Should You Fear the Lord?

Today I would like to talk about the fear of God.  Like the topic of holiness, very few are preaching about this.  But it must be preached, because it’s in the Bible, and Jesus taught it.

First, I want to show you the Scriptures about the fear of the Lord.  Some of them I will just quote, because they are self-explanatory, and others I will comment on along the way.  Then I will discuss the difference between fear and respect, and wrap up with a conclusion of what all these Scriptures teach us.  Hopefully that will help "tie it all together" for you at the end. Let’s get into the Word now!

The Fear of the Lord

"But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God."

(Exo 9:30)

'So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God. (Lev 25:17)

"Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

(Deu 4:10)

so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. (Deu 6:2)

"You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.” (Deu 6:13)

"So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.” (Deu 6:24)

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.” (Deu 8:6)

"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” (Deu 10:12)

"You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.” (Deu 10:20)

"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” (Deu 13:4)

"You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.” (Deu 14:23)

"It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes,” (Deu 17:19)

"If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God,” (Deu 28:58)

"Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.” (Deu 31:12)

"Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess." (Deu 31:13)

“that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever." (Jos 4:24)

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. (Jos 24:14)

"If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.” (1Sa 12:14)

"Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.” (1Sa 12:24)

“At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.” (2Ki 17:25)

“So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.” (2Ki 17:28)

“To this day they do according to the earlier customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel;” (2Ki 17:34)

"But the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice.” (2Ki 17:36)

"But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies." (2Ki 17:39)

"Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe." (2Ch 19:7)

Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly.” (2Ch 19:9)

Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9)

"And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" (Job 28:28)

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; (Psa 15:4)

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.” (Psa 19:9)

You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. (Psa 22:23)

The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. (Psa 25:14)

“Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” (Psa 33:8)

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,” (Psa 33:18)

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.” (Psa 34:7)

O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.

(Psa 34:9)

Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

(Psa 34:11)

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. (Psa 36:1)

Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psa 86:11)

So the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory. (Psa 102:15)

Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psa 103:13)

"But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children." (Psa 103:17)

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever." (Psa 111:10)

"You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield." (Psa 115:11)

"He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great." (Psa 115:13)

"Oh let those who fear the LORD say, 'His lovingkindness is everlasting.'" (Psa 118:4)

"My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments."  (Ps 119:120)

"The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness." (Psa 147:11)

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Pro 1:7)

"Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD." (Pro 1:29)

"Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God." (Pro 2:5)

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil." (Pro 3:7)

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate." (Pro 8:13)

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."(Pro 9:10)

"The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened." (Pro 10:27)

He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is devious in his ways despises Him. (Pro 14:2)

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. (Pro 14:26)

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death. (Pro 14:27)

Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

(Pro 15:16)

The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility. (Pro 15:33)

By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil. (Pro 16:6)

The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. (Pro 19:23)

The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life. (Pro 22:4)

Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always. (Pro 23:17)

My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, (Pro 24:21)

"It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.” (Isa 8:13)

Regarding the Lord Jesus, Isaiah prophesied: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; (Isa 11:2-3)

And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure. (Isa 33:6)

So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. (Isa 59:19)

"'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.'" (Jer 5:22)

'They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest." (Jer 5:24)

"Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves." (Jer 26:19)

Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land." (Jon 1:9)

The voice of the LORD will call to the city-- And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name: "Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed its time? (Mic 6:9)

"Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts. (Mal 3:5)

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. (Mal 3:16)

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. (Act 9:31)

The apostle Paul said, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.” (2Co 5:11)

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." (Rev 14:6-7)

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; (1Pe 1:17)

"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED." (Rev 15:4)

Jesus taught His disciples to fear the Lord. He said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mat 10:28)

He used the word fear twice in this sentence.  In both instances it is the same Greek word “phobeo” in the Bible.  Phobeo means to frighten, that is, to be alarmed; to be in awe of, that is, revere: be sore afraid, fear (exceedingly), and to reverence.  This is where our English word phobia comes from. 

