I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the very modern hymns.
Today’s song is Whom Shall I Fear? It’s from 2012.
We all know what it is to be afraid. From a spiritual perspective, you can focus on common day-to-day fears, but you can also focus on the bigger picture. If you’re an enemy of God, you have Him to fear. And the Bible teaches that by nature, we all rebel against God. Nowadays, many focus so much on God’s love that they airbrush out all the Bible teaching on his hatred towards sin and his threats to punish sin. But we need to take all aspects of God’s character into account to gain a true picture of Him.
Matthew 10:28
28 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.
John 3:36
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
After you believe, you might fear Satan a bit more. There’s a humorous proverb, “The devil looks after his own”. He might sometimes do that if you’re useful to him. But ultimately, he comes to steal, kill and destroy. He hates God’s creation and undoubtedly, he particular hates people who worship the true and living God. But when we trust in Christ, we need not be terrified of Satan, though we need to be aware of his activities. In the New Testament, Satan is compared to a roaring lion and an angel of light.
1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
The angel of light metaphor suggests that Satan isn’t always obvious. He can subtly lead people astray, sometimes even through religion. At the very outset of the New Testament church, false apostles started distorting Christian truth and attempting to lead people astray. Almost all the New Testament letters warn against such tactics.
When I was a young Christian, a lady in our fellowship shared a little illustration that stuck in my mind. Let’s suppose you’re in a room and Satan is banging and trying to force the door open.
And let’s suppose Jesus in knocking on another door to the room. Wouldn’t the answer be to let Jesus in? As an older chorus says “In the name of Jesus, we have the victory, In the name of Jesus, demons will have to flee.”
Anyway, let’s get back to today’s song, wouldn’t it be awful if we couldn’t tell whether God or Satan will ultimately win? But Satan is a creature, who depends on God for his very existence. Why doesn’t God just annihilate him? He’s clearly allowing him to continue his activities, just as Jesus allowed Judas to betray him. God has a great purpose in mind, and we’ll see that when Jesus returns. But for now, we’re in the midst of the battle, but God has control of how it takes shape and of the final outcome.
The final book of the Bible is Revelation. People sometimes debate on which parts are to be taken literally, but the overall message is clear. God wins.
Revelation 19:11-14
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Revelation 20:10
“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Here are some other versions of Whom Shall I Fear?
Hibernia Gospel 