VIKTOR SAARI MINISTRIES

 Psalms 111:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Someone once told me that the fear of the Lord is nothing more than the acknowledgement that He is our all powerful Lord, are all in all. Which is partially true, but there is more to it than that. Like everything in the Bible there is to be an action, to show the belief we have. We then must fully understand what the fear of the Lord is to be able to put it to practise. Proverbs 8:13 gives us more insight to the fear of the Lord:

¹³The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord [includes] the hatred of evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate. 

The word fear in Psalms 111:10 and Proverbs 8:13 are both the same word used. The Hebrew word used is yireh, which means to show reverence. Our English word reverence means to show an attitude of deep respect. We better understand then, that to have the fear of the Lord we must hate the things He hates. We are to hate any form of evil; pride, arrogance, perverted ways, and any speaking that is not honest, pure and of a good report.

Joshua 24:14 gives us some more insight: Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

Here we also see that the fear of the Lord is to put away “gods”. The reason why we have to put away gods, is because all gods in your life, whether you like it or not, you will serve. The Bible clearly speaks against this. Matthew 4:10, which is from Deuteronomy 6:13 tells us this: Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

This is why we are not to exalt things in our life, by putting them before God our Father. We must keep first things first, putting our relationship with God first. The last scripture we are going to look at in regard to what the fear of the Lord is in Deuteronomy 17:19:

And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.

The fear of the Lord is also shown by the obedience of doing God’s word. We understand now that the fear of the Lord is more than just the acknowledgement of Him as being our Lord and Saviour. The fear of the Lord is shown by being a doer of the word. We acknowledge Him as our great all in all by worshipping Him, hating every evil thing and every form of it, and putting God first in our lives.

But, by fearing the Lord you are doing more than pleasing Abba Father. You are blessing yourself also. Here are a few scriptures to prove it:

Proverbs 10:27: The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened

Proverbs 14:26-27: ²⁶In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. ²⁷The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death

Proverbs 22:4: By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

Isaiah 33:6: And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

These are just a few of the benefits the fear of the Lord has for you, aren’t they amazing? But, is the fear of the Lord in the New Testament? We now see that the fear of the Lord was not to fear in the sense of being afraid, but rather to put into practise the word of God by putting Him as the most important thing in our life and hating the works of the Devil. So it would not hurt the relationship we now have with Him now because of what Jesus did. We then can still have and show the fear of the Lord in our lives today.

Because God does want us to still put Him first. Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only, and to hate the devil and all his works. Also, in the New Testament we understand that we are now in a direct relationship, and we make this relationship strong by worshipping Him.

Here are a few examples of the fear of the Lord in the New Testament:

Acts 9:31: Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

II Corinthians 5:11 in the Amplified: Therefore, being conscious of fearing the Lord with respect and reverence, we seek to win people over [to persuade them]. But what sort of persons we are is plainly recognized and thoroughly understood by God, and I hope that it is plainly recognized and thoroughly understood also by your consciences (your inborn discernment).

So fear the Lord! Bring a blessing to Him and to yourself and others around you, just by being obedient to the Lord.