The Bible tells us 365 times to “not fear.” However, it also tells us to “fear God.” So, which is it? The fear not commands have to do with things of this world or the appearance of angelic beings. But we are to fear God, for a moment. Some folks try to explain away the commands to fear God by saying it is a healthy reverence. And this is true, but when I see fear of God in the Bible, I also see the trembling, weak knees type of fear. We are to fear God’s wrath, justice, and potential punishment. But we are to trust the cross of Christ as appeasement for God’s wrath, justice, and punishment. If we fear God, we will hate evil, in all forms. This proverbs lists four forms of evil, but there are many more.
Proverbs 8:13: “All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.”
How does fearing God lead us to hate evil? What forms of pride, arrogance, corruption, or perverse speech do you see in your own life?
If we have the love of Christ in us, we have nothing to fear. 1 John 4:8: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”
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Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash
Scott Maxon 