The Fear of God / Fear of the Lord (Study Outline)

Written on 06/14/2024

The Fear of God

 

1. Along with obeying God, fearing God is our entire task (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

  • The fear of God brings wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).

  • The fear of God brings a hatred of evil and sin (Proverbs 8:13), and drives you to repent better (Proverbs 16:6, Exodus 20:20).

  • The fear of God brings closeness with Him (Psalm 25:14 ESV).

  • The fear of God is necessary to serve God well (Hebrews 12:28-29).

 

2. The fear of God has two sides. 

  • There is the fear of God's wrath or judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Hebrews 10:26-27,31).

    • This kind of fear is good for unbelievers and new believers because it makes them want to repent (turn away from sin).

      • For unbelievers, sin brings God's wrath after death (Romans 2:5-10).

      • For believers also, sin brings a form of judgment, before we enter heaven, that we should fear (2 Corinthians 5:9-11).

    • For believers, the greatness of God's grace and forgiveness for our sin, should make us want to turn away from sin. We would fear the consequences of using God's grace as an excuse to keep sinning (Psalm 130:3-4, Hebrews 12:28).

      • God is so gracious to us! Why would we ever think to take advantage of that grace by continuing to sin?

  • And there is the fear of being away from God or of sin harming one's relationship with Him (Proverbs 14:16).

    • As a believer grows, the fear of punishment should mature into a fear of harming one's closeness with God...one's love for God outweighs the fear of judgment (1 John 4:18).

    • Moses had a fear that made him want to be closer to God (Exodus 20:18-21), as did David (Psalm 51:9-11). 

 

3. If you're early in your faith, to grow your fear of God, read in the Word about God's judgment. Read about sin and its consequences.

  • I recommend reading Mark 9, Romans 1-2, 11, 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 5, Hebrews 2-4,10,12, James 4, Jude.

  • Pray for more fear of God also.

  • The fear of God has to be experienced, so trust that in time the fear of God will grow in you. If you seek you will find.

 

4. Also look into what makes for a close relationship with God. This will feed desire for knowing Him, and your fear of God will mature.