the fear of God: a great definition by Tim Chester

I've just come across a great definition of the fear of God by Tim Chester.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember my series on the fear of God. I think this definition is a wonderful summary (I've just added one word!).

The answer to the fear of man is fear of God. We need a big view of God. To fear God is to respect, worship, trust, [love], and submit to him. It’s the proper response to his glory, holiness, power, love, goodness and wrath. The fear of the Lord is recognizing that he is so awesome, powerful, holy and good that we should serve and worship him more than anything or anyone.

The appearances of God are often described in the Bible in terms of brightness, fire and brilliance. ... God wraps majesty and splendour around him like a cloak (Ps 93:1). The fear of God for the Christian no longer involves terror. He is our Father and we come before him with confidence through the mediation of Christ (Heb 4:14-16). But we can never get chummy or complacent with him. He remains a consuming fire.

This is a combined quote from Tim Chester's You Can Change 92-93 and The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness 104-5 (the last sentence in the first paragraph is taken from the second).

image is from flickr.com

the fear of the LORD (5) what it means to me

It's time (finally!) to wrap up my series on the fear of God. What I thought would take a couple of weeks has taken a whole term!! I've talked about:

• the God we fear - how the fear of God means turning from false gods to love, trust and obey the one true God
• the fear in fear (a) and (b) - how the "scary" parts of God's character make us fear God
• fearing, but not afraid - how God's forgiveness and salvation make us fear God with trembling joy
• fear on this side of the cross (a) and (b) - what the fear of God looks and feels like now Jesus has died

I admit I'm still not particularly happy with my definition:

To fear the LORD is to take seriously his awesome majesty, limitless power, absolute holiness, dreadful judgement, glorious salvation and gracious forgiveness, and so to submit to him as the one true God, with trust, love, worship, honour, service and obedience.

"Take seriously" - it's pretty feeble, isn't it? The truth is, I ran through a list of alternatives - "respect", "don't forget", "be mindful of" - and none quite summed up the complex emotions, attitudes and actions that I've come to see make up the fear of God.

So what is the fear of God?

• an an attitude of the heart - like loving God, it sums up who we are in relation to God at the most basic part of our being, as creatures towards our Creator, Lord and Saviour
• a set of emotions - call it "reverent awe", if you like, it includes fear, wonder, joy, admiration, amazement, respect, honour and adoration
• trust, love and obedience - it's an attitude which leads to action - we put our hope in God, we don't dare to refuse God, and we take sin seriously

In fact, now I come to look at it, it encompasses all five of the "contradictory definitions" I outlined right at the start of this series! I wasn't expecting that!

Thinking about the fear of God has had a profound impact on me.

• It's helped me not to fear. Did you know that the most common command in the Bible is "do not fear"? I'm naturally a people-fearer: I don't speak about Jesus for fear of what people will think of me. I've been struck by how often the Bible tells us to fear God instead of evil and disaster, people and nations, or idols and false gods. I've been inspired to fear God more than I fear people.
• It's reminded me to to take God's judgement seriously. Even though Jesus keeps me safe from eternal judgement, if I put up with sin in my life, I can expect God's fatherly discipline. I also need to be aware that one day I'll have to give an account for every impure thought and cowardly silence. I need to get serious about holiness!
• It's inspired me to pray regularly that I will grow in the fear of God: a prayer God delights in and promises to answer! After all, the fear of God brings great blessings: wisdom, mercy, long life, protection, goodness, deliverance and salvation.
• It's filled my heart with trembling joy. The words rejoice with trembling sum up how the fear of God feels to me. I find myself praising God with an extra degree of joy and awe!

How has thinking about the fear of God affected you?

images are from { karen} and .sweetcaroline http://www.flickr.com/

Jerry Bridges on the fear of God (2)

Here's some highlights from a fantastic interview with Jerry Bridges about the fear of God from Matthias Media's The Longing. He reflects on why Christians should fear God and how to grow in the fear of God.

If Christianity is essentially a personal relationship with God, why should believers fear Him? Isn't God safe to be around if you are a Christian?

It all depends. It might be safe to be around a nuclear reactor in some circumstances; but it can be dangerous in others. I don't think we should ever be afraid of God in the sense of being afraid of something wild and unpredictable like a tornado or of a sadistic bully who terrorizes his victims. It's not that kind of fear. God is not irrational or malicious. In fact, the passage which I often use to teach the fear of God is Exodus 14:31. There we read that “when the people saw what God had done to the army of Egypt, they feared the Lord and put their trust in Him”. So to fear God is to be in awe of God. It means to know God as the sovereign, all-powerful One.

Perhaps a good working-definition of the fear of God is something like this: to truly fear God means to be in awe of God's being and character as well as in awe of what He has done for us in Christ. When you put these two ideas together, you have an absolutely sovereign Creator of the universe who punishes those who resist Him, and yet loves us and sends His Son to die in our place. Surely that's good reason to fear or reverence Him. ...

