Where has our fear gone?

As I continue reading through the Old Testament of the Bible, it is clear to see one of the main differences between then and now. Back then, people feared God greatly. Yes, the Israelites turned from Him on many occasions, but they payed dearly for their rebellion. When God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle, the instructions were precise with extreme emphasis on attention to detail. It had to be made exactly as God demanded. Why? Because it was where He would dwell in the midst of His people. When God gave the instructions of how sacrifices were to be offered, He left out no details. When He gave the command to Moses concerning the priestly garments, they were in precise detail. I think it is clear to see God will not accept just any old thing. He is holy, and many times He called for His people to be holy also. Let's look at a few verses:
Leviticus 11:45

 For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Leviticus 19:2

 Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Leviticus 20:7

 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 21:6

 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.

God seems to make it absolutely clear that He expects His people to be holy before Him. So what has happened today? Has God changed? Not according to this verse:
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
So where has our reverence and fear gone? Where is our holiness? Most people have no fear of the Lord. They picture Him as some old grandpa handing out candy to his children. My reason for saying this is because if they truly feared Him, they would tremble at the thought of doing anything that is unpleasing to Him. They would think before they used His holy name in vain. They would think before they cheated on their husbands or wives. They would think before they watched some of the trash they do on television. They would think before they listened to the music they listen to. They would ask themselves always is this what God would have me to do? But do we? No. Why? Because we are puffed up with our pride and arrogance. We like to think we are in control of our own destiny. We don't want to believe that we will have to answer one day for our sins. People want to be their own god. This is why the vast majority of people today are on a road leading straight to hell. Even professing Christians are blind to the holiness of Almighty God. Yes, I understand that God was speaking to the Israelites in the Old Testament. But has He changed now? Has He become Americanized? Is just enough good enough for Him now? What a foolish and rebellious society we live in today. God is holy and demands our best always. In our country today, we dress to the nines to go to a club, and walk into church wearing flip flops and a tee shirt. Yes, I have heard the argument that clothes don't matter, it's what is in your heart that matters to God. Most of these people are condemned by their very own words. If you are willing to dress nicer to go and sin than when you come to worship God, then what does that say about your heart? Many of these same people wallow in sin Friday and Saturday nights, then put on a show for everyone to see on Sunday mornings. This is blasphemous to say the least. They may as well cast pig's blood on the altar. We ask God for His multitude of blessings, yet we ourselves are absolutely in love with sin. Then, when God doesn't answer we wonder why? How many of you read your Bibles everyday? How often do you fall down on your knees or on your face to seek God? Yet you expect Him to bail you out of every snare you fall into. Woe is me is something no one living in America has any right to ever say. We are blessed, yet we have done nothing to deserve a blessing. Since Roe vs Wade, we as a nation have murdered over 50 million babies in the name of choice. We are the worlds leading exporter of pornography. We are the leading users of illegal drugs. Our children are taught to think we came from monkeys and the universe was created by an unexplainable explosion. Even so God is holy. So why should we be holy? Because God demands it. Yes, we live under grace, but is Jesus not God? Does He not have the same requirements? Let's look at some New Testament verses:
Hebrews 12:10
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.


There it is. We are no different than the Israelites several thousand years ago. We serve a holy God, and He expects us to be holy before Him. We have become a lazy and undisciplined people. We show no fear of the Lord. The Proverbs tell us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Is it any wonder there are so many fools running about today? Isn't it also noteworthy that the gate that leads to destruction is wide? It would have to be to accommodate the multitudes rushing towards it. We live in a godless society. If those of us who claim to know Him are no different than the world around us then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. We need to be holy, because the one we serve is holy. Try to remember this the next time you go to church thinking that you just did God a favor.
Written by Kirk