What Does it Mean to Fear the Lord?
Rev Charlie (October 2022)
Often, when the question is asked, ‘What does it mean to fear the Lord?’ the response goes something like this, ‘Oh, it doesn’t really mean fear, it just means that we should approach God with a sense of reverence and awe.’ Whilst this response is partially true, it is also inadequate, especially when we consider the pervasiveness of this theme throughout scripture.
Proverbs 1: 7 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Given its context in the book of Proverbs, it most likely means that the wisest approach to life is to live according to the premise that there is a just God who will ultimately hold us accountable for our actions. As one well known psychologist put it, “You can’t twist the fabric of reality without it snapping back at you sooner or later.” Our conduct, good or bad, carries real consequences, both for this life and the life to come. Those who have rejected God’s love and forgiveness have good reason to fear God because they will face his righteous judgement without the ‘clean slate’ afforded by Jesus. It is this ‘fear of the Lord’ that compels many to put their hope and trust in Jesus.
1 John 4: 18 says this, ‘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.’ When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we no longer fear punishment because Jesus has taken our sin and wrongdoing upon himself. That is to say, he has stood in our place and taken the punishment that we deserve.
For believers, ‘fear of the Lord’ does not mean cowering like slaves. That would make no sense, since we have been adopted into the family of a loving, compassionate and perfect heavenly Father. Indeed, fear of the Lord is something that we can delight in (Neh. 1: 11). When confronted with the glory, beauty, power and holiness of God it is natural to experience a sense of awe, reverence and, if I can put it this way, a delightful fear. As it says in Philippians 2: 12-13, ‘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.’ In our fear of the Lord we must never lose sight of the fact that God’s purposes are entirely good.
Romans 11: 11-24 (and 19-21 in particular), would seem to indicate that fearing God deters us from running away from him. Not in the sense of an abused person, who fears to flee their tormentor, but in the sense of a beloved child who fears the consequences of running away from a stable and loving home. All good parents discipline their children and God rightly disciplines us from time to time. As it says in Hebrews 12: 6, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” It is not trivial or inconsequential to knowingly rebel against the God of the universe. Those of us who have, at some point, turned away from God or have knowingly disobeyed his will for our lives, will likely have experienced a sense of uneasiness, foreboding and, yes, even fear.
So, the fear of the Lord is not just a sense of reverence and awe. Although it does include that, there are other facets too. However, none of this will trouble us provided we continue to trust in the absolute goodness and unfailing love of God, who only wants the very best for us.
