Should Christians Fear God?
Walking in the fear of the Lord is a major theme in God’s Word, yet most Christians today overlook it or have forgotten this foundational and precious truth.
1 Samuel 12:24 (CSB) Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart, considering the great things He has done for you.
Ecclesiastes 8:12 (MSG) The good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in His presence.
The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the “beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10) and the “beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). God even calls it a “fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27). Do you fear the Lord? What does that phrase mean to you?
The reverence and fear of God is the starting place for wisdom. Think about it this way… If a driver is going 75mph and notices a police car parked up ahead on the side of the road, they will instantly slow down. In fact, a whole series of things goes into motion at the sight of the policeman’s presence.
First the driver’s heart starts beating faster and a little more heavily. His brain tells his leg to get off of the accelerator and ease down on the brake, being careful not to slam on it. His eyes look down at the speedometer to ensure the speed is shifting to lower and then they move to the rearview mirror to see if he has been caught or not.
Just seeing the police car has produced a healthy respect for the law. When an officer is present, drivers adjust to the law because of respect for the officer’s authority. A driver may not like his authority, may not want his authority, or might even feel rebellious against his authority – but he still respects it.
What would most people think about a person who speeds up to 95mph when they see a policeman? They would call him reckless and a fool!! Why, because the driver has demonstrated zero respect for the law.
Many Christians today choose to live their lives according to their own ideas, and are living life on their terms with their own set of laws because they do not really respect God or acknowledge His Lordship over every sphere of their lives.
Just as a driver should fear the authority of a police officer whether they see him or not, a Christian shows true fear of God by how they acknowledge His authority 24/7 day in, day out.
According to Psalm 33:8, God desires everyone to fear Him: “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”
A genuine fear of the Lord is always seen as walking and living in obedience to the Word of God. People who do not walk in line with God’s Word do not fear the Lord, regardless of what they profess with their lips.
Deuteronomy 10:12, 17 (NLT) What does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul. For the LORD your God is the great, the mighty and the awesome God.
Truly fearing God is a strong inner conviction that pleasing and honoring God, and living your life according to what His Word says is the “main thing” and the key reference point wherever the Christian goes or whatever they are involved in.
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
– Coach John Wooden
The God of the Bible who invites us to “come boldly into His presence” (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19), is the same God who expects us to “serve Him with thankful hearts and with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29 TLB).
There was a time when Christians were known as God-fearing people! This was a genuine badge of honor. Not anymore, because along the way we lost it.
Nowadays the concept of fearing God, if thought of at all, seems like a relic from ancient antiquity.
What Does It Really Mean to Fear God?
What does it mean to fear the Lord? Should we be scared stiff of God or does it mean something else?
If we are lost and living in sin, then we have every reason to be afraid of God because we are not right with Him and are headed for judgment and eternal perdition. But if we are true, committed followers of Christ there is no reason to be terrified of God. Instead we have every reason to show Him the highest esteem, respect, reverence, and honor.
As Christians, the fear of the Lord doesn’t mean to be scared or terrified of God. We don’t have a cowering, slavish fear of God. Rather, we stand in awe of God’s holiness and majesty. We have a holy, humble, and reverential fear of the Lord.
A genuine fear of God is not a frightful fear that drives a person away from God. It is a deep sense of respect, high-esteem, reverence and great awe of the One who created us, loves us, and saved us.
As a matter of fact, in many cases throughout God’s Word, believers were so overwhelmed by “holy awe” and the fear of God that they could not stand on their feet in His presence.
- Abraham “fell on his face” (Genesis 17:3).
- Moses “hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6).
- Balaam “bowed his head and fell flat on his face” (Numbers 22:31).
- Joshua “fell on his face to the earth and worshiped” (Joshua 5:14).
- Gideon and Manoah cried out in alarm lest they should die (Judges 6:22-23; 13:20-22).
- Isaiah felt that he was undone (Isaiah 6:5).
- Ezekiel fell on his face (Ezekiel 1:28).
- Daniel felt like a man who had been drained of all his strength (Daniel 10:8).
