End of the Matter

Fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.

The second point, which is going to be a lot longer than the first and the third, what God expects of us. There's two basic commands, fear God and keep his commandments, and those two are necessarily related to one another. Fear is shown in obedience. The end of the matter is these two basic commandments that he describes as the whole duty of man. Well, let's wrestle with this word, fear, because it's a easily confused word. We really confuse some of the most important words in Scripture, like fear and love. So I wanna really just take the time to think about fear. For instance, in 1 John 4, 18, we need to recognize what does it mean that love casts out fear? Proverbs 9, 10, we recognize that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And we can even go back to Jeremy 6 that Justin read a little while ago, where we saw at the same time, in the same passage, love the Lord your God with all your heart and fear him to serve him. Scripture speaks of fear in different ways. There are so many things to be afraid of in this world. There's fear of man, there's fear of the future, There's fear of health, there's fear of the government, there's fear of missing out. All these are real fears. We need to be able to recognize how different fears affect us. There are things that are truly frightening, and some fears are just simply paralyzing. There's a way in which we can be so afraid of something, it keeps us from doing anything. And it's difficult to overcome fears. Have you ever been afraid of something and the advice somebody gives you, just stop being afraid of that? That's not very helpful. Let me encourage you this morning. The command here to fear God is how we overcome all the other unhealthy fears. But we have to recognize first, we probably have an unhealthy fear of God. meaning we don't have a right reverence for him or that we're terrified of him. But a healthy fear of God is how we overcome all the other unhealthy fears. Here in this command is a prescription, it is a cure to heal our hearts. He reorients our loves, our fears, our desires. I wanna think about three different ways in which scripture speaks of fear. First, as creatures who were created. Second, as sinners who have rebelled against God. And third, as redeemed worshipers. First, fear as creatures. There is a proper fear that creatures are supposed to have for their creator. Adam had a reverence for God. In the garden, God was known as glorious, and the word glory has the word weight behind it. There's a weightiness. Adam knew where he came from. Adam knew he was dependent upon God. Adam heard the word of God, and there was a weight to it. God is awesome. God is beautiful in his splendor and glory. He created us, there's a right reverence we're supposed to have as His image bearers, those who are reflecting Him, those who only have dignity because of Him. He's our creator. There is a right reverence, a right fear that we should have of God. Well, Adam didn't have that fear throughout his life. No, in Genesis 3, which Ecclesiastes is addressing, everything that happens after Genesis 3, Adam sinned and, well, then God came toward him. And instead of Adam welcoming God with reverence like he had all the days before, this time, because he had sinned, what did Adam do? He hid. Why did Adam say he hid? He was afraid. It's a different kind of fear. There's a reverence, but now there's a terror, and he was right to be afraid. It's amazing how God comes in mercy to Adam, and it's helpful for us to see that Adam, in his right reflection, I'm afraid, I've sinned against you. There's a different kind of fear we have when we've rebelled against our good, righteous creator, when we've refused the king. Now he's a guilty sinner who has shame, who wants to hide. It's a different kind of fear. Fast forward to Exodus 3. Moses is a fugitive, and then he sees a burning bush, and he says, well, that's interesting. Let me go check that out. Well, he hears the word of God, the voice of God. What does he do? He hides his face. Why? Because he's afraid. He was afraid to behold the glory of God as a sinner because we would be consumed in the presence of God. Even there we had to have a veil lest he be consumed. And then fast forward one more time to Mount Sinai. But after God has saved Israel from Egypt, after God has taken them through the Red Sea, now God is gonna bring them up in the mountains so he can reveal his way for them as his holy people, his royal priesthood, his nation. And that scene is marked by distance and fear. God first says, be distant, be afraid of coming near me, and then when they heard the voice of God, they said, we need to really get away, we need to get even further away. They felt the fullness of their holy God speaking his good and righteous commandments, and their sin is in full view. And one of the most amazing things that happens on Mount Sinai is Moses, who was rightly afraid of seeing God's face and his glory at the burning bush, he gets bold. Because he's seen how merciful God is to himself. He's seen how merciful God is to Israel. He makes an amazing request as a sinner. He says, God, let me see your glory. He got it back in the burning bush. What does he think has changed? What an incredible request. He has a reverence for the holiness of God. He is up on the mountain, closest to God than anyone's been since Adam. He knows the fullness of his sin, and yet he makes this request. And of course, God says, no, you would be consumed. There's a right fear even there on Mount Sinai, and this is really the conundrum of the covenant of the Old Testament. God has made it very clear, I am with you.

