I would like to start this article with a
different way than usual and instead of saying anything else to give some of
the multitude of the Scriptures that refer to the fear of the Lord and the
promises of God that are connected with it. Please read carefully:
Psalms 34:9
"Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him"
Psalms 34:7
"Angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and
delivers them"
Psalms 112:1-2
"Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who
delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on
earth;"
Psalms 25:12
"Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose.
Psalms 25:14
"The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show
them His covenant"
Psalms 31:19
"Oh, how great is your goodness, which you
have laid up for those who fear you,
which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons
of men!"
Psalms 33:18
"Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope
in His mercy"
Psalms 85:9
"Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may
dwell in our land"
Psalms 103:11
"For as the heavens are high above the
earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;"
Psalms 103:13
"As a father pities his children, so the
Lord pities those who fear Him"
Psalms 103:17
"But the mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children's children."
Psalms 111:4-5
"He has made His wonderful works to be
remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to
those who fear Him; He will ever be
mindful of His covenant."
Psalms 115:13
"He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small
and great"
Psalms 128:1-4
"Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks
in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it
shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very
heart of your house; Your children like olive plants all around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."
Psalms 145:19
"He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear
their cry and save them."
Proverbs 10:27
"The fear of the Lord prolongs days"
Proverbs 14:26
"In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His
children will have a place of refuge"
Proverbs 14:27
"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one
away from the snares of death."
Proverbs 15:33
"The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and
before honor is humility."
Proverbs 16:6
"In mercy and truth atonement is provided
for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil."
Proverbs 19:23
"The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will
abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil."
Proverbs 22:4
"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."
Proverbs 23:17
"Be in the fear of the Lord all the day"
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13
"Though a sinner does evil a hundred
times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with
those who fear God, who fear before Him.
But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which
are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God."
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is
man's all."
I believe it is obvious from the above that we are
dealing here with a very important subject. What is the fear of the Lord that
all that have it are subject of the so many promises we read? What does it mean
“fear the Lord”? Does it mean to be afraid, terrorized, in the idea of God?
Could it be that this subject of the “fear of the Lord” is a kind of not valid
today as today we are children of God? Furthermore doesn’t I John tell us that
there is no fear in love? Could it be then that this “fear of the Lord” is
something for the Old Testament only? The purpose of this article is to answer
these questions.
Depending on somebody’s background, there are those
who understand the fear of the Lord as a kind of terror, of being afraid of
God. Others again they understand it like a simple respect, like the respect
for example they show to their colleagues or… they do not understand it at all
as they consider it not relevant for the present age of grace. I don’t think
that any of these views is correct. Starting with the simple respect: the
respect that may exist between equals is not the same with the respect towards
the Most High One. In a kingdom a subject does not respect his king the same way
he respects his colleagues. Even if he has full boldness before the throne, as
we, through the blood of Christ, have before the throne of God, even if he is a
child of the King, as we are through faith, he continues to also be a subject
before the King. And as to every King, let alone to the King of kings, deep
respect is due. In other words, the fact that we are children of the King does
not annul the fear, the deep respect that is due to the King, to the Most High
One, nor does it convert it to a simple respect, like the respect due to
co-equals.
On the other hand, a son of the king would indeed not
approach the king the same way a stranger would approach him. A son would
approach the king not with terror but with boldness and confidence, knowing
that the one he is speaking to is His loving Father. At the same time and as we
already said above he would also approach Him with deep respect recognizing
that he does not approach a colleague but His Father, who at the same time is
the Most High, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. In other words, the fact
that we are children of King it also means that the fear of the Lord should not
be understood like a terror, like being afraid, of the King. Instead it should
rather be understood like the very deep, the highest respect that is due from
kids to the most loving Father, who at the same time is the Creator of
everything, the Most High One.
Having clarified the above let’s see some passages
that show the majesty of God and are associated with the fear of God. I use
these passages as an indication of the majesty and highness of God and not to
say that Christians should be afraid, terrified, of God. As we already said and
as we will see later fearing God does not mean being afraid of God. I believe
in our age, where Jesus Christ has bridged the gap between God and man, fearing God means approaching Him both as a Father
(with boldness and without being afraid of Him) and as the Most High One (with
the deepest respect). Turning
now to the passages we mentioned, let’s start with Jeremiah 10:6-7:
Jeremiah 10:6-7
"Inasmuch as there is none like You, O
Lord. You are great, and Your name is great in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?"
and Revelation 15:4
"Who shall not
fear You, O Lord and glorify Your name?"
and Jeremiah 5:22-24
"Do you not fear
Me? Says the Lord. Will you not tremble at My presence,
who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that
it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot
prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it. But this people has a
defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. They do not say
in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain, both the
former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of
the harvest."
Psalms 33:6-9
"By the word of the Lord the heavens were
made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the
waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.Let all the earth fear the
Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke,
and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."
GOD MADE US AND THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. EVERYTHING, SEEN
OR UNSEEN, WAS MADE BY HIS OWN HAND. He is our Father and our Lord. He is the
Most High One. Knowledge of the Scriptures without fear, deep respect of the majesty
of God is just head knowledge that will definitely lead to pride (I Corinthians
8:1). As Proverbs tells us:
Proverbs 2:1-5
"My son, if you receive my words, and
treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your
ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for
discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as
silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord, and
find the knowledge of God."
