Fear of God

I want to discuss the fear of God, a crucial topic that we must understand. This insight is courtesy of Ed Welch, from his book “When People Are Big and God is Small.” I’m adapting his thoughts for this animation.

Initially, without God as our Savior and without Christ as our Redeemer, we live in terror and dread; we tremble. As we move toward God, we begin to see changes. This journey reflects the fear of God. At first, the fear of God is terror and dread, which is our natural state. But as we come to Christ, this fear transforms—from terror and dread to trembling, astonishment, awe, reverence, devotion, trust, and worship. This is the fear of God continuum, something all Christians experience.

When we first hear about God, we feel fear. But as we mature, this fear evolves from terror to worship. In the early hours of the Garden of Eden, Adam hid from God because he understood God’s holy justice. God said if you eat from this tree, then these things will happen. God is holy, and there will be justice. Therefore, Adam was in terror because he knew of God’s holy justice.

Following this continuum, as we move from left to right, we seek, draw near, and submit to the Lord. We not only know of His holy justice but also learn of Christ’s satisfaction of that justice and His holy love. As we learn of His holy love, we move down the continuum. A person who fears God should, in their endemic state, hide and run from God, having a healthy awareness of God’s holy justice.

Unfortunately, in today’s culture, people have rejected God. They have exchanged the truth of God for lies, do not know the Bible, and their hearts have become hard, lacking any fear of God. A healthy fear of God begins with knowing that God is just and sin must be paid for. Understanding that sin was paid for on the cross, and Christ satisfied God’s holy justice, we learn of His holy love.

We no longer live in terror or dread. We move into trembling, astonishment, awe, reverence, devotion, and trust. Now, we have a healthy understanding and practice of the fear of God, knowing His holy justice and His holy love, and we worship Him.