Should we be afraid of God?

Should we be afraid of God?

No …

Yes …

It’s slightly more complicated than that, so let’s work it out.

A quick answer is everyone who has been reconciled to God and adopted into His family as His children shouldn’t be afraid of God, but they should “fear God.” Everyone who is not in a reconciled relationship with God also should “fear God” but also should be afraid of what it means to be (and remain) separated from God.

We have to go further to fully unpack this.

The Bible does implore us in various places to “fear God.” Here’s one example:

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty,” Ecclesiastes 12:13.

And Jesus does warn us of the need to “fear God”:

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” Matthew 10:28.

There’s a psalm that adds a word to this teaching that helps us flesh out the idea of “fear God”:

“Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him,” Psalm 33:8.

The overarching idea of “fearing” God is to have an appropriate or “healthy” awe and respect for who He is, which is infinitely bigger and greater than who we are. Ali Wundermand, in her article “Why People Keep Trying to Pet Animals at National Parks” printed in the August 2019 edition of Condé Nast Traveler, illustrates this idea of a healthy “fear”:

Fear can give us a healthy dose of reality. Fire can be used to light up a dark room, but it also has a fearsome power and can destroy an entire forest or neighborhood. We have a healthy fear of fire, respecting its power. Volcanoes can create islands, but we must have a healthy fear of their power and not be cavalier when approaching them. When we don’t show proper respect, or fear, for nature, disaster can result. In Yellowstone National Park, for example, “the park service recommends that visitors stay at least 25 yards away from wild animals like bison and elk, and 100 yards from bears and other carnivores, at all times. Despite this, there have been multiple bison attacks this summer, in Yellowstone and North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park.” Tourists frequently disregard the parks’ rules and try to touch or get too close to wild animals and miss showing the proper respect or “fear” they need to. Condé Nast Traveler has good advice: “Unless you are sure you can make it back to your car in the time it takes for a bison to run 25 yards, or the length of two school buses — less than 1.5 seconds — it’s best to take a step back”

To fear God is to understand we’re not interacting with our “home boy” or a buddy. While God greatly desires an intimate relationship with us and invites us to be reconciled to Him, He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; He’s holy, and righteous, and pure, and He alone in all creation is worthy to be praised and worshiped by every living thing. A little awe, a little respect, is due! An unidentified writer draws out this idea as follows:

In the 2003 movie “Bruce Almighty,” a man who is frustrated with God finally gets to meet him. After hearing this news Bruce’s mood goes from sarcastic, to frustrated, to frightened at the power and knowledge of God. Isaiah was a prophet who experienced that same awe and fear when he came before God’s throne in a vision. He tells us he “saw the Lord siting upon a throne” and his robe filled the entire temple (Isaiah 6:1). Isaiah then goes on to describe angelic voices that declare God’s holiness and majesty, shaking the foundations of the house (vv. 2–4). Isaiah reacted to this moment by saying, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people with unclean lips” (v. 5). After Isaiah proclaims his brokenness, sin, and fear, an angel takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips, saying, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for” (vv. 6–7). Isaiah’s response shows the fear of the Lord. He knows that the one he is in the midst of is holy, mighty, powerful. God isn’t just another king that has some power. God is the Creator of the universe. True worship reflects on our brokenness in comparison to his completeness.

Last year I counseled a young 20-something woman who is a devout Christian, but her life was troubled by being afraid of God. She was so frightened at possibly “doing the wrong thing,” or in some way being displeasing to God that she struggled with making decisions and functioning freely for fear of getting in trouble with her Lord. The underlying problem was that, while she could imagine the awesomeness of God, she had forgotten to also see His goodness.

A lot of people do that, an idea captured in this tidbit from Our Daily Bread:

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C.S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter. “Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie.” said Mrs. Beaver. “And make no mistake, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knee’s knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then isn’t he safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!”

Being inappropriately afraid of God resulted in my counseling client being unable to function well in life. But when she learned to also see the goodness of God paired with His greatness, she learned how to “fear” the Lord with awe while also learning how to draw close to Him — unafraid — as her loving heavenly Father. When we are reconciled to God, here’s the encouragement scripture gives us:

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most,” Hebrews 4:16.

That’s nothing to be afraid of! In fact, we’re exhorted to be bold.

With all that said, the Bible is blunt in its warning to those who refuse to have an appropriate and healthy awe and respect for God, resulting in a reconciled relationship marked by obedience and faithfulness:

“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, ‘I will take revenge. I will pay them back.’ He also said, ‘The Lord will judge his own people.’ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” Hebrews 10:26-31.

It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God if you have rejected Him; it is a joyous thing to come before Him if you’ve been reconciled to Him, but always with awe and respect due Him.

Scotty