FEAR OF GOD

The “fear of God” is all over the Bible, so it must be a big deal.

The fear of God is something so awesome, I don’t dare try to explain it.
I know the preachers and teachers and other theologians are compelled to explain the fear of God when they are asked, and when they are not asked.

I always get the feeling that they’re trying to tone it down, so the word ‘fear’ does not scare anybody away. *

My rule for explaining God is to simply use other Bible verses, and tell people to find those verses and read for themselves what God says about Himself.
What God says, counts ! ! !
What man says, not so much.
What I say, not so much.

I believe God tells us all we need to know about Himself, and all we need to know about how to live.
If we study what He actually tells us, that is enough for us to apply, practice, obey, for our lifetime.
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The main thing I am compelled to add to the above, is warnings about what is constantly added to the Word of God, dangerously and unnecessarily so.
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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.”

“Through the fear of the Lord, a man avoids evil.”

“Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”

“The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

“The church grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.”

“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.”

“How blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who greatly delights in His commandments.”

“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 hell.”

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Those verses just scratch the surface of the many wonderful Bible verses on the fear of God—fear and comfort—beyond and close—awe and confidence—distance and discernment—and on and on.
It all starts with recognizing how great God is, and then learning how He wants to have a loving relationship with us, and how He makes that possible through Jesus bridging the gap between us.
Just start reading and you will be blessed, and get excited—that’s the power of the Word of God.

* Just a thought—“Did you ever hear a message that scared the hell out of you?”
Not a bad thing in the L O N G run.