Sermons on Jeremiah 32:40

Jeremiah 32:40 Interpretation:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) offers a unique and nuanced interpretation of Jeremiah 32:40 by focusing on the nature of the "fear" that God promises to instill in His people. Dr. Michael Reeves distinguishes between "sinful fear" (which drives people away from God) and "right fear" (a Spirit-wrought, covenantal fear that draws people to God). He uses the analogy of a bridegroom trembling at the sight of his bride to illustrate that the fear of God is not terror but a trembling, overwhelming love and adoration in response to God's majesty and goodness. Reeves also notes the physical aspect of the Hebrew word for "fear" (yirah), emphasizing that it encompasses more than mere respect or awe—it is a delighted, trembling enjoyment of God, as seen in the Messiah's own "delight in the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:3). This interpretation is distinct in its focus on the affective, relational, and even pleasurable dimensions of the fear God promises in Jeremiah 32:40.

God's Assurance: Sustaining Faith and Inheritance (Desiring God) interprets Jeremiah 32:40 as the heart of the New Covenant, emphasizing that God's promise to "put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me" is a guarantee of God's sustaining power over the believer's faith. The sermon uniquely frames this as God being the decisive cause of ongoing faith, not the believer's own effort. The preacher argues that the "fear" in Jeremiah 32:40 is synonymous with a God-given, enduring faith that ensures believers will not ultimately fall away, and he connects this to the New Covenant's distinctiveness from the Old.

The Bible: Our Essential Guide to God and Love (Desiring God) provides a personal and experiential interpretation of Jeremiah 32:40, highlighting the verse as a direct, intimate promise from God to the individual believer. The preacher recounts how God "said to me" the words of Jeremiah 32:40, applying them as a living, present-tense assurance that God will never stop doing good to him and will keep him from turning away. This interpretation is notable for its emphasis on the immediacy and personal application of the promise, treating the verse as a direct communication from God to the believer, mediated through the Scriptures.

Finding Peace Through God's Promises Amidst Anxiety (Desiring God) offers a distinctive interpretation of Jeremiah 32:40 by focusing on the divine initiative in perseverance. The sermon challenges the common assumption that a believer’s continued faith is due to their own autonomous free will, instead emphasizing that it is God’s covenant promise and active work that ensures believers will not turn away. The preacher rhetorically asks what makes one think they will wake up a Christian tomorrow, dismissing reliance on personal willpower and instead urging listeners to “bank on the promise” that God will not let them turn away. This interpretation is notable for its psychological angle, addressing the anxiety of perseverance and the fear of apostasy, and for its pastoral application to those hesitant to become Christians due to doubts about their ability to endure. The preacher frames Jeremiah 32:40 as a foundational assurance for both new and seasoned believers, highlighting the “everlasting covenant” as God’s guarantee of ongoing faithfulness, not the believer’s own resolve.

Overcoming Anxiety Through Faith in God's Promises (Desiring God) provides a vivid and emphatic interpretation of Jeremiah 32:40, centering on the permanence and inviolability of God’s covenant. The preacher underscores the repeated “never” in the promise—“never, never, never, never, never, never for a billion billion ages of years”—to stress the unbreakable nature of God’s commitment to do good to his people. The sermon uses the analogy of God’s hand, countering the idea that while no one can pluck a believer from God’s hand, the believer might “jump out.” The preacher insists, based on Jeremiah 32:40, that God will not let his people “jump” either, because he himself puts the fear of him in their hearts to prevent them from turning away. This interpretation is unique in its direct confrontation of common objections to the doctrine of perseverance and its use of the text to provide existential security for anxious believers.

Jeremiah 32:40 Theological Themes:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) introduces the theme that the fear promised in Jeremiah 32:40 is not a negative or servile fear but a Spirit-given, joyful, and affectionate reverence that draws believers closer to God. This fear is described as the very delight of the Messiah and is foundational to true worship, love, and joy in God. The sermon also explores the paradox that the fear of God actually drives out all other fears, providing a unique angle on how the fear of the Lord is the antidote to anxiety and dread.

God's Assurance: Sustaining Faith and Inheritance (Desiring God) presents the theological theme that the New Covenant, as described in Jeremiah 32:40, is fundamentally about God's unilateral action to secure the perseverance of His people. The preacher stresses that God's promise to instill fear in the hearts of His people is a guarantee that they will not ultimately fall away, highlighting the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints as rooted in God's initiative and power, not human effort.

The Bible: Our Essential Guide to God and Love (Desiring God) adds the theme of the personal, relational nature of God's covenant promises. The preacher's testimony that God "said to me" the words of Jeremiah 32:40 underscores the immediacy and intimacy of God's commitment to do good to His people and to keep them faithful, suggesting that the New Covenant is not only corporate but also deeply individual and experiential.

Finding Peace Through God's Promises Amidst Anxiety (Desiring God) introduces the theme of divine preservation as the antidote to the anxiety of perseverance. The sermon presents Jeremiah 32:40 as a promise that God himself takes responsibility for the believer’s continued faith, making perseverance a matter of God’s faithfulness rather than human effort. This theme is developed with a pastoral sensitivity to those who fear they cannot “live” the Christian life or last in faith, offering the covenant promise as assurance that God will “take that on himself.” The preacher applies this theme to evangelism, suggesting that the promise of God’s sustaining work is crucial for helping seekers overcome the fear of not being able to endure in faith.

