WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEAR THE LORD?

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of having a healthy “fear of the Lord” and how that should be evidenced in the life of the believer. How does that fit in with Bible prophecy? Frankly, it provides a litmus test for examining oneself as to whether you are in the faith and prepared to meet the Lord when He returns.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”

Personally, I believe that His return to take the body of believers home to heaven in the rapture is “near.” According to the words of Jesus recorded by John, that return will be suddenly, without delay.

Revelation 22:20 “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

According to the signs of the times that I have discussed recently on this blog, that time is certainly not that far off.

It seems that many in the leadership of the “church” today are intent on focusing on a loving God without addressing the importance of possessing a healthy “fear” of God. Scripture clearly instructs us to fear the Lord. Though that may sound like a negative, it is actually to one’s benefit to have a healthy fear of the Lord.

Psalm 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”

Psalm 34:9 “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”

Psalm 89:7 “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

I think most everyone thinks, and rightly so, of the fear of the Lord in terms of an attitude of awe and reverence. The purpose of this series of posts is to discover what scripture says about how that awe and reverence should be evidenced in our lives.

One of the most obvious and primary ways of showing a healthy fear of the Lord is to obey Him. Scripture is replete with instructions telling us how to live in obedience to His will. The word “obey” often provokes negative thoughts about restriction rather than freedom and authority rather than love. In reference to God’s authority and His will for our lives, obedience will provide a safety zone in which we can live in complete freedom with the promise of His loving provision.

Deuteronomy 5:29 “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”

Deuteronomy 28:1–2 “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments….”

In light of the growing influence of evil spirits that is to be expected as the time for Jesus’ return gets ever closer, it is important to recognize that we are to obey God rather than men as exampled by the midwives who ignored Pharaoh’s command to drown the Jewish baby boys.

Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Exodus 1:17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”

I fully expect that the persecution of true believers in Jesus, those who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior and cling to the truth of His word, is soon going to be prevalent throughout the world. Lip service is still given to the importance of religious freedom, but public opinion is quickly narrowing to include all religions except true Christianity based on the inerrant word of God. Sad to note is the fact that much of the foundation for that mindset is predicated on undermining the authority of the word of God and is coming from within the professing church.