Proverbs 1:1-7 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and
instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction
of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the
simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and
will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb,
and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools
despise wisdom and instruction.
The small
group that meets at my house on Wednesday evenings is looking at an in depth
study on “Fear”. We know, from the start, that the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy
1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but
of power and of love and of a sound mind.” According to God such freedom truly is
possible … if you will learn to live in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the
Lord brings all other fears into submission. So what does the fear of the Lord
look like? Proverbs tells us that the beginning, the starting point, of
knowledge is the fear of the Lord. Our study explains that at least fifteen
different Hebrew words are translated as “fear” in the Old Testament. It can
refer to all sorts of fears common to mankind or to “the fear of the Lord”. The
Hebrew word for “fear’, when it is referring to “the fear of the Lord”, is יִרְאָה or yir’ah, which translates as “fear;
reverence”. The fear of the Lord indicates respect, reverence, trust, and
obedience. It is the acknowledgment of what God says about Himself and His
authority, which motivates us to respond accordingly and to seek knowledge.
“Knowledge”
expresses a multitude of shades of knowledge by the senses. Knowledge informs
us and gives us insight that we can then act upon. So, the fear of the Lord is
not to be afraid of the Lord, but a healthy fear based in that respect, trust
and reverence of God. Think of “the fear of God” as the fear of “not wanting to
let your Heavenly Father down” or of “not making your Creator Father unproud of you”
by not living a life that is pleasing to Him, not in alignment with His perfect
Word, Will and Way, in submission with obedience. Sometimes, we get so caught
up in our world that we lose sight that our loving Father God gives us what we truly
need (and should desire) most … godly knowledge.
Proverbs
2:1-12 “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure
my commands within you, so that you incline
your ear to wisdom, and apply your
heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for
discernment, and lift up your
voice for understanding, If you seek her as
silver, and search for her as for hidden
treasures; then you will understand the fear of
the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and
understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for
the upright; He is a shield to
those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths
of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good
path. When wisdom enters your heart, and
knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion
will preserve you;
understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.
In Christ, Brian
4 comments:
Hi Brian,
I always thought of the fear of the Lord as being not fearful of Him but fearful of what it would be like without Him and only evil abound. I also think that it refers to because God is so holy and pure that we are fearful of him because we are sinful and even though Christians are sanctified in Jesus and made pure and what in front of Father's eyes, we still live in a sinful body therefore Father is fearful to us because of the flesh we dwell in.
Thanks for sharing brother,
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Excellent point Child of God. I'll have to respond in two parts. There is a huge difference between the fear of God in a Believer (with Him) than there is in an unbeliever (without Him). The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” and in Luke 12:5 “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, but also tells us in Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Then adds in 1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
Our Just and Holy God must punish sin and we are all sinners and condemned already. The Lord Jesus explains to us in John 3:17-18 ”For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Then John the Baptist confirms this later in the same chapter, where he says in John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
The Apostle Paul explains Salvation in Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Grace is the unmerited favor of God by which Father God redeems and forgives through the atoning substitution of Jesus in our place on the Cross for our sins. This is why the Apostle Paul goes on to say in Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Then Paul explains the Child of God's confidence in Christ in 2 Timothy 1: 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
King David understood the totality of forgiveness of sin when he wrote in Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”, even before the Lord Jesus confirmed in Matthew 26:28 “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
I believe that the unrepentant sinner who does put their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ has the fear of eternal damnation, as they must justly pay the penalty for their sins against God and His statutes, laws and commandments, and rejected His mercy and grace.
Part 2 - The Apostle John writes about the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 & 21:8 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, drug abusers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” That is truly fearful. But the opposite of fear is peace. After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus said over and over, "Peace be with you."
I do not believe that the Lord desires the Believer to have the same fear of the Lord that the unbeliever has, because their sins are forgiven and their eternal destiny is "Heaven" in the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said to us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” I believe that the Believers fear of the Lord is now a reverence to His mercy and grace in pure gratitude, glory, honor and praise. Fear not Child of God. Thank you for the great comment. Blessings.
Wow Brian, such a wonderful, in depth answer back up by some great Scripture verses. Thank you!
Blessings
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