“Is the fear of the Lord the principle of wisdom?(Pv 9. 10). If this is true (and it is), then the Fear of the Lord is never something to fear. This fear is not an obstacle to growth, but a path to growth and eternal realization. But the word? Fear, you need clarification, don’t you?After all, doesn’t the Bible say that perfect love scares away fear?(1J 4. 18) Yes, then there must be two kinds of fear.
One kind of fear is the one who flees from the Lord in terror, who hides and turns away from him in terror, as if that were our problem, this kind of fear is pagan, not Christian, this has nothing to do with glorification and It is mistrust and resentment towards God. The gospel does not create that fear in our hearts. The Gospel shows us the glory of God’s grace in Christ and lifts us up, unharmed, to courageously face life as men and women with destinies.
- If you are not in Christ.
- You fear the Lord in all evil ways and are not afraid of him enough.
- Does the Bible say that you face “a terrible expectation of judgment and a vengeful fire about to consume your opponents?”(Heb 10.
- 27).
- If you are not in Christ.
- Are you an adversary of God and go to eternal judgment?And you really deserve it.
- But it offers Christ free of charge as a refuge.
There are many reasons to take refuge. Here’s only one: without Christ, you’re all you’ve got. Arthur Allen Leff of Yale Law School, a brilliant disbeliever, says bluntly: “Looks like we’re all we’ve got. Given what we know about ourselves and others, it is an extremely disturbing perspective; looking around the world, it seems that if all men are brothers, the dominant model is 8 8 and Abel. Neither reason, nor love, nor even terror seem to have served to make us “good”, and worse than that, there is no reason for anything to do to us like this. If you’re not in Christ, you’re all you’ve got. It’s something to be afraid of. But Christ is a refuge for people who have more problems than they believe. him, turn to him now. He’ll get you.
Here is another kind of fear: “The fear of the Lord [as] principle of wisdom?(Pv 9. 10). It is a new attitude of openness to God, created by his love. If you are in Christ, his perfect love drives away your fear of judgment. The Bible says: “Fear involves punishment, and the one who is afraid is not perfected in love. We love him because he loved us first” (1 John 4:18-19, A21). The punishment was upon our substitute on the cross, we received it empty-handed in faith. Now we are under God’s love. The Gospel frees us from the fear that God, in the end, will condemn us in some way. Nothing will separate us from God’s love in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Because I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things of the present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us. of the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8: 28-39).
We believe that and we love it
Therefore, we fear the Lord in a new way. We’re afraid to sadden those who love us so much. This healthy fear is a teachable humility, says the Bible (Prov. 15:33). It is a total openness to do God’s will (Genesis 22. 12). It is repentance, turning away from evil (Job 28. 28). This results in simple and practical obedience to the Word of God.
Of all that has been heard, the sum is: Fear God and keep His commandments; because it is the duty of every man (Ec 12:13).
The Fear of the Lord is another way of describing trust in the Lord, but the word?Fear? Add connotations of reverence, respect, and admiration. The Fear of the Lord is the opposite of flattering superficiality. This humility does not mind being totally dependent on the Lord. Indeed, is the Lord’s fear psychologically compatible with the comfort of the Holy Ghost?(Acts 9. 31). It is a new sense of reality with the living God (Acts 2:43; 5,11; 19:17), which saves us from purely theoretical faith, that fear is sweet and keeps us close to the Lord.
Fear of the Lord prevails in appeal when we agree with CSLewis: “In God, you face something that is, in all respects, immeasurably superior to yourself. “If we believe that we can live a single day of our lives without submitting to the Lord, surrendering to His superior wisdom and relying on His infinite supply at all times, we are wrong, as bright as we are.
But as soon as we accept that we are not the measure, but that we are measured; that we are not the donors, but the recipients, and that Jesus Christ is the greatest expert of the universe in all human things, we embark on a wonderful new journey. We are free to grow and change.
The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of this wisdom
By: Ray Ortlund. © 2013 Ligonier. Original Ministries: Fear of the Lord.
This article is part of the October 2013 edition of Tabletalk magazine.
Translation: Joel Paulo Aragono da Guia Oliveira. Review: Vin-cius Musselman Pimentel. © 2015 Faithful Ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: MinisterioFiel. com. br. Original: Fear of the Lord.
Authorizations: You are authorized and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that the author, his ministry and translator are no longer no longer modified and not used for commercial purposes.