What Does It Mean To Fear God? Pt. 1

In the old days, and by that I mean one or two centuries ago, it was not un-common to hear the phrase, “He’s a God-fearing man.” We don’t hear that much anymore, and it occurs to me to wonder why. Many words in the English language have multiple meanings and fear is one of them. Fear can have two meanings:

Alarm, in the sense of being afraid of something, or

Awe, in the sense of having reverential respect for someone.

It is in that second sense that God-fearing is used. In the 21st Century, God is not welcomed very much into the larger culture. Gradually over the last 100 years the larger culture has pushed God away. The evidence is everywhere: we’ve taken prayer out of our schools, removed the Ten Commandments from public places, and murdered 62 million unborn humans, all in the name of personal self-actualization. Is it any wonder that, except for the rapidly diminishing portion of our culture that actually places faith in Jesus, the only place people use God is as part of a swear word?

Some people fear God in the first sense and in some ways that is appropriate. After all, God is the Creator of everything; universe, mountain, and individual. He could wipe us out in an instant: Remember, death is the logical consequence of sin. So fear of God because of His awesome power is a good thing. But God doesn’t want us to come to Him out of fear, but out of love. He could have created us with an irresistible need for Him, but that would have made us robots, not humans. Instead, He wants us to come to Him out of love, respect, and reverential awe.

To fear the LORD is not to experience a dread that paralyzes all action, but neither is it just polite respect. It is an attitude of both reluctance and adoration that results in a willingness to do what he says. The fear of the LORD is necessary if we are even to begin on the right foot in learning, living, and worshipping. (reference available upon request)

We’ll talk about how fearing God can lead us into productive, fruitful lives next week.