"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe."
(Proverbs 29:25). We shouldn't base our decisions, and how we act and not act, on fear of man. People can be scary, and it can be a great temptation to do what is expected of us by other people, even when we know it's wrong. When we do that, and know it's wrong, we exalt those people above God himself. We put our our obedience to these people first, rather than giving our obedience to God.
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great (Mat 2:1) and tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. His capital was at Tzippori near Nazareth. He had executed John the Baptist
(Mat 14:3–12, Mark 6:17–29). Jesus called Herod a "fox" (Luke 13:32). Herod was deposed by Emperor Caligula in 39 AD and died at Lyon. When Herod heard rumors about Jesus, he believed it was John the Baptist who had risen from the dead
(Mat 14:1–2, Mark 6:14–16).
Herod Antipas was a double minded person. It's a person who wants one thing, but also the opposite. Herod wanted to execute John the Baptist because John criticized him for living with his brother's wife (Mat 14:3–5, Mark 6:17–18). But Herod also protected John, because he understood that John was a righteous and holy man, so he kept him safe (Mark 6:19–20). A double minded person is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
Herod also feared man. First, he didn't execute John the Baptist because he feared the people, because they considered him a prophet (Mat 14:5). Later, however, he executed John because of his oath and his fear of what his guests would think
(Mark 6:26).
Many of the Jewish authorities believed in Jesus, but for fear of the Pharisees they didn't confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God
(John 12:42–43).
One reason why the apostles got rid of their fear of people, was that they saw Jesus after The Resurrection of Jesus, see Historical Facts that Jesus Rose from the Dead. Jesus presented himself alive to them through many proofs, appeared to them in his resurrected body for 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
This strengthen them in their faith in him, that he was who he said he was, see Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Another reason to that they got rid of their fear of people, was that the Holy Spirit came upon them to give them power (Acts 2:1–11), see The Gift of Tongues.
Many miracles occurred as a result of being empowered by the Holy Spirit
(Acts 3:1–10, 5:12–26).
The apostles Peter and John stood up for their faith when they were forbidden to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:1–22). They answered it: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."
(Acts 4:19–20).
The apostles again stood for their faith when they were again forbidden to speak or teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 5:17–42). They answered it:
"We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
(Acts 5:29–32).
We shouldn't trust in authority before God: "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish." (Psalm 146:3–4).
Fear and anxiety are usually the result of overthinking, combined with a diminished faith in God. This causes us to focus exclusively in our problems or challenges, and because our faith is weak, we give in to fear and become overwhelmed by it. A key to overcome fear is to get thoughts and worries under control and to build faith:
- Get your thoughts under control:
God has given us as Christians the fruit of the Holy Spirit, one of which is
self-control (Gal 5:22–23). Through prayer and meditation on God's word, I must invite the Holy Spirit to help me master my thoughts and ponderings. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil 4:8). - To build faith:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5–6). See How to Build Your Faith. - Repentance:
Fear and anxious thoughts are the opposite of faith. When fearful and anxious thoughts arise, we must bring them to Jesus and confess them as sin, to be something that are wrong and against his will. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
God can put us in situations where we may have to choose whether or not to act on people's fears. We can see it as training to obey God. We may fail a couple of times, but finally we can learn to act appropriately without being afraid of man. In that we stop acting in ways that we know are wrong, things that we do or don't do because of fear of people. The goal is to get to a point where we can say that we fear God and only God (Mat 10:28, Luk 12:4–5), that we obey God more than men.
To Fear the Lord
To fear the Lord means to have reverence for God, to acknowledge, honor, respect, and obey God for who he is and to obey his word. Not to be wise in my own eyes and to turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:7). It's something positive (Acts 9:31b). It means considering my actions appropriately under God's lordship and rules. If I am going to do something, I have to ask myself if it's what the Lord wants me to do. If it isn't, I shouldn't be doing it. There are consequences to going my own way, and I want to keep them out of my life. It doesn't mean to be afraid or terrified of God, but understanding that God is in charge of my life; he is the sovereign ruler of all the Earth, see God is sovereign in God's Attributes. When we realize that God is sovereign and almighty and has the authority and ability to hold us accountable for our actions, we respond to him with what the Bible calls a reverential fear and we adjust our behavior to his will, whether revealed in his word or just confirmed by our conscience. See this further explained at time 9:32–11:39 in
Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ January 2024.
To know God is to fear God. But to know God is also to trust God. This provides the balance. There is a blessing that comes to those who fear the Lord and walks in his ways, see Psalm 128:1–4.
See the following proverbs about fearing the Lord:
- "Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him." (Proverbs 14:2).
- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7).
- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning (prerequisite) of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." (Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10).
- "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor." (Proverbs 15:33).
- "The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm." (Proverbs 19:23). - "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death." (Proverbs 14:27).
- "The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short." (Proverbs 10:27).
- "The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate." (Proverbs 8:13).
The Book of Proverbs.
See also Some stories in the gospels at the bottom of The Four Gospels.