Overcoming Anxiety Through Faith in God's Promises (Desiring God) adds a further dimension to the theme of perseverance by explicitly rejecting the notion that believers can “jump” out of God’s hand, even if they wish. The preacher uses Jeremiah 32:40 to assert that God’s work in the heart is so effectual that it prevents apostasy, not only from external threats but also from internal wavering. This theme is articulated with a sense of finality and cosmic scale (“never, never, never, never, never, never for a billion billion ages of years”), emphasizing the eternal security of the believer as rooted in God’s unilateral action.

Jeremiah 32:40 Historical and Contextual Insights:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) provides historical context by addressing the shift in cultural attitudes toward fear, noting that previous generations viewed fear (including the fear of God) as a healthy and natural response, whereas modern culture tends to see all fear as negative. The sermon also situates Jeremiah 32:40 within the broader biblical narrative, explaining that the promise of a Spirit-wrought fear is a distinctive blessing of the New Covenant, not merely a continuation of Old Covenant obligations. Reeves further references the physical and emotional connotations of "fear" in the ancient world, contrasting it with modern attempts to soften the term to "respect" or "awe."

Jeremiah 32:40 Cross-References in the Bible:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) references several biblical passages to expand on Jeremiah 32:40: Proverbs 9 ("The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom") to show the foundational role of fear; Romans 8:15, 2 Timothy 1:7, and 1 John 4 to distinguish between sinful and right fear; Jeremiah 33:8-9 to highlight that the fear God gives is a response to His goodness, not His judgment; Exodus 20:20 to illustrate that the fear of the Lord drives out being afraid of God; Nehemiah 1:11 and Isaiah 11:1-3 to show that the fear of the Lord is a source of delight, even for the Messiah; and Ecclesiastes 12 and the Westminster Shorter Catechism to equate fearing God with enjoying and glorifying Him.

God's Assurance: Sustaining Faith and Inheritance (Desiring God) uses Jeremiah 32:40 as a central cross-reference to 1 Peter 1:4-5, arguing that the New Covenant promise of God putting His fear in believers' hearts is the basis for the assurance that God will keep them faithful. The sermon also references Luke 22:31-32 (Jesus praying for Peter's faith not to fail) as a concrete example of how God sustains faith, and 2 Timothy 2:13 ("if we are faithless, he remains faithful") to reinforce the theme of God's sustaining power.

The Bible: Our Essential Guide to God and Love (Desiring God) references Jeremiah 32:40 in connection with the New Covenant and the personal experience of God's promises. The preacher also alludes to Matthew 7:7-12 and Hebrews 12 to illustrate God's goodness and discipline, connecting the assurance of God's unceasing goodness in Jeremiah 32:40 to the broader biblical teaching on God's fatherly care.

Finding Peace Through God's Promises Amidst Anxiety (Desiring God) references several passages to support and expand on Jeremiah 32:40. Philippians 1:6 (“he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”) is cited to reinforce the idea that God is the one who ensures perseverance. Hebrews 7 is mentioned, highlighting Christ’s ongoing intercession as the basis for the believer’s security (“he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them”). The preacher also alludes to the parable of the soils (Matthew 13), using it to frame the anxiety of whether one’s faith will endure, and then points to Jeremiah 32:40 as the answer to that anxiety. The cumulative effect is to present a network of biblical promises that collectively assure the believer of God’s sustaining grace.

Overcoming Anxiety Through Faith in God's Promises (Desiring God) groups Jeremiah 32:40 with other passages that address anxiety and perseverance. The sermon references John 10:28-29 (“no one can pluck them out of my hand”) to illustrate the security of the believer, and then uses Jeremiah 32:40 to counter the objection that a believer might “jump” out of God’s hand, arguing that God’s internal work prevents even self-initiated apostasy. The preacher also alludes to Romans 8:31 (“if God is for us, who can be against us?”) and 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (“God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”), integrating these texts to build a comprehensive biblical case for the believer’s security in God’s covenant.

Jeremiah 32:40 Christian References outside the Bible:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) explicitly references several Christian authors and theologians in its discussion of Jeremiah 32:40. John Bunyan is cited for his distinction between sinful and right fear, particularly in his work on the fear of God, where he warns that the devil seeks to instill a fear that drives believers away from God. Richard Sibbes is mentioned for his writings on the beauty and compassion of Christ, which helped the preacher move from a sinful dread of God to a joyful, trembling adoration. Jonathan Edwards is referenced for his insights in "Religious Affections" and "The End for Which God Created the World," particularly his argument that true religion consists in desiring God Himself more than His gifts, and that the glory of God is the ultimate pleasure. Martin Luther is also mentioned as a theologian who helped the preacher understand the graciousness of God and the assurance that comes from the gospel, rather than from self-effort.

Jeremiah 32:40 Illustrations from Secular Sources:

The Transformative Power of the Fear of the Lord (Ligonier Ministries) uses a popular culture reference to Master Yoda from Star Wars ("Fear is the path to the dark side...") to illustrate the prevailing negative view of fear in contemporary society. This analogy is used to contrast the biblical concept of the fear of the Lord with the modern tendency to see all fear as harmful or undesirable. The sermon also employs the analogy of a bridegroom trembling at the sight of his bride to illustrate the positive, overwhelming, and affectionate nature of the fear of God promised in Jeremiah 32:40, contrasting it with the terror of a soldier under fire. These secular illustrations serve to make the biblical concept of fear more relatable and to challenge cultural assumptions about fear.