- The three disciples who saw Jesus’ face shining like the sun “fell on their faces and were greatly afraid” (Matthew 17:6).
- Saul of Tarsus fell to the ground and was struck blind (Acts 9:4-9; 22:11).
- John on the Isle of Patmos, when He encountered the glorious presence of Jesus, collapsed like a dead man (Revelation 1:17).
Fearing God means to live in awe of the awesomeness of God. It is respecting that God is God and you are not.
Understanding The Fear of The Lord
The true fear of the Lord is not a fear that drives a person away from God. It is a combination of holy reverence, worshipful respect and great awe that drives us to God.
Knowing God intimately and walking in the fear of the Lord is the highest pursuit of the Christian life.
“The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else!”
– Oswald Chambers
We are marked with God’s favor, and His blessings are showered on us when our attitude toward Him is one of reverence, awe and high esteem.
Psalm 147:11 (NASB) The LORD favors those who fear Him.
Psalm 147:11 (NKJV) The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him.
Psalm 147:11 (NIV) The LORD delights in those who fear Him.
Psalm 147:11 (CSB) The LORD values those who fear Him.
Psalm 147:11 (MSG) Those who fear God get God’s attention; they can depend on His strength.
The wisest decision we can ever make is to fear the living God by reverencing, honoring, obeying, exalting, worshipping, and pleasing Him. He alone should always have first place in our lives – and in our minds and hearts throughout our days.
Proverbs 14:2 (NLT) Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise Him.
People who do not know God – unbelievers and those who disregard the gospel of Christ – the Bible is very clear that they have no fear of God in their lives (Romans 3:18). Living your life with no fear of God is walking dangerously on the wrong path and is the ultimate sin!
According to Scripture, the number one sign of a backslider is they have no fear of God (Jeremiah 2:19).
People who really know God – those who are genuinely saved and faithful Christ followers – fear God and His majesty with holy awe and dread, with deep reverence and respect.
Isaiah 8:13 (ESV) The LORD of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.
Fearing God is the soul of godliness, and those who claim to love God should desire to understand what it means to fear Him and walk in it.
Do You Fear God?
The fear of the Lord is an attitude that results from understanding that God sees my every action, hears my every conversation; knows my every motive and is aware of my every thought.
Proverbs 23:17 (NIV) Always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
A life lived in the fear of the Lord is the exact opposite of living as you please and doing your own thing. Showing respect and reverence to God requires our total obedience to what He has commanded of us.
As a Christian, being a God-fearer means to keep the Lord number one, at the center of our lives – in everything we do, say, and think in our relationships, in our present and future plans, our finances and in every other area of life.
A life lived in the fear of the Lord will “tell on you” – loving and pleasing God first – obeying God’s Word and God’s will becomes paramount and top priority in your life (Proverbs 2:1-5). And this will shape and have a powerful influence on your character, conversation and conduct.
Here are six great truths about the fear of God every Christian should know…
- Fearing God is commanded by Jesus (Matthew 10:28).
- Fearing God is the framework for working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13).
- Fearing God is the mark of an exceptional wife (Proverbs 31:30).
- Fearing God is an essential qualification of Christian leaders (Exodus 18:21).
- Fearing God is the cornerstone of a blessed marriage (Ephesian 5:21).
- Fearing God is the starting point for wisdom, and leads to a life of wise choices, right priorities and habits for successful living (Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs 15:33).
Isaiah 8:13 (TLB) Don’t fear anything except the LORD of the armies of heaven! If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else.
In Deuteronomy 13:4, God commands His people to follow Him, fear Him, keep His commandments, listen to Him, serve Him, and cling to Him. All these actions are the result of honoring and exalting Him in our lives. When you fear God, you are actually in very good company…
- Joseph was a God-fearer. He testified, “I am a God-fearing man” (Genesis 42:18 NLT).
- Noah was a God-fearer (Hebrews 11:7).
- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were God-fearers (Genesis 22:12; Genesis 31:42).
- Moses was a God-fearer (Exodus 20:20).
- Joshua was a God-fearer (Joshua 24:14).