Only if the Word of God is stored within us, only if
it becomes part of our heart will we understand the fear of the Lord. If we
therefore don’t have deep respect for the Most High, then any knowledge of the
Scripture that we may have is just head knowledge which, unless we store it in
our hearts instead of our heads, will not give fruit and will eventually lead
to pride.
A view that some, implicitly or explicitly, hold about
the fear of God is that it has somehow been ceased by the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But I don’t think that this is correct. Here are some New
Testament passages that speak about the fear of God:
Acts 9:31
"Then the churches throughout all Judea,
Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the holy spirit,
they were multiplied."
I Peter 2:17
"Honor all. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. "
II Corinthians 7:1
"Therefore, having these promises,
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord."
Colossians 3:22
"Bondservants, obey in all things your
masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in
sincerity of heart, FEARING GOD."
Cornelious, the first Gentile at whose home the gospel
was preached, was a man that feared God. As Acts 10:1-2 tells us:
Acts 10:1-2
"There was a certain man in Caesarea
called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout
man and one WHO FEARED GOD with all his household, who gave alms
generously to the people, and prayed to God always."
and as Peter said in Acts 10:34-35
Acts 10:34-35
"Then Peter opened his mouth and said:
"In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. BUT IN EVERY NATION WHOEVER FEARS HIM AND WORKS
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ACCEPTED BY HIM""
As we see the fear of the Lord is present in the New
Testament too. At the same time I do think - and I have already mentioned it -
that there is a vast difference between Old Testament and New Testament. This
is due to the fact that there is now available, due to the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ, a very different kind of relationship with God. This different
kind of relationship should also be taken into consideration when we try to
understand what fearing God means. Using the example mentioned before, there is
a vast difference between citizens of a kingdom that are just outsiders and
citizens that are children of the King. The outsiders and the children do not
approach the king in the same way. The outsiders are approaching the king
perhaps in terror due to His majesty and due to lack of any relationship with
Him other than that of a subject. But this is not valid for the children. The
children approach the Father with boldness, without being afraid of Him, like
kids approach their loving Father. This is also how the Scripture tells us to
approach the throne:
Hebrews 4:14-16
„Seeing then that we have a great high priest,
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our]
profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet]
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.“
To the throne of grace we come boldly. This is not
because of us but because of the Lord Jesus Christ, who bridged the gap between
us and God and made it possible to those who believe that He is the Son of God
to become children of God (I John 5:1). As also I John 4:17-19 tells us:
„There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not
made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.“
If we love God we will not be afraid of Him for fear
and love do not go together. At the same time I repeat this does not mean that
it is right to approach God the same way we are approaching equals, with some
perhaps simple respect and without realizing the Highness of the one we are
approaching. But again this is not a terror nor are we to be afraid of Him. If
it is a terror then we don’t really love Him as we should, as there is no fear
in love. Instead, as we said: fearing God means approaching
Him both as a Father (with boldness and without being afraid of Him) and as the
Most High One (with the deepest respect).
Taking the above one step further, I really don’t see
how can somebody walk in the will of the Lord if He does not have this fear of
God and how can somebody fear God if He does not do the will of God. Fearing
God means then doing His will. It means to take a step of faith on what God has
told us even if we don’t understand how everything is going to work and have
not seen the whole picture. Those who fear God will want to do the will of God.
Whatever the Father says has for them the greatest value and it is
non-negotiable for it came out of the mouth of the Father. The fear of the
Lord, the deep respect for the Lord and His will, and obedience to the Lord and
His will go then hand by hand. For really imagine kids that are disobedient.
Would you say that these kids respect their father? Perhaps they approach the
Father to get things from Him but they do not really love Him or respect Him.
Had they loved Him they would treasure His will in their hearts and they would
do this will. Unfortunately there are some Christians that are like this: they
go to God only when they have a great need and the remaining time they live
exactly like the world. This will obviously have to change. Instead of
approaching God like this we should deepen our relationship, seeking first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added to us
(Matthew 6:33). As Philippians 2:5-11 says about our example, the Lord Jesus
Christ:
Philippians 2:5-11
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under
the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
Let the same mind be in us, says the Scripture, that
was in the Lord Jesus Christ. What was this mind? It was the mind of obedience,
even unto death. It was the mind of “not mine will but thine be done” (Luke
22:42).
What I want to say with the above is that we cannot
really say that we fear the Lord if we don’t do His will. It is in fact the
same as with loving the Lord. As He said:
John 14:23-24
“If a man love me, he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:
and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.”
We cannot say that we love the Lord if we don’t do
what He says. Similarly, I believe we cannot say that we fear the Lord if we
don’t do what we know it is His will.
To conclude therefore this section, fear of the
Lord means also obedience to the Lord. It means treasuring God and His will no
matter what. It means in one phrase: holding God and His will to
the highest esteem.
We started this article showing the source of
blessings the fear of the Lord is. Really it is difficult to find another
subject in the Scripture that contains so many promises: long-liveness,
prosperity, deliverance and many other promises accompany those who fear the
Lord.
We then tried to define the fear of the Lord making
clear that this is neither a simple respect, like the respect equals show to
each other, nor does this mean to be afraid of God or in terror of Him. In
contrast the fear of the Lord is the very deep respect that is due to the
Father, to GOD, to the LORD, to the CREATOR OF EVERYTHING.
Finally we made clear that there is no fear of God
without doing the will of God. In other words whoever fears the Lord does also
His will and whoever does not fear Him, but want to satisfy his flesh, does not
do it or he does it whenever he likes it, depending on the circumstances.
Closing this article let us listen carefully this
instruction from Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's
all."