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"The Fear of the Lord"
| John Hoole | January 18 & 25, 2004 |
Today we continue in our series taken from the Book of Proverbs. In our last lesson, I asked you this question: What two qualities, or attributes of His people, does God rate as being more important than any of the rest?
DO YOU REMEMBER THE BIBLE'S ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION?
Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.God considers that these two qualities summarize the whole of our duty to Him.
1. Fearing God2. Obedience to his commandments
This is no isolated Passage. There are several other Passages which say almost the same thing.
Psalm 112:1 (NIV)
1 Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.This verse not only addresses these 2 qualities - fearing the Lord and keeping His commandments - but adds a statement. The person who reverences God and obeys him will be blessed by God.Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV
29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.Not only will He bless those who exhibit these 2 qualities but it will overflow to their children and grandchildren.Psalm 111:10 (NKJV)
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.Let me add another which I did not read in our last lesson.
Psalms 128:1 (NIV)
Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.To walk in his ways means to obey his direction for our lives.The last time we were together, we began looking into the first of these two attributes God wants us to have. We began examining what the Bible says about the "fear of the Lord."
If the Bible speaks about a subject on several dozen occasions, we should be wise and investigate it's claims. For example, the Bible speaks of our love to God, to His name, to His Law, and His Word 88 times. This is the sum total of both the Old and New Testaments, counting every verse that speaks of man's love toward God. That breaks down to 45 references in the Old Testament, and 43 references in the New Testament. Since man's love toward God is mentioned so many times in the Bible, it is pretty obvious that this is important to God. We are to love Him personally and also love His name and His law. The fact that God tells us to love Him 88 times reveals that He is concerned that we do so.
Here is another example. The Bible speaks of our trusting in God, His name and His Word, 91 times. This breaks down to 82 times in the Old, and 9 times in the New Testament. In this case, we shouldn't make the mistake of assuming that because it is mentioned so many times in the Old Testament, that it is not really important today. We must understand that the New Testament assumes what is said in the Old Testament. The New Testament doesn't negate the need for the Old. Rather, the New Testament builds upon what is already stated in the Old. So, the New Testament assumes such virtues as trusting in God because it was clearly taught in the Old Testament.
When it comes to the subject of the "Fear of the Lord," the Bible speaks of it 278 times. I am referring to all the places in Scripture where it speaks of men fearing God, His name, His Law or His Word. In the Old Testament there are 235 references to the fear of God. In the New Testament there are 43 reference to the fear of God. That, by the way, is the same number of references in the New Testament speaking of love to God.
We will see from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible proclaims that the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. And those who drink deeply at this fountain shall have blessings of God in this life and the life to come. However, those who reject the fear of the Lord will end up in the ways of death.
If so much emphasis is placed on fearing the Lord, then I believe that we need to know what it means as well as how we can go about doing it. This is what I want to address today --- The Fear of the Lord!
For many Christian, the subject of "the fear of the Lord" is problematic. They have difficulty reconciling it with the Love of God. When we look at how the Love of God was manifest in Christ on the Cross, it is difficult for some to see why we ever need to fear God. We know that God loves us dearly. We know He is on our side. Isn't that what we are told in the Scriptures? Doesn't John tell us that "perfect love casts out all fear?" Then why do I need to fear God?
SO, WHAT IS THE "FEAR OF THE LORD?"
In our modern vernacular, the "fear of the Lord" is often defined as "respect," "reverence" or "awe." I mentioned last week that this kind of definition is fine as far as it goes. But I truly wonder if it goes far enough. I mentioned that "fearing God" is more that a feeling of "awe" of God. It is more than an attitude of deep "respect" or "reverence" for God.
Last week we noted the Bible speaks of 2 kinds of "Fear of God." One is appropriate and life-giving. The other is negative and leads to death. There is a fear of God that is not coupled with love and trust. This fear can only lead to terror and despair. James tells us that the demons believe that there is one God - and they shudder in fear. (2:19)
We are also told in the Bible that the day will come when "the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man" will hide "in caves and among the rocks of the mountains," and will call to the mountains and the rocks, "fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come and who can stand?" (Revelation 6:15-17) This is not the proper fear of the Lord. There are no regrets for their actions and no crying out for God's grace and forgiveness.
The writer to the Hebrews speaks of covenant breakers, apostates, for whom "no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:26-27) This is not that fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). There is, however, another kind of "fear of the Lord." This fear is coupled with love and trust of God.
