Fear God!

Throughout the history of the church, heretical views and doctrines have wormed their way into the minds and hearts of Christians.  The only defense the church has against such doctrines is the perfect, entire Word of God.  Heresies are doctrines of demons which gain strength in hearts and minds that oppose the unchanging truth of scripture.  "Heresy" is defined in the Webster's 1828 dictionary as, "A fundamental error in religion, or an error of opinion respecting some fundamental doctrine of religion...The scriptures being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrine is heresy."  The Bible is not a platform to support man's opinions or confirm his beliefs:  it is meant to shape them completely according to God's righteous standard.  Unless scripture is the sole basis for my belief, I build upon shifting sand.

In the New Testament, many of the books were written as letters to confront heresies which threatened the health and viability of the Body of Christ.  These threats persist today.  The church has been under assault by Satan since the beginning and it should not surprise us he remains relentless in his labour to distract, confuse, paralyse, and pollute the church through all means at his disposal.  At times Satan has sought to stomp out the Christians by force.  Other times he has sought to unify church with state.  Now he is most effective through worldly philosophies, watered-down truth, and subtly influencing belief through deluding the very Christians who comprise the church.  When we wander from the absolutes of the Word, error is certain.

One of the heresies I believe is especially sinister is the idea that because we are under grace, we no longer need to fear God.  God through Christ has become a friend we can cuddle up to.  The "fear of God" has been antiquated to a time when men were under the Law and were children of wrath.  This concept has no support or strength in either the Old or New Testaments.  This is by no means an exhaustive look at all the evidence, but hopefully will provide ample support to label the suggestion that we no longer need to fear God as abominable heresy.

What exactly is the "fear" of the LORD?  Though there are different words in the original languages used for fear, most have a similar range of meaning.  There are two aspects to this fear:  the first is terror and fright, and the second is reverence.  Fear can make us physically tremble with fright, and our minds can be blown with awe and amazement.  When we see a volcano erupt and the lava shoot hundreds of feet into the air, it takes our breath away.  We know that it is so hot it would kill us and wisdom demands we keep our distance.  Our heart sinks for the people we see running for cover as the flow slowly gains ground on their position.  Yet if we happened to be standing on the crater of that volcano when it blew, we would be absolutely terrified.  We would not gaze in appreciation at the eruption because if we do not do something death is certain!  It is the same thing when we look at a lion in a cage.  We can appreciate his beautiful mane, powerful muscles, and his throaty roar.  It is not terrifying to be on the safe side of the glass, yet we respect the lion's power enough to know he is not to be played with like a kitten.  Should we find ourselves on the inside of that cage without an escape, the terror of being torn limb from limb would be a reality as the teeth began to crunch our bones.

Because people struggle with the idea of God being loving but also fierce in wrath (as the Bible declares), this "fear" of God has been taken to only mean "reverence; awe" instead of the full-defintion which includes:  "afraid; terror; dread."  It is not just the unbelievers who ought to fear God.  What does Jesus say in Matthew 10:28?  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  In reference to God judging His people the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:30-31:  "For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."  There is a lie that has permeated the minds of some people that they do not need to worry about judgment because Christ has taken their place as a substitute.  It is true that those who are born again will never face God's wrath or face the fires of hell.  Yet the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."  We ought to heed the words given in Hebrews 12:28-29:  "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire."  We are all called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Allow me to hold forth three purposes we are to fear God with both trembling and reverence.  Good doctrine is profitable for the glory of God and our sanctification.  When we do not fear God as we ought, we will be deficient in three key areas in our walks.

• We must fear God to know Him.  Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  Unless I fear the LORD, I cannot know God.  The fear of the LORD is the first fundamental step in knowing Him.  Jesus has become for us wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30).  It is the knowledge that God has all power, that He is righteous, and I will be judged according to His righteousness.  If I trembled when I was going to be swatted before my parents, how much more should I tremble before God!  The fear of God makes this knowledge personal.
•  The fear of God keeps us from sin.  Exodus 20:20 reads, "And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."  The fear of God keeps me from disobedience, and the Holy Spirit enables us to live righteously.  When God appeared on Mount Sinai the people were terrified.  Moses told them not to run away from Him in terror, but understand His terrible appearance kept them from sin.  It was as if they were looking at a caged lion:  should they choose sin, however, He would certainly chasten them.  Who wants to be chastened by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?
• The fear of God grants us an effective witness.  2 Corinthians 5:11 says, "Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences."  Those who fear the LORD are aware of His love, power, and that He knows all things.  We are eyewitnesses of His power to save and also His power to destroy.  Jesus has come to give us abundant life, but woe to those who reject Him!  It would be better for those who reject Him to never have been born.

This misunderstanding of the fear of the LORD has led to chronic weakness in the church in these three areas:  knowing God, avoidance of sin/righteous living, and a strong evangelistic witness.  To correct these flaws, our first step is to repent and seek God's forgiveness that we have not feared God as we should.  Do you fear God - not just with a reverence or respect, but with fear and trembling?  Do not fall for the lie that the fear of God is outdated or is unprofitable under the New Covenant.  Let us heed the command of Jesus Christ:  "Fear Him!"