- Nehemiah was a God-fearer (Nehemiah 5:9).
- Daniel was a God-fearer (Daniel 6:26).
- Paul and Peter were God-fearers (Philippians 2:12; 1 Peter 2:17).
- Job was a God-fearer. The Bible tells us, “Job was blameless – a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil” (Job 1:1 NLT).
Fearing God means our number one ambition is to please the Lord, walk in obedience to His Word and to glorify Him in all of life.
2 Chronicles 20:32 (NIV) …He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
The Lord’s way becomes the only way. If you fear Him, then you will always want to honor Him in everything. And everything God says in His Word becomes the highest priority in your life!
“I fear God, and therefore I have nothing and no one else to fear!”
– Charles Spurgeon
The fear of the Lord is a personal choice. Walking in the fear of the Lord is going to have to be your individual decision.
Proverbs 1:29 (NKJV) They hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
The fear of the Lord comes by a decision. The decision to live a life that is ordered around a holy, reverential respect for God is a decision that you must make for yourself (Proverbs 3:7). No one can make you do this and no one can do it for you.
Psalm 19:14 (AMP) Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Fearing God means that we deliberately and diligently seek out God’s will as He has revealed it to us in the Bible. Because we love God, we desire to do what honors God, we seek what honors God, and we approve of what honors God.
Job 1:1 (NLT) Job was blameless – a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.
Fearing God requires us to hate sin, and to make the daily choice with the power and help of the Holy Spirit to live a godly life. This keeps us from compromising our values.
Ten Rewards of Fearing God
Did you know that living your life as a God-fearer marks you as God’s friend? That’s what the Bible says in Psalm 25:14 (TLB), “Friendship with God is reserved for those who fear Him.”
The Bible is clear: those who are God-fearers get rewarded. The focus here is on the believer who lives with a sense of holy awe, deep respect and reverence for the majesty of God – that’s often missing today in contemporary evangelical Christianity.
The great news is that when we begin walking in the fear of the Lord and value His presence, it brings every blessing imaginable because we’re honoring, obeying, and surrendering to Him.
1. Walking in the fear of the Lord positions us to receive God’s goodness.
Psalm 31:19 (NIV) How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.
2: Walking in the fear of the Lord brings God’s special favor on our life.
Psalm 147:11 (NASB) The LORD favors those who fear Him.
Psalm 33:18 (NEB) The LORD looks with favor on those who reverently fear Him.
3: Walking in the fear of the Lord activates the blessing of physical healing.
Proverbs 3:7-8 (NLT) Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
4: Walking in the fear of the Lord keeps us safe, secure and divinely protected from evil of any kind.
Proverbs 19:23 (NKJV) The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.
Psalm 34:7 (NKJV) The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
5: Walking in the fear of the Lord is the gateway to the good life and friendship with God.
Ecclesiastes 8:12 (MSG) The good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in His presence.
Psalm 25:14 (ESV) The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.
6: Walking in the fear of the Lord divinely enables us to resist temptation and overcome sin.
Exodus 20:20 (NIV) The fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.
Proverbs 16:6 (ESV) By the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
7: Walking in the fear of the Lord leads to a life of strength and stability.
Isaiah 33:6 (NKJV) Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the LORD is His treasure.
8: Walking in the fear of the Lord causes your name to be recorded in God’s special book of remembrance.
Malachi 3:16-17 (TLB) Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of Him to each other. And He had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which He recorded the names of those who feared Him and loved to think about Him. “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in that day when I make up My jewels!”
9: Walking in the fear of the Lord guarantees God’s provision.
Psalm 111:5 (ESV) He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
Psalm 34:9 (NIV) Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10: Walking in the fear of the Lord is the secret to a life of true happiness.
Psalm 112:1 (AMP) Blessed, happy, and fortunate is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.
The Bible is very clear about our need to fear God. So, let us examine our lives and make sure we really have a healthy adoration for the Lord. Purposefully follow God’s instructions in Proverbs 2:1-5, for there is no one more worthy of our reverence and praise.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NEB) The last and final word is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
