Shameless disclaimer: The inspiration for this post came directly from the pulpit of my own church, in a sermon titled “Come, Lord, Save Us From God!” (See? This is why all Christians absolutely need to go to church!)
It’s one of the most elementary of Christian teachings: Jesus saves. Even a Sunday School preschooler could tell you Jesus died on the cross to take away my sins. When asked exactly what Jesus saved you from, most Christians supply answers like Satan, hell, or death. A more mature believer might even say something like my own self.
None of these are your worst enemy.
And all those answers are correct. Jesus certainly did rescue you from death, hell, and your own sinful nature. But none of those are the worst enemy you face, and certainly not the worst you should fear.
What you don’t always hear—and what you should NEVER allow yourself to forget—is that Jesus didn’t just save us from sin and Satan. He saved us from God himself.
That’s right, the loving God we strive to serve is someone we should all be terrified of: your worst enemy.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
WHY SHOULD I BE AFRAID OF GOD?
The most beloved, oft-quoted Bible verses—John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28—all focus on God’s love. And I get it, it’s more fun to talk about God’s love than his anger. But the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat God’s wrath:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” John 3:36
Our creator is not merely a benevolent grandfather in the sky who smiles down on his people and says “kids will be kids” whenever we mess up. Like any good parent, he has a side known as righteous anger. And our sinful nature puts us at odds with the Almighty, making him our enemy.
WHAT MAKES GOD MY WORST ENEMY?
Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, “I fear the man who drinks water and so remembers this morning what the rest of us said last night.” (A warning against drunkenness.) Famed martial artist Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
In essence? Fear the one with the most power—the one who has skills and knows how to use them.
Which is exactly what Matthew 10:28 warns us about:
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Not only is God completely justified in his anger with us, but he has the power to do something about it. Noah and his family saw it firsthand as they climbed into their ark and watched the rest of the world be destroyed.
So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created.” Genesis 6
“On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 7
God once cleared the earth of all but one family, and you should never think you are exempt from his wrath simply because you’re not quite as evil as the people of Noah’s time.
Hebrews 10:31 sums it up quite succinctly:
“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Yes, you should be terrified of God.
But you don’t have to be anymore.
JESUS SAVED YOU FROM YOUR WORST ENEMY
In the Biblical story of Esther, there is a scene where Esther is called upon to approach the king with a request. The problem? It was illegal to approach the king without a direct summons, and punishable by death.
That may sound extreme, but it’s not terribly different today. If you don’t believe me, try approaching the President of the United States without receiving security clearance first.
If we can’t even approach the leader of our country, how are we to approach the God who created that leader? We need an advocate.
And we have one.
This is where your story differs. Because in this case, your worst enemy saw that you could never beat him on your own, and did something no other enemy would ever do.
He sent a scapegoat for his wrath.
“He was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.”
Isaiah 59:16
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
Ah, the breath of relief. What’s so beautiful about what Jesus did is that he did it without waiting for us to realize what he’d truly saved us from. I’ve never experienced God in his wrath. None of us have, not the way the people of Noah’s time did.
Because of Jesus.
We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:14,16
Jesus is your advocate, our high priest, and he actively champions us before the throne of God. Because of what he did, you are free to approach God without fear for your life. He’s the big brother who stepped between the naughty little brother and the angry parent, times a million. He took your place on the cross and intercedes for you even today.
And now, he who was once your worst enemy has become your truest ally.
The next time you’re wondering, “Should I be afraid of God?” remind yourself of this: Jesus saved you from God so that you might one day gaze upon the face of the living God without fear. Let that be the source of your joy this Christmas.
Cheers!
More Faith-Building Content For Christian Teens
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
I’m including Advent and Christmas posts because that’s the season this was first written in, but you can glean wisdom from all my posts any time of year.
Well said, Lauren, well said. Advent surely is a time of reflection and repentance. Thank you for your message.
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