Outlined Transcript:
Hi everyone,
In this video, I want to talk about the struggle of fear in many cultures.
Fear in Animistic Cultures
In my context, there is a lot of demonic activity in these villages. I've heard that before the Lahu migrated from Burma into the village where we live now, this particular little mountain valley had a bunch of witches in it. The shamans of the Lahu tribe that were migrating into the village apparently ran out the witches. I don't know all the details.
It's kind of like we're just replacing one level of witchcraft with another level of witchcraft. Apparently, they're not all on the same team. But when it comes to the light of Christianity, I'm sure they are, because the darkness opposes the light. Even among the teams of darkness, the witches and the shamans don't always work too well together, which is the strangest thing.
But the fact is that these religions, these animistic religions and tribal religions, are very fear-based.
They go from, "Well, this witch over here, her spells or incantations or her various works and activities didn't dispel and placate the demons. The demons keep coming back, so we're going to talk to the shaman over here. Maybe he has better practices. Maybe he's more experienced, or he has a way of appeasing the demonic spirits so that they will leave people alone and let them just live in peace."
The gospel and the Problem of Fear
There is some missions literature out there that talks about fear and power, and that the gospel in those cultures is that Jesus has power over the demons.
Is it true that Jesus has power over the demons? Of course it's true.
Is the human problem in Adam that we are oppressed by demons, and therefore we need Christus Victor, a man of God from heaven, to come chase away the demons?
No, that's not the gospel. That might be an effect of the gospel. It might be an implication of the gospel, but it's not the gospel.
The gospel is that we're guilty in Adam, and that in Adam we should be afraid, but not only of demons. We should be afraid of God. That's who we should really fear: God.
And are demons fearful? Yeah. I've seen things in my time here in the jungles and the village that would keep you up at night.
But truly, the demons will suffer hell along with everybody else who does not believe in Christ and repent.
The fact is that our fears need to be rightly ordered. They need to be rightly ordered with the Word of God so that people see that, yes, demons are bad, they're scary, and they're crazy. But God is holy, and we should fear God because of what He could do to us and what He will do to us if we don't receive Christ as our righteousness and our pardon.
True Peace Is a Standing Before God
The gospel is not that Jesus has power over demons. We should be afraid of God. Under His law, we should be broken.
And through pardon, the atoning work of Christ, the imputation of righteousness, and reconciliation with God, we can have peace with God.
It's not just peace from demons. It's not just an inner peace, a sense that all is well.
Now, that is good. That is precious. It's sweet to have emotional peace in our souls, and it's a byproduct of resting in the gospel, for sure.
But real peace is not just a feeling. Real peace is a standing before God.
People need to be taught that the peace of the gospel is that God is not your enemy.
Romans 8:1 says:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
We have reconciliation with God. We can come to Him and call Him Father. There is now peace for those who have been justified by grace and who obtain access to God through the peace of the cross and the work of Jesus Christ.
The Alternative to Fear Is Peace
This is something that needs to be asserted: the alternative to fear is not power.
Jesus, to be sure, uses His power, but the alternative to fear is peace.
There are two states. Power is not a state. It's an instrument. You use the instrument of power to dispel fear in order to achieve peace.
This is part of the gospel. It's not the center of the gospel. The center of the gospel is atonement and the imputation of righteousness.
But this is part of the tapestry of the gospel: God will allay your fears and give you peace in Jesus Christ.
So we can say with Paul in Romans 8:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
In other words, you don't need to fear.
Even if all of hell and Satan is against you, if God is for you, not just with you, but for you, nobody and nothing, not even your own sin, can be against you finally.
God Is Our Keeper
God will deliver you from all evil. He will be the shade on your right hand, and He will not let the sun strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
God is your keeper. God is your keeper.
He is your guardian, your defender, and you have nothing to fear because you are at peace in the presence of God.
You are not in judgment in the presence of God, but you are at peace.
You have a legal standing of peace before God.
So this is how you maneuver the real gospel into the felt needs of the target culture, who have problems of fear and have a desire to achieve peace through certain levels of enoughness.