Fearing the Lord and fearing America’s president
God established governing authorities to help maintain law, order, peace, and security for people here on Earth, as well as to punish wrongdoers.
“Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:2-4).
Peace on Earth is far from perfect due to the selfishness and brutality of vicious tyrants who seek world domination. And when these marauding despots go unchecked by America and other freedom-loving nations, bloodshed and misery are sure to increase exponentially.
Winston Churchill said, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” Ronald Reagan said, “There is no security, no safety, in the appeasement of evil.”
The world has witnessed America’s president sliding down the slippery slope of appeasement for the past 14 months.
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Unfortunately, the mainstream media refused to ask tough questions of the Biden/Harris team during the 2020 presidential campaign, and this favoritism and soft journalistic approach is coming back to bite the United States and the world in more ways than one.
The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the catastrophic war in Ukraine could have both been avoided. Bill Maher recently put it this way: “If Putin thought Trump was really that supportive of him, why didn’t he invade when Trump was in office? It’s at least worth asking that question if you’re not locked into one intransigent thought.”
I wonder if there is a single dictator in the world today who fears Joe Biden.
Imagine if Jesus had been indecisive and weak in explaining the consequences of rejecting the Gospel. Instead, Jesus made clear, bold, and loving statements, such as these:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew 10:28).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Christian leaders are called to speak the truth in love, while American presidents must understand that appeasement simply emboldens the enemies of freedom and democracy.
Charles Colson wrote, “In his 1978 Harvard commencement address, Solzhenitsyn listed a litany of woes facing the West: the loss of courage and will, the addiction to comfort, the abuse of freedom, the capitulation of intellectuals to fashionable ideas, the attitude of appeasement with evil.”
The fear of the Lord is what leads a person to humble himself before his Creator. Without humility, we tend to charge off and do things that are unwise and harmful to ourselves and others.
“To fear the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27). “The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them” (Psalm 25:14).
Human beings need the fear of the Lord, and despicable dictators need the fear of America’s president and the fear of other freedom-loving countries. Otherwise, a person tends to think he can simply get away with anything!
While every president throughout American history has made mistakes, some of Joe Biden's appeasement policies over the past 14 months have delivered deadly consequences that were entirely avoidable.
In the midst of war, suffering, and death, our ultimate hope is found in the Redeemer who gave His life on the cross for our salvation. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15)
“God commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30,31).
Jesus said, “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Those who fear the Lord are called to repent of their sins and invited to trust Christ as Savior. And thankfully, Jesus is quick to welcome new believers into His eternal family.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
