Scripture uses the word “fear” in two distinct senses. One is the ordinary kind—dread, terror, the instinct to “cut and run.” The other is awe—but not the watered‑down modern version. Historically, “awe” meant “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.” It includes reverence, yes, but also a sense of trembling before something overwhelmingly great. Biblical awe is not casual admiration; it is reverence shaped by God’s holiness.
John helps us sort out these categories. He writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God… There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:15–19). John is not eliminating all fear. He is eliminating one kind of fear: the fear of punishment. Those who remain under judgment rightly dread God. But those who abide in His love no longer fear condemnation. Perfect love drives out that fear.
What remains for the believer is not dread but awe—reverential trembling before God’s majesty. This fear is not rooted in the expectation of punishment but in the recognition of who God is: holy, sovereign, glorious. It is the fear that produces wisdom, obedience, and joy. It is the fear that treasures God rather than hides from Him.
So Scripture calls us to fear God in two different ways depending on our standing with Him.
- Those outside His love fear punishment.
- Those inside His love fear Him with awe.
2 comments:
I think another aspect of the believer's fear of God is a fear of disappointing Him. Not because we're afraid He'll punish us for it, but because we love Him, we want to do right by Him. When I was younger, my grandmother spanked me for disobeying her(probably when I was too old for spankings). I cried horribly over that spanking, not because it hurt (it didn't at all), but because I knew I had wronged her and she was disappointed in me for it. I think back on that often when I think about the type of fear of the Lord I should have.
Whenever you discuss “the fear of the Lord” in your posts, I pull down my best book on this topic: The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges. It’s a hefty book, packed with Scripture, with a twelve-part study guide for deeper study. I completed this book/study in 2012 (with my then regular Bible study partner), and the lessons have stayed with me since then. Before doing that deep dive into “the fear of the Lord,” I barely understood all that that phrase entails. You are right to remind us of this crucial consideration as often as you do, to encourage us to assume the proper stance and attitude before the Lord, even as we believers enjoy a “perfect love.”
“So Scripture calls us to fear God in two different ways depending on our standing with Him. Those outside His love fear punishment. Those inside His love fear Him with awe.”
This immediately brought to my mind a statement I made in my comment at yesterday’s post: “I went from His enemy to His beloved child in an instant.” As you noted, when I was His enemy (outside His love), I feared Him as Judge; as His child (inside His love), that type of fear has been replaced with awe, respect, gratitude, love, and a desire to know my heavenly Father better. That has certainly been a blessed conversion.
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