To fear Him (Fort Worth, TX)

To fear Him

What does it mean to fear God For the unbeliever the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death which is eternal separation from God (Matthew 10 28 Luke 12 5 Hebrews 10 31). For the believer the fear of God is something much different. The believer s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12 28-29 is a good description of this Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear For our God is a consuming fire. This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe. Proverbs 1 7declares The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy just and righteous. Deuteronomy 10 12 20-21records And now Israel what doth the LORD thy God require of thee but to fear the LORD thy God to walk in all his ways and to love him and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God him shalt thou serve and to him shalt thou cleave and swear by his name. He is thy praise and he is thy God that hath done for thee these great and terrible things which thine eyes have seen. The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways serving Him and yes loving Him. Some redefine the fear of God for believers to respecting Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God for the believer includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12 5-11describes God s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12 6) it is still a fearful thing. When we were children our fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions on our part. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline and therefore seek to live our lives in a way that pleases Him. Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8 38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13 5). Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him obeying Him submitting to His discipline and worshiping Him in awe.