Why is it that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom? Why not the love of God?

Because I believe that the fear of the Lord is the most fundamental attitude that we can have toward God. In fact, in my own prayer life I have several Bible verses that I pray over frequently. I have them in what I call 'priority-order'. The most important is marked #1, the second #2, and so forth. The one that comes at the top of the list is Psalm 86: 11: “Give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your Name”. Having a deep reverence for God is absolutely fundamental as I read my Bible. I mean, is it ever possible to overestimate the importance of God? I think the question answers itself. Our responsibility is to remain continually in awe of God. We must reverence Him for who He is and what He has done for us in Christ.

Once you have established your respect or reverence for God, then your next priority is to grasp the love of God. That's number two in my mind. ...

Is the fear of God a proper motive to which we can appeal in stimulating Christian growth and ministry?

Oh, absolutely! Again, to me it's primary and fundamental. We must start with a reverence for who God is. This is why I strongly urge people to read through the whole Bible every year. We need to be constantly saturating our minds in God. You can't think about God in the Old Testament without being struck by His awesome sovereignty and holiness. Think, for example, of how He crushes the Assyrian army in Isaiah 37. He strikes 185,000 of them dead in one night without firing a shot. Now that's awesome. The more you read of biblical history the more you think, “Wow, this God plays for keeps”. We need to cultivate this mindset because this is reality. This is how the real world works; God visits His judgement upon His enemies sooner or later.

Christians need to know this deep in their souls. Even though we know that our sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ and that we are perfectly righteous in Him, we must never forget that we cannot fool around with God. He treats sin seriously. A man I once knew said: “I know that having lustful thoughts for women is wrong, but God will forgive me”. This man hadn't realized what it means to fear God. ...

If fear is such an essential part of our spiritual experience, how do we cultivate that ‘awestruck’ attitude that Bible says we ought to have?

Well, I would suggest three things. First of all, I think we should pray like the Psalmist who asked the Lord, “Give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your Name” (Ps 86:11) and then claim the promise of Jeremiah 32:40 where God says, “I will inspire them to fear Me”. Say to the Lord, “O God, You have put this fear in my heart. Please cause it to grow.” Ask the Lord to help you to grow in reverence.

Second, I think that we need to read the Old Testament frequently if we want to grow in the fear of God. Even if we can't participate firsthand in God's great acts of power like the parting of the Red Sea, we can still re-live them by sharing in the original story. They took place in time and space. They were real events and we can share in them.

Third, another profitable course would be to read some great books on the nature of God. Here I am thinking of A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of GOD and The Idea of the Holy. Another good book is The Holiness of God by RC Sproul. Sproul's great strength is that he has devoted his whole ministry to emphasizing the holiness and awesomeness of God. ... These are the sort of books that drive people to their knees.

from The fear of God: Talking with Jerry Bridges, highlights mine

image is from flickr.com

the fear of the LORD (4b) fear on this side of the cross

It's easy to think we no longer have to fear God now Jesus has died for us.

Doesn't God say, "You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship"? (Rom 8:15) When Jesus died, he set us free from our deserved punishment and made us God's precious children (Rom 8:1-17).

Doesn't God say, "Perfect love drives out fear"? (1 Jn 4:18) God has poured out his love for us in Jesus, so we no longer need to be scared of his judgement (1 Jn 4:15-18).

These passages are talking about the slavish, cringing fear which Christians never have to feel again. When Jesus died, he freed us from terror of God's judgement.

But Christians are still encouraged to fear God.

• Jesus tells us to confess him boldly before others: "do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ... Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell." (Lk 12:4-7 cf Matt 10:26-30)
• the early Christians lived "in the fear of the Lord" (Acts 9:31)
• we're called to "purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence [fear] for God" (2 Cor 6:14-7:1)
• because we will have to give an account before the judgement seat of Christ, we "fear the Lord" by courageously sharing the gospel (2 Cor 5:10-11)
• Paul says, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil 2:12-13)
• Christians are called to submit to one another, slaves to masters, and wives to husbands, out of "reverence [fear] for Christ" (Eph 5:18-21, 1 Pet 3:1-2, Col 3:22-24)
• because we know God will impartially judge what we do, and because we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, we live our lives "in reverent fear" (1 Peter 1:17)
• because we know the terrible judgement which awaits those who reject Christ, we don't turn our backs on him (Heb 10:26-31, 12:18-29)
• even in eternity, absolutely safe from judgement, we will "fear God" and give him praise (Rev 14:7, 15:4, 19:5)

We don't need to fear God's eternal judgement if we trust in Jesus. But we still face God's fatherly discipline when we persist in sin (Prov 3:11-12, Heb 12:7-11). One day we'll stand before the judgement seat of Christ and give an account of our lives to him (Rom 12:9-11, 1 Cor 5:10, 1 Pet 1:17). On that day our ministry will be judged to be worthy or wanting (1 Cor 3:10-15).

