Is God to be feared, or is God to be loved?
The fear of the Lord is one of the most misunderstood things in the bible. Both the Old and the New Testaments mention the fear of the Lord. The Book of Isaiah mentions the fear of the Lord as one of the attributes of the ideal Davidic king: “The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD; and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2-3)
Other passages in the bible which mention the fear of the Lord are as follows:
- Serve the LORD with fear; exult with trembling, accept correction lest he becomes angry and you perish along the way when his anger suddenly blazes up. (Psalm 2:11-12)
- Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. (Matthew 10:28) In this Gospel passage, some people think that Jesus is telling His disciples to be afraid of the Devil or Satan. That kind of interpretation is problematic because there is no other passage in scripture that says we should be afraid of the Devil. On the other hand, the Letter of James (4:12) tells us that “there is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy.” Certainly, the Devil is not the one who is able to save or destroy.
- The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers. (Acts 9:31) This scripture passage tells us that the early Christians practiced the fear of the Lord.
- Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king. (1 Pet. 2:17)
- So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
- Fear God and give him glory, for his time has come to sit in judgment. (Revelation 14:7)
The fear of the Lord is a reverential fear of God; therefore, a person who “fears the Lord” deeply respects the majesty of God; he is mindful that God created him and that he is dependent on God. He develops a “poverty of spirit” in which he would never want to be separated from God; as a result, he desires to avoid sin, not merely because he is afraid of the temporal punishments due to sin, but because sin separates him from God.
The fear of the Lord entails a fear of doing things that would displease God. There are so many things in everyday life that can be displeasing to God; for example, taking God’s love for granted, taking the name of the Lord in vain, forgetting to thank God for our blessings, neglecting to pray and worship God, disregarding God’s commandments, etc. Having the fear of the Lord is a wonderful gift to have, because it keeps us on track in having the right kind of relationship with God.
There are many different kinds of human relationships; for example, the relationship between husband and wife, relationships between friends or family members. Our relationship with God is unique and it cannot be reduced to the same kind of relationship we have with any other person. Our relationship with God demands that we give God the faith, thanksgiving, worship and glory that is due to God; it also demands that we respond to God’s great love by loving God with due reverence, and that the foundation of loving our neighbor is our love of God.