The Importance of the Local Church

Acts 20:6-11

A Biblical Definition: A local church is a group of baptized believers who are committed to meeting together each week under the guidance of scripturally appointed leaders to worship God through Jesus Christ, to be exhorted from the Word of God, to observe the Lord's Supper, and to build up one another, who then "scatter" from the assembly to spread the Gospel to their families, neighborhoods, cities and the nations.

The following points are necessary for a group to be considered a church:

1. People must give evidence that they are believers—that they trust Jesus Christ as Savior. The New Testament makes it clear that we are adopted into the family of God through faith (John 1:12, 13). The early church knows nothing of an unregenerate membership (Acts 2:41).
2. Believers must be baptized in obedience to Christ to become members of the local church. The prescribed method of making disciples in Matthew 28:19 is, "baptizing…and teaching them."
3. Believers must regularly assemble  in community where they have committed themselves to one another and to the mission of God through their assembly. People meeting occasionally cannot rightly be called a local church because there are essential activities of the church which lose their meaning when not done corporately. Therefore, Hebrews 10:25 commands us not to neglect to meet together.
4. Central to the gatherings of a local church is the matter of worship: singing, praying, serving, preaching, etc. The church is destined to live to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14); Therefore, it would contradict our new spiritual nature not to assemble to…worship (Acts 2:47; Romans 15:6, 7).
5. Church gatherings must include exhortation from the Word of God. We were born again through the living and abiding Word of God (1 Peter 1:23); and our life in Christ is preserved not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Pastors are  the provision God has made for feeding his sheep (2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Peter 5:2). A local church always strives to teach and preach the Word of God faithfully in its gatherings.
6. In conjunction with worship and exhortation from scripture, a gathering of believers must also celebrate the Lord's Supper in order to be the church. We are commanded to do this "in remembrance" of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). Baptism and communion are the two divinely prescribed ordinances given by Christ to the church.
7. As part of regular gatherings believers are commanded to encourage, strengthen, edify and serve one another within the body of Christ. The purpose of our gifting by Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-6; Romans 12:6) is that we might minister to "one another" within the church (1 Peter 4:10). The local church is not a place where we tolerate one another while we sit in rows trying to avoid as much contact with other members as possible. It is a place where we build authentic and transparent relationships with other members of God's family so we can better share with them the love of Christ and fellowship with each other.
8. There must be commitment to the mission of God as it is defined in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)  and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40). The church does not exist solely for its own benefit, but to be a representative of Christ in this world bringing the saving knowledge of Christ to others. As people leave the assembly they are to embark on the mission to be witnesses of Christ through all their networks of friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. They are committed as a member of the local church to bring  the sweet fragrance of Christ's love and forgiveness to as many people as possible so that they might join them in giving glory to God in His church and in daily life.
9. Finally, all of these things must take place with the guidance of duly appointed leaders. Paul appointed elders/pastors in all the churches (Acts 14:23), he gave instruction about the qualifications of deacons and elders/pastors in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and he said that Christ had given pastor-teachers to the church to equip the saints for ministry (Ephesians 4:1, 12). These gifted men must be present in the gathering in order for it to be considered a church…something historic Christianity (in addition to scripture) has always affirmed.

From this we can see that the Bible does not define the church as a free-flowing, self-directed spiritual experience determined and guided by individual Christians acting independently of others.

The New Testament references to the local church are always about specific groups of people in specific ministry locations who are organized, rooted and committed to serving the Lord and one another in order to bring glory to God.

Within the structure of the early New Testament church were things like oversight and care from ordained officers (pastors/deacons), participation in baptism and the Lord’s supper, weekly Lord’s Day gatherings with the public reading and preaching of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:13), singing, prayers, mutual care among members, generous giving, members serving the body of Christ through their giftedness (1 Peter 4:10), discipline, loving deeds of mercy and justice, etc., etc.

Evidence for this kind of orderly community is found in the fact that the number of believers was known (Acts 1:15, 2:41, 4:4), rolls were kept (1 Timothy 5:9), servants were selected (Acts 6:2-5), discipline was practiced (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), worship was corporate (1 Corinthians 14:23), and pastors/shepherds knew for whom they were responsible (Hebrews 13:17).

