There Is No Fear Of God Before Their Eyes
Commenting upon this verse J.C. Philpot said,
“Those who have every reason to fear as to their eternal state before God, have for the most part, no fear at all. They are secure, and free from doubt and fear. The depths of human hypocrisy, the dreadful lengths to which profession may go, the deceit of the carnal heart, the snares spread for the unwary feet, the fearful danger of being deceived at the last; these traps and pitfalls are not objects of anxiety to those dead in sin. As long as they can pacify natural conscience, and do something to soothe any transient conviction—they are glad to be deceived! God does not see fit to disturb their quiet. He has no purpose of mercy towards them; they are not subjects of His kingdom; they are not objects of His love. He therefore leaves them carnally secure, as in a dream—from which they will not awake until the day of judgment.”
Friend, is not this a terrible condition; to be left alone by God with no thought of eternal destiny, no concern for your never-dying soul? How many slip into eternity with no substantial hope in this world and none for the world to come? Such is the spiritual ignorance of natural man, the blindness of the flesh.
How blessed we are if the Lord is merciful to stir up our spirit, shake our ignorant peace, arouse lethargic carelessness, pierce our heart with well-aimed arrows and convict us of our sin. Blessed, I say, even if we fail at first to recognise His grace, even when the flesh resists and recoils against it, as it surely will.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom says the Psalmist. Holy Father, send thy convicting Spirit. Rouse the sleeper! Show me my need for Christ! Then show me my Saviour, and the glorious accomplishments of His perfect love.
Peter Meney is the Pastor of New Focus Church Online and the Editor of "New Focus Magazine" and publisher of sovereign grace material under the Go Publications imprint. The purpose and aim of the magazine and books is to spread as widely as possible the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of free, sovereign grace found in the Holy Bible, the Word of God.
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