Tabby Stoecker was ecstatic at winning an Olympic gold medal with Matt Weston in their skeleton competition: UK athletes given deserved fame and glory.

Afterwards, Tabby’s mother’s comment was, “I’ve always taught her that if you have fear, you replace it with faith. Faith and fear don’t co-exist.”

Fear is a survival instinct that puts the brain in high alert to keep us safe. Small children can be unsafe if they are fearless. But inappropriate fear is inhibiting.

In the Bible, faith and fear are definitely linked. Jesus’ disciples were afraid during a storm on the lake. He said,

“Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

There is such a thing as godly fear. Throughout the Bible people are told to ‘fear God’, and to obey Him. For example,

Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Noah is a classic example of this.

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith (Hebrews 11:7).

Noah believed God about the imminent flood. In faith he obeyed God and was saved.

This fear of God is more than just respect or reverence, because the flood was a fearsome punishment. An apostle wrote:

For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30-311).

And Christian believers at Rome were urged to let fear motivate them to be faithful.

They [Jews] were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear (Romans 11:20).

Faith can be misplaced. Disasters like Chernobyl and the Titanic are famous examples. But faith in God is never misplaced. And those who truly and willingly obey Him do, indeed, have nothing to fear. The prize from God – eternal life – is incomparably more precious than any Olympic accolade.

‘Traitors’ is a British BBC reality television series broadcast, which has attracted millions of viewers. It is a ‘fun game’ of trust and treachery, portraying back-stabbing, scheming and deceit as life skills. Players designated as ‘faithful’ have to identify the players who are ‘traitors’.

The BBC news is full of reports about Lord Peter Mandelson who is accused of real treachery. He is being investigated for selfish financial crimes involving betraying his position of trust; of sharing market-sensitive information with a criminal. Many people are now ashamed of their friendship with and trust in this disgraced man.

There have been many traitors in history. The most famous in the Bible was the disciple Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus into the hands of the religious rulers. He seemed to be a true follower of Jesus, and fooled the other disciples, though not Jesus. In fact, even before this he had been a selfish and cunning thief.

He [Judas] said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:6).

And he actually initiated the agreement to betray Jesus to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). He was a fake disciple: a traitor.

In total contrast, Jesus was completely honest and free from any trace of deceit. He asks his followers to trust him, not be ashamed of him, be his friend and try to be like him. He said:

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 (Luke 9:26).

Just as in the BBC game, there are only two groups of people; sheep or goats, faithful or ‘traitors’. Jesus also said:

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke 11:23);

and

You are my friends if you do what I command you (John 15:14).

There is no middle ground. We are either faithful to Jesus or we are not. Surely we want to be faithful, not traitors. We do not want to let Jesus down. And we need to be genuine: we cannot fool God or Jesus. Let us therefore find out what they ask of us and try to the best of our ability to do it. If we do this then God will not be ‘ashamed’ of us, but pleased to give us a place in His wonderful kingdom with Jesus as king.

Political U turns are repeatedly given bad press. In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer has made 13 such changes of mind in his 18 months as prime minister. These took between a few weeks and over a year. American President Trump is also well-known for U turns, to the extent that he is now associated with the acronym TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out). While admitting a mistake can be honorable, many people question the integrity of leaders who keep changing their decisions and resolves about important policy.

Jesus Christ never made any U turns. This is because he never made any mistakes. He did not need to change his mind. The same is not true of the rest of us. One of the most famous and important U turns in history is that of the apostle Paul, who was originally called Saul. This important Jewish religious leader was initially intent on eradicating Christianity.

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2).

This was after he had consented to the murder of the first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 7). But on the way to Damascus Saul saw the risen Jesus, believed, was baptized, and became one of the most significant preachers of Christianity. A complete U turn (Acts 9:20-22).

The biblical word ‘repentance’ effectively means a ‘U turn’. Jesus and the apostles told people that if they wanted to please God they must ‘repent’.

Jesus preached:
…the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15).

After a local disaster, he said strong words:
…I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3).

The apostles repeated the message:
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19).

Repentance means admitting being wrong and then changing one’s attitude, priorities and lifestyle. We are all commanded to repent: to do a massive U turn. Left to our own thoughts and standards we are without hope. We need to accept God’s standards. And it does not matter if we are young or old; if we have spent a long or short time going in the wrong direction; or even how bad that way was. The important thing is, like Saul, to change and do a U turn.

But having done this, a subsequent U turn would be disastrous. Jesus also said:
…No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

Having committed to following Jesus, repented and been baptized (Acts 2:38) it would be fatal to do a U turn on that decision and resolve (Hebrews 10:37-39).

Finally, we need to be immensely grateful that God does not do a U turn on His offer of eternal life.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).

Whether or not they do U turns, no human leader can be trusted totally. Let us do a U turn and follow Jesus because he is utterly faithful and trustworthy.