Fear is a powerful thing. Since the day that Adam heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden and was afraid, fear has been a common part of the human experience. In the last day, men will, again, cower in abject terror, unable to escape from the presence of God and the wrath of the Lamb. In between, man’s existence is often marked by fear, and it sometimes drives people to do things they wouldn’t think of doing in normal circumstances.
Today, fear fills the air. We’re living in a moment of national crisis. As the coronavirus outbreak progresses, we see our government taking unprecedented steps to try and slow the spread of the disease. Our daily routine has suddenly and unexpectedly ground to a halt. How should Christians respond to such a time of crisis? What should we be thinking and doing in contrast to the rest of the world? I’d like to suggest 4 specific things that ought to characterize our attitudes and responses as Christians to this or any other occasion of crisis and fear.
Faith in place of Fear
Fear is one effect of the fall, a consequence of sin, guilt and alienation from God. Cut off from the true knowledge of God and living fellowship with Him, man’s experience of the world suddenly becomes one of blank uncertainty. The more that man refuses to acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of God over all creation, including himself, the more his view of reality is one of chaos, blind chance and uncertainty. Fear, itself, is part of the judgment of God upon sin, and, as the writer to the Hebrews notes, fallen man is subject to lifelong slavery through the fear of death (Heb. 2:15).
It’s normal, in some sense, that the response of the unbeliever to something like a global pandemic will be fear. The sources of fear and anxiety are several. There’s the general fear of the unknown, as this is a new virus we really don’t know much about. There’s fear of the indirect fallout from the current crisis. What will happen to the economy, our savings, our way of life? But, ultimately, there is the fear of death. Any such dangerous virus represents the reality and certainty of death, and death is a fearsome prospect outside of Christ. The unbeliever inherently knows that there is an accounting – a judgment to follow. The presence of a holy God is a terror in this life, but a terror multiplied a thousand times over in the world to come. Indeed, the unbeliever has every cause to be afraid. But not so the believer in Christ. In fact, one of the most oft repeated commands in the Scriptures, directed toward God’s people, is some form of the command, “Do not fear.” Fear must be replaced by faith in the Sovereignty of God and the promises of His Word directed to those who are reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ.
Christians need not live in fear of the unknown, because we know the God who is the Creator and Sovereign over all reality. He has a comprehensive purpose and plan for all creation. We know that nothing takes place that falls outside this purpose. What is unknown to us is perfectly known to Him, for He planned it and order it according to His perfect will. The course of the world is not directed by blind chance but by the Sovereign and eternal God. All things, including viruses, fall within the scope of the plan, which He has decreed from before the foundation of the world.
Neither do we need to fear the threat of death, because the real cause for fear has been removed through the death and resurrection of Christ. The Psalmist writes: “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence… You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday (Psalm 91:3, 5-6, ESV). There is no Scripture promise to the effect that Christians are exempt from coronavirus or any other form of suffering and evil in this world. There is no certainty that you won’t get coronavirus or, even, that you may die from it. But the real cause of fear, the fear of death, is rooted in the fact that death is the judgment of God upon sin, and, for the believer in Christ, that judgment has been absorbed and exhausted in the Lord Jesus Christ. The wrath of God has been removed. The curse of the law has been undone and the sting of death has been taken away. So, the Apostle Paul can state with confidence, “’O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57, ESV).
So, first and foremost, the attitude of the Christian in the midst of crisis should be one of faith and not fear – faith in the Sovereignty and purpose of God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the source of eternal life and security. Even in the face of death itself, there is every reason to be at peace, knowing that our true life is hidden with Christ in God, that we have an eternal inheritance laid up for us in glory and that death cannot truly harm us. The admonition of Isaiah is quite relevant: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (Isaiah 8:12–13, ESV)
Repentance
In one sense, every occasion of natural disaster, disease or other crisis is a call to repentance. When God sends us disaster or pestilence, there is an element of judgment in this. It may be a specific judgment for specific national sins. On the other hand, at the least, the evils of this world, in general, are part a part of the overall judgment of God upon sinful humanity. We, as Christ’s church in this world, experience these evils and trials along with the world.
Recognizing that we are sinners and deserving of God’s judgment and wrath and that, even as Christians, we continue to commit sins that bring God’s chastening judgment upon us, this is a good time for self-examination. At times like this, we ought to seek the Lord through His Word and prayer. We ought to be considering questions like, “How are we complicit in the sins of the nation that bring judgment? Have we been diligent in our prayers for our nation, for its leader and for those around us who are walking in darkness? Have we trusted too much in man for our security rather than putting our hope in God alone? Have we become enamored with the world and all that it offers?”