What a grave error it would be to imagine that the new covenant, in contrast to the old, has replaced the fear of God with only the love of God. That would be contrary to the New Testament understanding of the proper response to the God of holiness and mercy.
It used to be a statement of respect for a person, when you referred to a man, "He's a God-fearing man." This was a badge of honor. But somewhere along the way we lost it. Now the idea of fearing God, if thought of at all, seems like a relic from the past. Sometimes it seems to me that having no fear of God is the root sin of the evangelical church in America today. It is the root cause of its moral flabbiness and ineffective witness. Although it is probably too strong to say there is NO fear of God, it does seem that there is too often very little fear of God.
It is amazing that so many are interested in the "deep" things of God, and yet there is no knowledge of the fear of the Lord. According to the Word of God, our spiritual life must be built line upon line, precept upon precept. It also teaches us that the principle of fearing God must be part of the foundation upon which we build. We must put first things first!
Another passage that tells us that the proper fear of God is more than respect and awe, is found in the Book of Philippians.
Philippians 2:12 NKJV
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;WHAT DOES THE PHRASE "FEAR AND TREMBLING" MEAN?
One time many years ago, the king of Hungary found himself depressed and unhappy. He sent for his brother, a good-natured but rather indifferent prince. The king said to him, "I am a great sinner; I fear to meet God." But the prince only laughed at him. This didn't help the king's disposition any. Though he was a believer, the king had gotten a glimpse of his guilt for the way he'd been living lately. And he seriously wanted help. In those days, it was customary if the executioner sounded a trumpet before a man's door at any hour, it was a signal that the man was to be led to his execution. The king sent the executioner in the dead of night to sound the fateful blast at his brother's door. The prince realized with horror what was happening. Quickly dressing, he stepped to the door and was seized by the executioner. He was dragged pale and trembling into the king's presence. In agony of terror he fell on his knees before his brother and begged to know how he had offended him. "My brother," answered the king, "if the sight of a human executioner is so terrible to you, shall not I, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before the judgment seat of Christ?"
Do you and I fear God in this manner? William Gurnall said: "We fear men so much because we fear God so little." In Philippians 2, Paul combines "fear and trembling". The Greek word for "trembling" is "TROMOS." which means "a trembling or quaking with fear." Just as one is likely to tremble in the presence of one who could take our life, so Jesus taught us to fear God.
I think that more accurately reflects what the fear of the Lord is. The Bible teaches us that God is Holy and He is to be feared. We desperately need to recover a sense of awe and reverence for God in our day.
The primary Hebrew word translated "fear" in Proverbs, is the word "YiRAH".
It can describe dread, as in Deuteronomy 1:29.It can speak of being terrified, as in Jonah 1:10.
But it can also speak of standing in awe, as in 1 Kings 3:28.
Or it can depict having reverence, as in Leviticus 19:3.
This Hebrew word captures both aspects of fear, when our Lord is the object:
1. The shrinking back in fear.2. The drawing closer in awe.
We all know that a modicum of fear can be healthy. There is something wonderfully powerful about fear. While it can incapacitate, it can also check us from doing wrong when nothing else will. When peer pressure or temptation says to a person, "do it!", fear of the law is sometimes all that prevents criminal behavior.
I wasn't a perfect child when growing up. At the same time, I can't remember a time when I didn't have a good relationship with my parents. The reason I had a good relationship was because I was usually obedient. But, part of the reason I obeyed was because I had a healthy respect for my parents, and what would happen to me if I didn't obey. I honored their position in my life, and knew that my actions could reflect on them. Any disobedience on my part would hurt them, and I didn't want that to happen. And I knew if I disobeyed, it would hurt me also, physically. I didn't want that either. I had a healthy respect - and fear - for my parents.
Paul never meant that we should quake in our boots as Christians. He simply meant that Christians should never want to offend God with their lives. Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling implies a heightened sense of reverence for God by living our lives in ways that testifies to the fact that we are saved. Likewise, with God, we honor and respect and revere him by being obedient. We should fear God enough to not want to hurt him. The proper fear of the Lord fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread nothing so much as to offend Him by our sin. This is a fear that rises not from the thought of hell, but from attitudes of reverence and loving submission to our heavenly Father. The truth is, if we don't have a healthy fear of the Lord, we cannot hope to please God.
In Isaiah 66:1-2 (NIV), the prophet says it this way:
1 This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.We really should walk in the fear of the Lord, but we shouldn't be afraid of Him. He is a life-long companion, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Respect His ways, observe His truths, and walk in His light.
