Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Exodus chapter 20.

Moses said to the people,

Do not fear, for God has come to test you that the fear of him may be before you

that you may not sin. All right just make sure you get the context here. This is right after God gives his people the 10

Commandments. So, Commandments about how to relate to him and worshiping him alone, how to relate to others in a way that honors God, and the people are overwhelmed in this meeting with God, with fear.

And so Moses says the people don't fear for God has come to test

you so there's an encouragement not to fear but then right after that in

this verse the Bible says that the

fear of God may be before you that you may not sin.

So this is interesting.

All throughout the Bible we see the words don't fear but then we also see encouragement to

fear God so how does this work? Well it all becomes all the more clear and

complete when we get in the New Testament and we realize that none of us

is able to obey the law that we need Jesus to cover over our sin and our disobedience and that's what Jesus did at the

cross.

He paid the price of sin for us.

He went as a substitute for us to the cross, died in our place, and then rose from the dead

in victory over sin and death, so that we can be saved from our sins not by our obedience but by our

faith by our trust in Jesus so in that sense when we trust in Jesus to

forgive us of our sins we turn from our sin and trust in him, we repent and believe,

we no longer need to fear the judgment of God.

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