04.06. Fear of God, Judgement Seat of Christ

Instead of the awesome majesty of Jehovah, today the Lord is presented as a sort of "ice cream man-Santa Claus." And the Church is the "candy store" where you can get "every goodie your heart desires." Jesus Himself is portrayed as "a sweetie pie," so good, so loving, so forgiving, and so gentle, that you can almost hear the preacher whisper, "Aw, He wouldn’t hurt a fly..." But what happened to "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31) or "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’? (Proverbs 9:10)(See also Deuteronomy 5:29, Deuteronomy 10:12; Joshua 24:14; 2 Kings 17:39; Psalms 2:11; Psalms 15:4; Psalms 19:9; Psalms 25:14; Psalms 31:19; Psalms 33:18; Psalms 34:7; Psalms 34:9; Psalms 34:11; Psalms 52:6; Psalms 60:4; Psalms 67:7; Psalms 72:5; Psalms 85:9; Psalms 86:11; Psalms 103:11; Psalms 103:13; Psalms 103:17; Psalms 111:5; Psalms 112:1; Psalms 147:11; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 10:27; Proverbs 13:13; Proverbs 14:26-27; Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 19:23; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 28:14; Proverbs 31:30; Isaiah 8:13; Jeremiah 32:39-40 Malachi 3:16; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 10:28; Luke 1:50; Acts 10:35; Acts 13:26; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:21; Php 2:12; Hebrews 12:29; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 14:7) The wise, new editors of modern preaching rhetoric have conveniently wiped out every reference to the Almighty’s severity while emphasizing only His kindness. This they do, ignoring the balanced, biblical view of Paul, "Behold then the kindness and severity of God." (Romans 11:22)