According to Rick Warren, Christians obey God out of love, not fear. The problem is not always what Rick Warren says, but also what he does not say. Love is indeed a motivation to obey God, but the fear of God is as well. But this message of the fear of God is not preached as strongly from Warren, if at all! (See Rick Warren: Why God Encourages Christians to ‘Fear Not’ 365 Times in the Bible.)
These types of messages leave an impression that Christians don’t need to fear God because of what Rick Warren does not say! To put into perspective how popular and influential Rick Warren really is among Evangelicals, notice how much circulation this single message has generated in the list of links below:
- Daily Hope – We Obey God Out of Love, Not Fear
- Christian Today – Rick Warren says Christians obey God and do good deeds out of love, not fear
- Christianity.com – We Obey God Out of Love, Not Fear
- My Christian Daily – Rick Warren: ‘Christians obey God out of love, not fear’
- Christian Conservative Daily – Rick Warren says Christians obey God and do good deeds out of love, not fear
- The Christian Times – Rick Warren corrects non-believers’ misconception that Christians obey God out of fear or obligation
- The Christian Post – Rick Warren: Christians Obey God Out of Love, Not Fear
And this is not an exhaustive list; it goes on and on. Apparently many professing Christians want to hear this message. But is this true that a Christian obeys God out of love, and not out of fear? What do the Scriptures teach?
Warren’s text is John 15:14 from the NLT: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” First of all, does this text prove Warren’s point. No, it does not. Jesus says nothing about our motivation here. He is simply stating that if we obey Him, then we are His friends. But Warren comments:
Why do we obey God? Nonbelievers get this wrong all the time. They say, “I don’t want to be a Christian because I don’t want to obey God. You believers obey him out of guilt or fear or obligation, and I don’t want that for my life.”
Why do we really obey God? Because he loves us! . . . We don’t obey God out of fear or guilt or obligation. We obey God out of love because he loved us and saved us. . . .
A more appropriate verse for Warren’s point would be John 14:15 (rather than John 15:14): Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (See also John 14:21.) In other words, if we don’t keep Christ’s commandments, then we don’t really love Him. Warren continues:
John 15:9-11 says, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me … When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
Once again, does Jesus say that love is our motivation for obedience, and not fear? No, He does not. Jesus says that we abide in God’s love by keeping His commandments. On the other hand, if we don’t obey Him, we will not abide in His love. But fear is a legitimate motivation to obey God.
Warren says:
God doesn’t want you to obey him because you’re afraid of him. He doesn’t want you to obey him because you’re scared of punishment. God wants you to obey him because of love. It’s his love that leads to true joy.
God doesn’t want you to obey Him because you’re afraid of Him? In fact, the Bible repeatedly links the fear of God with obedience and/or keeping His commandments. Here are several passages which Warren did not provide in his message:
- Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29)
- Fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. (Deuteronomy 6:2)
- You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (Deuteronomy 8:6)
- You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4)
- If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. (1 Samuel 12:14)
- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111:10)
- Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. (Psalm 112:1)
- Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness And has no light? (Isaiah 50:10)
Surely Rick Warren believes in the fear of God, at least to some extent. Concerning homosexual marriage, Warren said, “I fear God’s disapproval more than man’s.” Yet he doesn’t seem to tell others to fear God; that’s not what the world wants to hear. Because Rick Warren’s church exists for unbelievers, he will not preach this message of the fear of God. The headline: “Rick Warren: Fear God and Keep His Commandments” will not appear in the mainstream professing Christian publications listed above, unless Warren repents of pleasing men.
The fear of God is not just an Old Testament reality. The New Testament contains the same message. Jesus taught us very explicitly to fear God and obey Him.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
Even Jesus Himself feared God the Father. The book of Hebrews says that Jesus, “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Hebrews 5:7). Other New Testament passages on the fear of God include:
- And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. (Luke 1:50)
- Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. (Acts 9:31)
- [Speaking of Cornelius] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. (Acts 10:2)
- And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” (Acts 10:22)
- But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. (Acts 10:35)
- There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)
- You stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. (Romans 11:20)
- Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
- For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Corinthians 7:11)
- Submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:21)
- Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
- Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. (Hebrews 4:1)
- By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:17)
- Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (Hebrews 12:28)
- And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear (1 Peter 1:17)
- Fear God (1 Peter 2:17)
In context, the bulk of these passages relate to our behavior, i.e., obedience. So how can Rick Warren say that we obey God out of love, not fear? Of course we obey God because we love Him. This is also in the Scriptures (see Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9; 11:1; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4; 1 John 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6).
But there is no Bible verse which says, “Obey God out of love, not fear.” Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13, KJV).
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