This question was once brought up in my study group, and it made me wonder how many others also thought this.
“Why are we even fearing God in the first place?”
Well first, there are countless verses throughout the bible that reference the word fear or gives a command to fear the Lord. But why are we fearing Him in the first place, when He’s supposed to be an all-loving God? For new believers or veteran Christians, to hear that we must fear the lord usually falls under two spectrums. Either it’s a mindset of “It just means I have to respect Him.” Or a mindset like “I better not do anything wrong, if not I’ll get punished.
The bible mentions TWO different types of fear:
The FIRST fear type: is beneficial and is to be encouraged.
A: This type of fear means, to not be afraid of Him or what He might do to you if you were to mess up. But it is a reverential awe of God, a reverence for His power and glory.
B: This fear means to acknowledging His power and majesty and have respect for His wrath and anger.
C: This type of fear gives you a complete understanding of who He is, what He can do and what He stands for.
The SECOND fear type: is a detriment and is to be overcome.
A: This fear is not beneficial at all and therefore does not come from God. This is fear of harm or evil done towards us; usually based off the misunderstanding of a work-based faith/relationship with God.
B: This is the “spirit of fear” mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. A spirit of fearfulness and timidity does not come from God.
C: This fear comes more from the thoughts towards the judgment of God and eternal death.
So why does it matter to differentiate and understand both?
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom.
As a follower of Christ, how can we be sure we fear Him rightfully?
Wise Fear vs Foolish Fear
Without the fear of the Lord, we may gain knowledge of earthly things and make some practical choices for life, but we are missing the one ingredient that defines a wise person.
However, you might ask “what about the times when we are truly afraid?” For example, being afraid of the future, afraid of failure, afraid of being vulnerable, or of making the same mistakes. Those are also real fears that we have as humans. Thankfully we have a God who understands us and has rightfully reminded us of His eternal protection.
Here are some of God’s promises of love, encouragement and protection to those who fear him:
Psalms 103:15-19: “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules overall.”
We are not perfect beings and God understands this, which is why He encourages us to not fear over the small or even big things in life.
Isaiah 54:4-10: “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment, I hid my face from you but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no longer go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Finally,
In the book of Isaiah, God commands Isaiah to alert Judah and Isarel to repent of their sins and reminds them of God’s ultimate judgment if they chose not to listen. Isaiah, however, understands Gods mercy, grace and compassion on His people and proclaims the message to them hoping that they come to their senses.
The same way God continues to come after us like He did with the Israelites, despite our fears, He overcomes us with His steadfast love. He encourages us and gives us wisdom to trust in His power alone. Therefore, we have nothing to fear when we have a fearsome God.
Psalms 56:11 “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
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