Solomon tells us that the goal of life is to fear God and keep His commandments. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this applies to every man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) We are told by Jesus not to be afraid of those who can only kill the body but Fear Him who can kill both body and soul (Matthew 10:28). The fear of the LORD is not restricted to the Old Testament. The Fear of God is something that has to be learned, taught by God’s Word. Machiavelli taught in The Prince: for a ruler it is better to be feared than loved; Paul taught “knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”. God cannot be revered if we don’t first fear Him, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Consider how we all fear the law and the power or the government has over us if we disobey, we are to Fear God in the same way. This gives way to a healthy reverence and a life of enjoyment; just as you cannot enjoy the blessings of your society without fearing the law, nor can you enjoy the blessings of God unless you fear and respect Him; the book of Hebrews discusses this issue in great depth.
Unfortunately today, there is no fear of God in the church; just like the times of Israel when they were backslidden so is the church today. God constantly made reference to this citing that “There is not fear of God in these people…” the same hold true for today. We are in a “false grace” movement that teaches “anything goes” but the bible tells us to fear God for He is a consuming fire! This is one of the reasons society has become so wicked, the fear of the LORD is no longer taught, in times of old, even the criminal element of our society feared God and we never saw such crimes as we are witnessing today.
Biblical Scriptures dealing with the fear of the LORD:
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. {19} Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." {20} And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:18-20)
You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. {6} Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (Deuteronomy 8:5-6)
And now, Israel, what has Jehovah your God asked of you, except to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul; (Deuteronomy 10:12)
You shall fear Jehovah your God; you shall serve Him; and you shall cleave to Him; and you shall swear by His name. (Deuteronomy 10:20)
You shall walk after Jehovah your God, and you shall fear Him. And you shall keep His commandments, and you shall hear His voice, and you shall serve Him, and you shall cleave to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4)
So says Jehovah the God of Israel, I said indeed that your house and your father’s house should walk before Me until forever. But now Jehovah says, be it far from Me! For those who honor Me, I will honor; and those despising Me will be despicable. (1 Samuel 2:30)
With whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; {36} but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. (2 Kings 17:35-36)
And to man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom! And to turn from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. (Psalms 2:11)
But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. (Psalms 5:7)
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. (Psalms 19:9)
Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. {9} The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. {10} All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. {11} For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. {12} Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. {13} He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. {14} The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. (Psalms 25:8-14)
Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! {20} You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues. (Psalms 31:19-20)
Let all the earth fear Jehovah; let all dwellers in the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalms 33:8)
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, {19} To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. (Psalms 33:18-19)
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. {2} My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. {3} Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. {4} I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. {5} They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. {6} This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. {7} The Angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. {8} Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! {9} Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. {10} The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. {11} Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. (Psalms 34:1-11)
Be still and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalms 46:10)
Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. {8} I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. {9} Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. (Psalms 85:7-9)
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. (Psalms 96:9)
The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. {9} He will not always strive with us, or will He keep His anger forever. {10} He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. {11} For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; {12} As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. {13} As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. {14} For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. {15} As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. {16} For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. {17} But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children. (Psalms 103:8-17)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; good understandings have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. (Psalms 111:10)
Praise Jehovah! Blessed is the man who fears Jehovah, delighting greatly in His commands. (Psalms 112:1)
He will bless those who fear Jehovah, the small and the great. (Psalms 115:13)
Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. (Psalms 128:1)
The LORD upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. {15} The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. {16} You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. {17} The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. {18} The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. {19} He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. {20} The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. (Psalms 145:14-20)
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy. (Psalms 147:11)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. {11} For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. (Proverbs 9:10-11)
He who walks in his uprightness fears Jehovah, but the perverse in his ways despises Him. (Proverbs 14:2)
The wise fears and departs from evil, but the fool rages and is sure. (Proverbs 14:16)
In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. {27} The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:26-27)
Better is a little with the fear of Jehovah than great treasure and tumult with it. (Proverbs 15:16)
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility. (Proverbs 15:33)
In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)
The fear of Jehovah tends to life, and he shall rest satisfied, he shall not be visited with evil. (Proverbs 19:23)
The reward of humility is the fear of Jehovah, riches, and honor, and life. (Proverbs 22:4)
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but only be in the fear of Jehovah all the day. (Proverbs 23:17)
Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. (Proverbs 28:14)
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged to him, yet surely I know that it shall be well to those who fear God, who fear before Him. (Ecclesiastes 8:12)
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this applies to every man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the LORD is His treasure. (Isaiah 33:6)
And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for good to them and to their sons after them. (Jeremiah 32:39)
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (Jeremiah 32:40)
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. (Malachi 3:16)
And 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. (Matthew 10:28)
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. {50} And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. {51} He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. (Luke 1:49-51)
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. {35} But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. (Acts 10:34-35)
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the Living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." {17} Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. {18} I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, {10} that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, {11} and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. {12} 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; {13} for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:9-13)
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. (Hebrews 10:31)
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? {10} For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. {11} Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:9-11)
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. (1 Peter 1:17)
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1 Peter 2:17)
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, {21} keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. {22} And on some have compassion, making a distinction; {23} but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. (Jude 1:20-23)
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth; to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people; {7} saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. (Revelation 14:6-7)
They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! {4} Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested. (Revelation 15:3-4)
Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! {6} And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (Revelation 19:5-6)
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