To take sin lightly - to say, even deep in our hearts, "I'll do it because I know God will forgive me" - is to live as if these things were not true. It's to live without the fear of God.

The fear Christians feel towards God is not "servile fear", the fear of a slave for a harsh master. It's "filial fear", the fear of a child for a beloved father. Like a child who knows that her father loves her, who feels safe in his arms and runs to him when she's hurt; but who also knows that her father will discipline her if she disobeys, who respects him and doesn't dare to disregard his authority.

Do you remember the trembling, joyful fear of the Israelites as they stood on the other side of the Red Sea and watched the water curl and crash over the heads of Pharaoh's army? Do you remember how they put their trust in God with awed amazement at his terrible judgement and glorious salvation?

Here we stand, on the other side of the cross. We have seen God's just and jealous anger poured out on his only Son. We have seen God's heart break with the terrible cost of his love for us. We have seen judgement and salvation come together in one inconceivable, incredible moment.

How could we not trust and obey this God with everything that's in us? How could we not fling ourselves into his arms and nestle there, safe from his anger, safe in his love? How could we not serve him with trembling, joyful fear?

Well, it seems that what was meant to be a little series has turned into a very long one! I've learned a lot, and I hope you have too. Most of all, I hope you've been encouraged to grow in the fear of God. One more post - on what the fear of the LORD has come to mean to me - and I'll wrap it up!

images are from stock.xchng

the fear of the LORD (4a) fear on this side of the cross

Is "the fear of the LORD" appropriate on this side of the cross? Isn't it something just for Old Testament believers? Hasn't Jesus freed us from fear? (Heb 2:14-15, Rom 8:15, 1 Jn 4:18)

Last time I talked about two kinds of fear:

• the terror of God's unrepentant enemies
• the trusting fear of those who take refuge in God

You'll find both in the New Testament. Today I want to talk about the first, the terror of God's enemies on this side of the cross and how it affects us as Christians; and next time about the second, the trusting fear of those who hope in Jesus.

Do you think Mount Sinai was scary? Remember how the Israelites trembled with fear when they heard God speaking out of fire and deep darkness as the mountain shook underfoot? Well, there's a much scarier mountain than that one!

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. ...

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ...

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire". (Heb 12:18-29, emphases mine)

I've always thought this was a pretty picture of the heavenly mountain with all the angels singing. I've only recently noticed that it's a fearful picture of the coming judgement which will not shake just one mountain but the entire universe.

This is a terrible warning to Jewish believers who wanted to return to the law of Moses. If the Israelites didn't escape when they disobeyed God's law, how will we escape if we reject Jesus, God's only Son?

"Those who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot? ... It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:26-31)

You have to remember it's Christians - or at least people who seem to be Christians! - who the writer of Hebrews is warning here. The fear of God's judgement is one of the things which keeps us from turning our backs on Jesus.

The New Testament gives a terrible picture of the judgement of Jesus, who treads the wine press of God's fury until blood rises high as a horse's bridle. If God's enemies hid from his anger among the rocks (Isa 2:10) they now call to the rocks,"Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev 6:16; Rev 6, 14:14-20, 19:11-21).

There is a place of refuge from this terror: Jesus, Judge and Saviour, whose death on the cross frees us "from the fear of death". Safe in him from terror of God's judgement, we still serve God "with reverence and awe", never daring to stop trusting in Jesus (if that were possible!), never forgetting that our "God is a consuming fire" (Heb 2:14-15 cf Heb 12:29).

On this side of the cross, God's greater salvation brings greater blessing and greater punishment. Let's heed the warning, and flee from Jesus' anger to his mercy, ever fearing but never afraid.

first image is from stock.xchng, second image is from Olim Art

Jerry Bridges on the fear of God

I've waited until now to share this helpful quote with you because I wanted to first work out what I thought about "the fear of God". It's from Jerry Bridges' wonderful book The Joy of Fearing God.

Jerry Bridges defines the fear of God as "reverential awe", a complex mix of emotions and attitudes which leads to a changed life.

What is awe? ... The dictionary I have defines awe as:

• An emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled.
• Submissive and admiring fear inspired by authority.
• A fearful reverence inspired by deity.

You can easily see that, depending on the situation and the object of awe, it could include the emotions of fear (or dread), respect (or reverence), admiration and amazement. ...

A profound sense of awe towards God is undoubtedly the dominant element in the attitude or set of emotions that the Bible calls "the fear of God." A popular definition of the fear of God is "reverential awe," ... a good definition. ...

[W]e need to move beyond equating the fear of God only with being afraid of Him. We must not drop that aspect altogether, since even for the Christian it remains an element in the over-all concept of fearing God. But it is by no means the dominant element. ...

This kind of fear obviously goes beyond simply being afraid of God, for it yields within us such glad responses as adoration, love, honour, and worship. And I would add that these responses are ... not only to God's "transcendent majesty and holiness" ... but also to His amazing grace and unfathomable love for us in Christ.