I will be your God and you will be my people.

There's a relationship, there's a closeness, there's a nearness, but yet Moses is feeling fully the distance and the fear that doesn't make sense in that Old Testament covenant. The worship practice of the temple was constantly a reminder that people were meant to be distant. The Holy of Holies is a place that would bring fear and trembling even upon the one who was invited in once a year. Christian, this is why we rejoice all the more that God sent his son so that we don't fear like this anymore. God sent his son to become like us, to die for our sin. All the sacrifices in the temple was just passing the judgment over. But then the true lamb of God, the true perfect one, he came to die, to remove sin from us as far as the east and the west by taking it on himself. Christ came to not only remove our sin, but to invite us in further than Moses could go. into the Holy of Holies to once again behold the face of God, to once again see His glory.

No one has ever seen God, but the Son of God who came down from the Father, He has made Him known.

Which leads us to the third kind of fear. The reverence and awe restored for us in Christ. Church, we're called to be a temple, Not that you make a once-a-year sacrifice, not that you make a once-a-week sacrifice for an hour and a half on a Sunday. No, we're called to be a temple, a holy people being built up together, getting closer to Almighty Holy God to see Him in all of His glory. Building each other up so that we're growing more and more like Christ so we see more and more of His glory. Christ came to take away sin that would cause terror. so that we would be able to enter boldly into the presence of the God who is holy, holy, holy. Christian, you should not be afraid of going into the presence of God. You should be afraid of all the stuff that keeps you from going into the presence of God. Whatever excuse you have, whatever distraction you have, whatever hobby it is that keeps you from regularly being with God's people in his presence, you need to repent of it because that is terrifying. God has opened up that way for you. The fear of the Christian is not entering boldly. Christ has come to give us access, to not be distant in fear, but draw near with courage because of what he's done for us. I wanna think about this commandment one other way. I wanna think about fear and love together because, well, these are the two most important commands of Scripture, and we even saw there in Deuteronomy 6, 4. Again, they're side by side with Moses. How does fear in God relate to love in God? And I wanna say very closely. One, fear, that usually gives us a draw away. Fear typically is something we're afraid of getting near, but love draws us toward. I think these two words come together so wonderfully because he who is most to be feared is also most loving. And he who we should most fear invites us to love him. There's two kinds of statements. The end of the matter is fear of the Lord. Jesus says the greatest commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart. These two things must come together, Christian. And I say this because I think we too often either focus on I fear God and therefore I'm staying away or I'm loving God so I, well, think he can just, he'll invite me whenever I want. We can't make these two things separate. We can't create a dichotomy. No, they're one and the same. They're united together. We're overwhelmed that he who we should really fear and terror invites us in to love him with reverence. This is why we do go to that first John 4 passage.

