23 CONFIDENT FEAR Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows (Matt. 10:29-31).
The underlying theocentric principle here is God's omniscience. He sees everything. The practical application of this principle is this: God's people, being worth more than an inexpensive bird, should have confidence in His support.
Omniscience and Entrepreneurship Omniscience is one of the incommunicable attributes of God. God knows everything. This is one aspect of His infinity. Not being omniscient, man cannot comprehend infinity. Jesus therefore discussed God's infinity in terms that men can understand, such as knowing the number of hairs on a man's head. No man can count them because he will lose track of which hairs he has already counted. Meanwhile, some hairs will fall out. We know only that the number of hairs is many.
The philosophical implications of God's omniscience are many, but this much is sure: nothing surprises God. Nothing sneaks up on Him. Therefore, His people should not allow their surprise to paralyze them. They are in His sight and His care. Men are vulnerable to the unexpected. This vulnerability is an aspect of man's lack of omniscience. But if a man is part of God's remnant, this vulnerability is temporary. To the extent that he is acting as a dominion agent, he can overcome the challenge of the unknown. He does so by means of his own efforts, but also by the joint efforts of church members. He is not alone. God is with him, and the church is with Him.
Another implication is that cause and effect are not random. There is no zone of indeterminacy for God. He knows both the location and speed of the electron and the galaxy. Man is not trapped in a world governed by chance.
A third implication is that life is not a discovery process for God. He never discovers anything that He did not know before.
Man sees the future as through a glass, darkly. He can be surprised. Lots of things sneak up on him. For him, cause and effect often seem random. Life is a discovery process for man.
Because of these limitations on man's knowledge, man is necessarily an entrepreneur.
The entrepreneur confronts uncertainty. He must deal with it. He looks into the future and makes decisions in the present. He takes action in the present. He exchanges one set of circumstances for another in the present. He does not do this with complete confidence unless he is a fool. He does not know the outcome of his actions because he does not know everything that contributes to cause and effect in history. The complexity of life is too much for man to deal with. He deals with creation representatively: by models and laws. The question is: Which models and which laws?
Reality is complex. It is interdependent. Anything can affect anything else, or so some people think. Perhaps everything else affects anything, or at least could affect anything under certain circumstances. We do not know, for we are not omniscient. We cannot make sense of infinity. Biblically speaking, there are degrees of infinity. It comes in varying sizes. The infinitude of the creation is less than the infinitude of God, in a way analogous to the infinitude of eternity, which it is less for resurrected men than for God, who got here first.
Men could not act rationally if they had to know everything exhaustively before they could know anything truly.(1) They would be paralyzed. Men make decisions based on information that constitutes a nearly infinitesimal amount of data. Yet they make progress. They learn. For them, life is a discovery process.
The entrepreneur tries to discover coherence in the present so that he can improve his situation in the uncertain future. A successful entrepreneur learns from his successes and his errors. He improves his decision-making ability. Out of the mists of uncertainty comes information in the form of feedback. The feedback that he receives from reality enables him to deal more successfully with reality the next time.
Men are supposed to pray for wisdom (James 1:5-8). This wisdom is from above, but it is also from this world. Men are to ask for a clearer understanding of their restricted area of responsibility, i.e., their zone of dominion. They should expect to receive this information from the God who is larger than infinity and above it. But covenantal wisdom is more than knowing; it is also obeying. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). We learn by doing.
Reducing Our Fear of the Future God is aware when a sparrow falls. How important is a sparrow? Less important than a man. We cannot measure how much less important, but we know that it is less important.
Jesus used this contrast to persuade His followers that their concerns are known to God. God is not some distant monarch who does not know what is happening. He is omniscient. He can see the sparrow fall; He can see us fall. He is present with the sparrow when it falls; He is present with us when we fall.
For the covenant-keeper, this information is intended to reduce his fear of the future. "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." The future should be terrifyingly fearful for covenant-breakers, but not for covenant-keepers. The reason why it should not be fearful for covenant-keepers is because God is omnipotent. He brings His eternal decree to pass in history. This is the message of the last four chapters of Job. There is no uncertainty for God.