... Sinclair Ferguson has made a helpful distinction between "servile fear" and "filial fear". ... Ferguson explains servile fear as "the kind of fear which a slave would feel towards a harsh and unyielding master." ...

In contrast to servile fear, filial fear is the loving fear of a child toward his father. Ferguson describes it as "that indefinable mixture of reverence, fear, pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realize who God is and what He has done for us." This is the only true fear of God. ..

Is this fear of God a mix of various emotions, or is it an attitude? Emotions are feelings that come and go ... while an attitude is a more or less settled state of mind. Into which category does fearing God belong?

The answer is both. Emotional feelings of awe, reverence, honour, and adoration will definitely be stimulated within us as we have great thoughts about God ...

At the same time our fear of God must be a settled state of mind - an attitude of awe, reverence, honour, and adoration, a fixed mental outlook that isn't dependent on feelings that come and go. ...

Properly fearing God is more than just a feeling or attitude - it's a feeling or attitude that changes our lives.

Jerry Bridges The Joy of Fearing God pp. 18, 25-31, emphases are his.

the fear of the LORD (3) fearing, but not afraid

Are we really supposed to be afraid of God? Doesn't God tell us not to be afraid?

It's not surprising that the Israelites were petrified after God's pyrotechnics display on Mount Sinai. They saw the mountain crowned with darkness, cloud, fire and smoke, they felt the ground shake underfoot, they heard God's voice speaking out of fire and deep darkness, and they knew that anyone who touched the mountain would die. No wonder they begged never to hear God's voice again!

At this point Moses says something odd: "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin" (Ex 20:18-20 ESV).

Don't fear, but do fear! Huh?

There are two kinds of fear of God.

The first is terror of God's certain judgement. With nothing to expect except God's terrible anger, no wonder God's unrepentant enemies burrow into the ground (Isa 2:10)! This fear drives us away from God.

The second is a trusting, obeying fear. The people of God tremble at God's words and the display of his power, but he has made them his people and they respond with faith and repentance. As long as they trust and obey God, they have no reason to be afraid - but if they turn their backs on God, they have good reason to be afraid! This fear drives us towards God.

God's salvation and forgiveness make this second kind of fear possible - a fear free from terror and full of trembling joy, but which never takes God lightly, for it knows the judgement which awaits those who turn from God.

Read these verses from the Old Testament and see if you can relate:

• "And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant" Exod 14:31. The Israelites cross the Red Sea and watch it close over the heads of Pharoah's army. The God who saves them is the same God who crushes their enemies. No wonder that this terrible salvation leads to trusting fear!
• "Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling." (Ps 2:11) The nations are told to "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Ps 2:12). They "rejoice with trembling" because they've escaped the terrible anger of the Son by taking refuge in his service.
• "But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." (Ps 130:4) Why does God's forgiveness lead to fear? We tremble because the power of judgement and salvation rests in the hands of our mighty God, the one who freely chooses to save us. We act in faith and obedience because God has poured out his mercy on us.
• "He [the Messiah] will delight in the fear of the LORD" (Isa 11:3 cf Heb 5:7). If it's appropriate for God's own Son to serve God with joyful awe it's certainly appropriate for us.
• "The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."(Ps 147:11) Our hoping fear of God not only brings us joy, but gladdens the heart of God!

To escape from a tsunami - how amazing that would be! But what if you escape from the tsunami into the arms of the one who sent it? Now there are arms that can keep you safe! Here you rejoice - but you rejoice with trembling at the terrible power of the arms which hold you. You're not about to trifle with this Rescuer! Yet there's no-one who can keep you safe like Him.

Piper describes it as the kind of fear you might feel if you're hiding in a cleft in the ice during a storm on a glacier. Out in the storm, there is only terror! But inside the cleft, is a kind of wondering, fearful joy, as you watch the storm from a place of safety. Piper calls this "whatever is left of fear when we have a sure hope in the midst of it".*

On this side of the cross, this trusting, rejoicing, hoping, trembling fear is even more appropriate. We've seen God pour out his anger on his only Son so that we might be spared! How can we help but be filled with wonder, awe and joy?

It's important that our definition reflect not only God's "scary attributes", but also the wonder of his forgiveness and salvation. So let's sum it up this way:

To fear the LORD is to take seriously his awesome majesty, limitless power, absolute holiness, dreadful judgement, glorious salvation and gracious forgiveness, and so to submit to him as the one true God, with trust, love, worship, honour, service and obedience.

This fear is sometimes called "reverent awe". It's a little vague, but it's not a bad way of describing the complex attitudes and emotions which make up the fear of God. If you wanted to sum it up simply, you might say something like this:

The fear of God is the reverent awe which leads us to trust and obey him.

But for simplicity and clarity, I like Honoria's definition, which includes attitudes, feelings and actions:

The fear of God is not daring to refuse him.

