Godly Fear

The fear of the Lord

We need to fear God as long as we live, by endeavouring to keep his decrees. Fearing the Lord, simply means loving him, walking in His ways, not following other gods, but serving Him alone. God wants us to listen to Him, and learn to fear Him. He equally wants our children, who do not know Him and His law, to hear it and learn to fear Him, as long as they live, Deut.6:2.13; 10:12-13; 31:12-13.

Throughout the Bible, the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true godliness. It may appear strange that Christians are to fear and love the Lord, for fear and love seem like opposites. But when the Bible uses the word fear, it does not mean having a dread for God, so as to be driven away from Him. It simply means to stand in awe and reverence to Him. Therefore fearing God is pleasing Him in all our thinking, saying and deeds. We have to honour Him and value Him above anything else. Godly fear is simply not doing anything that might displease and grieve Him. Hence, it follows that, those who love God, will fear Him. The fear of God acts as fuel to a Christian’s love for God, making it burn even more brightly.

Not fearing the Lord

Unbelievers are described differently in Romans 3:18. There is no fear of God before their eyes; vs. 9-17 illustrate the conduct of unbelievers. This happens when God is not served and obeyed. For instance God’s name is ridiculed or blasphemed and misrepresented by unbelievers. Christians are grieved when God is not feared or honoured by others. For example, Paul in Athens, Acts 17:16, was distressed to see that the people were worshipping idols, instead of the one and only true God. As Christians, it should be our desire that everyone should fear and love God, worshipping only Him, above anything else.

Encouraging the fear of the Lord

We can encourage ourselves and others to fear the Lord by regularly reminding ourselves who God is and what He is like. God is great in power and majesty. We remind ourselves about God by carefully and prayerfully reading the Bible, which is God’s word. God has made himself known to us through the Holy Scriptures. It is often good to think about God’s character, as this encourages true and genuine godly fear.

Bro.Lalulani Malata, Kabwe, Zambia