fight.

Why?

David remembered what God had already done for him. The Lord had delivered him from the lion and the bear, and David believed that the same God could deliver him from the Philistine. His courage was not confidence in his own natural ability. It was confidence in God’s power and faithfulness.

The Israelites in the wilderness and David facing Goliath both had promises from God. Yet one responded with fear and the other with faith. David appropriated the truth he knew about God and acted upon it.

This is one of the central lessons of the sermon. Biblical courage does not mean pretending that danger is unreal. Goliath was dangerous. The giants in Canaan were real. Faith simply refuses to treat human strength as greater than divine sovereignty.

The Lord Is the Source of the Blessing

When Deuteronomy 28 promises victory, the wording is important: “The Lord shall cause.”

The source of the blessing is God Himself.

God’s people do not create divine protection by their own strength. They do not manipulate circumstances or manufacture victory. Every genuine blessing originates with the Lord. He is sovereign over His people, their circumstances, and even their enemies.

The sermon emphasizes three expressions in Deuteronomy 28: the Lord shall cause, the Lord shall command, and the Lord shall establish.

First, God causes the enemies who rise against His people to be defeated. Second, God commands the blessing upon His people. Third, He establishes them as a holy people unto Himself.

These expressions direct attention away from human power and toward divine sovereignty.

When God speaks, His purposes cannot ultimately be frustrated. Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that His command is a command of accomplishment. He spoke creation into existence. His Word does not return empty but accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it. Joshua could eventually look back over Israel’s conquest and declare that not one good thing God had promised had failed; everything had come to pass.

That same sovereign Lord remains the believer’s confidence.

God Often Works Through Means

God’s sovereignty does not make obedience unnecessary.

Deuteronomy 28 repeatedly connects the promised blessings with Israel diligently listening to God, observing His commandments, walking in His ways, and refusing to turn aside after other gods. These were conditional covenant blessings. Israel was commanded to obey, and God declared blessings connected with that obedience.

The sermon describes obedience as an instrumentality through which God works. God is the true cause of the blessing, but He commonly works through means.

God certainly can act without ordinary means. Creation itself is an example. He spoke, and it was done. Yet God often chooses to accomplish His purposes through particular means. He provides through work, protects through circumstances, and brings His purposes to pass through the obedience and actions of His people.

This principle guards against two errors. We must not imagine that human obedience places God in our debt, as though blessings were wages we earned from Him. But neither should we use God’s sovereignty as an excuse for disobedience.

God calls His people to obey Him.

Gospel Obedience Is the Fruit of Grace

At this point, an important distinction must be made. Obedience does not save us. Jesus Christ saves His people.

The sermon describes Christian obedience as gospel obedience. Scripture teaches that Christ is the author of eternal salvation unto those who obey Him, yet that obedience must never be understood as the meritorious cause of salvation.

Rather, obedience is evidence of God’s saving work.

Philippians 2 captures this balance beautifully when believers are told to work out their salvation because God is working in them both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. God works within His people, and what He works within them is then expressed outwardly in their lives.

The same relationship can be seen in preservation and perseverance. God preserves His people, and because He preserves them, they persevere. Their perseverance does not replace God’s grace; it demonstrates the effect of His grace.

Likewise, believers obey because God has worked in them. Their obedience does not make them their own saviors. It reveals the transforming power of the Savior who has redeemed them.

Therefore, when Scripture emphasizes godly living, it is not teaching salvation by human merit. It is showing what the grace of God produces in those who belong to Him.

When God Makes Enemies Afraid

One of the most striking themes in Scripture is that God can place fear upon the enemies of His people.

Before Israel entered Canaan, God promised that fear and dread would fall upon the inhabitants of the land. In Exodus 23, He declared that He would send His fear before Israel and cause their enemies to turn their backs.

Later, Rahab confirmed that this had happened. When the spies entered Jericho, she told them that the inhabitants had heard what God had done for Israel. Their hearts had melted, and their courage had failed because they understood that Israel’s God was the God of heaven and earth.

This is significant. Israel did not produce that fear through propaganda or intimidation. God produced it.

The same pattern appears elsewhere. When Asa faced an enormous Ethiopian army, he cried to the Lord for help, acknowledging that it was nothing for God to save by many or by those who had little strength. The Lord gave Judah victory, and fear fell upon the surrounding people.

Jehoshaphat experienced something similar. Scripture records that the fear of the Lord fell upon the kingdoms surrounding Judah so that they did not make war against him. Later, God gave Jehoshaphat rest round about.

God is perfectly capable of restraining enemies before the conflict even begins.

If You Desire Peace, Pursue Godliness

The sermon ultimately connects godliness with peaceful living.

Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

That does not mean that a godly person will never experience opposition. Scripture contains many examples of righteous people who were persecuted. But it does mean that believers should understand where their true security lies.

Peace does not ultimately come from fearing enemies enough to appease them. It comes from fearing God, trusting Him, and walking according to His Word.

The remarkable promise in Exodus 34 illustrates God’s control even over human intentions. Israelite men were commanded to appear before the Lord three times each year. Humanly speaking, their absence might have appeared to leave their land vulnerable. Yet God promised that while they obeyed Him, no man would even desire their land.

God did not merely promise to stop an invasion. He declared His ability to restrain the very desire that might have produced one.

Such a passage reveals the extent of divine sovereignty. God is able to govern circumstances, armies, nations, and human intentions. His people therefore have no reason to live as though everything depends upon their own ability to control the future.

Fear God More Than You Fear Man

The question remains: Would you rather fear your enemies, or would you rather live in such confidence in God that your enemies recognize that you belong to Him?

The answer is not found in becoming aggressive, intimidating, or proud. Biblical fearlessness is not arrogance. It is humble confidence in the sovereign God of heaven and earth.

The believer’s calling is to fear God, obey His Word, pursue holiness, and trust Him with the consequences. The Lord knows how to protect His people. He knows how to restrain opposition, overturn the plans of enemies, give courage where there was once fear, and preserve His own in the midst of a troubled world.

The greatest danger is not that our enemies may be stronger than we are. The greater danger is that fear may cause us to forget who our God is.

Joshua and Caleb remembered. David remembered. Jehoshaphat remembered. They looked beyond the size of the opposition and trusted the One who ruled over it.

God’s people are therefore called to live not in the bondage of the fear of man but in reverence toward God. As we seek by His grace to walk in obedience, holiness, and faith, we can rest in the truth that our lives are in His hands.

The world may be filled with turmoil, conflict, opposition, and uncertainty, but God has not surrendered His throne. He remains sovereign, powerful, holy, and faithful.

And the people who truly believe that have every reason to walk without fear.