Are we to Fear God?

I think a very popular topic among the atheistic followings is why would you follow a God that wants you to be scared of him..?

Are we to be afraid of God and his wrath? Are we to fear God?

I remember growing up, it was a popular tactic among the Russian culture to try and scare you straight. You would have older people telling you that you would be cast into the pits of hell if you didn’t straighten up. I even remember my mom telling me, Are you not scared, imagine if you were to get hit by a car on your way home…would you go to heaven? Can you imagine how terrible hell would be?

I seen this scare tactic as a form of pressure to try and manipulate that Jesus wants you to be miserable in the afterlife. This is why many atheists have a hard time believing in God, because of the idea of God creating a hell specifically for sinners.

Well, first off, hell wasn’t created for the sinners…Beyond popular belief hell was created for Lucifer and his angels. But the reason people that deny Christ will reap the miseries of hell is because God is a just God. He will not allow the unclean to enter the kingdom of heaven. There are 50 plus verse on the kingdom of heaven in the Bible. I think God wants us to realize how serious the idea of heaven is.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.…(1 Corinthians 6:9).

This is one of the many verses that talks about who will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. But lets break this down…Will people that are saved inherit the Kingdom of Heaven? Lets say a previous Christian starts to get drunk or starts to steal, or sleeping around.

The thing is, most people that practice these lawless behaviors have committed Spiritual suicide. Like I previously mentioned, Spiritual suicide is when a person knowingly commits sin. Jesus never said, “Go and try not to sin…” He said; “Go and sin no more..” Meaning you have to leave your wicked ways behind you.

So to be getting back on point, are we as Christians suppose to fear God? Well, to understand the question you must first understand what fear truly means. Many people perceive fear to be something that someone is scared of, that can cause pain or suffering.

Dictionary defines it as;

“an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

We see in Genesis  Abraham feared God, he actually was willing to sacrifice his own son (Isaac) because God commanded him to.

Because of this passage many Christians conclude that Abraham’s fear of God was an act of trust in God, that God would give Isaac back to Abraham. Others believe that Abraham’s fear of God was his willingness to obey God, even though it would mean losing his Son. Many Jews and Christians believe the fear of God to be devotion itself, rather than a sense of being frightened of God. It can also mean fear of God’s judgement. The fear of God is described in Proverbs 8:13 as “the hatred of evil.” Throughout the Bible it is said to bring many rewards. Conversely, not fearing God is said to result in Divine retribution.

The Bible uses the term fear of God over 30 times. What is it referring to..?

Are we to tremble in our shoes when we talk to God or when we talk about him?

No, of course not, I think people need to understand that fear doesn’t mean to be scared in this context. We fear our parents, simply because you might be punished. But the weird thing is, you are only afraid of punishment as a child (which may I add isn’t punishment but discipline, like I talked about in my other Blogs). When we grow up we are no longer scared of discipline by our parents, this is because we are no longer disciplined (we are too old to be disciplined). We start to fear other things, shame, embarrassment, guilt, sorrow, and so forth….But we aren’t scared or necessarily fearful, we fear disrespecting our parents. Because we have this huge love towards them, we wouldn’t want to disappoint them.

So you see when you are an infant in Christ (have just recently been born again in the Spirit) you might fear God simply because you haven’t grown spiritually yet, or simply don’t understand who God is.

If you are a non-believer you should fear God because what lays in your future is unbearable (lake of fire).

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God (Ecclesiastes 8:12).

I don’t think anyone talked about the fear of God as much as David did;

1. O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.
2. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.
3. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.
4. You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him.
6. Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
7. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
8. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.
9. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
10. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His loving kindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. 
11. He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great.
12. How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!
13. Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.
14. He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great.
15. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah.

Do you think David was on to something? Who beat Goliath? Who had so much faith that with a little rock and a slingshot was able to conquer a giant 5 times his size?

David’s Fear towards God kept him close to God, kept him respectable towards Gods will. Do you think David abides by Gods rules because he feared God would strike him down? Of course not, he feared that he would be lost, that he wouldn’t be able to live without God. There is a correlation in the fear we have towards God and the Love we have towards God.

People that don’t fear God; show no respect for God. They live selfish lives, they live for themselves and only love themselves….

I use David as an example because we must all be respectable to our creator…We must all listen and abide in him. In doing so, you will be blessed, just like David was.

The things you so called “Christians” do today, imagine your parents standing in the room..would they approve? Would you feel shame, guilt, embarrassment?…

So why do you continue to do these things, when God knows all and sees all?…If your parents wouldn’t approve, and you would be ashamed, why are you not ashamed in front of God? The creator, the person that blesses you…the one that has control over your entire future and destiny?

If you live in him and he lives in you, you have nothing to fear for he is your advocate in front of the father….But if you live in sin and don’t have any fear of God, the wrath of God will be upon you.