Love casts out fear

, and that's fear of punishment. Adam hid because he's afraid of punishment. Moses hid because he's afraid of punishment. Israel hid on the Mount of Sinai because they're afraid of punishment. Christ has come. He has been punished once for all for our sins. We are not afraid of the punishment anymore if we believe in him. If a Christian, you should be afraid of not worshiping him and knowing him. Do not delay in repenting. Children, let me invite you into how God has planned to teach you to have a proper fear of God. It's by honoring your parents. You learn to show honor and submission first to your parents. First and foremost, that is who the God who you want to have reverence for and to worship, that's who he's given you. Learn to have that proper posture in your home. Have to have that proper posture to listen intently and desire to obey quickly. Children, honor your parents as a way of training your heart to have an honor for even one who's greater than your parents. Adults. Let me invite you into a way that you might learn how to fear God. It's by honoring the authorities that God has placed over you. I hear what you might be thinking, but those authorities are so bad. Yeah, and the good God put you underneath them and called you to honor them. If you only honor someone when you agree with them, you're not really honoring them. You're just saying, I agree with you. What happens when God does something that you don't approve of? Will you not honor him? Praise God, we know that he's always good, but we have to realize that honor, reverence, fear, a proper honor and reverence or fear of God leads us to properly obey him in knowing how to serve those he has placed us under. We looked at that second part of the command, and I would say second part, it's one of the same command. Fear God, that is a command, and keep his commandments. Fear is not just a posture, it's a direction, it's an action. Notice here, fear God and keep his commandments. You cannot fear God without keeping his commandments. In the same way, you cannot love Jesus without keeping his commandments. Because that's what Jesus said love looks like, that's what love is. The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments. This is the proper action of fear. You know, we ignore people we don't respect, we blow them off. We come up with ways of justifying ignoring them, but that's not love. But if we really weigh somebody heavily, which is the word for glory again, we listen intently. We desire to know them. We desire to know what they expect. We desire to please them. Too often unhealthy fears leave us paralyzed, isolated in shame. Unhealthy fear makes man focus on what other people are thinking of him. And unhealthy fear of the future makes us afraid of starting anything. An unhealthy fear of God always leads us to sin. But again, all these unhealthy fears, the cure is a right fear of God. The beginning of wisdom is a right fear of God. The beginning of wisdom is to see God in all of his glory and know that he's good. I asked this morning, are you paralyzed in some way in fear? Afraid of trusting someone? afraid of trying again to be obedient to Christ, afraid of trusting a church again. All real fears. But a healthy fear of God helps us to see he's sovereign, he's good. When we properly fear God, he frees us then to actually obey him with confidence. A proper fear of God doesn't paralyze us, but it makes us ready and active in obedience. If you're a Christian, Jesus says make disciples, and one of the things that we must do to make disciples is teach them to observe all that he's commanded. That's usually the omission from the Great Commission. We always leave that part out, it's left out even behind me, which is kind of annoying to me. It's not the whole thing. We don't like this idea of duty. Our lives, we're not meant to live self-consumed, self-satisfying. We're meant to live upward. A fear of God draws you up to God in confident obedience. The beauty of God's salvation is that he helps us see our sin. He helps us see how great his love is and his salvation is, how glorious he is, and so we would know how to obey him. The last thing in verse 13. The clear declarations, what he expects of us, fear of God, keep his commandments. Again, you cannot fear God without keeping his commandments, just like you can't love God without keeping his commandments. As James says,

faith without works is dead

, it's a show me faith, it's a show me fear, it's a show me love. But now this incredible declaration, for this is the whole duty of man. Let me be very clear, I love summary statements. This is a summary statement worthy of your whole memorization here. Fear God and keep his commandments, this is the whole duty of man. The whole. It's absolutely your duty to fear God and keep his commandments. There's a wonderful simplicity here. This is why you were created. This is why God breathed his life into you. This is why God placed you in the garden. This is why God gave you clear instruction and warning, prohibitions and instruction. If you wanna know what the purpose of life is, it's right here. You wanna be the happiest, it's right here. Now, the word duty, we don't really like this word in our culture. And let's just be honest, we don't like using this word in church either, do we? Sounds like legalism. Duty. There's a rightness here. You cannot be a disciple if you do not deny yourself. That's the first step. We have to know who God is and his goodness to know which desires are wrong, which behaviors are wrong. If we're left to ourselves, we're just gonna keep doing the foolishness that we're bound to do. But the duty of man, the calling, the requirement, the high calling, fear God, know him, and keep his commandments. The world tells you that you need to be as free as possible to become who you really are. It says that's what the world tells you, it's an absolute lie. What God tells you is draw near to me. and you will be free to enjoy the life I've given you. We think the best life is one that has no connections, no responsibilities, just free out there to do what we want. That is a lonely, isolated, meaningless life. The true life that God has given you is near him, and therefore, it's as close to the cross as you could possibly be. near to the cross, where you see is perfect forgiveness and holiness, where you see is perfect righteousness and love. Do not pretend you are keeping some healthy distance from God. There's no such thing. There's no such thing as healthy distance from God. You need to constantly, we must constantly draw near. Christian, if you don't have a category for duty, you're doing it wrong. If you don't hear commands in some way at some time, either from your reading or in personal conversation, and realize there's a duty that's going to be uncomfortable, there's a responsibility and a calling that brings about a change, you're doing it wrong. These words, And none of us are holy yet. These words are constantly pointing us closer to God. It's not legalism. It's learning how to understand it's by grace and not by works you've been saved, but you've been saved for to be the work machine of God. God loves you. So he has high expectations for you. If He sent His Son to purchase you with His precious blood, His purpose is for you to now be holy as He is holy, as 1 Peter 1. There's a reverence we must have now as a purchased people of the Holy God, to revere Him, to desire to obey Him. This means the things we do as Christians, the things we see in Scripture, the ways we try to worship as a church, they're privileges, they're duties. Coming to church on a Sunday morning, what a wonderful privilege and a duty. To come to a members meeting at night, what a privilege and a duty. To walk alongside another brother or sister in a trial, what a wonderful privilege and a duty. These truths, these commands, these obligations, they're weighty. They're oftentimes difficult, but they're the way in which we show our reverence for God and enjoy Him. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, what God requires of you, what God expects of you. Now, how will He require it? How will He require it? Verse 14,

