免於恐懼Freedomfrom Fear
作者: Burk Parsons 譯者: Maria Marta
世界是个危险的地方，充满危机和凶险的人。危难、艰辛、陷阱潜伏在每个角落。身为基督徒，我们明白这一点，因为我们知道罪及其后果是如何进入世界的。
許多沒有宗教信仰的人或無神論者都不願意承認邪惡的存在，或人有罪。然而，當遭到恐怖分子襲擊或發生災難時，他們都會脫口而出：「邪惡的行為」或「邪惡的人」。他們沒有用自己的語言解釋這個世界的不幸和悲劇; 因此，他們必然借鑒聖經的世界觀。只有聖經對邪惡作出條理清楚的解釋，只有上帝的說話告訴我們，我們為何天生懼怕。
我們生來就有恐懼，一進入這世界就哭喊著尋求幫助。即使未出生的嬰兒，被墮胎者在安全、受保護的母親子宮裏撕裂時，他們也會經歷強烈的恐懼。小孩子怕黑，會想要一盞夜燈來安慰他們自己。我們不僅害怕最嚴重的災難降臨到我們和我們周圍的人，而且我們也害怕我們可能會經歷所有相對較小的悲劇和苦難。
恐懼是一種原始情緒，它的感染力是如此的強大，以致可以對我們的心靈造成巨大的創傷。問題是，我們該如何應對恐懼? 我們設法隱藏我們的恐懼，在恐懼的泥沼中打滾，表現得我們好像沒有恐懼，抑或竭力以頑強的意志來面對我們的恐懼? 又或者我們轉向上帝? 惟有轉向上帝，我們才聽見祂說: 「不要懼怕」。然而，上帝命令我們不要害怕，不是讓我們忽視我們的恐懼，也不是讓我們以頑強的意志戰勝恐懼，而是因為祂已經應許: 「我與你同在。」 因為耶和華與我們同在，祂教導我們唯獨敬畏祂。只有當我們敬畏上帝時，其他的恐懼才開始消失。
我們清楚知道我們唯獨藉著信心與基督聯合，和依靠聖靈住在基督裏面，這就是懼怕上帝與敬畏上帝的區別。這就是懼怕每一種可能的危險和信靠掌管主權的上帝之間的區別，上帝永遠不會離開我們或拋棄我們。聖靈是我們的安慰者，祂使我們從恐懼中得釋放，因為將我們握在掌心的那一位拯救了我們。因此我們能與約翰牛頓頌唱：「浩瀚大恩典教導我心敬畏, 解除我心恐懼」；與馬丁·路德高歌：「群魔雖然環繞我身，向我盡量施侵淩， 我不懼怕，因神有旨，真理必使我得勝。」
Freedom from Fear
by
Burk Parsons
The
world is a dangerous place, full of perilous things and unsafe people. Dangers,
toils, and snares lurk around every corner because evil is real. As Christians,
we understand this because we know how sin and its consequences entered the
world.
Many
nonreligious or atheistic people do not want to admit that evil exists or that
men are sinful. Yet, when terrorists strike or calamity happens, they are quick
to speak of “acts of evil” or “evil people.” They have no words of their own to
account for the miseries and tragedies in this world; therefore, they must
borrow from our biblical worldview. Only Scripture provides a coherent
explanation for evil, and God’s Word alone tells us why we are naturally
afraid.
We
are born with fear, coming into this world crying out for help. Even unborn
babies experience intense fear when abortionists tear them apart in the once
safe, protected wombs of their mothers. Young children are afraid of the dark
and want a nightlight to comfort them. We are afraid not only of the worst
catastrophes befalling us and those around us, but we are also afraid of all
the comparatively smaller tragedies and hardships that we might experience.
Fear
is a primal emotion so powerful that it can wreak havoc on our hearts. The
question is, What do we do with our fears? Do we wallow in the mire of fear,
act as if we have no fear, attempt to hide our fear, or try to face our fears
with sheer tenacity? Or do we turn to the Lord? Only when we turn to the Lord
do we hear Him say, “Do not fear.” However, the Lord commands us not to fear
not so that we might ignore our fears or overcome them by sheer willpower but
because He has promised, “I am with you.” Because the Lord is with us, He has
taught us to fear Him alone. All other fears begin to fade away only when we
fear the Lord.
Knowing
that we are united to Christ by faith alone and indwelt by the Spirit is the
difference between being afraid of God and fearing God. It is the difference
between being afraid of every possible danger and trusting our sovereign God
who will never leave us or forsake us. The Holy Spirit, our Comforter,
liberates us to walk in freedom from fear because we have been rescued by the
One who holds us in the palm of His hand. That is why we can sing with John
Newton, “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears
relieved,” and with Martin Luther, “And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to
triumph through us.”