"He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”" Revelation 14:7
Throughout
my Christian life, I’ve heard and read this phrase a lot – “Fear the Lord.” I
have never understood what it meant, and it’s always seemed to contradict other
messages I’ve heard, such as, “Love god,” “God is merciful and good,” “God is
forgiving,” and “God is love.” I’ve heard messages that say God will judge
sinners and all those who forsake him by punishing them and sending their souls to hell. This is
the God you should be afraid of.
But that doesn’t match the many other messages that say God will always forgive
you if you ask, and often even if you don’t. He will watch over you, protect
you, and guide you through all your struggles. No sin is too great for his
forgiveness. So which one is He? The one you should fear or the one you should
love?
Then I’ve
heard the argument that there are two “Gods.” There’s the God of the Old
Testament who destroys cities and wipes out whole people groups. He’s more
portrayed as the God of war and strength, not mercy and forgiveness. He is a
jealous God who abhors idol worship, and he plays favorites because he has a
chosen group. Though he repeatedly gives chance after chance every time his
people stray, he always reaches a point where enough is enough, and then brings
destruction to his own chosen people. Then there’s the New Testament God, who
is full of mercy, forgiveness, and love. He’s the one who sent his only begotten son as
a sacrifice because he loved all of his children, not just a chosen group. He
wanted everyone to be with him in heaven. And no matter how often we stray, or what
we do, He will always try to bring us back to him.
The first
thing I want to make clear, as it has been explained to me, is that these are not two
separate Gods. There is not a God of the OT and of the NT. There is only one
God, who is constant. In Exodus 3:14 when Moses asked who God was, God
responded, “I am who I am.” The way I choose to understand God is this –
we are created in his image, and just as there are many sides to each of us, so
there are many sides to God.
But back to
my initial question, if God is all these things – merciful, powerful,
forgiving, destructive, loving, etc – then what does it mean to fear him? Should
we live in constant fear of his wrath, wondering when he will punish us for our
sins? Should we be afraid of him occasionally? Or are we just supposed to love
him all the time? Can we love him and fear him too?

Interestingly
in the Bible, the word afraid is used before the word fear appears. After Adam
and Eve eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden, Adam says to God, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). In this scenario, Adam had committed the
first sin, which was disobeying God’s only commandment to not eat the fruit.
Yet, he wasn’t afraid that he ate the fruit, he was afraid because he was
naked, which could be symbolic for his shame. After the first sin came God’s
first punishment. Being afraid usually means being afraid of something, of some
kind of consequence or situation.

Fearing the
Lord is a good thing, but what exactly does that mean? In the verse above,
obedience is a key factor in this fear. If you fear the Lord, you will obey his
commands. This goes deeper, which Proverbs 8:18 explains, “To fear the Lord is
to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” This is not just a desire to obey, but its aided by a hatred of evil and
sin, so that you want to be obedient and good. In Exodus 20:20, Moses said to
the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of
God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” God does not want us to
sin. He wants us to be good by hating sin and having the desire to keep his
commands.


Let’s get
back to what it means to be afraid. At the beginning of Deuteronomy 20, Moses
is telling the Israelites to not be afraid when going to war because the Lord
will be with them, “Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or
give way to panic before them.” To be fainthearted is to live fearfully. To be
terrified or to panic means to be afraid of something. This is the kind of fear
John is referring to. To love means to not live with fear in your heart, or to
be afraid of what will happen. Yet, to fear God means to love him enough that
you want to obey him, and your obedience will bring wisdom.
There is
one last important distinction to make – the difference between fearing God and
fearing man. Jesus tells us, “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” (Matthew 10:28). We should not be afraid of people, but along with fearing
the Lord out of love, we should be afraid of him whenever we sin. This doesn’t
mean to live in fear of his wrath, but rather to be afraid of the consequences
of sin, so that we can repent and be close to him again. Proverbs 29:25 adds, “Fear
of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” The notes in the SAB say, “fear of God – respect, reverence, and trust –
is liberating,” but the fear of people can hold you back and immobilize you.
Isaiah
tells us, “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do
not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you
are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to
dread, and he will be a sanctuary” (8:12-14). Do not live in fear of people
or what is in this world. Don’t be afraid of what others think. Don’t be afraid
to live your life in obedience to God. And don’t live in fear of God’s
punishment and wrath, but instead be afraid of the consequence of sin so that you can be pushed
to repent. Revere and fear God by obeying him and loving him, and he will be where you
find peace and safety.
Additional verses to think about:
Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue
to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in
you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall
I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
Jude 1:22-23 "Be merciful to those who doubt, snatch
others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -
hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
Sources:
NIV Study Application Bible
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