In many ways we are a generation without fear. Between American affluence and religious professionalism, too often we in the Church act with impunity, as if forgiveness is guaranteed on Sunday and it negates any continued sinful behavior the rest of the week. Has believing we have the full gospel made us smug and careless? Have we become bedfellows with a society that has removed the "holy" from The Holy Bible, diminishing its authority, reducing its power - and removing its fear.
People, apart from God, are sinful and incomplete. People in a right relationship with God, have come home. And that dynamic involves fear, not only because of who humans are, but because of who God is. God has to be bigger than us or He wouldn't be God. He is Creator, King, and Judge. He is intrinsically and positionally superior. And He can do whatever He wants with us. That should be cause for a certain amount of awe, possibly even trembling.
Let me ask you a question, and I ask the same question of myself. Would you describe your life - would I describe my life - as one lived in the Fear of the Lord? Does respect for Him and for His will propel us toward obedience and godliness? If not, then you must ask - I must ask - how can we grow in our fear of the Lord? How can we learn more about God so we will come to fear Him?
While those questions are rhetorical, this next question is not.
HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE HAVE THIS FEAR?
IS THERE SOME CRITERIA TO MEASURE OUR LEVEL OF GODLY FEAR?As I have read and pondered the nearly 300 Scripture verses that speak of the fear of the Lord, one measuring devise comes quickly to mind, because it is repeated many times. Proverbs 8:13 pulls no punches. It says:
"To fear the Lord is to hate evil…."One measure of our fear of the Lord is seen in how much aversion we have to evil. How much do we hate sin? --- not just in our society, or other people, but in our own lives. Do we tolerate it in our life more than we should, or do we shun sin with all the strength we have.
This teaching that the fear of the Lord is seen in the how we hate sin in our lives is not mentioned only a couple of times in the Bible. Let's look at a few more Passages dealing with this.
Proverbs 3:7 (NIV)
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.Proverbs 14:16 (NIV)
16 A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.Proverbs 16:6 (NIV)
6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.This fear of the Lord that shows itself in our hatred for sin, is not only found in the Book of Proverbs. It is seen in other Old Testament books, as well as in the New Testament.What does the first verse of the Book of Job tell us about the character of the man Job?
Job 1:1 NKJV
1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.Job was a man who feared God and shunned evil, and it was demonstrated in his being a blameless and upright man.Exodus 20:20 NKJV
20 And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin."Psalm 19:9 (NIV)
9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.The fear of the Lord is clean. It is not associated with the filthiness of sin.Psalm 36:1 NASU
1. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.The presence of sin demonstrates lack of fear of God.2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV
1. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.Let's look at Proverbs 3:5-8. Most of us are familiar with the first two verses. But we need to know the next two as well.
Proverbs 3:5-8 (NKJV).
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.Once again, shunning or hating sin is the first measure of our fear of God.John Wesley found the great spiritual awakening of the 18th century surging all around him. In his own words, he says, "I offered them Christ," and the despised, degraded men and women enjoyed both a Lord who loved them and a community that cherished them. Wesley found too, and found quickly, that not everyone cherished the awakening. Frequently mobs disrupted his preaching and assaulted his supporters. Wesley knew that only resilient, undiscouragable Christians would continue to hold out Jesus Christ to the needy and continue to hold up those who responded to his message. In other words, the awakening would collapse if the mobs caused Wesley's people to cower. His plea was both simple and profound: "Give me a dozen people who hate nothing but sin and fear no one but God and we can turn England upside down." Wesley himself, beaten up more than once, feared no human being --- neither magistrate nor bishop nor thug. "Hate only sin," he said, "fear only God, and you will then fear nothing else."
Jesus said, "Don't fear those who can kill only the body; fear him (i.e., God) who can destroy both body and soul in hell." (Matthew 10:28) Then is God cruel? Is He a tyrant? On the contrary, Jesus adds immediately, (verse 29)
"Two sparrows are sold for a penny. Yet God sees them and cares for them. How much more does God care for you. Why, God cares so much for you than even the hairs of your head are numbered."In the Palestine of old, people used to eat sparrows like we eat chickens. But since there is little meat on a sparrow, it takes many sparrows to make a meal. If you bought ten sparrows for a dollar, the bird-seller might just throw in an extra bird, so small and nearly insignificant was it.
