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Are you motivated by fear?

Willie T

Willie T

A man who isn't as smart as others "know" they are
Member
My boy, Jeff, just keeps 'em coming.....

Imagine that Jesus Christ Himself visited you today and declared to you in the clearest possible way that there was no such thing as hell or heaven, and that to die is to simply cease to exist (this is not a reflection of my theology, by the way, just a hypothetical). Now, answer me this, if you were free from the fear of hell or loss of rewards for doing bad, and also free from the promise of heaven for doing good, would you become a murderer, rapist, substance abuser, or just a generally unpleasant and vile person?

If the answer to the question is "yes", then I would suggest to you that the gospel you've put your faith in is inadequate, as it has not truly changed your heart, but simply restrained a beast that is still very much alive in you.

If the answer is "no", however, which I believe it would be for most of us, then it goes to show that there are better motivations for doing good and not doing evil then fear. If you would continue to be a good, decent and moral person, without the prospect of hell if you lived the opposite way, it shows that we do not need fear in order to motivate us to be good people. A love for God, ourselves and humanity is enough to inspire us to live lives of love and others-centered-ness, and there is no need to dream up ghoulish tales of concentration camps in the center of the earth. The simple message of Jesus that reveals the Father's love for all of humanity is enough, and the fact that the non-existence of hell would not cause us to cast off restraint is enough to prove this.

So preach love, not fear. Love works, fear doesn't.
 
I can't imagine going back to what I was.
The life I lead now is awesome!
And if Jesus visited today and gave me that message, I would quote the Word of God to him and he would flee.
For I would know that it was only the devil in disguise.
 
Rollo Tamasi said:
I can't imagine going back to what I was.
The life I lead now is awesome!
And if Jesus visited today and gave me that message, I would quote the Word of God to him and he would flee.
For I would know that it was only the devil in disguise.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. We all already know he said it was "hypothetical", not real, nor even his belief...... but the question he asked WAS real. And you seem to have tried using a churchy-sounding statement to avoid looking at the pretty straight-forward and difficult question.
 
I know this will be met with resistance but fear is a necessary ingredient in our walk. Take away eternal damnation and the Gospel becomes just like any other religion of the world........empty.

Without that "fear", our walk would become meaningless. Our motivations would change. We would no longer be striving for the finish line. Priorities would change.

Without fear the Gospel becomes lifeless.
.
 
Perfect love drives out........................................... Humm... what was the next word?
 
Matthew 10
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.



If fear were not intended to be a part of the Gospel, it wouldn't be a part of the Gospel.
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I don't believe that fear could ever motivate us to do more than just enough to keep out of trouble. I think love for our wonderful and awesome God is a much deeper motivation.
 
Willie T said:
My boy, Jeff, just keeps 'em coming.....

Imagine that Jesus Christ Himself visited you today and declared to you in the clearest possible way that there was no such thing as hell or heaven, and that to die is to simply cease to exist (this is not a reflection of my theology, by the way, just a hypothetical). Now, answer me this, if you were free from the fear of hell or loss of rewards for doing bad, and also free from the promise of heaven for doing good, would you become a murderer, rapist, substance abuser, or just a generally unpleasant and vile person?
So preach love, not fear. Love works, fear doesn't.
Click to expand...
Hmm....
There are many secular people who believe they should not do anything to hurt other people and should do everything they can to make this world a better place for all people to live in and they don't believe in heaven or hell.
Paul says this....
1Co 15:30 why also do we stand in peril every hour?
1Co 15:31 Every day do I die, by the glorying of you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord:
1Co 15:32 if after the manner of a man with wild beasts I fought in Ephesus, what the advantage to me if the dead do not rise? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!

Paul says that it would be pointless for him to put his life in danger on a daily bases if there is no resurrection. He says that if there is no resurrection then we are still in our sin anyway.
Well, how can that be. Christ rose and we follow in like fashion to Him. If we don't then He didn't either.
So even though I understand what you are saying it just doesn't make any sense to say that would we keep doing what we are doing if there was no resurrection because if there isn't then there is no Gospel message. It is destroyed.
For me the resurrection is not about rewards in heaven but it is about someday being with Him.
I never thought is was OK to hurt other people before I became a Christian. But I did think it was OK to not put up with people hurting me. That is the difference in me.
So if there is no resurrection there is no point in me putting up with people hurting me.
 
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Willie T said:
What did you post? Surely you knew the passage, and were not just posting it because the word "fear" happened to be in it.
Click to expand...

You mean this?

Matthew 10
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.



This takes nothing away from what I've said.
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Well, some of us are shotgunning all over the place..................

It still remains to answer for ourselves that if there were no consequences, whatsoever, would we still live the way we try to now?

I, for one, have to honestly answer..... "Probably not."
 
Gary, would you fear God if you knew He would never do anything to you? ..... or let anything happen to you from any other source, such as Satan?
 
Willie T said:
Well, some of us are shotgunning all over the place..................

It still remains to answer for ourselves that if there were no consequences, whatsoever, would we still live the way we try to now?

I, for one, have to honestly answer..... "Probably not."
Click to expand...

Why not?
.
 
Gary said:
So then, is your walk motivated by fear?
Click to expand...
My baptism, thirty-seven years ago, was TOTALLY motivated by fear. And, even after all that time, I can't honestly say that I am now always motivated by love... either for God, or for my fellow man.

I'd say I'm maybe 85% given over to love and compassion now, but much of my staying on track is still only motivated by a sense of trying to be fair. Fear really doesn't enter into it, because I believe I'm covered by Jesus, even though I just can't seem to stay in the most loving of attitudes. I couldn't stay a Christian if I thought I had to be in fear the way I was almost four decades ago.

Frankly, when I listen to people say they love God with all their hearts, all their strength, and all their mind and soul, I have to feel I can't believe them about much of anything else, either. (That's "PC", to keep from calling them liars.)
 
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