I have conflicting thoughts about Cornelius (Acts 10).\u00a0 It says he feared God and was always praying to Him. If he feared God, how could Cornelius trust in God?<\/p>\n\t
I think you may be using the wrong definition of fear.\u00a0 Fearing God has always been a requirement for men to follow God.\u00a0 Abraham is said to have feared God in Genesis 22:12. Many other people are praised for fearing God (midwives in Exodus 1:21, trustworthy men in Exodus 18:21, Nehemiah in Nehemiah 7:2).\u00a0 It is also commanded in the Old Testament in many places like Deuteronomy 6:24. Maintaining a fear of God is a part of how to keep from sinning (see Exodus 20:20; Leviticus 19:14; 25:17,43 and many others).\u00a0 In fact, evil men are described as those who don’t fear God (Genesis 20:11; Luke 18:2).<\/p>\n
The fear that is being described by these passages is the healthy respect for who God is and what He requires of man.\u00a0 There are a lot of people who think they know better than God.\u00a0 When the Bible says to do something, they not only don’t bother to do it, and they will complain if someone tells them that they need to do it.\u00a0 These people are showing by their conduct that they have no respect for God.\u00a0 They believe that God is a being who can be manipulated or coerced into doing what they want to do.<\/p>\n
Take for example a passage like Hebrews 10:31, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.<\/em>”\u00a0 Why would anyone write a verse like that?\u00a0 Why did the writer of Hebrews not say, “It is a good thing to fall into the hands of the loving God?”\u00a0 It is a dreadful thing because being in sin is a dreadful condition.\u00a0 If one goes through their entire life and refuses to acknowledge God’s sovereignty, they have\u00a0no<\/strong>\u00a0hope of being saved.\u00a0 As it says in Hebrews 10:26-27, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.<\/em>”\u00a0 And that is what it says about Christians who stop doing all that they are supposed to do.<\/p>\n There is a reason to be motivated by the fear of God.\u00a0 Because God is all-powerful, He can and will send people to Hell (Revelation 20:15).\u00a0 That should motivate us to get on His good side if it were at all possible.\u00a0 If it were possible to earn such a spot, we would all be trying really hard to earn it. However, we have all done enough wrong that earning salvation is not possible.\u00a0 Our only option is if God extends grace.\u00a0 He offers grace to all but only promises to grant it to those who meet His conditions of humility (James 4:6) and obedience (I Peter 1:2).<\/p>\n What we have in Cornelius is a man who was not under the law of Moses, but realized that the God of Israel was the true God.\u00a0 He, therefore, behaved like someone who believed.\u00a0 Just because he was excluded from being a Jew, does not mean that he could not acknowledge God. God was known to deal with believers who were not Jews in the Old Testament.\u00a0 In fact, the story of Jonah is one about Jonah hating the idea of having to preach to non-Jews.\u00a0 God showed Jonah that he cared about all mankind and, therefore, made a way for the men and women of Damascus to be pleasing to him.\u00a0 Cornelius must have known that about God and, therefore, trusted God.<\/p>\n Darrell Hamilton<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I have conflicting thoughts about Cornelius (Acts 10).\u00a0 It says he feared God and was always praying to Him. If he feared God, how could Cornelius trust in God? Answer: I think you may be using the wrong definition of fear.\u00a0 Fearing God has always been a requirement for men to follow God.\u00a0 Abraham…<\/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":[352,129],"class_list":["post-52548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fear","tag-trust"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30838,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-weapon-of-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":52548,"position":0},"title":"The Weapon of Fear","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 49 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever wondered why cowardice is the first sin list in Revelation 21:8? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being afraid is such a common thing that it seems it would be a minor concern \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But a major weapon in Satan\u2019s arsenal is fear II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fear of the\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":93384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/aint-skeered\/","url_meta":{"origin":52548,"position":1},"title":"Ain’t Skeered!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Strickland While driving around in recent months, I have been seeing stickers on the back windows of trucks that say: \"Ain't Skeered!\" It is not very difficult to determine what this means. To one speaking properly, the phrase would be: \"I'm not afraid.\" In various situations, many people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"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":52548,"position":2},"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":1324,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-cornelius-have-been-an-israelite-of-foreign-birth\/","url_meta":{"origin":52548,"position":3},"title":"Could Cornelius have been an Israelite of foreign birth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This man is used by many as an example of a so-called \"Gentile\" non-Israelite being saved. The place of birth, or citizenship tells us nothing about race. But this man's race can be determined by Scripture, even if he is not described as a \"Jew\" [or \"Judean\"]. In the\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":3278,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-worship-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":52548,"position":4},"title":"The Worship of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Revelation 5:11-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why are you here? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Because it is what you do on Sundays? Because your parents make you come? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I hope most of us will say we are here to worship. After all, we call this the worship service. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet, most of us\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":19970,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-loving-god-and-giving-him-glory\/","url_meta":{"origin":52548,"position":5},"title":"Am I loving God and giving Him glory?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A few days ago, I was reading I Corinthians 10:31, the passage about \"do all to the glory of God.\"\u00a0 Although I'm still not 100% clear on the exact meaning, the passage really made me think hard about myself in relation to God.\u00a0 The entire time I have been\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\/52548","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=52548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}