Testing our hearts for a healthy fear of God

A good and healthy fear of God brings immense blessings; wisdom, protection, provision, blessing and most of all, friendship with God Himself. On the other hand, the lack of fear or an exaggerated terror of God can destroy us spiritually. As we follow God, it is crucial that we have a rightly calibrated view of God as well as a healthy reverence for the One who holds our lives and eternities in His hands. God is merciful and patient but at the same time, He is supreme and holy.

(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 检验我们敬畏神的心 | 繁體中文 > 檢驗我們敬畏神的心)

 

Deuteronomy 6:24 NIV  The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.

Hebrews 10:30-31 ESV  …“The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The rewards for a healthy reverence for God

There is great reward for fearing God:

• Enjoy friendship with God | Psalm 25:14 ESV The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
• Be heard by God in our prayers | Psalm 145:19 ESV He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
• Know God’s goodness | Psalm 31:19 ESV Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
• Kept safe from harm | Proverbs 19:23 ESV The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
• Be protected and delivered by God | Psalm 34:7-9 ESV The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
• Have strong confidence in all we do | Proverbs 14:26 ESV In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
• Lack nothing | Psalm 34:9 ESV Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
• Receive His riches and honour | Proverbs 22:4 ESV The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
• Live longer lives | Proverbs 10:27 ESV The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
• Multiply God’s Kingdom on earth | Acts 9:31 ESV So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
• Be blessed across the generations | Deuteronomy 5:29 ESV Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Those with a good and healthy fear of God will not be easily swayed to deny Jesus, gloss over God’s Word, or ignore the Holy Spirit’s work on their hearts. Their faith stands up against ridicule, rejection, persecution, and temptation.

However, this type of fear of God is not driven by dread. Rather, it is propelled by a deep reverence, love, and worship of His majesty. Our reverence for God is also motivated by a desire to not upset the One we love.

We will pray and regularly ask God:

• “God, what is Your view on this please?” What is Your will?”
• “How can I bring You glory?”
• “Holy Spirit, please guide me. I will follow You.”

Proverbs 1:7 ESV  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

A person who genuinely and rightfully fears God will also:

• Turn away from doing anything that God considers evil | Proverbs 16:6 ESV By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
• Hate evil | Proverbs 8:13 ESV The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
• Regularly confess our sins and cleanse ourselves spiritually through repentance in Jesus’ name | 2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

An unhealthy fear of God

Just as with any emotional response, we all need to calibrate our fear of God.

Too much fear and we will hide from God. Too little fear and we will disregard God’s commandments. In both cases, we will resist following God’s will. Neither brings us closer to God. Both will put ourselves first. A healthy fear of God puts Him first.

Here is a look at the two unhealthy extremes.

	Too much fear	Too little or no fear
God’s grace vs. judgment	Focus distorted towards God’s fiery punishment, forgetting that God’s grace and forgiveness are extended to all who repent before Judgement Day | Hebrews 4:16 ESV  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.	Focus distorted towards God’s generous grace and forgiveness, forgetting that all believers who continue sinning will face God’s “judgement and raging fire” on Judgement Day| Hebrews 10:26-27,31 ESV  If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Prayers	Will hesitate to ask God for anything in general, even for things to glorify Him | John 14:13-14 ESV  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.	Will typically ask God for His blessings, rather than His will | James 4:3 ESV  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Obedience	May obey God out of fear, not out of love, and find it burdensome | 1 John 5:3-4 ESV  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.	Struggle to obey God completely | John 14:23-24 NIV  Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching…
Faith	May lack hope, joy, and peace | Romans 15:13 ESV  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.	May not endure trials and tests for the sake of Jesus | Matthew 13:20-22  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy… When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Trials	Tend to see trials as punishment instead of testing and loving discipline | James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.	May not expect to undergo trials and will doubt God’s good character | 1 Peter 4:12 ESV  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Teaching God’s Word	May lean towards righteous acts and legalism | 1 Corinthians 13:2 ESV  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.	Typically interpret God’s Word according to their desires | Deuteronomy 12:32 ESV  “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.
Conscience and repentance	Tend to condemn themselves after they have repented | Romans 8:1 ESV  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.	May resist confessing their sins or stay away from sin | Proverbs 28:13 ESV  Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

How we develop an exaggerated fear of God

People form an unhealthy fear of God because we often project our man-made ideas onto Him. Here are some examples.

1. Abusive human authority figures

Our earthly parents gave us our first and strongest impression of what authority figures are like. If our guardians were abusive, we may develop a subconscious fear of those with authority over us. This may develop into unfounded fears about God as well, which in turn, block us from experiencing His perfect love.

1 John 4:18 NLT ESV  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

2. Shame

Shame is an emotion that stems from self-rejection. When we view God through a lens of shame, we will find it hard to accept His love because there are things we can’t accept about ourselves. We assume God won’t accept us either and therefore, resist drawing close to Him.

Job 22:23 ESV  If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, 

Isaiah 50:7 ESV  Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

3. Revenge as a personal belief

The world teaches us that we need to “get even.” Movies, online games, and songs repeat the same message. When we have been “coached” by the world to repay evil for evil, we will instinctively expect God to also take revenge on us for our sins, because we “deserve it.” Yet this is not a picture of God’s love and grace. God does not deal harshly with us as we deserve if we humbly seek His forgiveness. He is a good Father.

Psalm 103:6,8 ESV  The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

4. Unconfessed sin

Some of us fear God because we are afraid of the things He may expose in our lives that we may not want to deal with. As a result, we are afraid to draw close to God.

