"'I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12:4-7
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul." Jeremiah 32:38-41
"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And 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 the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked." Isaiah 11:1-4
"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity." Proverbs 28:13-14
The dreadful fear of the Lord which is the result of the fear of rejection or being cast out, impending doom, or historical ambivalence vs. The delightful fear of the Lord, which is the trembling joy of adoration (Luke 5:8-10)
“The fear of God is the soul of godliness…The fear of God in which godliness consists is the fear that constrains/ produces joy and adoration. It is the fear which consists in awe, reverence, honor, and worship, and all of these on the highest level of exercise. It is the reflex inner consciousness of the transcendent majesty and holiness of God.” The Principles of Conduct, John Murray
The limits of the awe of creation.
General Principles:
1. The example of Jesus who delighted in the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-4)
2. The fear of God is the trembling joy of adoration as the believer contemplates the eternal love of God found in Christ.
3. The fear of God eclipses all other fears (fear of man, death, rejection).
“for the filial fear of God is the soul of godliness and the essence of the new life implanted by the Spirit. It is the ultimate aff ection and the very aroma of heaven. It is the affection that expels our sinful fears and our anxieties. It is the affection that expels spiritual lethargy. To grow in this sweet and quaking wonder at God is to taste heaven now.” Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord, Michael Reeves
“Men who fear God face life fearlessly. Men who do not fear God end up fearing everything.” Richard Halverson
“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and they that lack the beginning have neither middle nor end.” John Bunyan
4. The fear of God (the trembling joy of adoration) fights against a passionless faith.
RESOURCES:
Principles of Conduct, John Murray
The Joy of Fearing God, Jerry Bridges
The Fear of God, John Bunyan
Rejoice and Tremble, Michael Reeves