Mark Dever, in his book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, writes, "Church membership is our opportunity to grasp hold of each other in responsibility and love. By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service. We allow fellow believers to have great expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church. We assure the church of our commitment to Christ in serving with them, and we call for their commitment to serve and encourage as well."

In a similar fashion to the way the Bible establishes the government to oversee our citizenship to the nation, it establishes the local church to oversee our discipleship to Christ. Therefore, you cannot grow to your fullest potential in Christ apart from a community of believers in a local church.

John Piper observes that, "In the New Testament to be excluded from the local church was to be excluded from Christ." That’s how important the local church was to believers and how important it should be to us.

From these facts, we can conclude that the work of the church is not about individually tailored services, self-fulfillment, self-actualization, or some grandiose social project. The church is called to prepare people for eternity!

Many people talk about wanting a God-centered church so long as God is man-centered or me-centered. The church isn't to be a gathering of consumer-oriented believers looking to have their own needs met first. It's to be a gathering of crucified saints selflessly looking to put the needs of others before their own (Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3). When we make the choice to attend church primarily on the basis of whether or not it will benefit us personally, while giving little or no thought to how we might bless others by being present, we lack a fundamental understanding of what it means to share life together in community.

The gathering of believers is to be the place where we can love one another (1 John 4:12), encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), “spur” one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), along with the many additional "one another" instructions in the New Testament.

In the process of belonging to a local church, it's important that we remember that it is made up of imperfect, flawed and deeply broken people, all in need of God's healing truth and power. In Love in Hard Places, D.A. Carson suggests that ideally the church is not comprised of natural “friends” but rather “natural enemies.”

"What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together, not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus himself, they commit themselves to doing what he says – and he commands them to love one another. In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake."

Being a local church means fighting against homogeneity (e.g., reaching one target audience alone) and cultivating diversity as much as possible, even if this makes people feel uncomfortable.

• It means prioritizing the values of church membership and tithing, even if it turns people off.
• It means volunteering to serve so that every member has an active part within the local church.
• It means sticking around even when the church goes through peaks and valleys.
• It means building a tight-knit community but not an insular one, engaging the community and sending out members on mission with Christ to spread the Good News.
• It means bearing with one another in non-essential matters, but not shying away from discipline when a member drifts from the essential matters of the faith.
• It means preaching the truth with love, even when the culture around us disapproves of what the scripture teaches.

Again, there are no perfect churches, but the scriptural evidence shows that Paul didn't give up on the imperfect ones. The church at Corinth is a prime example of his vision for seeing a broken church returned to the beauty God intended. What had basically become a band of misfits Paul envisioned becoming  again the radiant bride for the coming Christ (Ephesians 5:25-32). From the evidence in the epistles written to them, we learn that they were a dysfunctional mess with factions, harshness, divisions, adultery, lawsuits, divorce, elitism, classism, and neglect of the poor, to name just some of their issues. The famous chapter on "love" (1 Corinthians 13) was actually written less as inspiration and more as a rebuke, because each “love” attribute was something the Corinthians desperately needed to practice. Because of their carnality they had trampled on the ideal of what God intended the church to be—an infectious community of prayer, truth, love, and mission (Acts 2:42-47).

Sadly, many people are increasingly becoming unfaithful to the local church…Christ's bride. Statistics show that a person who was faithful to church two or three decades ago attended three times a week: Sunday morning, Sunday evening and a mid-week service.  Now statistics tell us that a person is considered faithful if he/she attends a worship service three times a month.  Think of the damage that does to the overall cause of the body of Christ in ministering to the sacred community of believers, as well as in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

The fact is, people are religious by nature, but many people are choosing to be religious about things other than God's church. Too many Christians have taken up marathons, triathlons, cycling, boating, fishing, etc., in  place of church life and the mission of God. They are faithful to their tee times and always honor their commitments to ball games, amusements, recreation and travel, but the local church service is only a distant afterthought.

These types of things and many more like them have become the new religion of many believers. So let me ask, how much money do you spend on your favorite hobby? How many services do you miss from the gatherings of believers each week or month, when you are not providentially hindered (work, illness, etc.)? We're all investing our lives in something because we are all basically religious people by divine design. The only question is whether or not we are investing properly in the place God commands…the local church (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Countercultural Christianity

1 John 1:8-10

Jennifer Knapp was a contemporary Christian music artist who had been away from the music scene for several years when she did an interview about her self-imposed hiatus and her new album she had just recorded at the time. During the discussion with the host of the program she made a statement that I think many Evangelical Christians probably believe, but really needs some countercultural biblical analysis.