The point of our Lord's pronouncement is this: If God cares hugely about the smallest throwaway sparrow, how much more does he care about us who are made in his image and whom he has named his covenant-partners?
I guess the next obvious question is: How much do we really hate sin.? Allow me to propose that there are four levels of hatred of sin in the body of Christ.
Level One
This is a person who tries not to sin because of the potential consequences of sin. They might lust after another, but don't commit the act because of the possible results - pregnancy, jail, sexually transmitted disease, addiction, etc. There is little fear of God - just a fear of the possible consequences of potential actions. If you were to ask this person, "Do you love God?" their answer would be, "of course I love God." But their actions really indicate that their salvation is not so much based on love, but is seen primarily as "fire insurance," to keep them from hell's fires.Level Two
These people live at the level of the golden rule. They try not to hurt other people by their actions. They do good deeds for others, but have little hatred of sin - such as selfishness, envy, gossip.Level Three
These people are sincere Christian who don't want to sin. They are sensitive to their sin,....and they quickly confess it to God when committed. But often they find themselves continuing in defeat and failure is some areas of their life. Their favorite verse is 1 John 1:9, which tells us God will forgive. They feel badly when they keep confessing the same sin, but they still can't break the hold of these areas.Level Four
This is the person who really faces the reason for sin, and does something about it. They love God so much that to hurt Him is abhorrent to them. Their fear of God involves a personal, intimate relationship with their Savior.Allow me to take this a little farther. Is there anyone here that never sins? That's almost a laughable question, because we all recognize that we are not perfect, and in our imperfection, we do, at time, do what God doesn't want us to. So, that quite naturally leads to another question.
WHY DO WE SIN?
1. We love it.2. We choose to do it.
I think you will see that these two reasons are two sides of the same coin. Let me first tell you why I separated them.
Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
27 You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.We humans are very crafty in the way we try to rationalize our shortcomings. We also rationalize why someone else's action is sinful, but ours are not. How many times have I heard someone rationalize, "if I am already guilty of sin because I thought it, I may as well go ahead and act on it." The fact of the matter is that if a person goes ahead and acts upon his thoughts, he is therewith committing a second sin. That is why I have given two biblical reasons why we sin.
1. We love it.
We wouldn't sin if there wasn't a love for and a desire to sin.James 1:13-15 (NAS) tells us:
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.We wouldn't sin if it wasn't something we really desired.2. We choose to do it
We choose to do something we love. We don't choose to do something we hate to do, unless we are forced by an greater authority. When we have the fear of God, however, what will be our reaction to sin? We will choose not to do it, because we hate sin.
Before going to my second illustration, let's return to the person we looked at earlier, who said: "if I am already guilty of sin because I thought it, I may as well go ahead and act on it." If the person really had a proper fear of the Lord, he would be greatly saddened that he had entertained a lustful thought, and would quickly ask for forgiveness from the One he hurt by his sin. Going ahead and committing the second act only proves there is little fear or reverence for God.
Now, let me give you an illustration. I grew up on a farm, and this illustration is down home and folksy. It's a little crude, but I believe it makes the point I want to make. Well, maybe it's not a "little" crude, but very crude. Please don't get up and leave. Hear me through to the end.
Imagine there is a large pile of cow manure here in front of us. What would be our reaction? We would either want to get a bucket, a shovel, some disinfectant, and get this cow manure out of this place; OR we would want to get out of here. Cow manure stinks. We have a built-in repulsion to it.
But, let's suppose I took someone aside and said: "I'm very embarrassed, but I want you to know that I am in need of some special prayer because there is cow manure in front of me, and it is a terrific temptation to me." "It really gives me a high. I want you to pray for me that I won't dive into it."
We may laugh at this ridiculous prospect, but this is exactly what is happening all over the world in the Body of Christ. That which should turn us off and repulse us, is, in some cases, very attractive to us. Things that should be abhorrent to us, we can hardly stay away from. And we pray year after year for deliverance from the same sins. "Lord, help me with my lust." "Pray for me, because I'm struggling with a desire for a quiet time with God." "Pray for me, because I have a hateful attitude against my boss."
The presence of continuing habitual sin demonstrates lack of fear of God. As we read earlier in Proverbs 8:13. "To fear the Lord is to hate evil…."
How much do I hate sin? How much do you hate sin? How much do we tolerate what God hates? I have to ask myself, "Do I have the proper holy fear of the Lord?" And if I don't, what am I going to do about it?
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