How to properly fear God.

Leon ♦ September 26, 2020 ♦ 2 Comments

Most Christians are good at fearing God. We see him as a stern Father, who is pleased with us when we are good, and is ready to serve up quick and severe punishment when we sin, or are out of line. This is perhaps one of the biggest stumbling blocks that prevent us from receiving all the blessings our Father wants us to enjoy. It is impossible to please God in the flesh. No matter how hard we try, we cannot un-know, the knowledge of good and evil. Our conscience will always tell us when we fall short of a life that reflects Jesus. If we do not properly know how to fear God, we will always be nervously looking for the punishment that we expect to follow. Rom.3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

To properly fear God, is to believe the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus. To believe that our own efforts lead to death, and an eternity separated from God. But to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, leads to blessing in this life, and an eternity spent in the family of God. When Jesus was born the angels proclaimed, Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angels were announcing peace and good will, toward men, not among them. God is not angry with anyone who has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When God looks at you, he sees Jesus perfect sacrifice on the cross. Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they recognized they were naked, and hid from the presence of God. Jesus took the shame and punishment upon himself. Now we can run to the open arms of a loving Father, in good times and in bad. When we do good, and when we fall short. We no longer have to fear our Father, and hide from his presence. We have made a conscious decision to partake of the tree of life, Jesus, and not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is this knowledge that gives us a unhealthy fear of God. Phil. 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” We are righteous and holy in our Fathers eyes because of the righteousness of Jesus. We can relax and know God is not angry with us, and we have nothing to fear.