The phrase “fear the Lord” appears throughout the Bible, but many Christians are not sure what it means.
Does God want us to be afraid of Him?
The answer depends on what we mean by fear.
There is a kind of fear that makes a person want to run away and hide. That is not the kind of relationship God wants with His children. But there is also a fear that comes from understanding who God is.
That kind of fear includes reverence, respect, awe, and a serious understanding of His holiness and authority.
Proverbs 9:10 says:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
The fear of the Lord begins when we stop treating God casually.
He is not just someone we turn to when we need help. He is the Creator. He is holy. He is righteous. He judges sin. He deserves obedience.
Isaiah saw the Lord in a vision and immediately became aware of his own sin.
Isaiah 6:5 says:
“Then I said, ‘Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of armies.’”
Isaiah did not react that way because God had done something cruel to him. He reacted that way because he suddenly saw the holiness of God more clearly.
The closer we come to understanding who God is, the less casual we become about sin.
Proverbs 8:13 says:
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance, the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.”
That verse gives us a very practical definition.
To fear the Lord means we do not make peace with what He calls evil.
A person can say he respects God, but if he knowingly continues in sin without concern, something is wrong.
The fear of the Lord affects how we live.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 says:
“The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”
Fear and obedience are connected.
We obey God because we know who He is.
That does not mean Christians live terrified that God is waiting to destroy them every time they fail. Believers have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 says:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But peace with God does not mean we stop fearing Him in the biblical sense.
Hebrews 12:28–29 says:
“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”
Notice that believers are being addressed.
We are told to serve God with reverence and awe.
The fear of the Lord is not only an Old Testament teaching. It continues into the New Testament.
Acts 9:31 says that the church was:
“going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.”
Fear of the Lord and comfort from the Holy Spirit are not opposites.
They belong together.
A Christian can love God, trust God, have peace with God, and still fear Him.
In fact, the more we understand His holiness, the more seriously we should take Him.
The fear of the Lord also helps protect us from sin.
Proverbs 16:6 says:
“And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.”
When we truly understand that God sees us, knows our hearts, and will hold us accountable, sin stops looking harmless.
We begin asking different questions.
Instead of asking, “Can I get away with this?” we begin asking, “Does this please God?”
That is one sign that the fear of the Lord is growing in us.
The fear of the Lord is not about living every day frightened that God will reject us.
It is about knowing who He is and responding accordingly.
He is holy.
He is righteous.
He is loving.
He is merciful.
He is also Judge.
We should never become so familiar with God that we forget who we are speaking to.
The fear of the Lord brings us back to the right place.
God is God.
We are not.
And when we understand that, we begin to live differently.