In the interview she discussed her long-term relationship with her lesbian partner. Though she didn’t share any identifying details about the other woman, what caught my attention during her interview was how she sought to justify her behavior. While answering a question posed to her about her homosexuality, she stated that if her conduct was sinful (and she believed it was not), that it should not be viewed as any worse than any other sins. From her perspective, things such as being overweight, speeding, gossipping, etc., would all be equally wrong before God because “all sins are equal with God.”

This same general argument was used recently by the well-known country singer Dolly Parton in an interview she did with Billboard. She was asked this question, “Dollywood attracts lots of church groups, but it has also become a draw for the LGBT community. What does that say about you?” She replied, “It’s a place for entertainment, a place for all families, period...But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing...”

Is it really true that “all sins are equal with God" and that "judging is just as bad as any other sin?”

Please understand that my purpose in this discussion is not to excuse any sin or to make less of any offense against a holy God. However, if the above assumptions are true, then shouldn't we be teaching our children that disobeying parental instructions is just as bad as killing a friend? Going one mile over the speed limit is just as bad as taking illegal drugs? And, overeating is just as heinous as an Islamic terrorist blowing up innocent people?

I think most would agree that at least in practical/temporal terms we don’t view all sin as being equal. Even in the criminal justice system there are varying degrees of penalties for varying levels of offenses. Is it really true that God’s system of justice makes no distinctions in the sins we commit?

The “all sins are equal” mantra is one that I think has arisen partly because people want to excuse their sins and shift the focus away from themselves. However, it is also the result of the misinterpretation (and/or intentional misuse) of some key scripture passages.

For instance, Matthew 5:27-28 says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” At first glance it appears that the text treats lust and the act of adultery equally, but is that what we should take away from the passage? Practically speaking, there is a difference in degree of violation between lusting after someone and committing the act of adultery. I know from many years of dealing with people that the act of adultery usually results in far worse consequences than lust alone (though lust can certainly lead to adultery). Then what does this passage mean, if the two sins are not “equal before God?”

It is not that lust and adultery are equal in degree of violation, but that they are both violations of the same commandment (the seventh commandment). In a similar fashion, hatred is not equal in degree of violation to murder (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15), but both are violations of the sixth commandment. Any violation, whether of the “letter of the law” (acts of adultery/murder) or the “spirit of the law” (lust/hatred), makes you guilty before God. In other words, all sins are equally against God, but not all sins are equal in the degree of violation and/or consequences.

Even in 1 John 3:15 where John speaks unambiguously about the sin of hatred, I think we have to assume there is still some distinction to be made in degree of violation between hatred and murder. While both belong to the same sphere of “death,” they are not equal in harm caused. Prolific author, Warren Wiersbe, says it well, “This does not mean, of course, that hatred in the heart does the same amount of damage, or involves the same degree of guilt, as actual murder. Your neighbor would rather you hate him than kill him! But in God’s sight, hatred is the moral equivalent of murder, and if left unbridled it leads to murder.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary (1 Jn 3:13). Wheaton, III.: Victor Books.) I think many can agree that hatred is the “moral equivalent” of murder in God’s sight, but we certainly wouldn’t punish it to the same degree that we would murder. If this is true then it stands to reason that the two sins are not equal in every way, though they are both violations of God’s law and deserving of punishment.

A similar line of thinking is followed in James 2:10, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James is teaching that no matter how small the violation of God’s law may seem to you, it still makes the person guilty before God. God’s law is viewed as a unit and any violation makes the person a sinner.

