"And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." Luke 12:4
First, let us observe that this passage is addressed to the friends of Jesus, these are people who are committed to His person, not fair weather friends.
This verse of the Bible, more than any other, instilled courage and strength in the apostles of the first century. In the face of threats to their lives, they continued to proclaim the resurrection, and many of them paid the supreme sacrifice of their lives in the course of doing so. Their secret lay in not being afraid of those who could only kill the body. Further to this knowledge, they also knew that there was laid up for them, in eternity, a hope that nothing in created universe could take away from them (1 Peter 1:4).
How different our lives will become, if like them, we fully comprehend the truth of this verse. All the compromises by believers steam from the fear of what people will do to them when they stand for the truth of God's word. But when we first know, like the early followers of Jesus, that the enemy can only kill the flesh, and second, that there is laid up for us in heaven a glory that is incomparable to all the glories of this present age put together; when we know these truths, our witness and walk in this present world will change, and like the apostles of Jesus Christ, we will be able to face whatever is brought against use without fear.
Toni