Job was not afraid of the future. He was confused by the past. He despaired because of the covenantal unpredictability of the future -- the lack of correspondence between his faithfulness and the visible results. It was not that he was cut down; it was that he was cut down for no apparent covenantal reason. There seemed to be a discrepancy between covenantal predictability -- blessings for obedience -- and his sacramental past and unpleasant present. As a forecaster, he had failed to foresee these events. He was unable to make sense of cause and effect. His past gave him no useful information about his expected future. As an entrepreneur, he had previously been successful in dealing with uncertainty. He had obeyed God, and He had prospered. But cause and effect had become worse than random; it had become perverse. This baffled him. God's answer was clear: "I'm God; you're not. I get to do what I want."
The reason why the Book of Job is so difficult to explain is that this answer seems to deny covenantal cause and effect. But this is not the book's message. On the contrary: "So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses" (Job 42:12). But in the interim, God did what He pleased. When dealing with fallen man, God's law is all grace, and so is covenantal cause and effect. Man has no legal claim on God, for man is in rebellion. It is grace alone that brings positive sanctions and restricts negative ones.
We are not to fear the future, because God is in control of the future, and we are His adopted children. He cares for us. Whatever happens to us is not a mistake on God's part. Our temporal and temporary afflictions are not the result of God's absent-mindedness. They are part of our lifelong discovery process. What we are supposed to discover is that God loves His people and has a wonderful plan for their lives (Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:13).
Fear thwarts this discovery process. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (I John 4:18). God's love is perfect. It casts out fear. Our love is imperfect. The proof of this imperfection is our fear. We are tormented by fear. This thwarts our progressive sanctification.
Yet we also know that fear is an attribute of faith. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever" (Ps. 111:10). So, the deciding factor is not fear but the object of our fear. Do we fear God or the creation? Jesus had already made it plain to the disciples what we are to fear. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). This leads us to another conclusion: God hates His enemies and has a horrible plan for their lives (Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13).
The Fear of God Produces Confidence in the Future Men are told to fear God. He is over the creation. By fearing God, men subordinate themselves to Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Men are told not to fear those who can kill them. This means that no aspect of the creation should make men afraid, as long as they are doing God's work. The creation is a threat to those who are in rebellion against God.
So, men are to fear God and remain confident regarding the future. If they are legitimately confident about their eternal future, then they should remain confident about the temporal future. Covenant-breakers are threatened far more by hell than by death. They are threatened far more by God than by any aspect of the creation. The limit of the creation's negative sanctions is death. In a world of sin, this fact should reinforce the hierarchical aspect of the dominion covenant (Gen. 1:26-28). The covenant-keeper is subordinate to God; therefore, he is the delegated king of creation in his legitimate area of responsibility.
Uncertainty should therefore be less of a barrier to entry for the covenant-keeper than for the covenant-breaker. Covenant-keepers should be willing to take big chances for the sake of extending God's kingdom in history. Covenant-keepers' fear of the future thwarts their work in extending the kingdom. It is proof of their lack of love toward God. They must fear God above all and love God above all.
Confidence in the future of the kingdom encourages a man to take risks for the sake of God's kingdom, even though he may fail. The entrepreneur knows that many projects fail for every great one that is achieved. What is true in the experience of one entrepreneur is also true for the kingdom. Many men's work may come to naught as far as they and others can see, but in the corporate realm of God's kingdom, they play a part. There is a pattern in life that was first discovered by the late-nineteenth century sociologist-economist, Vilfredo Pareto. It is called the 80-20 rule. About 80 percent of a system's productivity comes from 20 percent of its resources. Conversely, 80 percent of its problems comes from 20 percent of its operations. This means that the productivity of the 20 percent rests on the other 80 percent, which contributes the seemingly unproductive support elements in the system. Something like this rule seems to operate in God's kingdom. A minority of successful churches get the publicity, but the multitude of little ones that get no recognition meet the spiritual needs of the vast majority of Christians. For over two centuries, the average Protestant congregation in the United States has been about 75 to 100 adult members.(2) There have been a few large, influential congregations in every era, but the little ones do the unspectacular maintenance work of the kingdom.