Even if you don’t look up the definition of this Greek word, it is obvious by what Jesus said that He used the word “fear” with the same meaning in both instances in this sentence.  So when you think about what it means to fear someone who can kill your body, that it the same kind of fear we are to have of God, and to a much greater degree.  We are not to fear any man, but we are to fear God.

Respect

Many people think that fearing God is just respecting Him, but that’s something different. The word for respect in Greek is not “phobeo.”  The word for respect is “entrepo,” which means in a good sense, to respect; or in a bad one, to confound: - regard, (give) reverence, shame.

In the parable of the vineyard owner, Jesus used this word for respect.  Speaking of the vineyard owner, He said, "He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' (Mar 12:6).  In this parable, the vineyard owner represents God the Father, and the vineyard owner’s son represents Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The father in this parable said, “They will respect my son.”  This is the word “entrepo” which means to show respect or give reverence.

Jesus used this word for respect at other times as well.  For example, He used it to describe the unjust judge in another parable, saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man…For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,” (Luk 18:2,4). Interestingly here, Jesus quoted the unjust judge in this parable using both the word “fear” and the word “respect” in the same sentence.  When the judge said he did not fear God, fear was expressed by the Greek word “phobeo” that we defined above.  However, the word for “respect” is entrepo.  These are two different things.

In Luke’s record of his journey to Rome with Paul, and their stay on the island of Malta, he said of the islanders, “They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.” (Act 28:10).  Again, when you respect someone, that is different from fear.

Peter taught servants to respect their masters, which applies to the proper attitude of employees toward their employers and bosses. “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.” (1Pe 2:18).  We should respect such men, but not fear them.

Although fear and respect are two different things, the Lord expects to receive both respect and fear from us. " 'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.'” (Mal 1:6a)

Blessings for The One Who Fears the Lord 
There are many blessings for the one who fears the Lord.

"Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose...The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant." (Psa 25:12-14)

Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. (Psa 112:1)

How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. (Psa 128:1)

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. (Pro 31:30)

Putting it All Together

Fear and respect are two different things.  We should respect God, and we should respect others, such as employers and bosses.  But we should not fear men.  The only One we should ever fear is God. And that is actual fear, just as the definition of the word implies.

Our Lord Jesus taught His disciples, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28).

There is no place in Scripture that redefines the word "fear" to mean "respect." And Scripture never teaches us not to fear the Lord. Rather, it always teaches us to fear the Lord, and that is not restricted to the days of the Old Covenant.  It’s ungodly not to fear the Lord.

The Bible says we must be taught to fear the Lord, and it is something that must be learned. The fear of the Lord is something good! Do you fear God? If not, you should. This is not a fear of running TO Him, but it does include a fear of what would happen if you run AWAY from Him.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. By the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.  One reason we have so much apostasy in the Church today is that people have lost the fear of the Lord.

Everyone wants to stay young and live longer. Many want to have riches and honor.  Well, I've got the solution. The fear of the LORD prolongs life. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life. The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.

The Lord will draw near for judgment and be a witness against those who don’t fear Him. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him. The Lord is the help and shield of those who fear Him. The LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. He will bless those who fear the LORD. The LORD favors those who fear Him. The lovingkindness of the LORD is always on those who fear Him. For to those who fear Him there is no want.

The Church of Christ throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria feared the Lord. The apostle Paul and his team feared the Lord. They didn't say, "We don't need to fear the Lord any more, because we're under grace." Jesus had the spirit of the fear of the Lord upon Him, and He delights in the fear of the Lord. Do you?

After publishing this blog, I discovered the following video that underscores the need to fear the Lord.  Please take a few moments to watch it.



If you are away from God, then it's time to return to Him.  If you do not know Him, then it's time to come to Him and give your life to Him.  Both of these require deep repentance and faith in Christ.

Another video I recommend is Revival Hymn Redux (video)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the following other ones:

Salvation with Fear and Trembling
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Covenant Prayer
Is Obedience Optional?
Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian
Drifting Away
The Law of Christ
Baptized by Blazing Fire
Dare to Believe

You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

                           _________________________________________________

Photo credit: The Side of the Cross.

“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968, 1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”