Fear of Man

When Jesus was alive on earth, it was the fear of what others might think that prevented many from nailing their colours to his mast. The apostle John recorded,

“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:42-43

Is this not true so often today? How many leading men in our society have had a Christian upbringing yet now are ashamed to talk about the Lord Jesus? It is even true for many clergy – they may occasionally mention God but seldom explain the necessity of everyone having a close personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.

A leader from another church’s visited one of our church services. I went up to speak with her before the service began to make her feel welcome. I started by saying how good it was to see her with us. Her reply shocked me,

“The trouble with your church is that you talk too much about Jesus!”

I didn’t know what had initiated this outburst and wondered how best to reply. I had just been studying Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians, so I showed her the first ten verses of the opening chapter. The Lord Jesus is mentioned in every sentence. Paul was clearly concerned that the troubled church in Corinth should come back to being Christ-centred. We could have looked at other epistles. They are all full of Christ. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, summarises the gospel as,

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

Why have so many churches and Christian organisations drifted from this fundamental doctrine? Why have so many Christians stopped talking about the Lord Jesus with their friends and families? They may believe it quietly in their hearts but it is no longer on their lips.