I recently went on my church's jr. high retreat, and it was my first time on a retreat as a leader. While on the retreat we had some discussion time each night within our rooms. During one of those discussion times we were talking about what kinds of things hold us back from living for Jesus the way we ought: fear, doubt, trials, etc. One of the students voiced a very honest concern, "I fear God's wrath."
The fear of the Lord is a subject that is often addressed in the Bible. Proverbs tells us that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (9:10). The fear of the Lord gives us a proper perspective on life; it orients us in such a way that we begin to see things the way God does, that's why it is the beginning of wisdom. But what does it mean to fear the Lord? Really, what do you think it means to fear God?
Many in our modern Evangelical culture would tell us that the fear of the Lord simply put is reverence: to revere, to be in awe of, and to respect the Lord. But let me ask you, when I asked you what you thought it meant to fear God did you have only this in mind? Reverence. The phrase itself: FEAR GOD, doesn't seem to permit that meaning. Surely fear could indicate an element of reverence for the object it is speaking of, but is that all? It is fear we're talking about. When was the last time you were afraid and you thought to yourself, "I revere (fill the blank with what scared you)"?
So let me submit to you that the fear of the Lord really is what it sounds like it means, namely, fear God. You should be afraid of him. You should be terrified at the thought of his wrath. You should feel like an ant under a magnifying glass when you ponder his holiness. You are but a man! Both the New Testament and the Old speak of the fear of the Lord, so this is not just an Old Testament, God of wrath type concept. Authors throughout all of the Bible use words that mean: terror, dread, afraid, frighten, to put to flight, and panic. And each one is used in reference to God (even Jesus said so- Luke 12:5).
Now, I don't want this to sound all doom and gloom because this is not the end of the Bible's teaching on the fear of the Lord. But I do want to establish firmly in our minds that God is worthy to be feared, and this is a good thing. Consider Psalm 2:11-12
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Here the psalmist gives us a picture of how we are to fear God, what looks like. Notice the psalmist's word choice: fear, trembling, angry, perish, wrath. Clearly, he doesn't have simply reverence in mind. This is real fear. He says we are to serve (or worship) God with fear, and we are to rejoice with trembling. We are to kiss (or to pay homage) the Son, that is, Christ. And what do you need to do in order to kiss someone? You need to draw near to them- keep this in mind. Then he tells us why we should fear and kiss Christ, namely, so that he won't be angry and kill us because of his wrath. The psalmist closes by saying, "Blessed," or happy, "are all who take refuge in him." Happy are all who take refuge in Christ. They draw near to him and find safety as in a fortress. The object of fear becomes the source of happiness for those who draw near. What once caused us dread is no longer, because we are hid in him. That's what the fear of the Lord looks like.
Pastor John Piper explains the fear of the Lord this way: "what we should not fear is to draw close to God and what we should fear is to run away from him. God is a joy and a refuge to those who cling to his neck, but he is a terror to those who flee." He also uses this story to help illustrate the point: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/god-is-a-joy-to-be-near-and-a-terror-to-those-who-flee. I encourage you to check it out.
Let me conclude with one last thought. We have seen that the fear of the Lord really is about fearing him, but I said earlier that this is not the end of the Bible's teaching on the subject. There is something else for those who have repented and believed in Christ: the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9:31 tells us this, "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied." Did you see it? The church feared God, as they ought, but they also were comforted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit ministers to believers, and through him we cry out to God, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15-17). He is our comforter, counselor, and advocate.
The fear of the Lord never goes away. But we are no longer under God's righteous judgment because our sins were atoned for by Christ on the cross. Christ delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Christ has propitiated, or satisfied, the wrath of God by taking it upon himself (1 John 4:10). O how wonderful is the Gospel!
Indeed, there is much reason to fear the one who ""will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" (Rev. 19:15). But the magnificent thing is he is the same one who hung on a cross for sinners, that they may be saved from the fury of the wrath of the Almighty.
Walk in the fear of the Lord today, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, knowing that you are bought and paid for by Christ crucified and risen again!
S.D.G.
