The Illusion of Fear… religious fear

Whenever the Bible talks about fear, we must understand that many times it is talking about 2 things: being afraid (fear not) and reverence (fear of the Lord). Out of 400 times the word fear is in the Bible, many of those references the awe or reverence of the Lord. Today we are going to talk about maw-gore' in the Hebrew or fob-eh'-o, in the Greek, which means to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away). We are going to focus today on religious fear.

Romans 8:15 And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”

Disclaimer-

The definition of religion is a system that describes and explains God. We are not saying religion is a bad thing. It is only when it is distorted and misinterpreted. We are not coming against people or leaders, we are coming against a system that says you must believe in the system with all its beliefs and doctrines, or you are in error and there are severe consequences if you don’t. That is religious fear placed upon the people. It robs folks the ability to go to God spirit to spirit and maybe look at things differently and be able to think for ourselves.

Illusion - An illusion is something that isn't real. It may look real, but it's actually fake. Fear is false evidence appearing real. The illusion of fear comes in when we begin to question what we hear and then think we are in trouble with God, because it is not exactly what we have been told. That mindset stunts our growth.
Religious fear, then, is not rooted in the divine, but in misunderstanding. It masquerades as reverence, convincing us that trembling is the same as awe—yet at its core, it is insecurity draped in spiritual language. We find ourselves asking: Does God truly desire us to tremble, or to trust? Fear, in this context, is not a healthy caution or respect for the sacred, but a counterfeit that distorts the beauty of faith’s invitation. It thrives on uncertainty and multiplies shame, convincing us that our humanity disqualifies us from grace.
Fear isolates; love gathers. Fear divides; love unites. Where fear builds walls, love opens doors.
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