Similarly, there are failures. Some men work to plant churches that never take root. Some foreign missions programs fail to impact the local communities, or seem to. Christians send money to non-profit organizations that never seem to take off.(3) Pioneering efforts often do little more than clear a rough path through a large forest. Civilization later follows these rough paths. But most of them will be abandoned, to be grown over with trees, leaving little trace. This is the risk of becoming a pioneer. Civilization may not follow your path. But without pioneers, there would be no paths. The price of civilization includes the paths that failed. The man who works to cut a new path in the forest must be aware that he may fail. But he may also succeed. The point is, God will not fail. His work goes forward. If a man works for the sake of the kingdom, he can be confident about the success of his efforts. They may not produce the crop he hopes for, but they are part of God's comprehensive plan. The pioneer is doing his work faithfully. He will receive his reward, either in history or in eternity. Paul wrote:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (I Cor. 3:6-15).
The confidence that a covenant-keeping man has in God should motivate him to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom. God will bless his efforts. Other men who do not have this confidence will tend to turn back, but the man of faith moves forward. The kingdom of God moves forward towards the conquest of the world because covenant-keepers remain faithful in their tasks. The slow, steady, plodding work of millions of faithful people is what produces long-term victory. Their confidence in this fact encourages them to stick to their tasks, come hell or high water.
Conclusion The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the creation is therefore the beginning of foolishness. If men fear the creation -- circumstances -- more than they fear God, they will have a hard time taking risks. They will hold onto what they have and sit tight. This does not lead to world conquest. But if they fear neither God nor man, they are fools. They will take big risks on their own behalf. They will probably lose, for most new ventures fail, but even if they succeed, they will lose. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).
God cares about His people. He may lead them into disasters, just as He led the remnant of Israel into captivity along with the sinful majority, but He brings His good work to pass in history. The captivity of the remnant had a purpose. It made their faith stronger, as we see in the case of the three young men in Nebuchadnezzar's court. They feared God more than fire. "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up" (Dan. 3:16-18). Their testimony in the face of death led to the king's profession of faith (Dan. 4). We remember this story, but what we can be sure of is the fact that there were other faithful Israelites in the land whose prayers and simple obedience made possible the survival of Israel in a foreign land. The three men were spectacular representatives of God who demonstrated publicly what God can do. But the day-to-day preservation of the faithful is God's conventional means of extending His kingdom. We are to honor the memory of the three young men because we need evidence of God's faithfulness to us. We are to honor the memory of Christ's bodily resurrection for the same reason. Death, the great enemy, will be progressively overcome in history (Isa. 65:17-20). "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:25-26).
Jesus' resurrection is at one end of the spectrum of God's protection in history. God's care for the sparrows is at the other end. We are somewhere in between, but closer to Jesus, our covenantal representative, than to the sparrows.
When we believe this, it should be easier for us to set our priorities. We are to decide what to do, not in terms of fear of the future but it terms of what benefits God's kingdom. The fear of negative sanctions from the creation is not to restrain us when we count the cost (Luke 14:28-30). Fear of man or the creation is not to be factored into these cost projections. We are not to deny the existence of risk. Risk we will always have with us. But we are to set our priorities in terms of what is best for the kingdom of God, not what is safest for us. The Book of Jonah is the premier testimony to this truth.
Footnotes:
1. Cornelius Van Til made this point repeatedly.
2. It was about 75 members in 1776. Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, The Churching of America, 1776-1990: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, [1992] 1994), pp. 24, 26. In 1998, average church attendance at Protestant churches was 91. It had been 100 in 1997, 102 in 1992, and 98 in 1987. Barna Research Group, "Profile of American Churches Shows Them to be Conservative, Evangelical, Seeker-Sensitive -- and Losing Ground" (Sept. 8, 1998).
3. The supporters of the Institute for Christian Economics for over two decades have sent money to it in good faith, despite the fact that the I.C.E. has never become a large, publicly visible organization with a lot of influence. There are thousands of struggling organizations just like the I.C.E., whose tiny bands of faithful supporters make it possible for these organizations to plow very hard soil.
If this book helps you gain a new understanding of the Bible, please consider sending a small donation to the Institute for Christian Economics, P.O. Box 8000, Tyler, TX 75711. You may also want to buy a printed version of this book, if it is still in print. Contact ICE to find out. icetylertx@aol.com