ICS Daily Devotions
Fearlessness to Do the Work of the Lord
I Corinthians 15:56-58 NKJV “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Death is inevitable for all mankind. For the atheist, death just means an end to life full stop. However, that does not mean that there is no judgement. For the religious, there is a need to justify oneself, by being ‘good enough’ to earn their way into heaven. However, to live this way would mean a constant striving to do good and still be unsure if their all their efforts make them worthy on judgement day.
The bible tells us that all of us are sinful and destined to die and face judgement where we can be separated from God eternally, being condemned into the fiery lake of hell. The sting of death is then sin. The strength of sin is revealed to us through the law but it has no power to deliver us from the judgement of sin. In His deep love for Man, God worked out our redemption by sending His Son to die for us, to save us from eternal condemnation, to impute righteousness on us by the shedding of His blood. Not because of any righteous works of our own but only by His grace and mercy are we saved. This salvation is a display of His perfect love. Understanding this can dispel the fear of death in our lives. We can be comforted that Christ made us righteous before God and victorious over death. We have an inheritance of eternal life as co-heirs with Christ in His Kingdom because of this. How wonderful and what a glorious future we have waiting for us as believers when we leave this earth!
I John 4:17-18 NKJV “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
When we believe in the work and words of Christ, the Holy Spirit will urge us to live our lives in obedience to Him, not to fear death but to be bold in our faith. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He commanded them to spread the good news to all those who have not heard, who are fearful and suffering from the consequences of sin. Are we then living our lives in boldness to proclaim this hope to the lost ?
We can be so fearful of the temporal earthly concerns that we forget we only need to fix our eyes on the eternal and what is of value to God. Without the sting of death to hurt us, we should be steadfast and unwavering in this great commission to see more lives saved especially during this time of health crisis. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can go forth in faith to be effective in our homes and the marketplace to serve the Lord in good works, which will not be in vain as we will reap eternal rewards.
Sermon Series: Fear Does Not Belong to You
