Cowardice, fear, timidity, anxiety

But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Revelation 21:8

Sinners will not inherit the Kingdom of God!
Many Christians are quick to remember several of the categories of people that will not inherit the Kingdom of God (see above): But “cowards? That is something that is rarely acknowledged or discussed.

I think that the main reason for it is cultural. Culturally speaking, it seems that sins such as obesity, working too long, and sometimes gossip seems to be given a free pass while other sins such as homosexuality, being judgmental, or “smoking” may seem to be more frowned upon.

The Bible refers to this as unequal weights and measures (or perhaps hypocritical) — both are also a sin according to the Bible.

Cowardice
To our peril, cowardice seems to fall into the “free pass” category.

In Revelation 21:8 (above), the Greek word that is translated into the word “cowards” implies fearfulness and timidity.

Fear
As I have said before in regards to addressing subjects of this nature, everyone is fearful from time to time. As a matter of fact, it is usually a bad thing to never experience fear. Fear is a survival mechanism that God designed us with for survival.

When the Bible says “fear not”, it does not mean that you should never, ever experience fear. It does mean that you should not allow fear overtake your thoughts or influence your behavior.

Fear is not always a sin
Ungodly or unrighteous thoughts only become sin when you fail to take them captive: In other words, fear becomes sin when you neglect to stop it, control and manage it instead of harboring it or allowing it to control and manage you.

So say you that you are suddenly faced with something that you perceive to be scary and, as a result, you sense a wave of fear come upon yourself. There is no sin in that. It only becomes sin when you neglect to take that thought or spirit of fear captive, and instead, you begin to entertain it emotionally.

The key to cowardice
The key to not allowing fear to consume you, the key to cowardice is faith in God. The more you learn to trust in God, the less fear you will have.

It’s like anything else really. Take for example someone who is in combat for the first time. Often that person will be VERY scared and it will take a lot of overcoming to master his fear.

However, the more experienced he becomes in combat, the more familiar he becomes with it, and the less fear controls him when he is in that situation. Similar circumstances exist every time combat is experienced so the underlying fear is usually still there, but as time and experience grow he learns how to deal with it better.

These same principles can be applied to many things such as driving, baking, sewing, mechanic work, etc. I am sure that if you were to think about it you could remember something that you have done repetitively with relative ease but when you first began you were quite nervous about it.

The more you know God, the less fear you will experience
Fear works just like that as well as most relationships. Usually, when you first become acquainted with someone you don’t entrust them with anything of value. Time and other factors will determine how much you learn to trust them in that way.

It is the same way with God. The more you know Him, the more you will learn to trust Him. The more you learn to trust Him the more you will know Him.

The more these experiences develop, the more confidence with them you will gain. The more confidence that you gain, the less fear you will have, etc., etc., etc.

Two basic sources of fear
There are two basic sources of fear. One is your own mind: That is how you perceive and process. The other is a spirit of fear. If you try to deal with fear as I prescribe in this article, but still find yourself continuously dealing with fear, then you may be dealing with a “spirit of fear”.

The principles stated herein will help when dealing with a spirit of fear, but they probably won’t resolve the issue. Feel free to contact me if you need help with that: But either way, the principles indicated here are a great place to start regardless of the origin of your fear.

Say no to fear

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thatnksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Philipians 4:6-7

When you begin to really address fear, you can expect it to take work and commitment: That’s okay. If you keep at it, eventually it will go away; one way or another.

If you are suffering from cowardice / fear / anxiety the very first thing you should do is commit to intimately knowing God (Hos. 4:6).

As your faith is growing, through your intimate relationship with God, you can go to Him about your issue and ask Him to help give you strength and confidence to overcome. Trust that He will see you through (Ps. 145:18, Mt. 7:7-10, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Timothy 4:17, Psalm 18:32- 34).

Conclusion
This is a very abbreviated version of what you need to know about fear but if this is an issue that you struggle with, this information will help to set you free. If you find that you need additional assistance, feel free to contact me.

Remember: courage is not the absence of fear, and fear is not always bad.

“So Yahweh commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 6:24

Blessings in Yeshua, 
Parson Rayphe
Living in “God’s Kingdom Realm”

God’s Kingdom is a 30-minute program broadcast live on Kingdom Realm Radio m-f at 6:30 AM PT, and then replayed in the evening, to encourage you as you purpose to live in “Gods Kingdom Realm”.   A daily podcast is also available (see the Home page).

Kingdom Realm Transformations Healing, Wholeness and Life Transformations.

Online and Local Community / Fellowship: Join others who are like-minded in our online community. Fellowship with others who are like-minded either online or locally. Visit us in God’s Kingdom Realm Community 

Be sure to check out all of the other resources that are available in God’s Kingdom Realm.