Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
While it is true God is Love, we must never forget He is holy. And that means it is vital to treat Him as holy. Grace never vacated the fear of the Lord. If anything, it helps us maintain it. From Whom did grace come? Jesus (John 1:17). One of the things Scripture revealed about Him is, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2). Part of the Spirit of the Lord resting on Him involves the fear of the Lord. Keep in mind that we are to conform to His image. While God greatly loves us, He still expects us to be a holy people. 1 Peter 1:15 But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. The fear of the Lord and the fear of punishment are two different things; although, without the fear of the Lord, repentance may have never come to lead us away from the judgment to come. Part of the fear of the Lord includes holding ourselves accountable to Him.
In some Christian sub-cultures, accountability scarcely exists. This is one reason they lack power and do very little for the Kingdom. This is especially true if they’re not representing the Lord very well at all. You may recall, Moses was not allowed to enter the promise land. Why not? In a second occurrence when the children of Israel was in need of water, God told Moses to speak to the rock that it may yield water for them. But what did Moses do? He struck the rock twice with the rod. How did God respond to him? Numbers 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” By succumbing to anger and doing it his own way, he lost out on the promise. He was allowed to see the promise land from the distance, but that’s the best he would experience. Some fail to enter into their promise because they decide to do things their way. Part of the issue is unbelief, but the other part is not giving God His proper due. They are closely tied together. Whether or not it is evident to some people, they will discover everyone is ultimately accountable to Him.
In one sense, the fear of the Lord helps us with boundaries. Because of our love for Him, there is part in of us that does fear missing Him. How differently would we treat other people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, if we were mindful that they belong to God. They’re not merely our peers, they are our Father’s children, and He will hold us accountable to the way treat them. Don’t believe it? Search the Bible and see if it is true. Would we be better stewards with what we’ve been given if we fully embraced the fear of the Lord? Ultimately, true obedience is accomplished by love. Think about it, we live by faith, and without it, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith, however, works by love (Galatians 5:6).
Romans 14:10-12 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