Hebrews 4:13 ESV  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

5. Worship of idols

Those who have admired or bowed before pagan gods of death, destruction or war, such as Persephone, Hades, Chu Jung, Guan Gong, or Shiva, may mistakenly see the one true God as just another man-made idol out to destroy or exact revenge on mankind. We fear being crushed, whereas we should rejoice that the one true God is full of mercy instead.

Psalm 95:2-3 ESV  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 145:8 ESV  The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Why we do no longer fear God

The Bible shows that whenever people came face to face with God Almighty, they would be filled with so much awe and terror that they believed they would die. The apostle John “fell at his feet as though dead,” Manoah believed he would “surely die,” and the Israelites were even too afraid to hear God speak because they felt they would “die”.

Revelation 1:17 ESV  “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,”

Judges 13:22 ESV  And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

Exodus 20:18-20 ESV  Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

How many of us today bow before God in awe and terror, with great gratitude for His mercy, like those in the Bible did? God calls the lack of fear for Him today “wicked, evil, and bitter”.

Jeremiah 2:19 NLT  Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the LORD your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

How have we become de-sensitised to God’s fearsome authority and majesty?

1. A broken “Christian” model

When we examine the first churches in the Bible, we will notice that many today don’t seem to resemble our forerunners in love, attitude, and behaviour (Acts 2:42-47). No one clung to their own possessions, but distributed them amongst themselves; they even sent money to support other churches (Philippians 4:16-19). They met often to serve one another, pray, offer thanks to God, and hold communion amongst themselves. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke boldly for Jesus, healed the sick, cast out demons, and baptised new believers. The fear of God came upon those who observed how they lived. Their lives were fully dedicated to God and no community was left unchanged by their presence.

Acts 19:17 ESV  And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

When we become part of a church community that does not bring awe of God’s love and power amongst their community, we too will be misled into complacency and develop a lack a fear of God. God’s Word warns us about the type of Christians we will encounter in the Last Days. Some Christians will scoff at God and consider nothing sacred. They will act religious but they will reject the true power of the Holy Spirit that could make them godly. There will be little fear of God in their hearts. We are warned to “stay away from people like that.”

2 Timothy 3:2-5 NLT  For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

2. Our faith is stuck on ourselves

It is all too easy for us today to place our faith in ourselves, with our access to information and all the advances mankind has made – until we face personal loss as well as external circumstances that are beyond our control. Some examples include death, epidemics, and natural disasters. Then, we realise that we have no real control over the most fundamental things in life.

Our faith in human wisdom will blind us to the fact that everything we have is from God, and that He can remove it all at once if He chooses. It is only by His grace that we can take another breath.

Proverbs 3:7 ESV  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

3. We follow people

It is hard to truly fear God when there are already other “rulers” in our hearts that we are more faithful to; our parents, bosses, pastors, spouses, children, or ourselves. In our search for truth, we may have also followed numerous scholars, scientists, and historians who have planted misleading thoughts about God into our thinking. All this can corrupt our views of God, to our personal detriment.

Proverbs 29:25 ESV  The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

2 Timothy 3:13 ESV  But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.

4. Our hearts are trapped in apathy

It can be hard to fear anyone or anything when our hearts have become stone cold after years of emotional suppression. There are tall fortresses around our hearts to protect us from people. At the same time, these fortresses block us from feeling any emotion towards God, whether love or fear. Our hearts are not moved by anything at all.

Hebrews 3:14-15 NLT  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts…

5. Witchcraft, occult and idol worship

This world offers many different places for self-led or spiritually-led answers; new age techniques, fortune telling, horoscopes, ancestor worship, lucky charms and so forth. When we turn to such things for answers, instead of turning to God, we give Satan “permission” to lord over our hearts and minds. The devil will do whatever he can to obstruct us from seeing God for who He really is and fear Him.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

As we can see, our ways have been so influenced by the world that learning to both love and fear God does not come naturally to any of us. May we humbly come before our Creator and Heavenly Father and repent for buying into a warped view of who He is. Thank God that when we offer our hearts and minds for the Holy Spirit’s renewal, He will give us new eyes and hearts to see and know God for all that He; terrifying, all-powering but gentle, nurturing, and forgiving. 

Proverbs 14:27 ESV  The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Testimony: Turning from a fear-based salvation

“I accepted Jesus as my Saviour after spending two weeks in hospital with a suspected mild stroke. I was in my forties at that time and this really shook me. I was too young for my life to be paralysed! 

My life priorities changed after that. I felt that the most important things were eternal life. I went from countless hours working on something that I thought would make me significant to countless hours praying, fasting, reading the Bible, and serving in many church ministries. This was when I felt I was really saved by Jesus (or so I thought). 

Yet nearly 10 years later, I found myself still lacking the joy of the Lord’s salvation. I was always anxious about my salvation. I couldn’t relate to the Holy Spirit like others did. That was until a mentor then asked me if I had accepted Jesus out of a fear of hell or as a response to His love for me. 

I realised I had invited Jesus into my life out of fear of death. It was a hard reality check for me because I felt I had done so much for God. At the same time, I was fearful that I hadn’t done enough because it seemed that He was not blessing me financially or in my relationships. Deep in my heart, I didn’t fully trust or know Him. That day, I knelt down to God and asked for His forgiveness. 

The mentor then gave me Bible verses to read to remind me of God’s undying love for me. It was as if my mind was opened up for the first time to understand those verses that I had read so many times were for me personally.

I realise that I need to go back to square one and learn who God is and who I am as His son.”

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love God with all your heart and have a healthy reverence for Him.