Acts 18 Lesson

FEAR AND THE APOSTLE PAUL

The Apostle Paul lived an amazing life. 

That, however, does not mean that he was never afraid. 

Earlier in his life, Paul persecuted Christians and created fear in the hearts of many. 

After his “Road To Damascus Moment(Acts 9:1-6) , Paul devoted the rest of his life to the preaching and teaching of God’s word. 

He suffered greatly in his service to the Lord, having been:

1. Nearly stoned to death,
2. Beaten with rods,
3. Imprisoned multiple times! 

It would make sense if Paul lived his life in constant fear considering everything that he had been through.

Except for one thing.

God told him not to be afraid, and Paul listened to him! 

Luke writes about how the Lord spoke to Paul one night in a vision:

• "'Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.’ And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” –  Acts 18:9-11.

These words must have been of great comfort to Paul.

But what about us?

As Christians, what role, if any, should fear play in our lives?

To answer that question, we will look at what the Bible teaches us about fear.

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FEAR

There are many verses in the Bible that talk about fear. For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following five verses:

1. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10,
2. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9,
3. The Lord is the defense of my life; “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?  Whom should I dread?” - Psalm 27:1,
4. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayerand supplication withthanksgivinglet your requests be made known to God.  And thepeaceof God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:6-7,
5. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” - John 14:27.

These scriptures tell us that God does not want us to live fearful lives, He wants us to be at peace.

In order to do that, there are three things that we must do:

1. Pray to God,
2. Trust God,
3. Think about positive things.

Consider the following words written by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians:

• “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. ” – Philippians 4:8-9.

As we think about the above scripture, we should examine our lives and what type of thoughts we are feeding our minds.

News outlets tend to report the worst events of the day.

There is an old saying in the news industry, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

If we are constantly watching reports about sin, crime, and war, of course we will be afraid!

But that is not what God wants us to do.

As we have just read, he wants us to focus our energy on things that are:

1. True,
2. Honorable,
3. Right,
4. Pure,
5. Lovely,
6. Of good repute,
7. Excellent,
8. And worthy of praise.

By focusing on positive things, like the unsurpassed love of God, and the eternal glory that awaits the faithful in Heaven, we will be able to live lives of hope and not fear.

FEAR OF THE LORD

There is one type of fear that is healthy for us, and that is a fear of the Lord. 

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Psalm 9:10.

When the Bible tells us to fear the Lord, it means two things:

1. That we are to show God reverence,
2. That we recognize God’s supreme power in all things. 

CONCLUSION

Fear is a powerful tool of the devil. 

If we let it consume us, it will.

To be at peace in a sinful world, we need to focus on positive things and keep our eyes on the prize of eternal salvation.

When we struggle, we need to remember the courage that Paul showed in overcoming all of the adversity that he faced.

The Lord spoke to Paul and told him not to be afraid, and Peter listened.

Will we?

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture from the Book of Psalms:

• “I sought the Lord and He answered me, and rescued me from all my fears.” - Psalm 34:4.