for God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

God brings all of life under judgment. Everything we have ever said, everything we've ever done, all the things that are external, the things that can be recorded, the things that we call sins of commission, that words you regret, that action, that behavior you're afraid of other people knowing about, it will all be brought into God's light, under His judgment. In the end, we don't just dissipate, we don't just go into nothingness, we stand before God. And he holds us accountable for what he has given us as our duty, to fear him, to obey him. It's what we've done along with every secret thing. Here it's thoughts, desires, The things that we think other people don't know about are the things we think we've gotten away with because we, instead of praying in secret, we're pursuing sin in secret. Friend, the full stench of our sin is always going up into the nostrils of God. We're not that clever. Adam couldn't hide in the garden. You're not hiding anything from God. He will bring everything into judgment. The obvious sins, the secret sins. And this is why the Psalm 19 is so important. I encourage you to go read that later. The psalmist begins with looking at creation and thinking, oh, the glory of God just as revealed in what he's made. And then he looks at the law to see he's perfect and righteous. And then his request, show me my hidden sins. Show me the sins I'm not even aware of, Lord. How different? I'm gonna pretend I can hide sin and I'm gonna pursue it, or God, I wanna come so near you in your perfection and your righteousness and your holiness, I want you to show me sins I'm not even aware of yet. Oh, I hope you'll make that second prayer. Here we are. Do we live lives as if this world is a playground without consequences? Where is this a stage to glorify God? Are we a temple designed for His praise and glory? There's supposed to be a realization of fear here, and I mean terror, that we will stand before God. The calling is to recalculate. This is the goal in life, to stand before Him so that He would make a, He will make a right judgment, He will judge. And notice it's whether good or evil. We'll stand before Him and give an account for all that we have done. Reward for faithfulness, punishment for wickedness. To be very clear, there is no hope for any of us on our own. No one earns forgiveness or salvation. If God granted a curve, we all fail. If God just so happened to let us outweigh our bad deeds with our good deeds, we're all gonna come up wanting and short. The big picture is Christ has come to save us from our sin if we believe in him, and yet still, Christian, there's going to be a time where we'll answer for how we live these redeemed days before our Savior. Are we living life in light of what God has given us? Who he is, what he's done for us, what he expects of us, and that one day, that's what you're living for now, that one day where we'll get to give an answer. We should be eager to give that answer because of the way we're living. Something I try to teach my kids, cheaters never win. You can't win if you're cheating because you broke the rules, you didn't play the game. Life has been given to us not as a game, but as precious time to enjoy under God. Think back to Pete Rose and what a warning. Every year he's reminded he's not in the Hall of Fame when that judge comes back around. He's still appealing and every year he's reminded, you broke the rules, you cheated the game. What a warning for us because that's nothing compared to the moment we will stand before Almighty Holy God and have all of our lives exposed before him. Do not believe the lie that you can cheat the game of life, you can cheat death, you can cheat judgment, but praise be to God. for Jesus Christ, whose grace forgives us. Praise be to God, who helps us grow up in obedience. Praise be to God, who equips us so that we can know Him, what He expects of us, and gives us the grace to obey. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you have not left us alone, afraid hiding from you. Lord, I pray that if there's a believer this morning that is afraid hiding, you would bring them out of that shame, that you would help us to give a clear, confident word of forgiveness. Lord, I pray we would not allow fear of man to keep us from obeying. I pray that we would not obey for the fear of man. But Lord, that we would all know how to come closer to you and see you as the holy God who's steadfast in love, who keeps his promises, whose first word to us is that the Lord, you are merciful. And Lord, you are just. Lord, help us to not only fear you, or only love you as if those two things are different. Lord, help us to know that we can live our lives in a way that we will be welcomed in as your children, to hear your words. Welcome, child of God, well done, good and faithful servant. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.