Category Archives: Fear of the Lord

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEAR GOD?

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The Bible has a lot to say about fear. It tells us not to fear a variety of things as well what we are to fear. The most repeated instruction and discussion about fear is that as his children and followers of Jesus we are to fear the Lord. I have often been confused about this specific admonition because a surface and casual reading of “fear the Lord” seems contradictory to what the Bible teaches about our relationship with God.

A few years ago I came up with an acrostic that I thought was helpful in getting a handle on what it means to fear the Lord. (For those who may be interested, here is the link to that blog post from December, 2017: https://bobmmink.com/2017/12/06/fear-the-lord/).

I just finished a book published earlier this year that gave me significant additional insight into the challenge to Fear God. The title of the book is REJOICE & TREMBLE: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord and was written by Michael Reeves.

I especially like Reeves clarification that the fear of God “really does not mean being afraid of God” (p. 16). Reeves quotes Exodus 20:18-20 and explains, “Moses here sets out a contrast between being afraid of God and fearing God: those who have the fear of him will not be afraid of him” (p. 30).

In the 168 pages of the book Reeves says far more about this matter than I can include in this post. He suggests that properly understood our fear of the Lord “not only defines our love for God and our joy in God. It also prompts us to trust in God” (p. 66, emphasis added). On the next page he rang the bell for me when he notes “the fear which pleases him is not a groveling, shrinking, fear. He is no tyrant. It is an ecstasy of love and joy that senses how overwhelmingly kind and magnificent, good and true God is, and that therefore leans on him in staggered praise and faith” (p. 67).

Reeves highlights three aspects of our relationship with God as the foundation of our fear of God. “The first sort of right fear is the weak-kneed and trembling response to the fact that God is the Creator” (p. 70). Second, “Our wonder at the Creator’s magnificence—and our enjoyment of it—increases when we know it as the perfect magnificence of the kindest Savior” (p.75). And the third aspect is grasping God as our Heavenly Father. The fear of the Lord “leads us from knowing God as the Creator to knowing him as our Redeemer and our Father” (p.95).

I was especially comforted by Reeves discussion of God as our Father, what he calls our “filial fear.” He defines filial fear: “It is not the dread of sinners before a holy Judge. It is not the awe of creatures before their tremendous Creator. It is the overwhelmed devotion of children marveling at the kindness and righteousness and glory and complete magnificence of the Father” (p.101).

Hopefully these selections from Michael Reeves about the fear of the Lord will give you something to think about. Keep in mind the well-known wisdom from Solomon in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

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Image by Carabo Spain from Pixabay

IS FEAR A SIN?

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I want to be very clear in my answer to the question asked in the title of this post, “Is fear a sin?” I don’t know for sure, but my sense is that maybe it is and maybe it isn’t; it all depends.

I’ve never run the numbers myself, but I have heard from multiple sources that “fear not” appears in the Bible 365 times – one for each day of the year. The repeated instruction “fear not” is clearly something Christians need to hear and take seriously.

I read a article yesterday by Megan Briggs in which she reported “the Bible verse most shared, bookmarked, and highlighted on the YouVersion Bible app during 2020 is Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Through the years I have used that verse many times in funerals I have conducted and other difficult situations. It is a comforting and encouraging statement relevant to many situations we face in life.

But there are other passages in the Bible that instruct us to fear. Most readers probably are familiar with Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Not everyone will remember the book, chapter, and verse; but most readers will have heard Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Which is it? Are we to fear or are we not to fear? My answer is both. To fear God doesn’t mean we cower in fear of him, but rather to respect, honor, and worship him for who he is and what he has done and does. In Luke 12:4 and 5 Jesus tells us more: “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” 

Sometimes Christians overstate the maxim that faith overcomes fear. Faith certainly helps us face and deal with fear, but it doesn’t always melt our fears. Two definitions I read that make sense to me are “fear is threat of harm, real or imagined,” and “fear is one of the most basic human emotions,”

I’m pretty sure the reason the most popular Bible verse(s) of 2020 tell us “not to fear” or “fear not” is the Covid-19 pandemic. In the interest of transparency, I have been fearful at times of being infected. And I’ve also been fearful of what the outcome could be for me if I did become infected.

