Fear Your Fear of Man

What I want to do in the next few moments is to remind us of another subtle but dangerous enemy of our souls. An enemy we often overlook. An enemy that robs some of us of sleep. An enemy that can paralyze us, and keep us from making important decisions. An enemy that spoils friendships, and plagues relationships, and sabotages ministry. An enemy that corrupts motives and inflames insecurities. An enemy that makes people seem bigger than God. That enemy is the fear of man.

Who are you tempted to fear? Whose approval or praise do you crave the most? Whose disappointment or rejection do you dread? Whose feelings and desires have a disproportionate or unhealthy hold on your heart? We often don’t even realize the kind of hold these people have on us. And that’s what makes the fear of man so dangerous. Its subtle, and deceitful, often camouflaging itself as love.

Some of you may wonder, but is the fear of man really that serious? Is it really as destructive as pride, lust, anger, and envy? Why is it so bad to want to make other people happy? Jesus tells us, in John 5, what makes the fear of man so dangerous. When he confronts the religious leaders who rejected him, hated him, and eventually conspired to murder him, he says to them,

I do not receive glory from people. I know that you do not have the love of God within you. . . . How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:42–44).

Why did they fail to recognize and believe in the Son of God? What kept them from seeing Jesus for who he really was? What motivated them to murder the Author of life? Jesus says, at the root, it was because they received glory from one another. Because they feared man, they could not believe Jesus. Because of the fear of man, they listened to Love himself, and they heard hatred. They looked at Safety, and saw danger. They stood before Joy, and felt misery. They were offered Life, and they preferred death. The fear of man ruined them for Jesus. And it will ruin us for Jesus — if we do not see it, confront it, and kill it.

So how do we overcome the fear of man? The answer may surprise us… We fight the fear of man with fear. A different fear. A better fear. A humble, life-giving, even joyful fear: The fear of the Lord. We don’t fear his judgment anymore — there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and perfect love casts out fear. We don’t fear his judgment anymore, but we do fear him. We fear his power and wisdom, we fear his justice and mercy, we fear his righteousness and love. When we fear the Lord, we begin to feel how small and fragile and vulnerable we are before all that he is.

The prophet Isaiah explains how this fear conquers all our other fears:

Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary. (Isaiah 8:12–14).

Only when God becomes our greatest fear can he become our safest place. Let him be your fear, let him be your dread, honor him alone as holy, and he will become a sanctuary — a refuge in all of your relationships, a haven in rejection or betrayal, a shelter in any storm you endure. In Christ, God will become a sanctuary for you and he will help you love your spouse… your parents… your children… your roommates, co-workers, and classmates. If we trust and fear God, he will help us love people without fearing people.

So, my exhortation for us, Cities Church, is that we fear our fear of man.