What Grows from a Healthy Fear of the Lord?

I have a fear — a phobia, if you prefer. My fear is not homophobia, arachnophobia, xenophobia, or even phobophobia (fear of fear). My phobia is a theophobia. I fear God.

Now, to be clear, I am a Christian and a minister of the Gospel. Yet, I readily admit to this fear. I know Jesus is the friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34). Yet, the friend of sinners is also the Creator of all. And I am the creature. If St. John the Evangelist, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23), fell before the resurrected Christ as if a dead man, would I do otherwise? No. I do most certainly fear the omnipotent and omnipresent one triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Rather than seeking therapy to rid myself of this fear of God, I am seeking God through worship, sacrament, and prayer to promote and deepen my fear. The Bible has a great deal to say about the cultivation of a healthy fear of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 10:12 – “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.”

Job 28:28 – “And unto man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Psalms 33:8 – “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”

Psalms 34:9 – “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”

Psalms 86:11 – “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”

Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 3:7 – “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

Proverbs 8:13 – “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

Proverbs 14:26 – “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”

Proverbs 14:27 – “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Matthew 10:28 – “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Luke 1:50 – “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.”

Philippians 2:12-13 – “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.”

Unlike harmful phobias, the fear of the Lord is most sensible, most wholesome, and most desired. How so? There are at least three revealed truths that stir a godly fear of the Lord.

1. The Fear of the Lord Brings Knowledge of God: Theology

My theology, viz., my understanding of God, is grounded in His revelation of Himself. He is a God of love and grace, but neither His grace nor love cancels His justice. His justice (as He reveals it to me in His Word) requires a payment for my sin, as well as a blameless life. I don’t possess the latter, and I cannot bear the former. And this leads me to a second reason that a healthy fear of the Lord is both warranted and wise:

2. The Fear of the Lord Brings Knowledge of Self: Anthropology

My anthropology, that is, my knowledge of humanity, and, thus, understanding of self and others, is also grounded in God’s revealed truth in His Word, the Bible. In that Word, I can “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” (Thomas Cranmer, the Collect, i.e., a gathering prayer, for the Second Sunday in Advent) my condition before God: a helpless sinner in desperate need of a salvation that is “out of this world.”

I can do nothing to earn merit with God, and, in fact, my attempts at self-justification only serve to compound the offense against God. So, I am dead in trespasses and sins before my Creator. By His grace I am awakened to cry out before the Lord, “Save me, a vile sinner undeserving of Thy mercy,” and He will hear, forgive, and provide what I need to come before His awesome throne. And that brings me face-to-face with a third revealed truth.

3. The Fear of the Lord Brings Knowledge of Christ: Christology

Jesus Christ is the virgin-born, Prince of Peace, Son of God and Son of Man (viz., the promised Messiah to save the world) who lived the life I could never live, and died the death that should have been mine. He is the Mediator of the New Testament of God’s grace who stands as my Advocate: the perfect Man, the only true God of God, light of light, begotten not made, who came for us and our salvation (words adapted from the ancient Nicene Creed).

Therefore, my fear of God is a reverence born of revealed truth: the truth of who God is, who I am, and who Jesus of Nazareth is. I mentioned John’s response to the resurrected Christ. That reference is here:

“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:17, 18).

Our fear of God is a familial reverence and awe for a Father who sent His only-begotten Son for us. This is not a fear of a stranger, but the due reverence of awareness of my sin and His holiness, and of my inability and His provision. In a word, it is a reverence shaped by wonder. And wonder is a spontaneous response to a “love so amazing, so divine” (Isaac Watts). It is a “fear” that causes us to confess our sins and receive the crucified and resurrected Christ and open the door to His presence and power in our lives.

This is a reverence that is received as love. For the One before whom we fall in worship is the God who wipes away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). He is the One who welcomes us home to Himself. When I consider this unearthly love, this immense grace, and such an ethereal mercy — knowing who He is, who I am, and what Christ did for me — I cannot help but fall before Him even again, and for evermore.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Boonyachoat

Michael A. Milton (PhD, Wales) is a long-time Presbyterian minister (PCA) and a regular contributor to Salem Web Network. In addition to founding three churches, and the call as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga, Dr. Milton is a retired Army Chaplain (Colonel). He is the recipient of the Legion of Merit. Milton has also served as chancellor and president of seminaries and is the author of more than thirty books. He has composed and performed original music for five albums. He and his wife, Mae, reside in Western North Carolina. His most recent book is a second edition release: Hit by Friendly Fire: What to do when Another Believer Hurts You (Resource Publications, 2022). To learn more visit and subscribe: https://michaelmilton.org/about/.