Bible scholar and commentator John MacArthur writes, “Although all sins are not equally damaging or heinous, they all shatter that unity [of the law] and render men transgressors, much like hitting a window with a hammer at only one point will shatter and destroy the whole window.” (MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Jas 2:10). Nashville: Word Pub.) He further comments that being “guilty of all” is not to be understood “in the sense of having violated every command, but in the sense of having violated the law’s unity. One transgression makes fulfilling the law’s most basic commands—to love God perfectly and to love one’s neighbor as oneself—impossible.” A similar thought is conveyed by author T.D. Lea, “The Bible does not say all sins are equal. Stealing a candy bar is not the same as committing adultery. Thinking about murder is not as bad as committing the act. Every sin does bring guilt. It takes only a single sin to make a person a sinner. No act of obedience can compensate for acts of disobedience.” (Lea, T. D. (1999). Vol. 10: Hebrews, James. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (284). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

What I’m trying to demonstrate is that you cannot necessarily argue that “all sin is equal with God.” It’s not really accurate to say that going one mile over the speed limit is equally as egregious as committing a murder. Both are sins against God and deserving of punishment, but they certainly don’t result in the same degree of “damage,” “guilt,” and/or punishment.

Even more telling for this discussion is the fact that numerous scriptures indicate that not “all sins are equal with God.” The following texts are hard to explain, if they are teaching the “all sins are equal” doctrine.

1. When Christ was before Pilate He said that Israel had committed a worse sin by rejecting Him. “Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11...emphasis mine)
2. Sins in the Old Testament were not all punished to the same degree. Under the Mosaic law, a thief paid restitution; an occult practitioner was cut off from Israel; one who committed adultery or a homosexual act was put to death (cf., Exodus 22 & Leviticus 20).
3. Some sins in the Old Testament were labeled as abominations to God, which meant they were especially damaging violations (e.g. Leviticus 18:22; Deuteronomy 7:25; 23:18; Isaiah 41:24, etc.).
4. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw the people worshipping a “golden calf,” he said they had sinned a “great sin.” (Exodus 32:30) If all sins are equal, then there are no “great” sins.
5. Solomon listed seven specific sins that he said were notably egregious to God (Proverbs 6:16-19).
6. God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel to Samaria and Jerusalem to indicate that though Samaria’s sins were appalling, Jerusalem was “more corrupt” (Ezekiel 23:11), indicating that some sins bring greater guilt and result in greater damage.
7. Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was more consequential than blasphemy against the Father or Himself (Matthew 12:31).
8. The scriptures seem to indicate that there will be varying degrees of punishment in Hell, reflecting the severity of the offenses committed (Luke 12:47-48).
9. At times Christ distinguished the sins of the Pharisees as greater than the sins of others. For instance, He said that they would strain out a gnat while swallowing a camel (Matthew 23:24). He also said they would receive “greater condemnation” (Luke 20:46-47). To me, that is a statement that makes no sense, if all sins are equal with God.
10. If all sins are equal then it seems difficult to understand how there can be parts of the law that are “weightier” (Matthew 23:23) than other parts. If all sins are equal with God then all parts of the law should be equal in weight.
11. God classifies unforgiveness as an especially offensive sin, elevating it above other sins in some passages (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:23-35).
12. Paul says that immorality is a worse sin than others because it is “against” the body while other sins are “outside the body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
13. Jesus rebuked some of the cities where He had done His mighty works and warned them that it would be “more tolerable for the land of Sodom” (Matthew 10:15; 11:24) than for them. Certainly this implies that some sins are worse than others, if for no other reason than the fact that greater opportunities result in greater culpability.
14. Jesus said that before you can help your brother remove the speck from his eye, you first have to remove the mote from your own eye (Matthew 7:3). Christ is making some kind of distinction between two sins of varying degree.
15. If all sins are equal then why does the author of Hebrews ask, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29...emphasis mine). Clearly, the writer believes some sins deserve “worse punishment” than others.
16. Peter indicates that at least a greater knowledge of spiritual things affects the severity of a person’s sins. “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21...emphasis mine).
17. John the apostle distinguished between sins that didn’t lead to death and “sin” that brought death without remedy. (1 John 5:16-17).

It’s impossible in light of the aforementioned scriptures to argue, as Jennifer Knapp, Dolly Parton and so many others do, that “all sins are equal to God.” We at least have to acknowledge that there are varying degrees of offenses, as well as consequences, that result.

Actually, telling people that “all sins are equal to God” not only undermines their understanding of the seriousness of certain sins, it also diminishes their understanding of the character of God. God is just and justice itself would seem to indicate that not “all sins are equal.”

