Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.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.And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
3 sermons cite this verse
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. May you have a seat. So I was thinking about fear recently. I think fear is funny. Fear isn't funny. I think what we are afraid of is sometimes funny. Because if you ask someone, like, okay, what are some of your fears? The list is quite diverse. The list goes from like spiders to dying alone. And that sense of being able to say like, the list can be something like answering the phone when I don't know the number or making a call to running into combat or going into battle. like putting your life on the line, the span of things that we can be afraid of, things like abandonment or rejection or famine, snakes, like just like the vast amount of things that we can be afraid of are remarkable. In fact, there was, they did a study and then someone, Jerry Seinfeld made a joke about it that he said that they came out with this survey and they said that the top two fears people have are public speaking, number one, and dying number two. …
… Now, listen again to Jesus as he concludes this little section. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Right. There's nobody in this world. There's no tyrant. There's no oppressive, cruel dictator. that can kill the soul. They can kill the body. Yes, indeed, they can. In fact, there's a line from Gandhi I've always loved too. Gandhi said this when he was being, you know, facing all the opposition. They may torture my body. They may break my bones. They may even kill me. Then they will have my dead body, but not my obedience. That's an extraordinary line, isn't it? someone could say that only if he's made this transition to the soul so again jesus don't be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in gehenna ah okay that's fear of the lord fear no man don't fear no person in this world. …
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold." Matthew 24:12. Christ had spoken to His disciples of earthquakes in divers places, famines and pestilences—but these were only the beginning of sorrows. Such things as these need not trouble Christians, for though the earth is removed and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea, yet may the Believer be confident and his heart may abide at rest. Even when the Master told His disciples that they would be hated of all men for His name's sake, that needed not afflict them. He had taught them before, "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." They were thus braced up to meet the fiery trial. Earthquake, pestilence, war and persecution fail to disturb the serenity of Believers in Christ! But the evil spoken of in our text—this is the wound, this is the sorrow! Here is something to tremble at! "Because iniquity shall abound"—that is worse than pestilence— "the love of many shall grow cold"—that is worse than persecution! As all the water outside a vessel can do it no harm until it enters the vessel, itself, so outward persecutions cannot really injure the Church of God. But when the mischief oozes into the Church and the love of God's people grows cold—ah, then the boat is in sore distress! I fear that we are much in this condition at the present hour. May the Holy Spirit bless the alarming prophecy now before us to our awakening! …