Next time, I'd like to look at New Testament verses about the fear of God. Is fear still appropriate for Christians, who call God "Daddy"?

* John Piper The Pleasures of God 203-4

first image is an old Bible illustration (I think!); middle image is an illustration by John Martin; last image is from stock.xchng

the fear of the LORD (2b) the fear in fear

Has "the fear of the LORD" got anything to do with fear?

There are many kinds of fear in the Bible, from respect to terror.
In the Old Testament, children are commanded to "fear" their parents (Lev 19:3) and nations to tremble with "fear" at God's judgement (Ps 76:7, 90:11, Isa 19:16, Mal 4:5). In the New Testament, wives are encouraged to "fear" their husbands (Eph 5:33) and Jesus tells his disciples to "fear" the One who can "destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28, Lk 12:5).*

What kind of fear is "the fear of the LORD"?

Some say that "the fear of the LORD" means obedience, and has nothing to do with feeling scared. Others say that "the fear of the LORD" means just that: feeling scared. I don't think either gets it quite right.

There's definitely an element of fear in "the fear of the LORD". Look at the reasons we're told to "fear the LORD":*

• because of his fearful acts of salvation and judgement, when he saves his people by bringing utter destruction on their enemies (Exod 14:29-31, Josh 4:23-24, 1 Sam 12:24 cf Ex 15:11, 34:10-11, Deut 10:20-22, 2 Sam 7:22-24, 1 Chron 17:20-22)
• because of his holiness (Rev 15:4 cf Ps 111:9, 99:3)
• because of his power over the most uncontrollable forces of creation (Jeremiah 5:22-24, 1 Samuel 12:18, 1 Chronicles 16:25-26, Psalm 33:6-9, Psalm 65:5-13 cf Mark 4:41, Mark 6:50, Luke 8:25, John 6:19, Job 38-42:6)
• because of the awe-inspiring displays of his presence and power (Ex 20:18-20, Deut 5:23-29 cf Gen 28:10-17, Heb 12:18-21, Matt 14:26, 17:6, Mk 4:41, 5:33, 6:50, Lk 8:25, Jn 6:19, Rev 1:17 cf idols Isa 41:22-24)
• because of the absolute demands of his word (Deut 4:10, 6:1-3, 17:19, 31:12-13, Ps 119:120)
• because of his sovereign control over all things (Ecc 3:14)
• because of his forgiveness and mercy (Ps 130:4, 119:38, 2 Chron 6:28-33, 1 Kgs 8:37-43, Mal 2:4-5 cf Dan 9:4, Neh 1:5, 9:32)
• most often, because of his terrifying anger and judgement against sin (Ex 9:20, Deut 9:19, Job 31:23, Ps 2:11-12, 64:7-10, 76:7-12, 90:11, Isa 25:1-3, 59:18-20, Mal 1:14, Matt 10:28, Lk 12:5, Rom 11:20, 2 Cor 5:9-11, Heb 10:26-31, 1 Pet 1:17 cf Joel 2:11, 13, Mal 4:5)

Most of these are what you might call God's scary attributes: his awesome majesty, limitless power, absolute holiness and dreadful judgement. And it's God's very own people who are said to fear him because of these things.

I only found one verse which uses the technical term "fear the LORD" for the unrepentant enemies of God - on the day of judgement, they will "hide in the ground from dread [fear] of the LORD" (Isa 2:10).**

If his enemies are said to "fear him", it's generally because they have bowed the knee to his authority (e.g. Ex 9:20, 2 Chron 6:32-33, Ps 64:9, 2:15, Isa 59:19).

But 99% of the time, it is God's own people who are said to "fear the LORD". And we fear him with trembling! (Jer 5:22, Ps 119:120, 2 Cor 7:15, Phil 2:12)

Remember when God spoke out of fire and darkness on Mount Sinai? The Israelites were so afraid that they begged Moses to speak to God for them, so they would not hear God's voice and die.

God doesn't say, "Oh, don't worry, I'm really quite safe." He says, "Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me!" (Deut 5:22-33). God wants them to fear him!

But he also tells them not to be afraid. Moses says "Do not fear. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning" (Exod 20:20).

God wants them to be scared enough of his judgement to trust and obey him. But he also wants them to remember that they have no reason to be afraid of judgement as long as they fear God by trusting and obeying him.

The "fear of the LORD" is not a fear which drives us from God, but a fear which drives us to God. We flee from God's judgement to the arms of his mercy and love. Yet we still fear with trembling. We have escaped God's judgement, but we never take God lightly!

Here's our definition so far (keep in mind it's not finished yet!):

To fear the LORD is to take seriously his awesome majesty, limitless power, absolute holiness and dreadful judgement, and so to submit to him as the one true God, with trust, love, worship, honour, service and obedience.

Next time, I want to talk more about what it means to fear God without being afraid.

