Fear Not?

"Fear is a liar," the song says. I'm not sure that's true. Fear can lie when it is an irrational or unreasonable fear. But if I am afraid of stepping out in front of a speeding bus and some kind Christian assures me, "Fear is a liar," I'm going to suggest they're not being helpful. That fear is not lying.

The Bible speaks often of the fear of the Lord. "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever," the psalmist wrote (Psa 19:9). "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," wrote another (Psa 111:10). Not to be outdone, Solomon wrote often about it. From being the beginning of knowledge (Prov 1:7), especially the knowledge of God (Prov 2:5), to the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), he listed benefits like hatred of evil (Prov 8:13; Prov 16:6), prolonged life (Prov 10:27; Prov 14:27), strong confidence (Prov 14:26), and more. On the other hand, a major problem of "the wicked" is "there is no fear of God before his eyes." (Psa 36:1; Rom 3:18). And that's just a smattering. The fear of the Lord is essential to faith. In this, fear is not a liar.

It's a funny thing, though. A lot of Christians will argue that we should not fear God (apparently unaware of Psalm 36:1 or Romans 3:18). They point to John who wrote, "Perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18). "There is no fear in love," he wrote there because "fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." "So," they conclude, "if you love God perfectly, you had better not fear Him." Never mind that it contradicts all the other texts. Then they go on to explain that the "fear of the Lord" is not fear; it's "reverential awe." Not realizing that "awe" includes veneration, wonder, and dread. So switching to "awe" doesn't eliminate "fear."

Instead of pitting God's Word against God's Word, how about if we fit them together? Fear generally drives us away from that which is feared. The fear of the Lord does the opposite. That's because the fear of the Lord recognizes that defying Him is a fearful thing and crowding to Him is the safest place to be. And if love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:8-10), then perfect love of God will make us perfectly obedient and there is no fear of punishment in that. So fearing God and running to Him because of it produces obedience which perfects love.

Exodus has an interesting text.

Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin." (Exo 20:20)

There are things we ought not fear. "Do not fear." There are things we ought to fear. "That the fear of Him may be before you." A healthy and honest fear of God will drive us away from sin and toward God. The place to be.