A Faithful Coward
When I am afraid I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3
I was reading in Revelation 21 the other day and came across a verse I don’t think I have thought about before, one that made me think about what it means to be a coward. Revelation 21:8 says, But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
This verse is in direct contrast to the first seven verses of the chapter that are speaking of heaven. They are verses I love to read – which is probably why I had not noticed verse 8 too much before this. I am emphasizing some of what I love to read in them:
Rev 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (5) And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (6) And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
These are wonderful promises about heaven but the next thing from His mouth is a warning that cowards and the faithless will not see this heaven. Their fate is different.
There are many times when I have felt like a coward. Opportunities come for me to speak up for God and I have frozen in my tracks, unable to speak. Once, I wanted to tell a friend from college who had just had a heart attack about the Lord. She was telling me that it gave her confidence that she knew what death would be like. I asked her about Heaven and Hell and she dismissed the thought. My heart started to beat fast, I needed words and I could come up with nothing significant to say. I felt like a complete coward.
It is kind of interesting how God gifts us differently. When I have a meal with my brother with evangelistic gifts he will be praying for (and with) a waitress before I have ordered my drink. If you put me in front of a room full of women I will boldly tell you the truth of the scripture. One on one I am often a coward.
All of this made me wonder about the definition of coward from a Biblical perspective. The coward in this verse from Revelation 8 does not know God, there is nothing personal between them. His cowardice goes back to an unwillingness to place his faith in God. He does not trust God with any portion of his life, no less his eternal life. Cowards, with unbelievers, and the detestable lead a list of pretty dastardly behaviors, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. These are people who would not stand in a world of people just like them and proclaim Christ as their King.
There was some relief for me in that. I am not that kind of coward. But it does make me want to be more evangelistic. So many fear Christianity. There seems to be some fear of getting close to God, as if it will be painful , and so it is, at first.
It is painful to look at our own souls deeply enough to recognize that without Jesus we are lost in our sin…that sin is ugly. The hardest part for me when I was coming to know Christ was just admitting that my sin was bad enough to send me to Hell. Indeed, it was and still is. It takes courage to face this truth because once we face it we have to act on it. We have to, in an act of faith, believe that Christ died for our sins, or rebel against the truth that those sins deserve death.
Because of my faith in Christ’s death I no longer face eternity in Hell. I can read the first seven verses of Revelation 21 and rejoice that I will be there and will see it all. The Word of God has given me that assurance – not because of anything in me but because of everything about Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for my sin and anyone else’s who will believe. (John 3:16)
So, my fear is not faithless cowardice, though it is nothing to ignore. I still have to come to grips with Jesus’ own words in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” I am not ashamed of Him or His Words so why does it take such courage in this world to speak His truth to the people I meet on the street, to my neighbors, and old college friends?
The writer of Hebrews has given us a verse to live by: “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6) It is the fear of man I have to be watchful for so that I fear God and not man. I may not be a coward but I am sometimes not as bold for the Lord as I would like to be. Maybe I should keep it simple, as He often calls us to do, and live by Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid I will trust in You.”