* The words generally translated "fear" are the Hebrew word yare and related words, and the Greek word phobos and related words. One is used to translate the other: see Rom 3:18. If you look up the references I've given you in the NIV, you'll notice the word "fear" is translated in a number of different ways, including "fear", "dread", "afraid", "respect", "revere", "awe" and "worship". If I've given you the verse, the word in the original is "fear" (or "fearful" for "awesome" and "dreadful").

** If you know Hebrew, you can confirm this for me!

images are from stock.xchng; the imais from The ten commandments

Aslan and the fear of God

You won't find many better descriptions of what it feels like to fear God than what CS Lewis says about Aslan, the great Lion, the Christ-king of Narnia. This is one of my favourite passages from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

"Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King I tell you."

image is from stock.xchng

the fear of the LORD (2a) the fear in fear

Why should we "fear God"? Why not just "love God" or "serve God", since they can mean much the same thing?

The fact that we can even ask this question shows how small our view of God has become.

We sing "God is holy", but when Isaiah saw God he fell face down and cried out, "Woe to me! ... I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips ... and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty" (Isa 6:1-8).

We celebrate God's glory, but when Ezekiel saw "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD" he fell on his face before him (Ezek 1:25-28).

We declare "God is sovereign", but we forget we're clay in the Potter's hands (Isa 29:16, 64:8, Jer 18:6, Rom 9:21).

We say "God will judge", but we don't like to admit that God is "a consuming fire, a jealous God" (Deut 4:24) who "can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28).

We confess that Jesus is God, but when John saw the glorious, risen Christ, the Alpha and Omega, he fell "at his feet as though dead" (Rev 1:12-18).

We say "God is wise", but when God revealed his wisdom to Job, he covered his mouth and despised himself, repenting in dust and ashes (Job 40:4-5, 42:2-6).

We take God's word lightly, but when Jeremiah heard God speak he said, "My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD and his holy words" (Jer 23:9).

We love to recall Jesus' meekness (Matt 11:29) but we forget that Jesus' anger is so terrible that it is better to be crushed by falling mountains than to face it (Rev 6:16 cf 14:14-20, 19:11-21).

Even God's mercy should make us tremble. God alone can grant forgiveness (Ps 130:4). He says "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" (Ex 33:19, Rom 9:15). His forgiveness was won when he poured out his anger on his only Son (Rom 3:25). His love is higher than the heavens and his mercy vaster than the skies (Ps 103:11-12, Eph 3:14-21).

It's easy for us to domesticate God. Our God gives "orders to the morning" (Job 38:12) and does whatever pleases him (Job 23:13, Ps 115:3, 135:6, Jer 32:27). He needs nothing from us (Ac 17:25) and we can't escape his presence (Ps 139:7-12).

Have we forgotten the fearful view of God we're given in the Bible?

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. (1 Tim 6:15-16)

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome [fearful] in glory, working wonders? (Exod 15:11)

To know God is to fear him. If you don't fear him, you need to learn to know him.

Next time I'd like to talk more about the fear in "the fear of the LORD".

images are from flickr.com and stock.xchng; the painting is Durand's Painting of God's Judgment Upon Gog

Spurgeon, Welch, Adams & Bridges speak about "the fear of the LORD"

You'll remember that on Monday, I began my definition of "the fear of the LORD" like this:

To fear the LORD is to submit to him as the one true God, with trust, love, worship, honour, service and obedience..

You might be wondering what all this has got to do with "fear", and fair enough. I'll try to answer that question soon.

In the meantime, I thought you might like to know that I'm not alone in defining "the fear of the LORD" like this. Here are some great theologians who say things along the same lines.

Dr. Jay Adams defines the fear of God as “loving and respectful obedience toward Him” (cited by Elyse Fitzpatrick in Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety p. 145).

Charles Spurgeon says, in his sermon Godly fear and its godly consequences,

What is this fear of the Lord? The expression is used in Scripture for all true godliness. It is constantly the short way of expressing real faith, hope, love, holiness of living, and every grace which makes up true godliness.

Dr. Ed Welch, in his very helpful book When People are Big and God is Small, writes

This fear of the Lord means reverent submission that leads to obedience, and it is interchangeable with 'worship', 'rely on', 'trust', and 'hope in' (p. 19).

Like Spurgeon, he goes on to say lots about the attitude of "fear" - but we'll leave that until next week!

And Jerry Bridges, in a fantastic interview with Peter Hastie about The Fear of God which didn't quite make it into The Briefing, says:

Deuteronomy 10:12 links fear, love and obedience together. Moses says to the Israelites: “What does the Lord ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, and to serve the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul?” He brings those three terms—to fear God, to love Him and to serve Him all together in the one passage. And the way the terms are used, it's almost as though they are interchangeable expressions.

Jerry Bridges, by the way, wrote a whole wonderful book called The Joy of Fearing God. It's well worth reading if you want to know about "the fear of the LORD", or if you simply want a bigger, more awe-inspiring view of God.

how I prepare a topical series

I thought you might like to know where I get my ideas from when I write about the fear of the LORD (or pride, or enjoying God, or gluttony). Am I pulling ideas out of a hat? Am I telling you my pet theories? Can you trust what I say?

