Perfect love drives out fear: As we live with Christ and grow more mature and complete in God’s love, we have confidence in facing the day of judgment. This day will be terrifying for those who do not know God (Acts 24:25; Romans 2:16).
Based on a sense of guilt, people fear the punishment they know they deserve. This fear produces dread, and that dread is like a small experience of the coming punishment. Christ died to set us free from this dread (Hebrews 2:14–15).