The Fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is different than the fear of judgment. The fear of judgment is a sense of terror and dread because of the coming judgment of God against sin; believers in Jesus should not have the fear of judgment because the guilt of our sins has been washed away by the blood of Christ. The fear of the Lord is different.

The fear of the Lord is an inner sense of reverence and awe because the authority, power, and righteousness of God. The fear of the Lord is when we recognize and humbly submit to God as the King of the universe. The fear of judgment and the fear of the Lord both relate to the fact that God is the holy and righteous judge of mankind, but they are different mindsets. The fear of judgment is terror in light of God's wrath. The fear of the Lord is humble submission in light of God's authority.

Believers in Jesus do, by God's grace, have the fear of the Lord in their hearts. We strive to give God the respect and honor that He deserves as Creator, King, Lawgiver, and Judge of all the earth. It is right to walk in the fear of the Lord: "For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth" (Psalm 47:2).

1. The fear of the Lord is the starting point, or the foundation, for godly wisdom and knowledge. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Prov. 1:7). It is wise to acknowledge God's authority, but foolish to ignore or reject it.
2. The fear of the Lord and the wisdom it brings are ethical in character. "And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding'" (Job 28:28). The fear of the Lord causes us to turn from evil, not run towards it.
3. The fear of the Lord spurs us on to learn, delight in, and obey God's commands. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 10:12). The fear of the Lord helps us follow God, not the world; and embrace the ways of the Spirit, not the ways of the flesh or the world.
4. The fear of the Lord and the obedience it brings summarizes man's duty before God. "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. [14] For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).

Hopefully this makes you think about how glorious the gospel is and how miserable life would be without the gospel. Naturally, we do not fear the Lord. On our own, we would never keep God's commandments. In that case, we would have the fear of coming judgment (Ecc. 12:14). But the fact is, Jesus has delivered us from judgment through His life, death, resurrection, and Holy Spirit whom He has given us. Jesus has saved us from the fear of judgment and filled our hearts with the proper fear of the Lord.

The way to walk in the fear of the Lord -- with an inner sense of reverence and awe because the authority, power, and righteousness of God -- you must walk by grace through faith in the risen Lord. 

This is NOT the way of works-salvation and proving ourselves to God. Rather, it is the WAY of salvation in Christ, of being humble recipients of the 100% free and 100% sufficient redemptive mercy of God Almighty. Praise God, the holy and righteous judge is also the kind and loving Savior.