Fearing God Without Fleeing from Him

THE PUBLISHED CHAPTER

The fear of God is often misunderstood.

Some reject it because they think fear has no place in love. Others reduce it until it means little more than respect. Some speak of fearing God as though believers should live under constant dread of condemnation. Others speak of grace in a way that makes the fear of God sound like an old covenant idea no longer fitting for Christians.

Scripture does none of these things.

The Bible commands the fear of God. It praises the fear of God. It says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It tells believers to pass the time of their sojourning here in fear. It describes the early church walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

Yet Scripture also tells believers not to flee from God as condemned enemies. In Christ, they are adopted children. They have boldness to enter by the blood of Jesus. They come to the throne of grace. They cry, “Abba, Father.”

So the Christian must learn a distinction: we are to fear God without fleeing from Him.

That kind of fear is not the terror of a condemned sinner trying to escape judgment. It is the reverent trembling of a redeemed child who knows that his Father is holy, glorious, true, just, sovereign, merciful, and good.

The fear of God is not the enemy of assurance.

It is part of worship.

Scripture begins wisdom with the fear of the Lord.

Solomon writes:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” — Proverbs 1:7

Again:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” — Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is not intellectual weakness. It is the foundation of true understanding. A man who does not fear God cannot see reality rightly. He may know facts. He may build systems. He may speak cleverly. But if God is not God in his thinking, his wisdom is already crooked.

The fear of the Lord puts the creature in his proper place.

God is not an idea to be managed. He is not a force to be used. He is not a projection of human desire. He is the Lord. He made us. He owns us. He judges us. He saves us. He speaks, and His Word stands. He commands, and His creatures are accountable.

A heart that does not fear God will eventually mishandle everything else.

It will mishandle knowledge because it refuses the source of truth.

It will mishandle morality because it rejects the holy Judge.

It will mishandle freedom because it denies the rightful Lord.

It will mishandle grace because it treats mercy lightly.

It will mishandle worship because it has lost reverence.

The fear of God is not a small accessory to faith. It is foundational.

There is a kind of fear that belongs to the unrepentant sinner.

Jesus said:

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” — Matthew 10:28

That is not merely reverence. That is warning. The sinner outside of Christ has reason to fear the judgment of God. He stands guilty before the holy Judge. He cannot save himself. He cannot hide. He cannot overpower death. He cannot escape the day when the books are opened.

This fear is appropriate.

A man sleeping in a burning house should be alarmed. A man standing in rebellion against God should tremble. A conscience awakened to judgment should not be quickly soothed with shallow words. The terror of the Lord is real.

Paul writes:

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” — 2 Corinthians 5:11

The apostolic response to judgment was not embarrassment. It was persuasion. Men are in danger, and they must be warned.

But the warning is not meant to leave sinners fleeing blindly from God. It is meant to drive them to Christ. The same God who is to be feared has provided the Savior. The same Lord who warns of hell says, “Come unto me.” The fear of judgment should make the sinner run to the refuge, not away from it.

There is also a fear that believers should not live under.

John writes:

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” — 1 John 4:18

This fear has torment. It is the fear of judgment, rejection, condemnation, and final wrath. The believer is not called to live in that fear because Christ has borne condemnation.

Paul says:

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” — Romans 8:15

The Christian has not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. He has received the Spirit of adoption. He does not stand before God as a slave awaiting sentence, but as a child received in the beloved.

This must be protected.

Some preaching produces fear without gospel rest. It keeps tender believers in a constant state of uncertainty, as if assurance were presumption and every failure meant they may have fallen out of Christ. That is not the fear of God rightly taught. That is bondage.

The believer should fear sin, but he should not fear that Christ’s blood is insufficient. He should tremble at God’s holiness, but not doubt the Father’s adoption. He should take obedience seriously, but not live as though condemnation remains over him.

The fear of God must never be used to undo the gospel.

If there is a fear believers should not have, there is also a fear they must not lose.

Grace does not make God less holy. Adoption does not make the Father less glorious. Boldness through Christ does not turn reverence into casualness. The veil has been opened by blood, but the One we approach is still God.

Peter writes:

“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” — 1 Peter 1:17

Notice the balance. Believers call on the Father. Yet they are to pass the time of their sojourning here in fear. Fatherhood and fear belong together.

The next verses explain the cost of redemption:

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold… But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” — 1 Peter 1:18–19

The fear of God is deepened, not weakened, by redemption. The blood of Christ does not make sin light. It shows how serious sin is. The believer fears God as one redeemed at infinite cost.

This fear is reverent, grateful, sober, and worshipful. It does not run from God. It bows before Him.

Many errors come from setting fear and love against each other.

Human fear often drives out love. Sinful fear hides, distrusts, and flees. But biblical fear and holy love belong together because they are responses to the same God.

The psalmist says:

“But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” — Psalm 130:4

That verse is striking. Forgiveness does not remove fear. Forgiveness produces fear.

Why? Because forgiven sinners now see God more truly. They know the One who could have condemned them has shown mercy. They know sin required blood. They know grace was not cheap. They know the Holy One has received them. They know the Lord is both merciful and majestic.

A shallow heart says, “If I am forgiven, I need not fear.” Scripture says, “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

Love draws near. Fear bows low. In the Christian life, these are not enemies.

The child who loves his father does not want to dishonor him. The servant who loves his master does not treat his commands lightly. The worshiper who loves God does not handle holy things carelessly.

Holy love has reverence in it.

The fear of God produces obedience.

Moses told Israel:

“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” — Deuteronomy 10:12

Fear, walking in His ways, love, and service stand together. The fear of God is not a bare emotion. It moves the life. It teaches the feet to walk rightly.

