Fear of the Lord

I'm curious as to what you all consider the Fear of the Lord. and how does it play out in your walk? Several places in the Bible it says that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

I'd love some input from my brothers and sisters here. Thanks.

Hi MSeaman,

Deuteronomy 6:2
That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Deuteronomy 10:20
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Deuteronomy 13:4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Joshua 24:14
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

2 Chronicles 19:9
And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Here are just some of the verses pertaining to the fear of the Lord, they are throughout Psalms and Proverbs....

Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

Revelation 15:4
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Fearing God to me, would be to try to obey all that's in HIS WORD, conducting my life around HIS admonitions, avoiding sins ( my own and others' ), confessing sins moment by moment,trying to live this way in Christ, honoring HIM with praises and thanksgiving, reverencing HIS name whenever possible.

failing often, mml

I've talked about this matter a couple of times with some Christian friends. I have always seen the fear of the Lord as the knowledge of His law and of His justice, and thus of our own failures and our own sinfulness.

In this sense, the fear of the Lord brings us to the recognition of our own need of the Divine Savior (See Romans 7:7, "...I had not known sin but by the law"). The fear of the Lord, then, brings knowledge which leads us in the direction that God would have us go. How fitting it is then for this fear of the Lord to be deemed "the beginning of wisdom!" We must have a fear of the Lord God before we can truly accept salvation and serve Him. I do not intend to preach a "gospel of fear," where sinners are frightened into the church for fear of hell, but rather that the understanding of God's commandments and His just nature takes away our pride and self-reliance, and makes the need of Christ's sacrifice clear.

Yet we see equally an emphasis for this fear of the Lord in those who are soundly saved (see Acts 9:31, for example). It is clear, then, that this holy fear is not merely the beginning of wisdom, but must be in us always in our Christian walk. Indeed, if "this book of the law shall not depart" from us and we "observe to do according to all that is written therein," then we will have a constant source of humility, our gratitute to our Savior will never end, and we will be given "good success" (Joshua 1:8). If our conception of God ever fails to see him as the judge as well as savior of our souls, then we have strayed from the way of truth.

This is what I have seen in "the fear of the Lord," and I hope that it can be of some help or encouragement to you. :-)

For His Renown,
Michael

Perhaps an important aspect of this topic is how proper fear of God will afford a deep sense of trust and comfort for those who walk close to Him in this life. His awesome power is beyond any Earthly threat we could face…so truly fearing God will conversely mean that we should have no fear or trust of this world.

From Psalm 33

"…the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD…

Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You."

Can we say that Fearing God is like a polarity shift in our hearts; we change from looking for worldly hope to looking to God alone for salvation and peace in our hearts.

Psalm 34

"My Soul shall make it’s boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and be glad.”

MC

Compton,

These Psalms surely portrait fear with a great sense of beauty and awe, very nice, thanks

mml