- Ron Graham -
www.straitandnarrowministry.com
"And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require
of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love
him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy
soul," Deuteronomy 10:12. The word
"fear" is translated from the Hebrew word "yare'" which in
context means "to fear, reverence, honour, respect." The Israelites
were admonished to fear the Lord, walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve
Him. The above Scripture was directed to Israel but as born again believers in
Jesus Christ we are to have the same attitude. Do you stand in awe of God? Do
you revere, honor, and respect Him? Do you love Him? Every Christian would do
well to heed this verse.
Fearing God is a term that seems to have fallen by the
wayside. Somehow we seem to think God is our buddy who just accepts us as we
are and isn't very concerned when we go against His ways. It's true that Jesus
is our friend, but He's a friend who is worthy of our respect. His ways are
never to be taken lightly. He alone is worthy of our worship and our praise. In
fearing Him, that is respecting Him and revering Him, we don't have to be
afraid of Him. There is a difference between fearing Him and being afraid of
Him. When I was a boy I had a fear of my father, meaning I respected him and I
wanted to please him. I wasn't afraid of him because I was his child and I knew
he loved me. Even when I did things he didn't like he never stopped loving me.
Our Heavenly Father loves us even more than our earthly father. We who belong
to Him need not be afraid of Him, but we do need to fear Him.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7. If you do not fear God then perhaps the
second part of this verse refers to you. As Solomon plainly states it is
foolish to ignore God's truth. Why is it that so many people refuse to listen
to the truth of the scriptures? If we fear God we want to please Him. In order
to please Him we need to know what He expects of us. His directions for living
a life that honors and respects Him are found in His word. The Holy Bible is
very clear on what His standards are...and the penalty of disobedience. The
more we allow ourselves to become His property, the more He will increase our
knowledge. God does not want us to be ignorant of Him and we must search the
Scriptures to gain knowledge of Him. "These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11.
Those who "were more noble" were the Bereans who listened to what was
being taught, but searched the Scriptures (Old Testament) to be sure it was
correct. By so doing they gained knowledge. We, too, need to search both the Old
and New Testaments to be sure things people try to teach us, as well as our own
assumptions, line up with Scripture. If we fear God we need to take His word
seriously and live our lives accordingly.
Why is it that some people, like the Bereans, understand
the need to search Scripture to gain knowledge and understanding, but other
people, even some who claim to be Christians, just don't care what He says? I
believe the answer can be found in the very lifestyles of those who refuse to
gain knowledge of Him and reject His ways. Plainly stated there are those who
enjoy the sinful lifestyle they live so much that they will not heed or even
desire to hear God's warning. Having said that, should we who are born again
believers ignore those people because we are afraid they won't listen to our
message? No. You see, we don't convince the lost of their current condition,
that's the Holy Spirit's job. We are the messenger of the truth, He does the
convicting. It's not up to us to decide who to witness to, but instead we need
to witness every time we know God is telling us to. Then it's up to the
individual to choose God over Satan. Paul made many missionary journeys to
cities where sin raged. He faced many trying times in his life, but his fear
(respect) of God drove him on. He lived his life in a way that honored God and
was a wonderful Christian example to others. We also need to fear God and live
a life that respects Him in order to make our witness believable. We need to
"walk in His ways".
Jesus tells us that
there is a time to be afraid of God. "Fear him, which after he hath killed
hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him," Luke 12:5.
Many times in Scripture we're told to "fear not", but here in the
Gospel of Luke we're actually told to be afraid of what God can do. Each of us
is free to make a choice of accepting Christ's death, burial, and resurrection
as payment in full for our sin, or we can reject His sacrifice. "For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." Romans 6:23. The death spoken of in this verse is eternal
death. It isn't a fun place where you will meet up with all the other people
who party hearty and reject Christ, but a place of eternal damnation. There
will be eternal anguish, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. It is an individual
choice that will send a person to hell or allow entry into Heaven. God gave us
the only way of salvation, and I do mean the only way. That is through Jesus
Christ, and Him alone. If you study Scripture and gain knowledge, you will fear
(respect) God, but there should also be the fear (terror) of Him who has
"the power to cast into hell".
The only time God will pull His presence away from us is when we've
condemned ourselves to Hell through our unbelief and rejection of Jesus Christ.
That should be a terrifying thought
Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. A starting
point if you will. Diligent study brings forth an abundance of knowledge. There
are many God-fearing men who fill the pulpits each Sunday and preach God's
truth. No matter how many Sunday mornings we sit and warm a pew, we will never
receive all of the knowledge God wants us to gain if we just sit and listen.
When I first became a Christian I was excited. Every Sunday I would listen
closely to see what the man in the pulpit had to say. On the other hand my
wife, who had been a Christian for many years, didn't accept everything that
was being preached. After the Sunday services she would bring up the questions
she had and we would search the Scriptures. I learned that what was being
preached wasn't always Scriptural. I had a fear of the Lord and respected His
word; I studied and gained knowledge. Through this I found a deep love for
searching the Scriptures daily. Sunday morning sermons have their place, but
studying our Bibles is where knowledge is gained.
God does not want us to be ignorant of His word. Fear
(respect) for God should propel us into diligent study. Prophecy is being
fulfilled daily, but there are those who don't take the time to study and so
they become confused. Therefore they believe we aren't supposed to understand.
If we weren't to understand why do we have so much prophecy in the Bible? God
tells us in advance what will happen so we can be prepared. Then there are
those who think that people have changed, so therefore God's word needs to be
revised to fit today's lifestyles. They think that abortion should not be seen
as murder, but a choice. Homosexuality is now "acceptable" though the
Bible speaks strongly against this abomination. We who fear God and strive
"...to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy
God with all thy heart and with all thy soul", as stated in the first
verse above, know that He has not changed His mind on any of this. Every
Christian needs to understand that God has not changed and we need to conform
to Him. If we love Him we need to walk in His ways and not expect Him to walk
in ours. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
Hebrews 13:8. That means that as you study Scripture and gain knowledge, you
will come to understand that God gave the Law to Moses, and He hasn't changed.
Sin is still sin even if society says it is a "choice". If you fear
God you will reject the sin in your life and "...walk in all His
ways".
No matter how hard we try we will never be able to fully
walk in His ways. We all will stumble, but if we fear Him we will ask His
forgiveness and learn from our failures. The fear of the Lord will give us
knowledge of how to please Him. Life on earth is short and we need to make it a
priority to serve the Lord. He does not want anyone to make the choice of
rejecting Him and condemning themselves to Hell. "For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved." John 3:16-17. There is no love greater than that. There is no
other way that a person can spend eternity with God than to believe in Him.
Believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and you will not
perish, but you will have everlasting life. From the moment you believe your
salvation is secure. From that point on you need to grow in knowledge of His
ways. Study the Scriptures and then apply them to your life. Fear (be in awe
of) the Lord and walk in all His ways. Turn from the ways of the world which is
filled with sin "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." 2
Peter 3:18. Again I say, amen.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
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All original scripture is "theopneustos" God
breathed.
This commentary was started by Ron Graham before his death
on March 14, 2013, and finished by his wife, Nathele Graham
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