People use words like "faith" to manipulate people. Usually, the object is to get money, but many preachers of "faith" just want control over others. We know from experience that people use fear to manipulate people. In this culture, we would never call this manipulation by fear by its real name, but we call it "faith" or even "love."

A common complaint against the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it makes people fearful. The message of the good news is that we can be delivered from certain destruction ("hell"). It is strange that a message meant to be good news is most often taken with offense, because names are named and the guilt is laid at the feet of the condemned. This makes men fearful. The wicked are fearful, even though no one pursues them, says the proverb. They have a guilty conscience and they feel the wrath of God on their heads, but they don’t want deliverance from that wrath. So, even though the good news is meant to bring them relief, they remain in their fearful state, and it increases. There is a fear of death that keeps them from life, as it were.

It is good to fear God, but not to be fearful. When we fear God rightly, we do not loathe him, but rather acknowledge how much greater he is than ourselves and beyond our capacity to obey his commands. We seek comfort and love from him by some other means than trying to assuage his anger by our own good deeds. We come to his bench as we would to a judge, and beg mercy. He is only too willing to give it.

Most people, if you ask them, will tell you they have faith. But most people do not know the truth that leads to eternal life, so their faith is in something not true. Actually, they live in constant fear of death! Men use this fear of death to manipulate others into believing things that are not true. They will tell you that there is no hell or heaven, or that there is no God who is going to judge us on judgment day. They are lying, of course.

Ignoring the truth won’t make death go away. Come to Jesus Christ. He is the Truth, the Way to God, and the Life of God. He will give you real faith and you can make peace with God through him.

Chris Simonson

We encourage you to email the author to prove or disprove, from the Scriptures, the intent, meaning, purpose or doctrine of this piece. email Chris