Gtcotr/020222
This is a 2-Part series that will require the Part 2 to understand. (Exo 4 – Omission) The fear of the Lord should not be debilitating but rather invigorating.
Many times people imagine healthy fear is relegated to reverence or respect. We are taught that we should reverence and respect God but if we do not, we don’t actually imagine it will cost us anything.
Sins of commission and sins of omission cost. Sin costs God and sin costs us, our families, our communities, our nation, and eternity. Rightly placed fear can be a very positive and productive motivation.
However, the most quoted scripture verses on the subject of fear seem to be the ones which say “Fear not!”
The exact phrase “Fear not” is found a total of 63 times in the KJV of the Bible. From God’s covenant partner Abram in Genesis 15:1, to the elder Apostle John in Revelation 1:17, God often introduced Himself with these exact words when speaking from heaven; when appearing in person to one of His children; or when sending a message by an angel.
Have you ever wondered why God would have to announce His presence with a “Fear not!” introduction? It’s really no wonder why … it’s simply the fact that such occurrences are scary. And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an Almighty God, (Hebrews 10:31).
God often reminds people to not be afraid of their enemies and to not be afraid of their future. Even though we are encouraged to not allow our enemies to control us with fear, we are yet clearly, and repeatedly told to fear the God Himself.
Jesus admonished us to fear Him who after you die could sentence your soul to hell.
Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Sometimes when we read the word fear in the Bible, we are being encouraged to “stand in awe” of God with a reverence and a respect for His majesty, might, and power. At other times we are told to be very careful that we do not lose sight of the fact that our health, our peace, and our prosperity are matters of God’s grace and that He is not to be trifled with nor is He to be tempted as those who angered Him in the wilderness and perished.
In Matthew 10:28 and in Luke 12:5, Jesus is seriously talking about being seized with alarm and struck with a dreadful concern. Jesus said:
Luke 1:50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
Now
lest you invoke some mistaken doctrine and raise a curtain to keep out the
truth like the 12 disciples did about the crucifixion when Jesus was trying to
tell them something they didn’t want to believe, listen to the Word of God, not
what I say, nor what anyone else has told you, and certainly do not listen to
your own fears. First realize two things:
1.
Jesus is trying to teach you something that will help you.
a.
The
Greek word Jesus uses here for fear is not the word used for reverence or
respect in some mild feel-good version of the Bible.
b.
This
Greek word is Phobeo = phobia = to be seized by alarm; scared off and made to run away to keep from
being hurt.
c.
This
is how we should feel about displeasing God in every generation.
d.
Jesus
said, “God’s mercy is upon them who have the good sense to be afraid of Him.”
e.
This
generation has lost its fear of God.
2.
Jesus is only repeating and confirming the truth written in the Psalms,
the Prophets, and the wisdom of Solomon.
a.
Job 28:28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is
understanding.’ ”
b.
Psalms 111:10 The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who
do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
c.
Proverbs 1:7 ¶ The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom
and instruction.
d.
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding.
e.
Proverbs 15:33 ¶ The fear of
the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is
humility.
f.
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the
LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of
counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
g. Isaiah 33:6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure.
The Hebrew word translated fear in each one of these verses is the word for being afraid of being hurt, punished, left out, or to be terrified of the dreaded results of actions which run contrary to the will of God.
Isaiah 11 NKJV
1 ¶ There shall come forth a
Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of
counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight is in
the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor
decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
No one is exempt from fearing the Lord … however … God’s children are exempt from being eternally damned with the wicked.
At the same time we must include the admonition from the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul’s writings to the Born-Again Believers attending the Church at Corinth when he said:
1 Corinthians 11:30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
We must realize how important it is to not allow fear of death, fear of our enemies, fear of the future, fear of being eternally damned with the wicked, or fear of man enter into our lives and control us. God loves us and perfect love casts out fear of all those things. However, we can ill afford to cast out our fear of living a life displeasing to God without expectation of some measure of correction by God.
God’s
mercy is with those who fear Him from generation to generation.