When God sent pestilence on Israel in the days of David (1Chronicles 21), it was a result of David’s sin, and it called for repentance and confession. When God sent the people in to exile because of their sins, Daniel turned to God in prayer with confession of the sins of the people and a free acknowledgement that their suffering and exile were the just judgment upon their disobedience and unfaithfulness.
When we experience something like this coronavirus pandemic, something which afflicts the church as well as the world, it’s a reminder of how much greater judgment our sins really deserve, and it should prompt us to repentance and confession of sin, seeking the mercy of God and renewing our faithfulness and devotion to Him.
Renewal in Hope
Disease, suffering and death; that’s what we ought to expect to see in this present, fallen world. Sin has thrown the whole of creation out of order. We are reminded, again, that every kind of sickness and disease, not just coronavirus, is the judgment of God upon sin. It also reminds us that our hope and security are not found in this present world. Indeed, nothing in this world really lasts. “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17, ESV).
Any real “good” that we find in the present is not final and ultimate. Indeed, not to be misunderstood, there is much good in the world, for the believer. The Lord gives good gifts to His children. It is, in fact, only the believer in Christ who can truly “enjoy” the good gifts of God as they were intended – to be used to the glory of God, with thankfulness and submission to Him. However, these good gifts are not ultimate. They are markers, foretastes, that should point us beyond themselves to the giver. They should help to give us a taste for the ultimate joy and fulfillment to be found in the presence of God Himself.
Meanwhile, a crisis such as the coronavirus just serves to heighten our awareness that this present life is transient, as is the creation. Yet, this is not a cause of gloom and despair. Rather, it is an occasion to be renewed in our true hope, the hope of glory to come. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13, ESV). We have an inheritance in Christ and is “imperishable, undefiled and unfading.” This should be the source of our hope for the future. No matter what happens in the here and now, we can know, with certainty, that there is another world coming. There’s a day coming when there will be no more sickness, sorrow and death. The curse will be finally and full rolled back. Most importantly, sin, itself, will be banished from God’s world. Christ’s church will be completed and perfected and we will live and rejoice in the glorious light of His presence forever.
We should be reminded to hold on to things of this world lightly. We should be living and setting our priorities in a way that reflects where our real hope is found, storing up treasure in heaven. The response of the Christian to crisis should be a confident, hope-filled look toward the Lord Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father and who will most certainly come again to renew this world and to bring His bride into His own heavenly glory forever.
Love and Service
None of this should be construed as escapism. Too often, the immediate response of Christians to a crisis is to assume it’s a “sign” that Jesus is coming soon (of course, He may come soon) and we’re about to “escape” from this world. One of the problems with this thinking is that it tends toward disengaging from the needs and hurts of the world around us.
While a deadly new virus is a cause for fear and isolation for many, for believers, it presents an opportunity for ministry to others. There are practical needs around us, and people who are hurting and fearful, who need the hope of the gospel. I fear that our default response may be to “look to ourselves” – to close ourselves off and make sure that we and ours are protected. Now, in the current situation, isolation from others may be one of the prudent ways to actually show love, ironically. Yet, where there are opportunities for us to serve others in need and to bring the hope of the gospel to our world, we ought to buy up these opportunities. Our priority should be the glory and service of our King, Jesus Christ, over and above our own personal safety and comfort. In other words, the first question for the believer, in such times of danger and crisis, should not be, “How can I stay safe?” but, rather, “How can I do the will of God and serve the Lord Jesus Christ by serving others in need?” Whatever this looks like in any given situation, the fact is, we needn’t make our person safety our number one priority. That’s because, in Christ, we are already “safe” from real harm. The very purpose of our lives is to serve Jesus. Again, this doesn’t mean we ought to be careless or take unnecessary risks. It really is, I believe, a mindset that we need to adopt – that our highest purpose is the glory and service of Christ at any cost. It’s an attitude reflected in Paul’s admonition to the Philippians, an attitude we ought to have at all times: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4, ESV)
The response of the Christian to times of crisis and danger should be characterized by an unshaken faith in God that drives out fear, by an attitude of repentance and confession, by a hopeful outlook and by a desire to serve others, sacrificially, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.