The Spirit of Fear

In my next-to-last blog article I mentioned two different definitions of sin – here is another one that many people might not be familiar with: Fear is sin! For people to whom the words of Jesus are relevant, it is interesting that he told his followers multiple times not to fear. So if not obeying the Ten Commandments is considered a sin, not obeying Jesus command regarding fear is a sin as well. This is not to shame people or make them feel condemned. It simply illustrates that submitting to fear is a choice we make. It is not something we have to do because the circumstances of life force us to. And the good thing is that there’s a remedy when we fall into this sin: Asking God for forgiveness and turning away from the old pattern of thinking. But before applying the solution, we need this eye-opener: Living in fear is not an acceptable option. Fear is not from God. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “God has not given us a spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7) This spirit of fear is trying to control people, trying to keep them in bondage. But “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)