“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 20:29, NKJV)
I can only remember one time seeing the fear of God on someone’s face. A friend called me to come to her house because she had invited a cult member in for Bible study. This person agreed that our main difference concerned the identity of Jesus Christ, so we decided to study a chapter in the Gospel of John.
Instead of arguing theology with this person, my friend and I agreed that we should just let Scripture speak for itself. Every time he wanted to stop and explain his opposing view on a portion that clearly declared the identity of Christ, we said, “Let’s keep reading.” We refused to debate.
After an hour, he left without saying very much to us. We prayed for him but he never came back. Later, I happened to see him a couple times, once in a local restaurant. When he saw me, there was great fear in his eyes, an odd look that I’d not seen in anyone before.
I suppose there have been times I wanted to “put the fear of God” into my kids, or wished that for contrary people, but this was unexpected. What was going on in his mind?
I cannot speak for the cult person. Was there something about that Bible study that made him afraid? Did God cause him to see that by comparing his theology with what the Bible says, he stood on very shaky ground?
Whatever it was, I can still see his face and often wonder about him. Did the fear of God move him to get out of that cult? Or did he ignore it and dig in more deeply?
Whatever happened, one thing I know — being afraid of God because of what His Word says is far better than doing what that cult does (and writers like the author of the Da Vinci Code) — rewriting it to make it acceptable (and saleable) to those who refuse to believe it.
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