Question:
What does it mean to fear the Lord? Is it respect, awe, or reverence?
Answer:
Proverbs 2:1-6 shows that the fear of the Lord is linked with wisdom and understanding of Him (Proverbs 1:7, 8).
The result of fearing the Lord is that “His soul shall dwell at ease” (Psalm 25:12,13).
A lot of people literally fear or are afraid of God. But He is loving and at the same time very holy. We should have respect for Him. He made us. All things of creation are held together by Him. The respect for the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him” (Psalm 89:7). When the Lord’s people gather together He wants us to honor Him.
However, though an unsaved person may put on an outward show of reverence, he is characterized by “no fear” (Romans 3:18), but we should hold the Lord in reverence. “Holy and reverend is His name” (Psalm 111:9). Our fear has no terror in it, but the unbeliever should. The demons know what will happen to them, and thus they tremble (James 2:19), but believers have no need to tremble. The class of unbelievers called “the fearful,” (for they were fearful of what someone might say if they were saved) heads the list of those who are in hell (Revelation 21:8).Think: What reason do we have to be ashamed to say something to someone about Jesus? Timothy was discouraged because Paul was in prison. Paul wrote to him and told him not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ (2 Timothy 1:8-10). When we become discouraged or ashamed, then we should think of verse 9: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Remember the cost of what it took Jesus to save us. “The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). If we have our eye on eternal things, we won’t be thinking of ourselves. Joshua 1:8 tells us to “meditate” on the Word. While we are in this world we are to draw from heavenly things.