As humans, we are fearful beings. Fearfulness is our weakness and it is our worst enemy. So, what is ‘fear?’ Fear is an unpleasant emotion which emerge as a result of thoughts that something bad is going to happen. Fear can be physical or emotional, that is, fear can be caused by our own thoughts or as a response to our surroundings. We can see all around and within us that humans are afraid of so many things. For instance, we are fearful of diseases, sicknesses, death, punishment, poverty, violence or threats, losing our reputation, losing our job, losing someone or something in our lives, failures, wars, and even natural calamities. Such worldly fears, however, have a destructive outcome in our lives. The Bible says, Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name (Deuteronomy 6:13). Worldly fear causes harm and danger to those who are not in the Lord but godly fear protects one who is in the Lord from all possible harm and dangers. The Psalmist says, I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4). There are quite a few references mentioned in the Bible regarding this, a few of them are below:
It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.
But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.
In this discussion, our focus is going to be from both perspectives, that is, the worldly fear that we are familiar with (which is harmful and destructive) and the ‘fear’ that is derived from the love of God (which is hopeful and redemptive). Eventually, this will help us understand what the ‘Fear of God’ means. However, in order to understand its meaning, we first need to know who our God is? On one hand, the God whom we adore and worship is a loving, forgiving, and compassionate God. He is a God who never stops loving his creation. Our God is all-powerful (Omnipotent), all-knowing (Omniscient), and present everywhere at the same time (Omnipresent). He created the universe out of nothing (Latin: Creatio ex-nihilo – meaning, creation out of nothing). Below are some references regarding these matters:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath
We just learned that God is a loving and compassionate God but Numbers 11:1, Deuteronomy 4:24, and Hebrews 12:29 states that God is a consuming fire and jealous God. In that sense, the question which arises here is, how can God be both a ‘loving and compassionate God’ as well as ‘a consuming fire’ at the same time? The fact is, God has given a set of laws and regulations for us to follow. If we obey those commands, He continues to be a loving and compassionate God, if we fail to obey His commands, He is like a consuming fire that can destroy us.
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God
But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground … take the bag of gold from him … throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
According to the verses above, fear without God brings a negative impact on our lives, but, the fear of God we have been discussing brings a positive outcome on our lives. God has already prepared a way for us to receive forgiveness for all of our short-comings.
What can we understand from these statements is that we, who are created by God in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:27), need to approach His presence with the due respect and honor which we owe Him. We are His children and need to humble ourselves before Him (James 4:10) with absolute reverence. We also need to be submissive to His authority and give Him honor whenever we present ourselves before Him. There are great rewards for anyone who loves, honors, and obeys God.
… Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
People who love and obey Him will be blessed:
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them
People who do not love and obey Him will be condemned:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell
The Hebrew term used to describe fear is יִרְאָה Yir’ah, and it means to ‘the fear of God,’ which is meant for reverential fear and recognized as a positive quality. The Greek term used is Φόβος Phobos, means ‘fear’ that causes due to reverence or respect. In nutshell, as a child of God, we do not need to fear God for any punishments rather honor Him for His authority and power over His creation. Thus, ‘the fear of the Lord’ means nothing but expressing our due respect, honor, and reverence for Him. Psalm 114:7-8 says, Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.
It is not only humans who praise and worship God, the entirety creation worships Him. The heavenly beings like Seraphim (six winged creatures that stay above the throne of God [Isaiah 6:1-2]) that praise and worship God for who He is and continually crying out ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; and Cherubim (four winged creatures that stay by the side of God’s throne [Isa 37:16; Ezekiel 1:6; 10:1-7]) worship and ready to serve Him at His command. There is a natural instinct in every living thing to worship the Lord God Almighty:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.
The whole earth is filled with God’s glory and all of creation worships and serves Him continually. Therefore, as Psalm 89:7 states, God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him. Also, Hebrews 12:28-29 states that Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. Although God punishes sins, the Spirit of God also invites sinners to come back to Him and repent.
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.
Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up
What shall we do then? Let us come before Him with godly fear and trembling. Let us worship Him with godly fear and trembling. Let us praise Him with godly fear and trembling. Let us adore Him with godly fear and trembling. Let us serve Him with godly fear and trembling.
Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Below are a few more Bible verses regarding the fear of the Lord:
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have a place of refuge.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.
The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.
