Could you imagine if your dog (or pet) was always afraid of you? That would be horrible. Every time you go up to pet your precious puppy it jumps up and leaves, but yet this is the idea some people have in their mind when they think about fearing God. If you wouldn’t want your pet to be terrified of you, why would God want us to be terrified of Him?
So, what about the “fear” of the Lord? Are we to fear God with trembling?
Until God showed me the truth, this question boggled me for my entire life. The words, “fear” the Lord are scriptural; it is in the Bible, but does that mean that we need to tremble and be scared of God? I do not believe so. I just can’t imagine God wanting us to fear him like a scary movie.
Many pastors and teachers have come out of their study and taught that when the Bible saids, “fear the Lord” it means to have a reverent fear. But, they provide no scripture for these claims. So today, I want to show you scripturally what this means.
Jesus Is the Best Bible Interpreter Ever
There a little know theory that if you let Bible interpret the Bible, you will get your answer! So, let’s check out what Jesus has to say about fear.
“Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” – Matthew 4:10
In this passage Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy, but let’s see what the original translation saids.
“Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” – Deuteronomy 6:13
Did you notice that He CHANGED one word? Can you tell the difference?
Original: Fear the Lord, serve him only
Jesus: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only
Fear Not, Worship a Lot
Jesus quoted the passage of, “Fear the Lord” and He said, “Worship the Lord.” It must be that fear and worship are synonyms in the mind of Christ! A synonym is A word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase. When we see the frightening word fear, God sees the beautiful word worship. Praise God!
God does not want you to be afraid of you heavenly father! He wants you to come boldly to Him. Who else to interpret the fear of the Lord than Jesus himself! Remember, when you are worshiping the Lord, you are really, “Fearing the Lord! My friend, it is time we fear not and worship a lot!
photo credit: Seth Casteel
Hello Caleb
I’ve been reading your blog for about 4 years now. Always love reading your insights.
I agree with you on this. May I challenge you to establish this by “two or three witnesses.” You already have one. Where else in the NT does it ttanslate fear into worship?
awesome!
Thanks my friend!