“WALKING IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD”

Acts 9:31

Believers are men and women who walk in the fear of the Lord. God’s people do not have a slavish dread of God. We are not afraid to speak to him and about him. We are not afraid that he will become angry with us, disinherit us, or punish us for sin. Faith in Christ removes that kind of terrifying fear. Yet, the believer does not think, talk about, or speak to God carelessly, flippantly, without reverence for his infinite, glorious, righteous Being. A true, heart knowledge of the Triune God will produce godly fear in a man’s heart.

The fear of the Lord is simply REVERENCE for him. It is much like the reverence a son has for his father, involving both love and respect. God has won the admiration of his children’s hearts, causing us to reverence him. We reverence his name, his Being, his Word, and his works. All that God is, all that has to do with him, all that he says, and all that he does is held in high esteem by those who know him. This fear of the Lord shows itself in many ways. To fear God is to HATE EVIL. The man who knows God hates the evil of his own heart and life, hates the evil performed by others, hates the evil of false doctrine, which robs God of his glory, and hates those who perpetrate such evil. “Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?…I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies” (Ps. 139:21-22). Those who fear the Lord are CAREFUL NOT TO OFFEND HIM. We cherish our fellowship with the eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we take care not to grieve and offend him, because we want nothing to hinder the fellowship we enjoy. The heart that fears the Lord WITHHOLDS NOTHING FROM HIM, no matter how dear and valuable, when he calls for it. To fear the Lord is to WORSHIP HIM. It is to worship God, as he is revealed in Scripture, in our hearts. Such fear of the Lord is PROGRESSIVE. Believers walk in the fear of the Lord. The more a man knows him, the more he fears him. God, grant that I may be found “walking in the fear of the Lord.” Amen.    Don Fortner

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