Christians & Muslims Forums

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The Bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7). But what is this fear of God? On the pulpit these days I keep hearing that this fear of God is "a reverence" of God. Is this true? Is reverence synonymous with fear, or is it a result of fear?

We see at certain times in the gospels where Christ says to his disciples, "fear not!" Some Christians might use this verse as "evidence" that we are not to tremble in God's presence. I will agree that one needs not to tremble in God's presence if they are in obedience (until I am corrected otherwise). But if the Holy Spirit is being grieved continuously or if you are not a believer, you better tremble! I speak to an unbeliever who blasphemes the Holy Spirit and I speak to the one who grieves the Spirit continually as, for example, a backsliden Christian (perhaps similar to the prodigal son).

I sense that these preachings today on fear being reverence is that of the flesh, because as human beings we do not enjoy being fearful. So, we want to replace it for having a feeling of awe before God. How ridiculous is this? (the teaching and not the teacher, who needs to be rebuked). In a sense, that is like wanting the pleasures of obedience without the obedience itself. Consider 1 Chronicles 13:12 where David was "afraid" of God and wondering how he was going to bring the ark of God, after seeing Uzza's death. In chapter 15, this fear led David to reverence when he visited the law of God and realized that the Levites were to carry the ark; which eventually led to his dancing and praising God (which in this case is also an act of reverence, or worship if you may).

So, this showed that David's fear led to him reverencing God.

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Is fear in terms of trembling a bad thing? Many people seem to believe that Christians are only such because we fear the conequences given in scripture (notice I say things carefully to avoid an 'eternal punishing vs. annihilation' debate).

But doesn't a child get frightened when they are punished by their parents? Surely fear is not the reason a child might end up loving their parents, even if their parents disciplined them.

Though Christians may fear the consequences of disobediance, it is not the reason why we are Christians. Also take into account that there are other religions in the world that have their punishments for not believing in them. Christians do not fear those. So, for Christians it is more than just being fearful.