Through the New Covenant, that everlasting promise which God has made to us through His Son Jesus, it is promised to us, “that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear.” [Lk 1:74] Through Jesus alone, for He is the only Savior, (He having been “declared to be The Son of God with power…through the resurrection from the dead.” [Rom 1:4]), the grace, love, favor, and mercy of God are opened unto us. In Romans we receive comfort, understanding that not one thing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Rom 8:39] Moreover, we see that God’s “abundance of grace and…the gift of righteousness,” by which we might “reign in life” is offered to us “through one, Jesus Christ.” [Rom 5:17] And regarding mercy, remembering first how it was promised to Christ of The Father, “my mercy shall not depart away from Him,” we read how that it is written of Jesus’ resurrection, “I will give you the sure mercies of David.” [2 Sam 7:15, Acts 13:34, Isa 55:3] In Christ, God’s mercies are sure; that is, they are, “certain; unfailing; infallible.” [Webster] Praise be to God who has offered us so freely these things in His Son. He has opened unto us that deep and profound love which He alone possesses, forever to lavish it upon us, because we continue to believe in His Son; as Jesus told us, “for The Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” [Jn 16:27]
Having therefore seen that God’s most desirable and good qualities are enjoyed freely and surely in Christ Jesus His Son, let us return to the promise in Luke: “that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear.” [Lk 1:74] How is it that we can serve God without fear? We may serve God without fear, that is, without torment, because we have been given grace in Jesus Christ, being under the New Covenant. As John writes,
“And of His fulness have we all received, and grace over against grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” [Jn 1:16-17]
And as it says also in John’s letter,
“Herein has our love been made perfect, so that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love is casting out fear: because fear hath divine retribution. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” [1 Jn 4:17-18]
Through Jesus, we can serve God without fear of punishment, without fear of God taking divine retribution upon us. Retribution means, “repayment; return accommodated to the action; reward; compensation.” [Webster] That repayment of our sins, the reward of our sins, the wages: that is utterly abolished under the New Covenant; for it is written, “sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace;” and, “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Rom 6:14, 23] And again, “The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall suffer the due punishment for their sins.” [Psa 34:22] Therefore, because we are in Christ, there is no fear of future judgment. Though we shall give account of our stewardship, yet our salvation is utterly secure, and we shall not face punishment for our sins, for that it says, “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” [2 Cor 5:21] And since this is true, God’s righteousness being acquired by us through faith in Christ Jesus, we may claim that which is promised in Revelation of our Lord, “he that overcometh shall not be unjustly hurt of the second death.” [Rev 2:11] And Jesus assures us of this, declaring upon the cross how that the payment for all sins had been sufficed, when He said, “it is finished.” [Jn 19:30] So then, we can serve God without fear. We do not have to be afraid of messing up, of sinning, for all our sins are forgiven and forgotten in Christ. We do not have to walk on edge with God, fearing His wrathful arm or vengeful countenance, for His face does always shine brightly upon us in Christ. We can serve Him without fear.
Now, since through Christ we are able to enjoy such freedom, such a great release from bondage and fear, let us show our wives the same due. That is, if we are granted the ability to serve Christ without fear, for ultimately, “ye serve The Lord Christ,” [Col 3:24] then we, being a picture of Him in marriage, ought to give our wives the same benefit. They ought not to walk on edge with us either, fearful that we may not accept their work, fearful that we may be disappointed in them, fearful that they will not do well enough. No, dear brother, for that is not love at all. But, as Christ Jesus our Lord does for us, let us do for our wives. Let us grant them freedom to serve us, to be our helpers; as Genesis says, “an help meet.” [Gen 2:18] Our wives’ service in the home ought to be joyful and without that stress which is induced through a tyrannical or harsh rule. They ought to be able to serve us, as we can freely serve God – without fear and willingly.
But let us now take another look into scripture, to find more instruction regarding our wives’ service in the home and in marriage. Remembering first of all, what is written regarding our salvation, “for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” [Eph 2:8-9] We are accepted of God not through our works, but through Jesus’ work and our simple and continued belief in it. As it says in Psalms,
“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.” [Psa 147:10-11]
The LORD does not accept us or love us because of our legs, because of what we can do for Him. He loves us because He loves us, because He has chosen us. His love, in Christ Jesus, is unconditional and not based upon our good behavior or obedience. My brother, my dear fellow-husband, is it this way with your wife? Do you accept her only when she does well, or do you, as Christ, accept her always, telling her that which God – the One who “cannot lie” – tells her, “thou art all beautiful, my love; there is no spot in thee[?]” [Titus 1:2, Song 4:7] Do you look at her for what you can receive, or do you view her as Christ and say, “I seek not yours, but you[?]” [2 Cor 2:14] In kind with our first point, let us not have our love be conditional and based in works, that our wives may live and serve us without fear. May our love be like God’s, which delights in those whom He has chosen; may we love our wives and bless them, regardless of their good performance or bad: let us love as Christ, that our wives may serve us and live without fear.