Living in the Fear of God

By Ted Kyle

Fearing God is set forth as a duty (Eccl. 12:13). It carries with it the divine promise of blessings (Ps. 128:1 & Mal. 4:2, among other texts).

It is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10); it is the instruction of wisdom (Prov. 15:33). It is a fountain of life (Prov. 14:27). It generates hatred of evil, even within ourselves (Ps. 8:13). It perfects holiness in us (2 Cor. 7:1). It builds and edifies the church (Acts 9:31). It brings reward instead of destruction at God’s final judgment (Rev. 11:18).

In sum, the fear of the Lord brings wonderful things to God’s children. But what, exactly, does it mean to “fear the Lord”?

Does it simply mean we are to respect God, as many interpret it? I don’t believe that for a moment. In fact, I think it is disrespectful to dismiss “the fear of God” in such a fashion. We are to respect our elders, but which of us fears them? Both the Old Testament teaching by example and the language of the New Testament indicate something much greater than respect is meant.

Revisit with me, for example, Leviticus 15:31: “Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them”; and Numbers 17:10: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.”

These instructions were reinforced with examples showing that God’s words were not empty threats: the priests Nadab and Abihu were instantly slain by the fire of God’s wrath when they used “strange” (unholy and improper) fire (Lev. 10:1), and again when God responded to the presumptuous rebellion of Korah and his cohorts by commanding the earth to swallow them alive in the midst of the camp (Num. 16:32-33).

These things—and indeed all of God’s dealings with Israel during their wandering years and the occupation of Palestine—the Bible informs us, were for our instruction also (1 Cor. 10:11).

The New Testament Greek word is phobéo, which basically means “to cause fear, terrify,” though it can also mean “reverence.” And what does “reverence” mean? To quote the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, reverence means “a feeling or attitude of deep respect, tinged with awe; veneration.” We get into a bit of circular definitions if we look up “veneration,” which means “to regard or treat with reverence,” Obviously, neither word can be precisely defined.

We would do well, I believe, to stick as closely as possible to the basic definition, following Paul’s lead in Romans 11:20: “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear (phobéo).” Paul meant “fear” to be taken literally.

However, fear is indissolubly linked with love. In fact, either one without the other becomes a twisted caricature of a child of God. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19); and because we truly love Him, we are obedient children. But we never forget that it is the Creator and Master of the universe whom we adore as our Father. We stand in awe of Him even as we love Him. Love without fear never grows up, while fear without love leads to legalism and worse.

We can find the clearest understanding of the fear of God, in my estimation, in Psalm 119:119-20: “Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.” Note that it is in the flesh that we sin; therefore it is flesh which is afraid. Fear keeps us aware of sin in our lives. Fear is thus an excellent curative for self-absorbed pride.

The fear of God gives me grateful awareness that I owe all to Him, every breath I draw, and every beat of my heart. It reminds me that, of myself, I am nothing, and have nothing without my beloved Father. Yet He in me can do all things. Praise His Name!

Ted Kyle served as managing editor of Pulpit Helps from 1993-2008.

Pulpit Helps Magazine, a ministry of AMG International, is the pastor’s one-stop-shop for tools to effectively serve a congregation. Founded in 1975 by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, Pulpit Helps is dedicated to the mission of equipping our readers with a greater understanding of the words of Scripture so that they can adequately fulfill their calling as Christ’s ambassadors. It is to that end that we provide sermon starters, bulletin inserts, illustrations and quality articles on preaching, counseling, Christian living, and more.