Whatever Happened to Godly Fear?

Scripture:  Romans 3:17-18 - And the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.

It has been said that there are three types of people in this world:  those who are afraid, those who don’t know enough to be afraid, and those who by God’s grace know their Bible, (and I would add) its Author!  Living by fear, as we commonly define the word, should not be the habitual state of a child of the King, but rather a state of power, love, and a sound mind, says 2 Timothy 1:7.  Yet, how easily distracted we can become from this divine commandment? (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:4, 5) While Oxford Dictionary defines fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by exposure to danger, expectation of pain, etc.,” the fear referenced in today’s Scripture verse speaks of having a reverential awe for God.  A deep reverence for God our Savior appears to have gone “a.w.o.l.” today—even in many churches identifying themselves as “Christian!”

We who profess to know Christ Jesus should, of all people, be in ongoing fervent pursuit of what the Holy Bible describes as godly fear, or reverence!  We can gauge our pursuit of this by our disdain for our own sins—our willingness to be sensitive to any words, deeds, or heart attitudes that offend our Savior.  Our Lord, in Job 1:8, boasted to the devil about Job’s godliness, describing him as one who fears God and who turns away from evil.  Jonah identified himself to his fearful shipmates during that terrible storm on the sea as a Hebrew who fears the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. (Jonah 1:9)  Oh, that a significant number of TRULY Christian, Bible-believing souls today would become like those first century believers described in Acts 5:11—“And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.”  (Do you recall what happened to Ananias and Sapphira?)  These accounts beg the question:  Have we, as have many professing Christians in the world, become comfortably casual in our regard for our Lord’s supreme holiness?!?

Beloved saints, as we fast approach the special yearly celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, let us with pure and repentant hearts re-examine ourselves and contemplate anew the great and awesome price that our Savior paid to make us His own!  He is above all worthy of our continual reverence, loving obedience, and devotion.

Prayer:  Dear Father, stir up Your twice-born people to daily reflect on our charge to reverence You and shun every form of evil in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Thank You, In Jesus’ name; Amen!

(by Denise Diggs)