Hi Jeff,<\/p>\n
Can you tell me what the “cowardly” is referring to in\u00a0Revelation 21:8?<\/p>\n
Thank you!<\/p>\n\t
The Greek word\u00a0deilos<\/em> refers to someone who is fearful or timid. It is the type of fear caused by a lack of faith. “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’<\/em>” (Matthew 8:26).<\/p>\n Too many people never attempt to do what God commands because don’t fully trust God and are afraid of the potential consequences. It isn’t that fears don’t exist, but rather, God is calling on us to act despite our personal fears. He is asking us to be courageous. Thus, people don’t become Christians because they are afraid of what their parents might say. They don’t say “no” to sex because they are afraid to lose their boyfriend or girlfriend. They don’t stand up to a violent person because they are afraid of getting hurt or killed. They don’t change because they are afraid God has rejected them.<\/p>\n “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God<\/em>” (II Timothy 1:7-8).<\/p>\n “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, a people in whose heart is My law; do not fear the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings<\/em>” (Isaiah 51:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As Moses told the Israelites:<\/p>\n “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 31:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n God said basically the same thing to Joshua:<\/p>\n “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go<\/em>” (Joshua 1:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In a very real sense, we represent God to the world. If we show fear, then we are saying those in the world have power over us. We must be confident in the God we follow, confident that we know His teachings, and bold in presenting them to others.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hi Jeff, Can you tell me what the “cowardly” is referring to in\u00a0Revelation 21:8? Thank you! Answer: The Greek word\u00a0deilos refers to someone who is fearful or timid. It is the type of fear caused by a lack of faith. “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’” (Matthew…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1444],"class_list":["post-50208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-cowardice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-overcome-the-fear-of-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":0},"title":"How can I overcome the fear of death?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, Is there a way to become unafraid of death? I have been terrified of dying since I was very young and sometimes it consumes my thoughts. I fear the concept of being put in a box in the ground unable to move, think, feel or talk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27847,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-im-going-to-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":1},"title":"I’m afraid I’m going to fail","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question is how do you be obedient? It's like I want to do the right thing and I'm aware of what I'm doing wrong and have done wrong in the past, but I'm scared that I'm going to fail in doing the right thing in the future. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":2},"title":"Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 6:8-23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The prevalence of fear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Watch a horror movie \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The scenes start out idyllic. But in the background there are hints that something isn\u2019t quite right. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The music builds with intensity. You know something is about to happen, but not what or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14370,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perfect-love-casts-out-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":3},"title":"Perfect Love Casts Out Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 4:17-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fear is an instinctive emotion \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It arises from a need to preserve ourselves, to keep us protected. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fears of job loss, serious illness, difficult problems may each cause us to fear. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t fear when we don\u2019t perceive a danger II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30297,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-of-growing-old-and-dying\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":4},"title":"I’m afraid of growing old and dying","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm going through a time right now of fear and turmoil.\u00a0 Fear of growing older and dying.\u00a0 It's a paralyzing fear that I can't seem to shake.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know it has to be a lack of faith. I don't want to fear.\u00a0 I want to trust in what God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-to-convert\/","url_meta":{"origin":50208,"position":5},"title":"I’m afraid to convert","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, I hope you are doing well and staying healthy with your family.\u00a0I found your website on the Internet while I was looking for advice from Q&A's, and I read numerous articles of yours. I am in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for over two years. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}