“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Are we supposed to be afraid of God? The answer to that question is yes and no. Yes, we should be afraid of Him if we do not acknowledge His existence and His great love for us, that is, if we just shut Him out of our lives.That is why Hebrews 10:31 tells us: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." No, we should not be afraid of Him in the sense of dread if we believe in Him, trust Him for salvation and sustenance in this life. God is serious about loving us. He loves us so much that He disciplines us. (Read Hebrews 12:5-11.) He is serious about having a relationship with us. He went to great lengths in sending His Son to die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, He is serious about our reaction to Him and our relationship to Him. What does it mean, however, to “fear God” when we are believers? To fear God in the sense that a Christian should fear Him, means that we hold Him in great awe. When we think of God, we do not think of Him as a powerless being that is helpless before the forces of evil. To fear God in that sense is to realize His true greatness. Think for a moment about the greatness of God from the standpoint of size. He is the creator of the universe. He is the master of the universe, that is, He is in charge of the universe and holds it all together. From what we know about the size of the universe today, this makes Him a great being indeed. To some people this is beyond belief, for they do not understand how a great being like that can exist. To those of us who believe, His greatness makes His reality even more meaningful. God’s greatness is beyond all that we can imagine. That is why we must accept Him by faith. To fear God, then, is to hold Him in great awe as One who is larger than life. Ironically, I think that to say we fear God is to say that we love Him. What do I mean? When we think of God’s vastness, His omniscience, omni-presence and omnipotence, we stand amazed that such a great being as this could love us enough to take an interest in our mully-grubbing little lives. We love God because He created us in His image. We love God because he wants to be involved in our lives. David expressed what I am trying to convey in Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained; 4. What is man, that you are mindful of Him? And the Son of man, that you visit Him?” David looked at the greatness of God and stood amazed that this God would be interested in Him. Though David did not use the word “love” here, I think that this is an expression of love as well as amazement. In 1 John 4:19, John gave good reason for us to love God: “We love (God), because He first loved us.” To fear God is to take that awesome love seriously. To fear God in the sense of holding Him in great awe, and realizing His greatness, is to acknowledge that He is involved in our lives. This is amazing. God loves us so much that He sacrificed His Son for us, and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to live in our lives. This great God wants to be part of our lives. What is there about us that makes God want to relate to us? The Bible explicitly says that “there is none good, no not one.” The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The Bible makes it plain that we are not innately worthy of all that God has done for us, and all that He wants to do for us through Jesus. But in spite of that, in His grace and mercy, God loves us and yearns for us to draw close to Him. How can we not hold such a great, loving God in awe and wonder? Remember the hymn: “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me a sinner, condemned, unclean.” Do your fear God in the sense of holding Him great awe, loving Him and having a relationship with Him? Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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