Conditioning Our Conscience to Fear God
“The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.” Proverbs 27:10
Are you aware that there are more than 150 references to the fear of God in the Bible? Although the bulk of these occur in the Old Testament, there are an ample number in the New Testament to persuade us that fearing God is an attitude of heart that we should cultivate today. Being in awe of God or having reverential respect for God is the ultimate power for the prevention for sin.
“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 (KJV, emphasis added)
Too many people process God as a generous, gracious, and gentle grandfather. Consequently, this carnal consciousness will cause them to characterize their sin superficially. They will invest in their worship with a disposition of indifference. In addition, they will advance in actions that accommodate their affections as opposed to pursuing what is acceptable in the eyes of God according to His Word.
In contrast, a reverent fear of a holy God will considerably influence the way a person lives. Even though Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, he exercised a consistent discipline of fearing God. And he reminds us that we will all one day give an account for everything we have done (2 Corinthians 5:10).
The world we live in does not applaud or appreciate the fear of God. We instruct our children to love God, but not to fear Him. To our detriment we often present an imbalanced illustration of God because we want to present a loving and non-threatening image of God to nonbelievers in the hope that Christianity will be more inviting and interesting to them. I respectfully submit to you that we are paying a considerable cost in our culture because carnal-infused compassion is canceling out the fear of God. We promote God as a “best friend” who saves us and “lives in our hearts,” but we do not fear Him.
It is true that we are God’s adopted children and that we are fellow heirs, even friends, with Jesus (Romans 8:16-17; John 15:14-15), but we are not and will never be His equal! He has forgiven us, but we are still His children. He is our Father and God, and we are not!
If you have concluded that you have become complacent with God’s commands and have become comfortable with your carnality, you will sentence yourself to solitary confinement from God’s holiness. Take the appropriate action to meditate upon the astounding holiness of God and allow the Holy Spirit to encourage a correct reverence for Almighty God. Developing a deep sense of awe for God is vital to knowing Him.
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR