The fear of God- what is it?

The phrase "fear God" is often interpreted in the context of:

"Don't do xyz or else God will be angry with you and punish you."

But beloved of God, did you know that for centuries, the Israelites knew the fear of God in the sense of the above interpretation - how God's anger or punishment follows sins and such for breaking the law? These were a people who saw the Red Sea parted and the Egyptians' bodies strewn all over the sea shore for their sake- they responded by making a golden calf to worship as their god! They received manna from heaven- and they complained and moaned for Egypt's "free" food. They saw water gush out of the Rock in their time of need. They saw 3,000 die during the episode of the golden calf.

They experienced what happened as a result of the thievery of Achan (sound defeat by Ai, an enemy that Israel saw as "few") and they saw what happened to Achan and his family after he was smoked out. They saw the ground open up and swallow the rebellious after Korah's rebellion. They saw the calamity at Shiloh where Eli and his sons died for their disobedience and the sound defeat by the Philistines during this period. They knew more than you and I what is written in God's law and saw with their own eyes the punishment that followed sin.

Let's take our blessed brains to church:

How did that "fear of God" deter the Israelites from committing sin even unto idol worship? In fact, even with that fear of what will happen to sinners, they still turned to worshipping false gods and did horrid things like offering their children as sacrifices to idols. Saul their one-time king visited a medium (witch) knowing that it is against God's law, "the fear of God" not withstanding.

How did that "fear of God" and knowledge of the law stop David (who was passionate for the Lord!) from committing adultery with Uriah's wife, trying to foist the resultant pregnancy on Uriah and when that did not work out, eventually killing Uriah to hide his actions, or do we think that he did not know the Ten Commandments and the punishment for disobedience by heart?

In one fell swoop, David coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, murdered Uriah, stole his wife and dishonoured his parents who taught him better than to do that- that's Five out of the Ten. And how did David murder Uriah? See it in 2 Samuel 11-

14 "In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”

David gave Uriah his own death sentence to carry to Joab the commander of his army when Uriah was going back to the battlefield! And Uriah was not just an ordinary soldier like a movie "waka pass" or extra. He was one of David's 37 mighty men. See the list in 2 Samuel 23. Uriah is in verse 39.

And that same "fear of God" - God's wrath or punishment for sins as a deterrent for breaking the law that David knew too well yet sinned horribly- is what is being peddled from church pulpits as Christianity today. How has it stopped even pastors from committing adultery, especially in their hearts? How has it resulted in godliness and peace reigning in a land that has at least five churches between every major bus-stop?

Beloved, what is being described as "the fear of God" is simply fear of punishment for breaking the law. That kind of wrath-driven fear cannot stop people from sinning as we see in the life of the Israelites who have had the law for thousands of years and know the punishment that it prescribes more than you or I- yet sin abounded. This is not surprising. In fact, that definition of "the fear of God" as man putting in effort at trying to keep the law in order to escape God's wrath only causes sin to abound/increase-

"The law was given that sin might increase...." Romans 5:20.

But "pastor" will never preach the above. Rather, false preachers drive the helpless flock to try to keep the law in order to be godly/good like God, this when Christ suffered and died to make us godly. Beloved, their doctrine is the same deceit which Satan sold to Eve in Eden. The Israelites who were under law had their various blood sacrifices and ceremonies for when they sinned but what do you have, beloved of God, you who are trying to get right with God and "fearing God" by keeping the law in order to escape His anger/wrath while calling Jesus your Saviour--

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.

That interpretation of "the fear of God" as trying to obey the law as a deterrent to facing God's wrath is sure death. The law is where men get the knowledge of what is good and what is evil plus just like the tree, the letter kills. The tree is a type of the law. See the forbidden fruit as a type of the law which many churchgoers are struggling to obey in their bid to be good (be like God) in Romans 7:8 (MSG)-

8-12 "Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

Christ who suffered and died to make us godly (be like God) says:

"There is none good but God."

Only God is good like God. How can good (godliness) come out from a place that His word says is "no good"? But just as Satan seduced Eve who, with Adam, was made in God's likeness (they were already like God) into trying to be godly by human effort, Satan through his pastors right inside the church is still selling the same seduction of deceiving man (whom Christ suffered and died to make godly/righteous) into trying to attain godliness (be like God the Righteous) by human striving aka obeying the law- and Satan's antichrist doctrine is being hailed as Christianity! Beloved, beware of such.

Recall that Christ shows us that in ALL of the Scriptures are types of Himself and our salvation in Him (Luke 24)? How attractive Satan's proposition and its fruit/effect is to man- the whole world seeing and commending one as a paragon of self-discipline, piety, humility and wisdom all achieved by self-effort; that is the same thing that Eve thought when she heard the same proposition of Satan. She saw what Adam's descendants still see when antichrist pastors promote from church pulpits that horrid antichrist doctrine of trying to be good (godly) by human effort:

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:6.

It seemed good to Eve to try to be good like God by her human effort at eating of the tree which is a type of the law, just as it seems good to many churchgoers today, but in reality, it is the way that Proverbs 14:12 warns us about --

"There is a way that seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death."

Beloved, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life, and this is the way of the Spirit, beloved:

"...‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’

Says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6.

Beloved, you know what "the fear of God" really is? Proverbs 9:10 tells us--

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

See the Amplified Classic Version: "The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding."

Beloved, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning (choice part) of Wisdom." And who is this Wisdom? Christ is our Wisdom from God, made so by God Himself believer--

"29 so that no one may [be able to] boast in the presence of God. 30 But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin], 31 so then, as it is written [in Scripture], “He who boasts and glories, let him boast and glory in the Lord.”

To have Christ whom God gave to die for our sins and to save us from them all is to have the fear of God, so that NO MAN CAN GLORY about how--

"God blessed me and I am free from His wrath because I don't sin and I try to be good and I obeyed the law. He sees how well I am trying to be obedient and sinless."

No friend. This is the only reason why God declares any righteous in His sight and free from wrath/punishment is written for us in Romans 5:9--

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

The one who thinks he is good and sinless and free from Job-type calamities because of his own "goodness" or "sinlessness" or human striving or self-discipline has the same mindset as pre-denial Peter who thought that his Maker was confused and wrong about his then upcoming denials, afterall, Peter wasn't going about committing sins with reckless abandon. That one is yet to know and believe the truth in Christ's word: "There is none good but God." Having that kind of pre-denial Peter's mindset is nothing but challenging God's word. It is utter ignorance about the utter sinfulness of man's "no good" humanity. It is pompous pride in self cloaked under the guise of religious piety. It is what opens the door for Satan to sift a person like wheat for the good he claims to be when Christ says "There is none good but God." Should God allow it, all will crumple into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself. No wonder Peter wrote "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God..." He was humbled to see what Christ had been saying and is still saying--

"There is none good but God."

Christ gave His life to be our Good. Beloved of God, the fear of the Lord is the beginning/essence/choice part of Wisdom. To "fear God" is to know, believe and reverence God's love in that He so loved us that He gave His own beloved Son to be our Saviour and Redeemer, and this is what Christ came to do according to God's word in Romans 5:6-9---

"For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate His love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves."

Also Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

That is Christ's work, beloved. Anyone who thinks he has some good in him of himself to achieve as much as a smidgen of the above job description of Christ is only deceiving himself and challenging God's Word who says "There is none good but God." The one who thinks he can "help himself" cannot partake of Christ.

Beloved, beware of "heaven helps those who helps themselves" preachers. That quote is found NOWHERE in God's word and is the antithesis of what Christianity is all about. "Heaven helps those who helps themselves" is a leaf from a crucial chapter in Satan's book on how to deceive men and blind men to God's saving Grace who is Christ Himself. Those who follow that doctrine can have no part with Christ who came for the helpless--

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace." Galatians 5:4.

And beloved, don't be deceived by those who try to make us put confidence in the flesh (human effort) which cannot be improved. You know them from their--

"Now that you are born-again, you have to do your best to live a godly life and not sin...."

What then is the essence of "It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me."? Life in Christ is "None of self. All of Christ." We no longer live. How can the arm of flesh (human effort) do anything apart from the "Skeleton" that holds it upright? Believer, there is nothing like a believer that can now live a sinless life by himself. We need Christ to stand today as much as we needed Him before we knew and believed Him. He is our Identity now. That old self (the flesh/human effort) which strives to be godly by itself and which false preachers try to resurrect in us with their false teaching on how YOU must "at least try to be good, now that you are born-again," it puts the focus back on what WE must do to be godly after CHRIST suffered and died to make us godly- aka be like God.

Recall Romans 8:32- "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Beloved, let's not be found among false doctrine preachers, Satan's pastors and smug churchgoers who respond with "tell them" when "pastor" helps Satan to fire fiery darts of accusation from church pulpits. Such might have works according to self/human effort which they can boast about and flaunt as the reason why God who gives us ALL things FREELY with Christ favours them, e.g. "God blessed me because I keep myself from sin and blah blah blah." Notice no Christ and no "freely" in their own trade-by-barter equation? Such are yet to see that God's hedge ("suwk" in Hebrew meaning "restraint") is the only thing standing between them and copious sins and Job-type calamities, just like Peter and like Job who was full of such dead works before his trial and believed that his righteous works were the reason for his prosperity. Such works are dead works- an abomination to God according to Isaiah 64:6-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

The difference between such dead works (of the law) and works of faith is the MINDSET that one has about how he is doing his works - is it SELF or is it CHRIST? It is impossible for the one whose works are driven by self/the flesh/human effort aka doers of dead works to deceive himself in this matter:

if we knew and believed that it is Christ in us doing our good works and godly living and not our own might and power, it would be difficult for us to point accusing fingers at others who are still struggling with sin and threaten them with judgment if they don't change. Rather, we would agree with Christ who says "There is none good but God." We would see that the good that we do is by God's grace (unmerited favour) alone. When we see people committing heinous sins and with no works, we would know that "There I go but for the Grace of God." We would see how helpless man is to overcome sins and produce good works by himself and like Moses who pointed the suffering Israelites to the bronze serpent, point such to Christ who saves from sins and transforms the sinner who truly believes to live right and bear much fruit, as it is written of Him in Titus 2:14--

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Believer, we need Christ to stand now as much as we did before we ever heard His name. Heaven cannot help those who help themselves. That "help themselves" doctrine has been Satan's deceit since he first deployed it with Eve in Eden-- trying to be godly by human effort. Christ says "There is none good but God" but many disagree and claim to be good-- like Peter before he denied Christ three times.

Claiming to be able to help yourself (be good like God) is the way that seems right to a man but at its end is death. Proverbs 14:12--

"There is a way that seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death."

Christ helps the helpless who look utterly to Him for salvation from sins, all earthly ills aka "death begun" and everlasting death in hell. By God's grace, let's surrender our will to Him knowing that only He can hold it together for us and that our human effort/arm of flesh attempts at trying to be good (be like God) will only bungle things up.

Peter's denials show us that there is nothing like "I can never do that" in the dictionary of any man who trusts himself to be good. Never trust your "no good" self, beloved. Trust Christ the Alpha and the Omega. Christ the Beginning. Christ the End. Christ Everything in-between. That is the fear of God.

When your believing is right, right living will follow.