Here’s the point I want to make about this subject of fear: to not fear does not mean because we are Christians everything will always go well for us.  Nor does to not fear mean we can be irresponsible, overly casual or reckless, take risks we don’t have to take, or think we are somehow not vulnerable to problems, illness, tragedies, pain, and many other things both unbelievers and believers fear.

Because of our deep and growing faith we should appropriately fear God and continue to trust him as we experience and deal with the many fears of which we may be vulnerable. And when we do realize we are fearful, we might remind ourselves that our Heavenly Father is a God of grace and forgiveness.

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ARE YOU OPEN OR CLOSED?

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As I have done the last several years, I am reading the book of Proverbs again this year during the month of January. Each day I read the corresponding chapter in Proverbs to the day in January. Since today is January 9th I came to Proverbs 9 this morning.

Focusing on verses 7-17, I had to ask myself if I was open or closed when it comes to continuing to learn and grow in wisdom. Here are the verses (I copied and pasted from BibleGateway.com):

Proverbs 9:7-12 New Living Translation (NLT)

7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.

10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

11 Wisdom will multiply your days
and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

Verses 7 and 8a warn us that mockers and the wicked are not open to be rebuked or corrected. Their response shows they are not just closed to such efforts, but are hostile to them.

Verses 8b and 9 tell us the wise and the righteous are open to being corrected, instructed, and taught. They are not just open, they will love you for correcting them and will be wiser as they learn more.

Verse 10 reminds us that “the fear of the LORD” is the foundation of wisdom, and that good judgment is an outcome of knowing him. When I teach the book of Proverbs I use an acrostic I came up with (ARWOL) to give a sense of what it means to fear the LORD. It is not to cower before him but rather to acknowledge, respect, worship, obey, and love him.

Finally, verses 11 and 12 encourage us that gaining wisdom is beneficial and that rejecting it is damaging.

For me the first part of verse 9 is the most striking observation in this passage: “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser.” My take on it is that wise people — because they are already somewhat wise — are open to learning, growing, and becoming even wiser.

My intention is not to be closed to continue learning and becoming wiser but to be open. It’s not always easy, but it is my intention. Are you open or closed?

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HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW?

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I love the Old Testament book of Proverbs and have reread it every January for several years now. There is no way I could choose one favorite verse, but one I return to again and again is Proverbs 9:9. The New International Version renders this verse “Instruct the wise, and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” Here are four things I take from this verse.

I DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING. You may think that is obvious, but the truth is I sometimes come across as though I know a lot more than I do. I am finally learning that it is good to keep in mind that I don’t know everything; I don’t even know as much as I sometimes think I do.

Not only do I not know everything, I COULD BE WRONG. I don’t like to be wrong, but there have been plenty of times when I have been wrong. I’ve been wrong on some little things, and I have been wrong on some big things. It hasn’t always been easy for me to admit that I could be or was wrong.

If I could be wrong, then it follows that THE PERSON WHO DISAGREES WITH ME COULD BE RIGHT. If it is hard to admit you could be or were wrong, it’s probably even harder to admit that the person who disagreed with you was right.  I know people who have disagreed with me have been right at times.

In light of these first three revelations (that I’m sure surprise no one), I NEED TO KEEP LEARNING AND GROWING IN WISDOM. I don’t need to know everything, I don’t need to always be right, and it’s ok that someone who disagrees with me is right. What I need to do is to keep on learning and growing. And these four affirmations indicate at least some progress.

Going back to Proverbs 9:9, A CERTAIN LEVEL OF WISDOM IS ASSUMED if a person who is instructed will become even wiser. And A CERTAIN LEVEL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ASSUMED if a person who is taught will learn more. I don’t think we can be too optimistic for those who think they know everything, who don’t think they are ever wrong and someone else could be right, or don’t realize they need to continue to learn and grow.

Proverbs 1:7 gives the theme of the book: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” By “fear of the LORD” the Bible does not mean that we shrink back in terror from God, but rather that we acknowledge Him as Creator, worship Him as God, and submit to Him as Lord. That is a good beginning point, isn’t it? From there we can continue to welcome wisdom and instruction into our lives.

Share this post with others if you think it will encourage them and I welcome comments below.

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