Having said that, I also agree with Dr. Billy Graham when he said, “It is always difficult and dangerous to attempt to list sins according to their degree of seriousness. In one sense, all sins are equal in that they all separate us from God...At the same time, it seems obvious that some sins are worse than others in both motivation and effects, and should be judged accordingly. Stealing a loaf of bread is vastly different than exterminating a million people…”

I don’t want anyone to think that I am trying to categorize sins so that we might excuse some of them while decrying the evil of others. That was the error some first-century Rabbis made. Neither am I in agreement with the Catholic doctrine that distinguishes between venial sins (those that do not separate you from God) and mortal sins (those that separate you from God). The Bible teaches that all sin is against God and offensive to Him. Any sin, no matter its degree of violation, separates the sinner from God. And, all sin is deserving of God’s divine wrath. That’s why Jesus had to come. There are none of us that are guiltless before God (Romans 3:23) and only the sinless One, Jesus Christ, could pay our sin penalty.

Stop following the cultural mantra that “all sins are equal to God.” The fact is, some sins are clearly worse than other sins and we should be willing to acknowledge that truth. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that your sins aren’t that bad and surely God will “overlook” them, either. “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) and all sin results in separation from God (Romans 6:23).

We need to learn how to think biblically, which will almost always be countercultural thinking. Listen carefully to what people are saying and find out what the scripture says before you begin quoting them. All sins are not equal, though all sins separate a person from God.

Application:

1. Don’t let yourself forget the price Jesus paid for our sins to remove our guilt and claim us as His own.
2. Don’t let yourself excuse sin in your own life, but deal with it in repentance and confession quickly  (1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13).
3. Don’t let yourself be silenced by those looking to equalize all sins in order to shift the focus from their own sin.

The Fear of the Lord

Psalm 128:1 (cf. Deuteronomy 5:24-29)

The modern church is quite adept at communicating some of the great moral attributes of God such as His love, mercy, grace, patience, and goodness. I am grateful that we have placed these eternal truths and divine qualities at the forefront of our teaching and preaching. But, in the process, we have become less adept at speaking about His other moral attributes such as His holiness, righteousness, justice and wrath. As a result, we too often have given people a skewed view of the person of God rather than presenting Him as He is described in scripture. I believe it is important that we do more to communicate the whole picture of the God we serve and not just our favorite truths about Him.

One of the results of a skewed view of God is a diminished “fear of the Lord” that too often characterizes the lives of believers, as well as loss of a deep appreciation for His attributes of love, mercy, grace, patience and goodness.

What motivated the early Christians as much as their blessings from God was their “fear of the Lord.” For instance, it was the “fear of the Lord” that helped them to purify their lives (2 Corinthians 7:1—“…perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”). It motivated them to work together in the family of God (Ephesians 5:21—“submitting to one another in the fear of God.”). It enabled them to live godly lives before others (Philippians 2:12 — “…work out [outwardly] your own salvation with fear and trembling.”). It compelled them to win souls to Christ (Acts 9:31—“…the churches…walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they were multiplied.”).

What you discover when reading your Bible is that these phrases, “fear of the Lord,” “fear of God,” “fear the Lord,” “fear God,” or “fear Me” are mentioned numerous times throughout the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments.

Even Jesus instructed that the One to be feared was the Lord Himself.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28—this is a verse often misinterpreted)

1.   The “Fear of the Lord” Defined

A.    This fear for believers does not involve terror of the type that makes you want to flee into hiding.

(2 Timothy 1:7) “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

(1 John 4:18) “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Example: Adam & Eve’s terrifying fear came from their sin.

David McCullough’s biography of Teddy Roosevelt, Mornings On Horseback, includes a story of young Teddy as a child in New York City:

“Mittie [his mother] had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the ‘zeal.’ It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what a zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about it from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word zeal until suddenly, very excited, he told her to stop. The line was from the Gospel of John 2:17: Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house hath eaten Me up.’”  But, that is not the kind of fear implied in the phrase, “the fear of the Lord.”

B.    The “fear of the Lord” comes to believers in the context of filial love.

A child has a healthy fear of his parents in the context of love. The same is true of the Child of God and his Heavenly Father.