Here's how I work out what to say when I'm writing on a topic. You might find this process helpful if you're asked to lead a study or give a talk about a topic.

I don't know Greek or Hebrew, and I haven't studied theology except unofficially, so what I do, you can too!! God's word is clear, and it's written for us: you don't need to be an expert to understand it.

My aim is to read the Bible so I can understand God's wisdom and explain it clearly. I pray every step of the way: that God will give me insight into the Bible, that I will believe and obey what I read, and that what I say will be helpful.

Here's the steps I follow:

• I use BibleGateway, pick a translation (I use NIV because it's familiar, but the ESV is more accurate), and do a keyword search on the relevant words (in this case, I started with "fear"). I print out sheets and sheets of verses!
• I grab our complete concordance (we have an NIV complete concordance - ESV would probably be better!) and look up the relevant word(s). In this case, it soon becomes clear that it's a particular Hebrew word (yare and related words) and Greek word (phobos and related words) I'm looking for. I turn to the end of the concordance and look at the Hebrew and Greek words, and the different English words used to translate them. (It's not always necessary to look at the Greek and Hebrew, but in this case I'm looking at a particular phrase, "the fear of the LORD".)

• When it comes to "fear", I discover it's also translated "worship", "revere", "awe", "dread" etc. Now I've got more words to look up on BibleGateway. I print these out too. I take my pages of printed out verses and circle the verses which used the relevant Greek and Hebrew words, using the concordance (this would be a lot easier if I knew Greek and Hebrew, but we work with what we've got!).
• I read through the circled verses and look for patterns. What's "the fear of the LORD" linked to? Is it defined in any of the verses? Is the word "fear" used in different ways? What blessings are said to flow from it? I read the verses again and again. More questions occur to me.

• I grab a notebook, write headings e.g. "the blessings of fearing God", and note down ideas ("wisdom", "long life", "honour") underneath with their references.
• I don't want to take verses out of context, so I pick some of the more significant verses and read them in context. In this case, I did lots of reading of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, Nehemiah and James, to name a few! My quiet times were far richer as a result.
• I also want to read my verses in the context of God's saving plan in Jesus. The Bible is the unfolding story of God 's sovereign plan to rescue his people from rebellion through the death and resurrection of his Son (2 Cor 1:20, 1 Cor 15:3-5). So I need to ask myself: how does these verses point me to the gospel? Am I just putting bandaids on wounds, giving a list of principles and projects? Or am I getting to the root of the issue - our sinful hearts - and showing how forgiveness, transformation and healing are available through Jesus' death and resurrection, and the work of his Spirit in our lives, so that we, as God's people, can glorify and enjoy God forever?
• Now it's starting to come together in my mind. I write down what I'm discovering. My ideas are still very unformed, but I'm beginning to see what "the fear of the LORD" means, and how it might apply to me.

• I check my conclusions against commentaries, books, and any articles or sermons I can find on line. Do the commentaries shed any light on the difficult passages? What are the main opinions of scholars? Do I agree or disagree, given what I've found in the Bible? Have I got it wrong? Does anyone put it really well? Are there any quotes I can use?
• Now it's time for writing, rewriting, editing, polishing, trying to make it short and simple, sticking pictures in (that bit's fun!) and sending it out into the wide world for you to read.

As you can see, I'm no expert, just a fellow student of God's word! This is not the only way to prepare a topical series - you could just grab a couple of passages and work from them - but it works for me. I pray that we will be blessed as we look at the Bible together at in all honesty.

images are from stock.xchng

the fear of the LORD (1) the God we fear

Do you remember the young man desperately seeking wisdom, who found instead "the fear of the LORD" (Prov 2:1-6)? As I told you, our Bible study group got a bit stuck at this point, which sent me on my own quest to discover what the "fear of the LORD" means.

I'm going to share what I'm learning about "the fear of the LORD" over 2 or 3 weeks, all going well. Then I'll talk about how "the fear of the LORD" affects me and you.

There's been endless disagreement about what it means to "fear the LORD". Here's some contradictory definitions ("It means this! It certainly doesn’t mean that!"):

1. a general term for the mystical dread we feel in approaching any deity
2. being scared of God
3. reverent awe
4. obeying God
5.trusting God

I can tell you right from the start that I've got problems with no. 1. Whatever else it is, "the fear of the LORD” is not an attitude towards God, any God, but an attitude towards the "LORD". When you open the Bible and see "LORD" in capitols it means "Yahweh", the personal name of the One and Only God.

So "the fear of the LORD” is deeply personal. To "fear the LORD" is to fear the One who made himself known to Moses:

The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob ... This is my name forever ... The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exod 3:13-15, 34:6-7)

The God we fear is the LORD, the one true God, who created and sustains the universe, speaks through his word, makes himself known through awesome acts of judgement and salvation, and reveals himself ultimately in Jesus.

“The fear of the LORD” is often used as short-hand for following Yahweh as your God (Jon 1:9, Mal 3:16, Rev 11:18 etc). Jonah's calling-card reads, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jon 1:9). Those who don't follow God, on the other hand, have "no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3:18 cf Gen 20:10-11, Ex 9:30). To fear God and obey him is the "whole duty of man" (Ecc 12:13).

Those who "fear the LORD" are those who:

• trust and hope in God (Ps 31:19, 115:11, 147:11, Prov 29:25, Jer 26:19),
• obey his commands (Deut 6:2 and see Deut 5:29, 6:24, 10:12-13, 13:4, 17:19, 31:12-13, 1 Sam 12:14, Ps 112:1, 119:63, Ecc 12:13, Is 50:10, Hag 1:12)
• serve him (Deut 10:12-13, Josh 24:14, 1 Sam 12:24)
• walk in his ways (Deut 8:6, Ps 128:1)
• shun evil (Prov 8:13 and see Job 1:1, 2:3, 28:28, Prov 14:16, 16:6)
• stay faithful to God and turn from idols (Deut 6:13-15, Josh 24:14, Jer 32:40)
• know God and his wisdom (Ps 110:10, Prov 1:7, 2:5, 9:10)
• praise and give God glory (Ps 22:23, Rev 14:7, 15:4, 19:5)
• humble themselves before God (Prov 15:33, Jer 44:10)
• love God with all that is in them (Deut 10:12-13)
• don't fear other so-called "gods" (1 Chron 16:25, Ps 96:4, Jer 10:5)

You can use these terms pretty interchangeably - "fear the LORD", "obey the LORD", "love the LORD", "serve the LORD". Here they are, side by side:

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deut 10:12-13)

If you're looking for a living example of someone who "fears the LORD", look no further than Jesus, the promised Messiah who "delights in the fear of the LORD" (Isa 11:2-3). Here was one who served his Father joyfully, with every particle of his being.

So we come to the first part of our definition:

To fear the LORD is to submit to him as the one true God, with trust, love, worship, honour, service and obedience.

But our definition isn't yet complete. Why use the word "fear"? Why not "love" or "serve" or "obey"? We'll look at the scary bits next time, and how they relate to the "fear of the LORD".

Proverbs (4) the fear of the LORD

My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov 2:1-6)

What a great picture of a young man desperately seeking wisdom!

He's learned from his father that wisdom is like a beautiful young woman, eager to grant him riches beyond price. He's heard that wisdom brings honour, power, pleasure and long life. He's been taught to value wisdom beyond gold and silver, to search for it as for buried treasure.

I can see him in my mind's eye, going to a field where he's been told this priceless treasure lies buried. Perhaps, like the young man in Jesus' parable, he's sold all he has to buy this field (Matt 13:44-46). He digs and digs, sweat stinging his eyes, hands blistered and muscles aching, until the field is a wasteland of turned earth.

Suddenly his spade hits a chest with a ringing sound. He furiously throws the dirt away, first in spadefuls and then in handfuls, until the chest is uncovered. He dusts the remaining earth from the lid with trembling fingers, and reverently raises the lid. He says to himself, "At last! Here's wisdom! Here's the treasure I've been looking for!".

But what does he find inside? He finds the words the "fear of the LORD". It's like one of those bad Sunday school activities where you expected lollies, and were given a moral lesson instead. I can picture him saying, "The fear of the LORD?! I was looking for wisdom, and you give me the fear of the LORD?! What's going on here?"

He storms home, disappointed, and shouts at his father: "You told me I'd find wisdom! You told me that wisdom will give me riches and honour and power! But all I find is the fear of the LORD! What do I need fear for? I wanted people to fear me! I don't want to fear anyone else!"

His father takes him to one side. "My son, you were looking for wisdom, because you thought that with wisdom you would win respect, power, and riches - and so you will. But the way to wisdom is not as simple as uncovering a treasure chest. You see, wisdom is hidden in God. Only he knows the way to it (Job 28:20-23). There's only one way to find wisdom, and that's by starting with the fear of the LORD:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov 9:10 cf 1:7)."

And so the young man begins a new search. What is this thing called "the fear of the LORD"? Where does it live, and what does it look like?

At this point our Bible study group became a little lost, and so did I! There are few concepts in the Bible more debated and harder to understand than "the fear of the LORD". We learned lots about "the fear of the LORD", but we weren't able to decide exactly what it means.

And so my own search began. I've been hunting through concordances and commentaries for weeks. I'm going to interrupt my series on pride to share what I'm learning about "the fear of the LORD". I'm no expert, so if you've got any ideas or useful resources to share on "the fear of the LORD", please tell me so we can learn from each other!

images of chest and mattock are from stock.xchng, image of boy discovering chest is from Clyde Bentley at flickr, image of "fear God" banner is from EmerandSam at everystockphoto