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Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

This morning, there are many that spend all their days wondering what their purpose is in life. They are like children tossed to and fro on the waves of life, and have been snared many times by cunning craftiness and the sleight of men. This verse is a simple concluding statement. There are many of these in the Holy Scriptures, and they are summations that explain in short form everything that has gone before.
Paul concludes the first 7 chapters of Hebrews in the first verse of chapter 8. This verse is a very simple yet profound conclusion that will teach the child of God what his purpose is in life and what he should be doing.

The first thing that every child of God must do in order to walk in proper service to the Lord is to fear Him. Yesterday, we talked a little bit about the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There are many things that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of. That must be the starting point or we will never make it to the next step. So, if this is so important, what is meant by the expression Fear God?
Is it a terror and mortal anxiety that comes over us in trembling and much sorrow? No, this fear is a fear that casteth out fear. We are told that perfect love casts out fear (terror), and this fear (reverence) is one
that is done out of love.  

The best way to explain it (as Solomon did in Proverbs) is to liken it to a father and a son. Sons fear their earthly fathers.  This fear is not a terror of getting a spanking (although sometimes that does happen when we are trying to hide some wrongdoing). This fear is one of place and respect. We fear or respect our fathers because of their place and position. They are watching over us, they are feeding and clothing us, they check on us in the night to make sure that we are safe, they give their lives if necessary to protect us. In this position of authority, their word has more emphasis and power in the household than the child's (or it should).  

When a child says something, it may or may not come to pass, but when dad says something it comes to pass because of his authority.  That is the fear that sons have, and it is the same fear that we should have with the Lord. He watches over us, protects us, feeds and clothes us, and never leaves us or forsakes us. Therefore, we should fear Him and His authority. This is the starting point.  Then, we build from that, and we keep His commandments. What are those? Christ said that they could be boiled down to 2: love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind; and love our neighbor as ourselves.  

This leaves no wiggle room. We are to love the Lord with all of our being, and treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated. These are so very simple, yet so hard to fulfill in our daily lives. I fall short every day, but even when we fall short, let us never wonder WHAT it is we are supposed to be doing. I rather suspect that many know what they SHOULD be doing, but they use ignorance as a shield for their shortcomings. Let us ever earnestly contend for the faith and run our race with patience. For, if we do these things, we will not forget that we were purged from our old sins, and we shall never fall.Button back to previous
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In Hope,

Bro Philip