I am curious to hear your thoughts on this topic and what part it has in our walk with the Lord. What does it look like in the life of a born-again believer? How is it combined with His amazing grace and love?
Is in the Old Testament used as a designation of true piety (Pro_1:7; Job_28:28; Psa_19:9). It is a fear conjoined with love and hope, and is therefore not a slavish dread, but rather filial reverence. (Compare Deu_32:6; Hos_11:1; Isa_1:2; Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8.) God is called �the Fear of Isaac� (Gen_31:42, Gen_31:53), i.e., the God whom Isaac feared.
A holy fear is enjoined also in the New Testament as a preventive of carelessness in religion, and as an incentive to penitence (Mat_10:28; 2Co_5:11; 2Co_7:1; Phi_2:12; Eph_5:21; Heb_12:28, Heb_12:29).
I think it is a good idea to be afraid of God to some extent and in the sense that He is the creator and He is almighty. However, the sense in the Bible is that His people show Him reverence (fear) and they do so with obedience and worship.
To me God is Love and Love is God. I do not fear God in the sense that God is Scary. I cannot fathom fearing someone I Love.
The conclusion I finally came to was that I �fear� disappointing God; that I fear letting Him down. I also fear damnation�the fires of Hell and what God can do to my Soul.
As a believer I see �Fear of God� as the Discipline needed to reach the ultimate goal of Salvation.
While some may think that their salvation is assured and cannot be lost�I see my salvation as something that I have to work at everyday�not as a Reward or payment for anything, but rather as having to grab my cross everyday and Walking with Christ.
This is my favorite, Job 28:28 �The fear of the Lord � that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.�
I see it as reverential fear, and I think it become wisdom because if we fear the Lord and know that he is always watching, then we understand we have to shun doing evil things. Isn�t it shameful to be caught doing bad things? In our walk with the Lord, believe that God is always watching us. If we do fall, His amazing grace and love is there to cover our wrongs. We just repent from the heart and strive to live what is expected of a Christian. That just as Christ is perfect, we need to strive to be perfect.
I believe the biblical fear of the Lord is the anti-venom of the "God is love, He wouldn't send anyone to hell" mentality of so many proponents of "easy believism". It's a recognition of just how much God HATES sin, of how very serious our transgressions are, before and after we come to faith. Never again will a person blithely say, "Oh, sorry, God", once he understands the Truth.
There are two words for fear in the Hebrew language:
1. H3372
ירא
yârê'
yaw-ray'
A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: - affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).
This is the fear Adam had when he and Eve listened to Satan instead of YHWH.
2.H3374
יראה
yir'âh
yir-aw'
Feminine of H3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally reverence: - X dreadful, X exceedingly, fear (-fulness).
This fear is of awe,respect.
The Greek has at least 2 words being the same as the Hebrew.
1.G5399
φοβέω
phobeō
fob-eh'-o
From G5401; to frighten, that is, (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy to be in awe of, that is, revere: - be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.
2.G5401
φόβος
phobos
fob'-os
From a primary φέβομαι phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.
Notice with Adam,his fear was one of dread seeing that he and Eve were naked being out from the covering of YHWH.
Yet the believers has no fear being in the presence of YHWH,
For Yeshuas' Justification of the believer,Yeshuas' Righteousness,Holiness,and Sanctification, is the believers covering in YHWH's presence.
Fear can affect someone in two ways.
1.Paralyze and immobilize a person to keep them from doing what they know they should be doing.
2.Force a person to move forward even when they do not want to go.
The fear/reverence GOD has to come from YHWH Himself,for we do not naturally reverence Him.
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Most people would be slightly nervous if they met the President or other powerful person.
What is typically the first thing a angel says to a person when they appear? ......"Don't be afraid". It is recorded many times in scripture people are plum terrified at the sight of a angel. Why? They all believed in angels beforehand and knew they were hanging around. But it wasn't until they came face to face with the awesomest spiritual being they had ever seen that they became terrified.
Now if you don't think you would be infinitely more afraid of the Greatest Spiritual Being to have or ever will exist, then you have the wrong concept of God.
Sure He Loves us, and is able to supernaturally fill us with peace and keep us from dying in His presence, but we should never forget who He really is.
That is the fear of the Lord; to grasp the reality of Who God Is.
These verses pertain to the unbeliever before they have turned to God
Luke 12:5 (NIV)
5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Hebrews 10:31 (NIV)
31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
To the believer these verses pertain
Hebrews 12:28�29 (NIV)
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our �God is a consuming fire.�
Deuteronomy 10:12 (NIV)
12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
This is the foundation for our Loving God and for us doing His Will�for our Walk with Jesus.
I am not afraid of God�I do not Fear Him! I Love Him! Yes He is All Powerful and Mighty and can destroy me with just a snort of His nostrils, but I do not fear him.
If you have to do what God wants you to do because you �Fear� Him then how much different is God to you then a SlaveMaster is? Or a ChainGang Overseer? You fear a cop because he can arrest you, yet I have no fear of the police. Only criminals fear the police.
When Scripture speaks about �the fear of God� it is speaking to those that do not know God yet or do not understand Him. Once you have this �knowledge� and �understanding� (the basis of why you need God and Jesus�your Salvation) then you should not �FEAR� God.
Do your children fear you because you can hurt them or kill them? Or do they �fear� what could happen to them if they disobey you�if they do not listen to you�if they disappoint you?
I feel sorry for any child that sits in �fear� of their Father.
I would approach Jesus humbly�as the lowly worm that I am, but not in fear! That is not the Jesus I know�that is not the Jesus I have a personal relationship with.
You can fear Him if that is what you wish�if that is how you feel�if you truly do have Fear in your Heart. I have Love for God�that is why I wish to please Him (I fall very short of that).
I never "feared" my father, but I feared disappointing him. It was actually kind of strange growing up. My father never punished us, but we respected and listened to him far more than my mother, and she was the one that "spanked" us. I think it's just a question of definitions. God offers a lot of things to us when we come to Him, and "terror" isn't one of them, so when it says "fear the Lord", I think it's talking about reverence/respect/love, unless it's referring to people who don't know God. God is always asking us to come to Him as sons/daughters/little children, and obedient/loved children have nothing to fear.
