The fear of God refers to having reverence and awe for God as the Creator of the universe. It is the beginning of wisdom and motivates us to surrender to God and walk in obedience to his commands. The fear of God includes understanding God's holiness and righteousness, and fearing his judgment on sin while also trusting in his love. As Christians, we should take God's discipline seriously because it comes from love, just as parents discipline children, and seek to live in a way that pleases God. True fear of God means having such reverence for him that it impacts how we live our lives through respecting, obeying, and worshipping him.

1. "The fear of the Lord" – 21st
June 2016
“The fear of the LORD is the beginningofknowledge,but fools[c]
despisewisdomand
instruction”(Proverbs1:7).
The fear of God is the fearof the judgmentof Godand eternal death.Thisrefersto eternal separation
fromGod because itis onlyHe who can save us frometernal deathanddestructionuswe readfrom
Luke 12:5, “But I will show youwhom youshouldfear: Fear him who,after yourbody hasbeen killed,
has authorityto throw you intohell.Yes, I tell you, fear him”.Forthe Christianthis fearof God also is
alsothe reverence andadoration of God. We can derive agood descriptionof this whenwe read
Hebrews 12:28-29, “ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdomthat cannotbe shaken, let us be
thankful,andso worshipGodacceptably with reverence and awe, 29
forour “Godisa consumingfire.”
Thisreverence andawe isexactlywhatthe fearof God meansforChristians.Thisisthe motivating
factor forus to surrenderandhave fearof he whois the Creatorof the Universe.
Whenwe studythe bible inreference tothe fearof God,we can learnfrom Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of
the LORD is the beginningofknowledge.” To fearGod, firstwe need tounderstand whoGodis and
throughsame to developarespectful fearof Him. We can have true wisdomonly whenwe understand
whoGod is andthat He is holy,just,andrighteouswhichwe canlearnfrom Deuteronomy 10:12, “And
now, Israel,what does the LORD your Godask ofyou but to fear the LORD your God,to walk in
obedience to him,to love him,to serve the LORD your Godwith all your heart and withall yoursoul”:
We can learn alsofromDeuteronomy 10:20-21, “Fear the LORD your Godand serve him. Holdfast to
himand take your oaths inhis name. 21
He is the one you praise;he is your God,who performedfor
you those great andawesome wonders yousaw with your owneyes”. The fearof God is the basisfor
our walkinHis ways,servingHim,lovingHim andyes…lovingyourneighboras yourself – at leastwith
whomyouhappento meetona dayto day basis.
Let uslookat the commandto ‘love your neighbor’whichisreallysayingtobe concernedand nice to
othersinsteadof beingnasty,repulsive,unlikable andorunpleasant"…Ittellsusto be helpful toothers
insteadof ignoring,unhelpful,uselessandorworthless".All of usneedtoconsiderthe huge deference
that itwouldcreate inour day to day lives…Forexample:Insteadof beingangry andresentful we can
change our ways to live a happy,joyful andjoyous"life. One maysaythatit iseasilysaidthandone…But
as Christians “if we consciouslydecide”tohonorGods requirement to‘love yourneighbor’,slowlybut
surelywe will starttochange.We begintoask ourselvesthe inverselogicof beingangry,irritated,
disgruntled andunhappy. Inthe gospel we learnthat Jesus’ andLove are synonymous andtherefore to
live asa Christian, we needtochange fromour wrongful inclinationandwaystowardsothers. Whenwe
change our waysin accordance to Gods requirements, we showcaseorisincludedinthe conceptof
fearingGod.
Some redefinethe fearof Godfor believers as“respecting”Him.While respectisdefinitelyincludedin
the conceptof fearingGod,there ismore to it thanthat. A biblical fearof God,forthe believer,includes
understandinghowmuchGodhatessinand fearingHisjudgmentonsin aswe read from Hebrews 12:5-
11 whichdescribesGod’sdiscipline of the believer. We canlearnin Hebrews 12:5-6. “…myson,do not
make lightof the Lord’s discipline,anddonot lose heart when he rebukes you, 6
becausethe Lord
disciplinestheone he loves, andhe chastenseveryone he accepts ashis son.” AsChristianswe needto

2. steadfastlybelievethat Lord’sdisciplineforus isdone inlove…actuallywaymore thanwhatwe maydo
for our ownchildrenaswe readabove on Hebrews12:6. AsChristianswe shouldnottake the fearof
God lightlybecause itisstill afearful thing.Aschildren,the fearof discipline fromourparentsnodoubt
preventedsome evil actions thatmayhave broughtharmfor us. The same is true inour relationship
withGod. We shouldfearHisdiscipline,andtherefore seektoliveourlivesinsuchaway that pleases
Him.
Thisis notto say that we are to be scared of God. We have no reasonto be scared of Him but onthe
contrary we needtoLove himas the greatestcommandmentgiventousby Jesus:“Love the Lord your
Godwith all your heart and withall your soul andwith all your mind”(Matthew22: 37). Fromthe bible
we have His promise thatnothingcanseparate usfrom Hislove as we can learnfrom Romans 8:38-39,
“ ForI am convinced that neither deathnor life, neither angelsnor demons,[a]
neither the present nor
the future, nor any powers, 39
neither heightnor depth, nor anythingelse inall creation,will be able to
separate us fromthe love ofGodthat is in ChristJesus our Lord”.As Christianswe canbelieve in His
promise thatHe will neverleave usorforsake us as it inquiresfromus statedin Hebrews 12:5, “And
have you completelyforgottenthis word ofencouragement that addressesyou as a father addresses
hisson? It says, “My son,do not make lightof the Lord’s discipline, anddonot lose heart when he
rebukes you…”(Hebrews13:5).
FearingGod meanshavingsucha reverence forHimthatit has a great impacton the waywe live our
lives.The fearof God isrespectingHim,obeyingHim, submittingtoHisdiscipline,andworshippingHim
inawe.