Why do you follow Christ? What motivates you to pray, to read scripture, to worship? There are two reasons we might follow Christ, two motivators that lead us toward Him. One is fear and the other is love. Sadly, many Christians follow Christ out of fear. They are afraid of hell. They are afraid of upsetting God. They are afraid of missing God’s will. Their choices are predicated upon fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of condemnation. But that motivation is inadequate for following Christ and experiencing everything He has for us.

To understand this, we will look briefly at the nature of fear, the impact of fear, the limits of fear, and the product of fear. As we begin, please note we aren’t speaking about the Fear of God. That fear, often commanded in Scripture, is about awe and reverence. We are speaking of fear in the more common use.

The Nature of Fear

What is fear? According to Mr. Webster fear is, “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.” To understand fear’s nature, we first notice it is caused by anticipating danger. Danger, we know, is the possibility of harm, loss, or pain. So, fear is the emotion of anticipating loss or harm. The nature of fear, then, is negative. It is concerned with what may go wrong, or what appears to be going wrong.

The Impact of Fear

We have established that fear is negative. Negative in the sense that it focuses upon loss. Where I don’t anticipate some kind of loss, then I do not feel fear. This informs how fear impacts our decisions. Decisions made out of fear are about avoiding danger.

So, fear motivates avoidance. Fear alerts me to potential danger and motivates me to avoid that danger. A dangerous investment might cost me money, so fear tells me to invest differently. A dangerous activity might lead to injury or death, so fear tells me to do something safer.

If fear motivates avoidance, the one following Christ out of fear is not really following Christ. He is avoiding danger—real or perceived. Having felt the fear of hell, he chooses Christ to avoid hell. Afraid to upset God, he chooses to obey Christ to avoid punishment. So, where my faith is founded on fear, I may appear to be following Christ, but I am really avoiding danger. Christ just happens to be my method of avoidance.

This is reason number one why fear is inadequate for following Christ. Fear isn’t really about following Christ, it’s about avoiding danger.

The Limits of Fear

The second reason fear is inadequate for following Christ is this: fear is relative. It is relative to other fears and it is relative to the perceived danger.

First, because fear is about avoiding danger, it is relative to other dangers. Fear may motivate a move away from one danger but toward another. What if turning left to avoid a car means running into tree? Both are dangerous, both cause fear. Which will the person choose? They will choose the lesser danger, the lesser fear.

 

Here is the problem: following Christ often leads to fearful choices. Most Christians know the mild fear of evangelism. We know that choosing to follow Christ in sharing my faith will give rise to a mild fear. That fear is compounded if I also fear losing a friend. If I am following Christ out of fear, now I have a problem. Which do I fear more—not following Christ or not evangelizing? Of course, this is compounded as the stakes get higher. Realizing his relationship with his girlfriend was immoral, Mr. New Christian fears God’s wrath. So, he ponders ending that relationship. But ending that relationship will leave him alone, and cause him emotional pain, both of which he also fears. Will Mr. New Christian’s fear of God’s wrath be enough to motivate him to make a painful relationship choice?

Fear is not only relative to other fears, but itself is relative to perceived danger. But perceived danger has two key variables: imminence and credibility. The first is imminence. The nearer I am to danger the more fear I feel. Conversely, the further I am from danger, the less fear I feel. This is a real limit which Jesus notes. In Luke 12 he tells of a servant whose master was out of town. Believing the master’s return was not imminent, the servant decided to get drunk and beat his fellow servants. The clear implication being, lack of imminence limits a sense of fear—and thus limits the motivation fear provides.

The second variable is credibility. In order for a danger to cause fear, that danger must be credible. I must believe that there is a good chance the danger will occur. If I judge the danger to be remote, I will feel less fear—and be less motivated to act. Parents come across this regularly. If little Johnny perceives Mom’s threat to be unlikely, he is unlikely to obey. Only when he knows Mom means business will little Johnny comply.

The Product of Fear

Fear is inadequate because it is relative and because it motivates avoidance. If we extend these problems into the future, we have a third reason for fear’s inadequacy: fear’s product. Fear does not produce Christian maturity.

While we certainly see fear in Christ, we quickly note that his decisions are not predicated upon fear. Take, for example, the cross. In Gethsemane Christ clearly experiences fear. He prays that the cross might be taken from Him. Yet, his fear does not motivate Christ’s action. He acts despite that fear, not because of it. Christ doesn’t try to avoid the cross, but embraces it. He concludes His prayer, ‘Thy will be done.’

So, the Christlike Christian is one who learns to act, not according to his fears, but according to the will of God—in spite of his fears. Thus, the product of fear—a Christian seeking to avoid danger—is not the mature Christian Christ seeks.