A man who fears God cares what God has said. He does not treat commandments as suggestions. He does not measure obedience by convenience. He does not ask how close he can get to sin without consequence. He does not excuse secret rebellion because no human eye sees it.

Joseph feared God when he refused Potiphar’s wife. He said:

“how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” — Genesis 39:9

That is the fear of God in action. Joseph knew the issue was not merely social risk. It was sin against God.

The fear of God makes private holiness matter because God is present when no one else is.

The fear of God also governs the tongue.

Men often speak too quickly about God, too casually about holy things, and too carelessly with Scripture. They joke about judgment, speak flippantly of demons, use God’s name lightly, or handle doctrine as if it were debate material rather than divine truth.

The fear of God slows the mouth.

Solomon says:

“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” — Ecclesiastes 5:2

God is in heaven. Thou art upon earth. That is enough to humble speech.

This does not mean believers should be silent about God. We are commanded to confess, teach, preach, sing, and bear witness. But we should speak as those who know we are handling holy truth.

Teachers especially must feel this weight. James says:

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” — James 3:1

The fear of God protects doctrine from prideful handling. A man may be bold and still reverent. He may speak clearly and still tremble. He may contend for truth without acting as though truth belongs to him.

The fear of God deepens worship.

Casual worship often comes from a diminished view of God. When people forget His holiness, glory, and majesty, worship becomes man-centered. It becomes performance, atmosphere, preference, or emotional experience detached from reverence.

Scripture calls for something weightier.

The psalmist says:

“O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.” — Psalm 96:9

Fear before Him.

This does not cancel joy. The same psalms call us to sing, rejoice, clap hands, shout unto God, and bless His name. But biblical joy is not shallow noise. It is gladness before the Holy One.

The worship of heaven is filled with reverence. The living creatures cry, “Holy, holy, holy.” The elders fall down. The redeemed sing of the Lamb who was slain. No one in heaven treats God casually.

The church should learn from that.

If our worship could continue unchanged whether God were holy or merely helpful, something is wrong. If our songs never tremble, never confess, never bow, never exalt, never declare His majesty, then our worship may be too small for the God of Scripture.

The fear of God may sound severe, but it brings comfort.

That seems strange until we remember that fearing God frees us from fearing everything else wrongly. The man who fears God does not need to fear man as ultimate. He does not need to fear the world’s disapproval as final. He does not need to fear circumstances as sovereign. He does not need to fear death as victorious.

Jesus said not to fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Fear God instead. That fear puts all lesser fears in their place.

Isaiah says:

“Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary…” — Isaiah 8:13–14

Let Him be your fear, and He shall be for a sanctuary.

That is beautiful. The One we fear becomes our refuge. When God is feared rightly, we stop treating lesser threats as though they were god. We remember who rules. We remember who judges. We remember who saves. We remember whose verdict matters.

The fear of God makes the soul brave.

The early church knew both comfort and fear.

Acts says:

“Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” — Acts 9:31

Fear of the Lord. Comfort of the Holy Ghost.

Not one or the other. Both.

This is a healthy church: reverent and comforted, serious and joyful, humbled and strengthened. The fear of the Lord did not crush the church. It helped build the church. The comfort of the Holy Ghost did not make the church casual. It strengthened them to walk rightly.

The church in every age needs this balance.

Without fear, churches become light, entertainment-driven, doctrinally loose, morally careless, and man-centered.

Without comfort, churches become harsh, fearful, suspicious, joyless, and exhausted.

The Spirit gives comfort. The Lord is to be feared. The two belong together in the life of God’s people.

Believers should also live with awareness that they will give account to God.

This is not condemnation. It is accountability.

Paul writes:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” — 2 Corinthians 5:10

The judgment seat of Christ should sober the believer. Our works matter. Our stewardship matters. Our words matter. Our motives matter. Our hidden life matters. The Lord will evaluate His servants.

Again, this does not overthrow justification. The believer’s salvation rests on Christ. But grace does not erase accountability. The servant will stand before his Lord.

This should make Christians live carefully.

Not fearfully in the sense of dread of condemnation, but soberly. We should not waste life. We should not bury gifts. We should not excuse sin. We should not assume that hidden compromise is hidden from God. We should not treat the body as our own.

The fear of God makes life weighty.

Fearing God without fleeing from Him protects several doctrines.

It protects grace from becoming casual.

It protects assurance from becoming presumption.

It protects holiness from becoming harsh dread.

It protects worship from becoming man-centered.

It protects obedience from becoming optional.

It protects pastoral care from crushing tender believers with condemnation.

It protects evangelism from losing urgency.

It protects the Christian life from both bondage and flippancy.

When the fear of God is lost, the church becomes shallow. When the fear of God is distorted, the church becomes fearful in the wrong way. But when the fear of God is held together with the love, mercy, holiness, and fatherhood of God, it becomes life-giving.

The believer fears God as Father, Lord, Redeemer, Judge, King, and Holy One.

He does not run away.

He bows and draws near through Christ.

The Christian life is not the removal of reverence.

It is reverence brought near by blood.

We come boldly, but not casually.

We come loved, but not lightly.

We come as children, but not as equals.

We come forgiven, but not forgetful of the cost.

We come to the Father, but the Father is holy.

The fear of God teaches us to tremble at His Word, obey His commands, confess our sins, worship with reverence, speak carefully, and live as those who will give account.

The love of God teaches us to draw near, trust His mercy, receive His forgiveness, rest in Christ, and cry, “Abba, Father.”

We need both.

Fear without love flees from God.

Love without fear treats Him lightly.

But the gospel gives us something better.

We fear God without fleeing from Him because Christ has brought us near.