Good Fear and Bad Fear
The Bible tells us about two kinds of fear. The fear of the Lord is very good.(Psalm 25:12-15) The fear of Satan, man, and other things is very destructive.(Psalm 27:1) I preached a message on this not long ago, and this distinction seemed to confuse some people, so let me explain a bit.
When we fear God, it is a reverent respect for His power, holiness, and justice. Yes, we fear what He can and will do to us, if we sin. However, we do not fear Him in the same way we fear a person. We can fear God and be close to Him. Our fear of God helps us to do the right things, instead of leading us to do the wrong things. That is why I say that it is good fear, and it is different from the fear of other people or things.
When we fear Satan, people, or other things that fear hinders our relationship with God. We allow the fear to change our actions, so that we do not do God's will. Therefore, all of the fear besides the fear of God is not good for us. In fact, God doesn't want us to fear anyone or anything, except Him. This is possible when we are confident that Jesus has saved us from our sins, so Satan has no further power over us, unless we grant him that access to our lives. Also, it is possible when we know that the Lord is our strength for life, so there is nothing we can't do or overcome in His power. Therefore, we should not fear when we are living out our salvation.
The bad fear binds us, but the good fear sets us free to be all that we can be in the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-31.
When we fear God, it is a reverent respect for His power, holiness, and justice. Yes, we fear what He can and will do to us, if we sin. However, we do not fear Him in the same way we fear a person. We can fear God and be close to Him. Our fear of God helps us to do the right things, instead of leading us to do the wrong things. That is why I say that it is good fear, and it is different from the fear of other people or things.
When we fear Satan, people, or other things that fear hinders our relationship with God. We allow the fear to change our actions, so that we do not do God's will. Therefore, all of the fear besides the fear of God is not good for us. In fact, God doesn't want us to fear anyone or anything, except Him. This is possible when we are confident that Jesus has saved us from our sins, so Satan has no further power over us, unless we grant him that access to our lives. Also, it is possible when we know that the Lord is our strength for life, so there is nothing we can't do or overcome in His power. Therefore, we should not fear when we are living out our salvation.
The bad fear binds us, but the good fear sets us free to be all that we can be in the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-31.