What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?

The Bible teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so what does it mean to fear the Lord? Why type of fear is it?

Beginning of Wisdom

Human beings have seemed to always seek out more power, money, and influence, yet the most pressing need, and indeed, the most crucial need isn’t even sought, and that’s the wisdom of God. Humanity has a lot of knowledge, but without wisdom, this knowledge can self-inflict a lot of harm to our species…and it has, but until you have a knowledge of God and the fear of God, godly wisdom simply cannot come. Today, there is no fear of God in the world, and sometimes even among Christians. Without having a fear or reverential respect for the Word of God, there will be no fear of God. Without fearing His Word, there’ll be no fear of God, and where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom from above. Only then can you begin to have the wisdom that is from above. This explains the often repeated verse, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov 9:10), so not only is the fear of the Lord the very beginning of wisdom, it is a key to gaining insight into the things of God. More than that, those who fear God live long apparently, as the Word says, “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short” (Prov 10:27), and “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death” (Prov 14:27), so “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it” (Prov 15:16). That’s because the fear of the Lord can lead us to repentance and trust in Christ, however, where there is no fear of God, there is no true wisdom, and without true wisdom, there is no vision…and the people perish because of it.

A Healthy Fear

Most people used to have a little fear when they use God’s name as a curse word, but today, it’s so common it’s accepted as perfectly normal. If you go back just 10 years ago, there were no words used on TV like they are today. Even the advertisements today could be considered soft porn just 10 to 20 years ago, and some of the catalogs began to create pornography addicts when young men and women were exposed to them. Today, the only fear about the use of pornography is getting caught, but there are actually fears that are healthy. One example is if we are standing on the top of the mountain, we’re not just going to waltz over to the edge because we have a fear of death, so fear can work to keep us safe from harm. In a similar way, fearing God can keep us from harmful things in life. Our ways are not His ways because His ways are infinitely higher. If someone thinking of doing something illegal, then maybe a fear of getting caught keeps them from doing it, so not all fear is destruction. When fears become phobias, then that’s something that deserves medical attention, but when fears work to keep us from hurting ourselves or others, then it’s a good thing, and it is a very good thing to fear God. It’s wise to fear breaking God’s laws because breaking them can break us. The fears may be due to the possible consequences, but again, it is a productive fear if it prevents serious harm or injury.

What is Godly Fear?

The fear of God is not the fear of being cast into hell or the fear of God’s wrath, although that is not bad in itself, but a godly fear is having a deep, holy, reverential fear or respect for God and His Word, and the more you respect it, the more you read it, and that’s where godly wisdom is found…in His Word, and fearing the consequences if we fail to obey it. Any good parent will discipline a child when they are in danger of hurting themselves. If the child knows they do such and such they will lose their computer or cell phone for a week, then the fear of those consequences might cause them to obey their parents. If you are like me and lack wisdom at times on important decisions, then what we both must do is ask God and He will give us the wisdom to make the right decision. God may use someone else to point something out to us, or He may use another person’s personal experience to show us we might be wise to not do something, but we must always ask God first, as James wrote: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). This is infinitely more than the wisdom of man, which is foolishness to God, because it is “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

Conclusion

Generally speaking, there is no fear of God in the eyes of the world (Rom 3:18), but more of a fear of man, and I would think for some, a fear about the world. There is a fear of uncertainty in the world; fears about terrorism, the economy, diseases, and wars and rumors of wars. If you have never repented and trusted in Christ, then you only have one thing to fear and that is the appearance of Christ or the day of your death. That’s when the judgment comes (Heb 9:27). Christians know that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31), “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (2nd Cor 5:11a). On the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, some will have done this ahead of time and trusted in Christ and they know Him as their Lord and Savior, but for those who’ve rejected Christ all their lives, there is only “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Heb 10:27), and Jesus will not be their Savior but their Judge, and that judgment will be something every unbelieving person should fear (Rev 20:12-15; 21:8).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is host of Spiritual Fitness and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.