C.    The “fear of the Lord” has been universally defined as a reverential awe of God.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines awe as, “A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might”

D.    This fear, though not terror, is associated with “trembling,” which comes from a concern of offending a holy God.

(Philippians 2:12) “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”

E.    Perhaps we could combine these thoughts to define the “fear of the Lord” in this manner:

It is a reverential awe of God that sincerely desires to please Him & trembles at the mere thought of displeasing Him.

2.   The “Fear of the Lord” Described

A.    Joseph won his brother’s trust after he told them he “fear[ed] God” (Genesis 42:18).

B.    It was because the midwives “feared God” that Moses was saved alive (Exodus 1:17).

C.    Pharaoh brought disaster on his nation because he did not yet “fear the Lord God” (Exodus 9:29-30).

D.    Moses chose leaders on the basis that they “fear[ed] God” (Exodus 18:21).

E.    The Israelites “feared the Lord” after the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:26-31).

(Exodus 14:31) “Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.”

F.     Moses told the Hebrews that God met with them in a terrifying display of His power so that they might “fear” Him and not sin (Exodus 20:20).

G.    The Mosaic Law cites “fear of God” as a reason to treat the disabled and elderly well (Leviticus 19:14, 32).

H.    Isaiah “feared” the Lord when he saw Him “high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1-5).

I.      The early church experienced the “fear of the Lord” when Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and were killed for doing so (Acts 5:1-11).

(Acts 5:11) “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

3.   The “Fear of the Lord” Detailed

A.    God lays out in the book of Proverbs some of the blessings that may be received by those who “fear the Lord.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of knowledge.

(Proverbs 1:7) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” will cause one to hate evil.

(Proverbs 8:13) “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” tends to prolong life.

(Proverbs 10:27) “The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” gives strong confidence and is a fountain of life.

(Proverbs 14:26-27) “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” persuades us to depart from evil.

(Proverbs 16:6) “In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” produces a satisfying life.

(Proverbs 19:23) “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.”

●      The “fear of the Lord” is the path to true riches, honor, and life.

(Proverbs 22:4) “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”

B.    It is important to notice that the “fear of the Lord” in these verses does not give you the totality of the things spoken of, but it puts you in a position to experience them as God gives them.

4.   The “Fear of the Lord” Desired

(Nehemiah 1:11) “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.’ For I was the king’s cupbearer.”

A.    It must be embraced (i.e., chosen).

(Proverbs 1:29-30) “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.”

B.    It can be learned.

(Deuteronomy 4:10) “...especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’”

C.    It will be followed (the evidence is obedience).

(Genesis 22:12) “And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’”

Conclusion:

5.   The “Fear of the Lord” Developed

A.    By Reading God’s Word

(Deuteronomy 31:10-13) “And Moses commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.’”

B.    By Recognizing God’s worthiness

As Isaiah did when He saw the Lord “high and lifted up,” we too must see Him in His exalted position if we are to learn the “fear of the Lord.”

In his book, Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer writes: “In olden days men of faith were said to ‘walk in the fear of God’ and to ‘serve the Lord with fear.’ However intimate their communion with God, however bold their prayers, at the base of their religious life was the conception of God as awesome and dreadful. This idea of God transcendent runs through the whole Bible and gives color and tone to the character of saints. This fear of God was more than a natural apprehension of danger; it was...an acute feeling of personal insufficiency in the presence of God the Almighty.

Wherever God appeared to men in Bible times the results were the same… a wrenching sensation of sinfulness and guilt. When God spoke, Abraham stretched himself upon the ground to listen. When Moses saw the Lord in the burning bush, he hid his face in fear to look upon God. Isaiah’s vision of God wrung from him the cry, ‘Woe is me!’ Daniel’s encounter with God was probably the most dreadful and wonderful of them all.

Conversely, the self-assurance of modern Christians, the basic levity present in so many of our religious gatherings, the shocking disrespect shown for the Person of God, are evidence enough of deep blindness of heart. Many call themselves by the name of Christ, talk much about God, and pray to Him sometimes, but evidently do not know who He is…”

C.    By Rehearsing God’s works

Recalling the mighty acts of God.

The problem with our sinful world (and many that are believers) is that they DO NOT “fear the Lord!!”

·       (Romans 3:18) “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

·       (Hebrews 10:31) “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

The fear of the Lord is a reverential awe of God that sincerely desires to please Him & trembles at the mere thought of displeasing Him.