Emotional Religion And The Collapse Of Reverence

Text: Luke 5:1-11

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

I want you to consider something rather deep and profound.  Listen carefully: 

When reverence is lost in the Church, something else always rushes in to fill the gap.

Indeed, hear that again: 

Where reverence is lost in the Church, something else always hurries in to fill the vacuum. 

But what fills the vacuum, what takes over and fills in the gap?  

These days, what often takes the place of reverence in the church is a soft, sentimental, and emotion-driven spirituality. Let me explain, many churches in America have stopped being a Church that trembles before a holy God and have become a church that emotionally bends before a tame deity who exists mainly to validate feelings. That is to say, when doctrine is abandoned and truth becomes negotiable, the Church slides into a pietistic emotionalism — a kind of spirituality that substitutes passion for precision, mood for message, and sincerity for substance.

But why does this happen? Why the drift away from reverence?

The answer lies, at least in part, with our original question.  When reverence is lost, something else always rushes in to fill the vacuum.  

You see, many well-intentioned Christians in America have reacted to what we might call a "servile fear" of God. (pr. sir-vile) That is, a fear that sees God merely as a harsh master, a tyrant holding the whip of judgment. It's the kind of fear rooted in terror, not trust. Let me unpack this a bit more; for centuries, there was an emphasis in some corners of Christianity on God's wrath, on hellfire and brimstone, on guilt and judgment. And, to be fair, much of this emphasis was rooted in truth: God is holy. Sin is damnable. However, when that fear is disconnected from faith in Christ, it creates a kind of reverence rooted in fear, rather than faith.  Again, we call this kind of reverence rooted in fear – servile fear. 

So, fast-forward to today; what happened? In trying to escape the image of God as a harsh judge, many churches overcorrected. They swung the pendulum too far in the other direction. Instead of fearing God in a healthy and holy way, they neutered God. They made God soft, agreeable, even effeminate. God stopped being a lion and became a lapdog. 

Instead of proclaiming from an altar, "Thus saith the Lord," pastors now say from a music stand, "I feel like God might be saying..."  The church and her pastors have lost their backbone; they have become wet noodles.  

Consequently, because of this shift, doctrine is no longer a blessing but has become divisive, resulting in emotions becoming king. Worship becomes a concert. God becomes a buddy and not the Lord.  Christ becomes a homeboy and not the Messiah.  The altar becomes a stage. The sermon becomes a motivational talk. Sanctuaries have become event halls or fellowship halls of jokes rather than holy places of reverence. And reverence? It's replaced by emotions and a casual-nonchalant mood of ‘whatever.’  

And so, am I saying that we should return to that servile fear — a fear driven by terror of punishment. No, I am not.  Instead, what we need is to rediscover what Scripture teaches about reverence.  We need to learn about a holy fear rooted in faith, not fear.  The theologians call this kind of fear "filial fear." (pr. Fil e al)  For simplicity, we can call this: "reverence born of faith."

Look at St. Peter in our reading from the Gospel of Luke. After the miraculous catch of fish, Peter falls at Jesus' knees and says, 

"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 

Now, Peter’s reaction is deeply human. He is overwhelmed, not just by the miracle, but by who Jesus is. The veil is lifted, and Peter sees the raw divinity of Christ. He feels the weight of his sin in the presence of the Holy Christ.  His instincts tell him: This is dangerous. This is terrifying. I don’t belong here.

And Peter is mostly right.

Yes, it was right for Peter to bow. It was right for Peter to acknowledge his sin. But Peter was wrong to ask Jesus to depart. That’s servile fear talking. That’s the fear of a slave before a tyrant. It says, 

"I can’t handle this holiness. Please get away from me God."

Instead, what Peter should have done is fall down and, like the Canaanite woman or Blind Bartimaeus, cry out for mercy. He should have feared Jesus and then trusted Jesus. He should’ve cried out, 

“Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, the sinner.”

Jesus, though, seeing Peter’s misplaced fear, meets Peter in that moment. And what does He say? He says, 

"Do not be afraid."

Please pay attention!  Notice that Jesus did not rebuke Peter’s reverence. Jesus did not say, 

“Stop being so extra, Peter, with your bowing and falling down at my feet.  We both know that I am chill.  I’m not like my Father, so just call me bruh and don’t get too pressed about this Christianity stuff.”

No, instead, Jesus rebukes Peter’s fear. That is to say; there is good fear and there is bad fear.  Not all fear is good. Servile fear drives us away from Jesus. Holy fear — reverence born of faith — drives us to Jesus.

Think of it this way: the fear of God is not like the fear of a murderer breaking into your home. It’s more like the fear of a child who knows his father is strong, just, and good. And so, Baptized Saints of St. Paul’s Lutheran, every time you come into this sanctuary, you stand in awe of the Lord. Every time you worship in a Divine Service, you are driven to Godly reverence.  By faith, you know you can trust the Lord, but you don’t take Him lightly. You don’t downplay His good doctrine.  You don’t let your emotions rule. But instead, you trust, love, respect, and listen to Christ with reverence.  That is the kind of fear that is the beginning of wisdom.

But let’s be honest - you and I will be criticized by other well-intentioned Christians for our reverence. We will be accused of being too stiff, too legalistic, too German, to rigid, or whatever insult they want to hurl our way.  But make no mistake, those who scoff at reverence tragically treat God as if He were powerless.  They strip God of His majesty to make Him more marketable. They gut doctrine to make room for emotion. They turn worship into therapy. Lord, have mercy!  Hear this loud and clear – if we were to follow the fads of American Christianity here at St. Paul’s - if we were to get rid of a healthy fear of God, we would end up with a God who doesn’t matter — a God who can't save.

Let me be clear: reverence is not stiffness. It’s not about being rigid or sour. It’s about recognizing the majesty of God, the weight of glory, the seriousness of sin, and the splendor of grace. Reverence is joy with a bowed head. It is confidence clothed in humility. It is faith that says, 

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

Baptized Saint, your God is not tame. He is not manageable. He is holy. He is mighty. He is the Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. And the fear of the Lord, rightly understood, is a confession that He is God and that you and I are not. Godly fear is a fear rooted not in terror but in trust of God’s power and goodness.

As Luther once put it, we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Yes, fear and love. Not one without the other. That is to say, reverence without faith is despair. Faith without reverence, well… it is arrogance. But faith with reverence? That’s worship. That’s discipleship. That’s life in Christ.

So do not be deceived, we cannot neuter God in the name of relevance. We cannot be drawn in by emotionalism masquerading as faith. We cannot think that we honor God by treating Him lightly. No, we honor Him best when we come to Him like Peter: on our knees, confessing our sin, and recognizing His power. But unlike Peter’s first response, we don’t ask Him to leave. We, instead, cry out for mercy – that the Lord’s Word may draw near to us. 

And here is the good news: the Lord will not turn you away. He does not despise the contrite heart. He does not cast off those who tremble at His Word. Instead, He speaks peace. He absolves. He comforts. 

"Do not be afraid. Do not fear; I forgive you; I will neither leave you nor forsake you. From now on you will catch men."

Peter was not disqualified by his fear. He was comforted by a gracious God. And so are you.

You have been baptized. You have been absolved. You have been fed at His altar. You have heard His Word. And through all of this, God has turned your fear into faith, your shame into glory, your sin into forgiveness.  And this creates holy-good-reverence.  

In the name of Jesus. Amen.