We can read in many places in the Bible that we should fear God, have the fear of the Lord, should live in godly fear. But why should we fear God? Isn’t God love? Doesn’t 1 John 4:18 (NIV) clearly tells us that: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”?
How can we believe that God loves us, and at the same time that we should fear Him?
Deep respect and admiration
Godly fear isn’t the same as being afraid of a cruel ruler or a dictator. We don’t need to fear God’s anger, unless we are sinning and don’t want to repent. (Romans 2:5-9.)
To fear God is to have deep respect and admiration for the Almighty God, who is the Creator of all things. In a few places in the Bible we get a brief look into heaven, and see there how the heavenly creatures worship Him around His throne, always crying out “Holy, holy, holy!” and covering their faces (Revelations 4:8). This Almighty God has called me by my name to serve Him, and He is working in me so that I can be saved from my sin to be with Him for eternity. This should make me love and admire and respect and thank Him more and more.
And then we also fear to sin against Him, because we want only to please Him, and to bring honour to His name. We fear to cause Him sorrow or grief, because we know how very bad sin is, how much God hates it, and how much it hurts Him when we sin.
“People of Israel, what does the Lord your God want from you? The Lord wants you to respect and follow him, to love and serve him with all your heart and soul, and to obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today. Do this, and all will go well for you.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (CEV).
“To fear the LORD is to hate evil. I hate pride and arrogance, the path of evil and corrupt speech." Proverbs 8:13 (CEB).
To fear God is:
To have great respect and admiration for Him so we do whatever He wants us to do. (Psalm 89:7; Hebrews 12:28-29.)
To stand before His face in all we do so that we are pleasing to Him, without seeking the good opinion of people. (1 Peter 1:24-25.)
To know that we only give account to God for our actions, and to no one else.
To fear to do anything against His will.
To fear to dishonour Him with our actions. This will make sure that we act righteously and with love and goodness to our fellow man.
To fear to give a false idea of God or His Word in the world.
To fear that we don’t see the importance of our calling and the ministry He has given us.
A hatred for sin, that we see every sin as extremely sinful. (Romans 7:13.)
To love Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength, and to keep His commandments. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Deuteronomy 10:12-13; Matthew 22:36-38.)
Godly fear leads to spiritual growth
If we don’t fear God, we will not take sin seriously enough. Even when our sins have been forgiven, we still have to harvest the results of the sins we have done in the past. (Galatians 6:7-8.) It is true that God is full of grace and patience towards us, and that Jesus died for our salvation so that our sins are forgiven when we turn away from them. And we certainly need this because sanctification and becoming free from sin is an ongoing process. But to use that as an excuse to sin would show that we don’t have a godly fear for God and that we don’t love Him.
That He forgave our sins and is full of grace and patience, is the exact reason that we fear and love God: “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.” Psalm 130:3-4 (NLT). When we take heed to our words and deeds in godly fear, then we get wisdom and understanding and more of the fruit of the Spirit, because we learn and do God’s will. If we do not have enough godly fear then we will do our own will. This makes us foolish and does not lead to any kind of spiritual growth.
If we truly fear God, we come into a deep personal loving relationship with God. It is written: “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” Luke 4:8 (NLT). This relationship with Him will be carried on into eternity.
“So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We should worship God in a way that pleases him with respect and fear.” Hebrews 12:28 (NCV).
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV).