{"id":90740,"date":"2021-03-11T21:24:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T02:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/reverence\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T23:05:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T03:05:16","slug":"reverence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/reverence\/","title":{"rendered":"Reverence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Hebrews 12:28, 29: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom\nwhich cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably\nwith reverence and godly fear: <sup>29<\/sup>For our God is a consuming fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer&#8217;s fear is reverence of God. But what does \u201creverence\u201d entail?&nbsp; How does reverence inform our actions and reactions with one another?&nbsp; With the world?&nbsp; With God Himself?&nbsp; The answers are found within the Scriptures according to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Historical Context:\nWritten\naround A.D. 65, the certain identity of the author remains unknown.&nbsp; Tradition cites Paul as the author, but\nmissing is Paul&#8217;s customary salutation common to his other works. Some\nattribute Luke as its writer; others suggest Hebrews may have been written by\nApollos, Barnabas, Silas, Philip, or Aquila\nand Priscilla. To some, this is a disturbing aspect, yet we are reminded of\nDeuteronomy 29:29:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>Secret things belong to the Lord our\nGod, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so\nthat we might obey all the words of this law<\/strong><strong>.\u201d\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Compare this to Hebrews 1:1-3: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>After God spoke long ago in various\nportions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2 in these\nlast days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things,\nand through whom he created the world. 3 The Son is the radiance of his glory\nand the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his\npowerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down\nat the right hand of the Majesty on high.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The author wants us to\nlook at Scripture as having come from God. The words of Scripture are God\u2019s\nrevelation to us, a revelation to which we would do well to heed (Hebrews\n2:1-4). No wonder human authorship is not emphasized in Hebrews (though it is\ncertainly not denied). And so we find the absence of the author\u2019s name to be\ninstructive and completely consistent with the point and message of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Book\nof Hebrews was written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop\nacting like Hebrews. In truth, many of the early Jewish believers were slipping\nback into the rites and rituals of Judaism in order to escape mounting\npersecution. This letter is an exhortation for those persecuted believers to\ncontinue in the grace of Jesus Christ.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rich in\nfoundational Christian doctrine, the Epistle to the Hebrews also gives us\nencouraging examples of God&#8217;s &#8220;faith heroes&#8221; who persevered in spite\nof great difficulties and adverse circumstances (Hebrews 11). These members of\nGod&#8217;s Hall of Faith provide overwhelming evidence as to the unconditional\nsurety and absolute reliability of God. Likewise, we can maintain perfect\nconfidence in God&#8217;s rich promises, regardless of our circumstances, by\nmeditating upon the rock-solid faithfulness of God&#8217;s workings in the lives of\nHis Old Testament saints.<br>\n<br>\nThe writer of Hebrews gives ample encouragement to believers, but there are\nfive solemn warnings we must heed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">1. There is the danger of neglect (Hebrews 2:1-4); <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">2. The danger of unbelief (Hebrews 3:7\u20134:13); <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">3. The danger of spiritual immaturity (Hebrews\n5:11\u20136:20); <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">4. The danger of failing to endure (Hebrews 10:26-39);\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">5. The inherent danger of refusing God (Hebrews\n12:25-29). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">And so\nwe find in this crowning masterpiece a great wealth of doctrine, a refreshing\nspring of encouragement, and a source of sound, practical warnings against\nslothfulness in our Christian walk. But there is still more, for in Hebrews we\nfind a magnificently rendered portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ\u2014the Author and\nFinisher of our great salvation (Hebrews 12:2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Grammatical Usage:\nV. 28: \u201creceiving\u201d or \u201cParalambano\u201d in the Greek means, \u201cto take to one\u2019s self\u201d\nwhich is in the present tense indication an act occurring in actual time;\n\u201ckingdom\u201d or \u201cBasileia\u201d meaning, \u201csovereignty, power and dominion\u201d; \u201cmoved\u201d is\n\u201cAsaleutos\u201d meaning, \u201cunshakeable, firm\u201d; \u201cgrace\u201d or \u201cCharis\u201d meaning, \u201cfavorable\nregard\u201d again in the present tense; \u201cserve\u201d or \u201cLatreuo\u201d meaning, \u201cintelligent\nservice\u201d; \u201creverence\u201d or \u201cAidos\u201d meaning, \u201cregard in the sense of honor\u201d;\n\u201cfear\u201d is \u201cEulabeia\u201d meaning \u201cpiety\u2026the combination of fidelity and duty.\u201d&nbsp; V. 29: \u201cconsuming fire\u201d is also in the\npresent tense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Literal Application: Therefore let us be grateful and take unto ourselves the\nsovereignty, power and dominion of God that cannot be shaken, offering to God reasoned\nand reasonable service with honor, piety, fidelity and duty, for our God is a\nconsuming fire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Contextual\nInterpretation: There is a marked resemblance in this exhortation with\nthat of Peter who said, <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved,\nwhat manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking\nfor and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God? (2&nbsp;Peter 3:11, 12).\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Verse 28.<\/strong> <em>Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be\nmoved<\/em>. We who are Christians pertain to a kingdom that is permanent and\nunchanging, meaning that the kingdom of the Redeemer will never pass away. It\nis not, like the Jewish dispensation, to give place to another, nor is there\nany power that can destroy it. It has <em>now<\/em> endured for two thousand\nyears, amidst all the revolutions on earth, and in spite of all the attempts\nwhich have been made to destroy it; and it is now as vigorous and stable as it\never was. Its great convictions and laws will endure on earth till the end of\ntime, and will be made permanent in heaven. This is the only kingdom in which\nwe can be certain that there will be no revolution; the only empire which is\ndestined never to fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>Let us have grace\nwhereby we may serve God<\/em>. The Greek\nis, literally, <em>let us have grace<\/em>; the meaning is, &#8220;let us hold fast\nthe grace or favor which we have received in being admitted to the privileges\nof that kingdom.&#8221; The object of the writer is to keep them in the reverent\nfear and service of God. The argument which he presents is that this kingdom is\npermanent. There is no danger of its being overthrown. It is to continue on\nearth to the end of time; it is to be established in heaven for ever. If it\nwere temporary, changeable, liable to be overthrown at any moment, there would\nbe much less encouragement to perseverance. But in a kingdom like this there is\nevery encouragement, for there is the assurance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(1) That all our\ninterests there are safe; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(2) That all our\nexertions will be crowned with ultimate success; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(3) That the efforts\nwhich we make to do good will have a permanent influence on mankind, and will\nbless future ages; and <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(4) That the reward is\ncertain. In a government where nothing is settled, where all policy is\nchanging, and where there are constantly vacillating plans, there is no\ninducement to enter on any enterprise demanding time and risk. But where the\npolicy is settled; where the convictions and the laws are firm; where there is\nevidence of permanency, there is the highest encouragement. The highest\npossible encouragement of this kind is in the permanent and established kingdom of God. All other governments endure revolution&#8211;this\ncan not; all others may have a shifting policy&#8211;this has none; all others will\nbe overthrown &#8211;this never will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>With reverence and\ngodly fear<\/em>. With true veneration for\nGod, and with pious devotedness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Verse 29.<\/strong> <em>For our God is a consuming fire<\/em>. This is a\nfurther reason why we should serve God with profound reverence and unwavering\nfidelity. The quotation is from Deuteronomy 4:24: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>&#8220;For the Lord thy God is a\nconsuming fire, even a jealous God.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Two thoughts are\nconveyed: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">1) God, and He only, is\nto be worshipped in a way suitable to Himself as He has the sole right of\nfixing the manner of worship.&nbsp; He is to\nhave all the glory in every part of worship, therefore the ordinances of\nworship are immovable; nor are they to be altered, or others put in their place\nwithout incurring his displeasure. Essentially, in context, the appropriate\nfear of God assures not only His preeminence in our worship but the elements of\nworship including quickening of the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding\nthe mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God,\nopening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of\nGod proving the motivation of music, ordinances, sermon and response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">2) Moreover, this phrase is\nexpressive of the preservation of His people, and of the destruction of His\/our\nenemies (<strong>Deuteronomy 9:1-3<\/strong>) which,\nagain in context, underscores the everlasting nature of His Kingdom discussed\nabove. We commonly say that God is a consuming fire meaning that God, as an\nabsolute God, is full of wrath and vengeance; and it is a truth, but not the\ntruth of this text.&nbsp; Here it is that our\nGod, our covenant God, our God in Christ, He is indeed as a wall of fire and in\nHis providences protects and defends the saints as fire in His actions and Word\nto enlighten and warm them, to guide and direct them, but not a consuming fire\nto destroy them.&nbsp; The consuming fire is\ndirected toward His (our) enemies, who are as thorns, and briers, and stubble\nbefore Him (Deuteronomy 4:24); while the intent of its usage here is preservation.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Scriptural Comparison: Although we\u2019ve all heard the\nword, few of us can give a quick and easy definition for godliness. We read\nlittle about it (historically the concept has been treated rather lightly in\nChristian literature), and we might conclude that it\u2019s something we&#8217;ll\nexperience and understand only as we go much further down the road of Christian\nliving.&nbsp; This, of course, is the wrong\nview of godliness; rather, godliness is a foundational spiritual attribute to\nwhich we are to commit ourselves to building into our lives now.&nbsp; NO higher compliment can be paid to a\nChristian than to call him a godly person. He might be a conscientious parent,\na zealous church worker, a dynamic spokesman for Christ, or a talented\nChristian leader; but none of these things matters if, at the same time, he is\nnot a godly person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The words <em>godly<\/em> and <em>godliness<\/em>\nactually appear only a few times in the New Testament; yet the entire Bible is\na book on godliness. And when those words do appear they are pregnant with\nmeaning and instruction for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When Paul wants to distill the essence of the\nChristian life into one brief paragraph, he focuses on godliness. He tells us\nthat God\u2019s grace &#8220;teaches us to say &#8216;No&#8217; to <em>ungodliness<\/em> and worldly\npassions, and to live self-controlled, upright and <em>godly<\/em> lives&#8221; as\nwe await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13).&nbsp; When Paul thinks of his own job description\nas an apostle of Jesus Christ, he describes it as being called to further the\nfaith of God\u2019s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to <em>godliness<\/em>\n(Titus 1:1).&nbsp; Paul especially emphasizes\ngodliness in his first letter to Timothy. We are to pray for those in\nauthority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all <em>godliness<\/em>\nand holiness. We are to train ourselves to be <em>godly.<\/em> We are to pursue <em>godliness<\/em>\u2014the\nword &#8220;pursue&#8221; indicating unrelenting, persevering effort. <em>Godliness<\/em>\nwith contentment is held forth as great gain; and finally, <em>godliness<\/em> has\nvalue for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to\ncome.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When Peter, in looking forward to the day of the\nLord when the earth and everything in it will be destroyed, asks what kind of\npeople we ought to be, he answers that we are to live holy and <em>godly<\/em>\nlives (2 Peter 3:10-12). Here Peter uses the most momentous event of all\nhistory to stir us up to our Christian duty\u2014holy and <em>godly<\/em> living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Surely, then, godliness is no optional spiritual\nluxury for a few quaint Christians of a bygone era or for some group of contemporary\nsuper-saints. It is both the privilege and duty of every Christian to pursue godliness,\nto train himself to be godly, to study diligently the practice of godliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">We don&#8217;t need any special talent or equipment. God\nhas given to each one of us &#8220;everything we need for life and\ngodliness&#8221; (2 Peter 1:3). The most ordinary Christian has all that he\nneeds, and the most talented Christian must use those same means in the\npractice of godliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Bible gives us some clues about godliness in\nits earliest pages. Genesis 5:21-24 tells us about Enoch, the father of\nMethuselah. In a short three-verse summary of Enoch\u2019s life, Moses twice\ndescribes him as one who &#8220;walked with God.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Much later in the Bible, the author of Hebrews\ngives Enoch a place in his great &#8216;Faith\u2019s Hall of Fame&#8221; in chapter 11, but\nhe sees Enoch from a slightly different perspective. He describes him as\n&#8220;one who pleased God.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Here, then, are two important clues: Enoch walked\nwith God, and Enoch pleased God. It is evident from these two statements that\nEnoch\u2019s life was centered in God; God was the focal point, the polestar of his\nvery existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Enoch\nwalked with God; he enjoyed a relationship with God; and he pleased God. We\ncould accurately say he was <em>devoted<\/em> to God. This is the meaning of\ngodliness.&nbsp; The New Testament word for\ngodliness, in its original meaning, conveys the idea of it: a personal attitude\ntoward God that results in actions that are pleasing to him. This personal\nattitude toward God is what we call devotion to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>But it is\nalways <em>devotion in action<\/em><\/strong><em>.<\/em> It is not just a warm, emotional feeling about God, the\nkind of feeling we may get while singing some grand old hymn of praise or some\nmodern-day chorus of worship. Neither is devotion to God merely a time of\nprivate Bible reading and prayer, a practice we sometimes call\n&#8220;devotions.&#8221;&nbsp; Although these\npractices are vitally important to a godly person, we must not think of them as\ndefining devotion for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Focused On\nGod<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Devotion is not an activity; it is an attitude\ntoward God. This attitude is composed of three essential elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>the <strong>fear<\/strong> of God <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the love of God <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the desire for God. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Note that all three\nelements focus upon God. <strong><em>The practice\nof godliness is an exercise or discipline that focuses upon God<\/em><\/strong><em>.<\/em>&nbsp; Devotion to God, then, is the mainspring\nof godly character. And this devotion is the only motivation for Christian\nbehavior that is pleasing to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>This\nmotivation is what separates the godly person from the moral person, or the\nbenevolent person, or the zealous person. The godly person is moral,\nbenevolent, and zealous because of his devotion to God.<\/strong> And his life takes on a\ndimension that reflects the very stamp of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The\nGod-Fearing Christian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The late professor John Murray wrote in <em>Principles\nof Conduct<\/em>, &#8220;The fear of God is the soul of godliness.&#8221; Yet the\nfear of God is a concept that seems old-fashioned and antiquated to many\nmodern-day Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Some of our aversion to the phrase &#8220;fear of\nGod&#8221; may be due to a misunderstanding of its meaning. As we cited\npreviously, the Bible uses the term &#8220;fear of God&#8221; in two distinct\nways: that of anxious dread, and that of veneration, reverence, and awe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Fear as anxious dread is produced by the\nrealization of God\u2019s impending judgment upon sin. When Adam sinned he hid from\nGod because he was afraid. Although this aspect of the fear of God should\ncharacterize every unsaved person who lives each day as an object of God\u2019s\nwrath, it seldom does. Paul\u2019s concluding indictment of ungodly mankind was,\n&#8220;There is no fear of God before their eyes&#8221; (Romans 3:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Christian has been delivered from fear of\nGod\u2019s wrath (1 John 4:18). But the Christian has not been delivered from the <em>discipline<\/em>\nof God against his sinful conduct, and in this sense he still fears God. He\nworks out his salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12); he lives\nhis life as\u2014a stranger here in reverent fear (1 Peter 1:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>For the\nchild of God, however, the primary meaning of the fear of God is veneration and\nhonor, reverence and awe. <\/strong>Murray says this fear is the\nsoul of godliness. It is the attitude that elicits from our hearts adoration\nand love, reverence and honor. It focuses in awe not upon the wrath of God but\nupon the majesty, holiness, and transcendent glory of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The angelic beings of Isaiah\u2019s vision in chapter 6\ndemonstrated this awe when, with two of their wings, they covered their faces\nthe presence of the exalted Lord. We see this same awe in Isaiah himself and in\nPeter when they each realized they were in the presence of a holy God. We see\nit most vividly in the reaction of the beloved disciple John in Revelation\n1:17, when he saw his Master in all of his heavenly glory and majesty, and fell\nat his feet as though dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>It is\nimpossible to be devoted to God if one\u2019s heart is not filled with the fear of\nGod.<\/strong> It\nis this profound sense of veneration and honor, reverence and awe that draws\nforth from our hearts the worship and adoration that characterizes true\ndevotion to God. The reverent, godly Christian sees God first in his\ntranscendent glory, majesty, and holiness before he sees him in his love,\nmercy, and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">There is a healthy tension that exists in the\ngodly person\u2019s heart between the reverential awe of God in his glory and the\nchildlike confidence in God as heavenly Father. Without this tension, a\nChristian\u2019s filial confidence can easily degenerate into presumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">One of the more serious sins of Christians today\nmay well be the almost flippant familiarity with which we often address God in\nprayer. None of the godly men of the Bible ever adopted the casual manner we\noften do. They always addressed God with reverence. The same writer who tells\nus that we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place, the throne room of\nGod, also tells us that we should worship God acceptably with reverence and\nawe, &#8220;for our God is a consuming fire&#8221; (Hebrews 10:19 and our primary\ntext of Hebrews 12:28-29). <strong>Paul, who\ntells us that the Holy Spirit dwelling within us causes us to cry &#8220;<em>Abba<\/em>\nFather,&#8221; also tells us that this same God lives in &#8220;unapproachable\nlight&#8221; (Romans 8:15 and 1 Timothy 6:16).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In our day we must begin to recover a sense of awe\nand profound reverence for God. We must begin to view him once again in the\ninfinite majesty that alone belongs to him who is the Creator and Supreme Ruler\nof the entire universe. There is an infinite gap in worth and dignity between\nGod the Creator and man the creature, even though man has been created in the\nimage of God. The fear of God is a heartfelt recognition of this gap\u2014not a\nput\u2014down of man, but an exaltation of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Even the\nredeemed in heaven fear the Lord.<\/strong> In Revelation 15:3-4, they sing triumphantly the\nsong of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb.&nbsp; Note the focus of their veneration upon God\u2019s\nattributes of power, justice, and holiness. It is these attributes, which\nparticularly set forth the majesty of God, that should elicit from our hearts a\nreverence for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">This same reverence was drawn forth from the\nchildren of Israel\nwhen they saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians. Exodus\n14:31 says, &#8220;The people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in\nMoses his servant.&#8221; Along with Moses they sang a song of worship and\ngratitude. The heart of that song is found in Exodus 15:11: &#8220;Who among the\ngods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you\u2014majestic in holiness, awesome in\nglory, working wonders?&#8221; To fear God is to confess his absolute\nuniqueness\u2014to acknowledge his majesty, holiness, awesomeness, glory, and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Words fail us to describe the infinite glory of\nGod portrayed in the Bible. And even that portrayal is dim and vague, for now\nwe see but a poor reflection of Him. But one day we will see Him face to face,\nand then we will fear Him in the fullest sense of that word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">No wonder, then, that with that day in view Peter\ntells us to live holy and godly lives now. God is in the process of preparing\nus for heaven, to dwell with Him for eternity. So he desires that we grow in\nboth holiness and godliness. He wants us to be like Him and to reverence and\nadore Him for all eternity. We must be learning to do this now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>In our day\nwe seem to have magnified the love of God almost to the exclusion of the fear\nof God. Because of this preoccupation we are not honoring God and reverencing\nhim as we should.<\/strong> We should magnify the love of God; but although we revel in his love and\nmercy, we must never lose sight of his majesty and his holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Not only\nwill a right concept of the fear of God cause us to worship God aright, it will\nalso regulate our conduct.<\/strong> As John Murray says, &#8220;What or whom we worship\ndetermines our behavior.&#8221; Albert N. Martin has said that the essential\ningredients of the fear of God are (<strong>1<\/strong>)\ncorrect concepts of God\u2019s character, (<strong>2<\/strong>)\na pervasive sense of God\u2019s presence, and (<strong>3<\/strong>)\na constant awareness of our obligation to God. If we have some comprehension of\nGod\u2019s infinite holiness and His hatred of sin, coupled with this pervasive\nsense of God\u2019s presence in all of our actions and thoughts, then such a fear of\nGod must influence and regulate our conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>It is interesting to note how wisdom is\nconnected to, or stems from, the fear of God.<\/strong>&nbsp; Proverbs 1:7 declares, \u201cThe\nfear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.\u201d Until we understand who God is\nand develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom\ncomes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and\nrighteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, \u201cAnd now, O Israel, what does the\nLORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his\nways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all\nyour soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your\noaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you\nthose great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.\u201d The fear of God is\nthe basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">It is interesting to note the spiritual\nrequirements for gaining wisdom begins with reverence: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li><strong>Reverence<\/strong> (Pr. 9:10) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Humility (Pr. 11:2, 15:33) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Teachableness (Pr. 9:9, 15:31, 19:20) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diligence (Pr. 8:17, 2:4-5) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Uprightness (Pr. 2:7) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Faith (James 1:5-8).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><br>Some reduce the fear of God to \u201crespecting\u201d Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin\u2014even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God\u2019s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Conclusion:\nBelievers\nare not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His\npromise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have\nHis promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing\nGod means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way\nwe live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting\nto His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.&nbsp;\nThis \u201creverence\u201d checks our spirit for carnal desires, reasoning,\nactions and reactions unworthy of Him, His Kingdom and His Church on\nearth.&nbsp; Indeed, the remedy of carnality\nis the reverence of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hebrews 12:28, 29: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire. For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526,534],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reverence - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reverence - Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hebrews 12:28, 29: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire. 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