Which is it – fear God or Love God …..
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
“Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.” (Deuteronomy 10:20)
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
The fear that is spoken of in the Bible is to have a reverential awe of God.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7)
We need to understand who God is so that we can develop a reverential fear of Him. Without that fear, we can’t have true wisdom. That wisdom comes only from knowing that God is holy, just, and righteous.
“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” Deuteronomy 10:12
Fear of God is the basis for loving him. Fear of God leads us to serve God. Fear of God also includes understanding how much God hates sin. It means understanding that God is a just God and that He has to hold people accountable for their actions.
As a believer, we have no reason to be scared of God. We know that He loves us. We know that Jesus’ blood is payment for our sins. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We know that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Fearing God should impact the way we live our lives. We need to live lives of obedience and respect.
To fear God is to love God. To love God is to fear God. They go hand in hand.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
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