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August 27 - October 6, 2023
There are many unsaved people who confess their belief that God can save. However, until they repent and believe in the gospel, they are without saving grace. The same proves true for our pursuit of holiness. There are many Christians who believe that God can give the ability to live holy, but until they wholeheartedly believe that grace empowers, they won’t benefit.
“Many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure” (2 Corinthians 12:21).
You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together. (2 Corinthians 6:14 NCV)
The fear of the Lord motivates us to will (gives us the desire), and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ enables us to do (empowers us).
am motivated by holy fear to pursue holiness and will accomplish it by the power of God’s grace.
Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. —PSALM 119:35
the fear of the Lord can be broken into two categorical definitions: to tremble at God’s presence and to tremble at His Word.
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?” (Isaiah 66:1).
“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)
Three virtues are listed: humility, a contrite heart, and those who “tremble at my word,”
The one who trembles at God’s Word always exalts what He says above anything else. Nothing is more important. It’s the true evidence of holy fear. This person is most blessed.
The God-fearing man or woman not only obeys but greatly delights in doing so.
Obedience is not a burden; it’s a joy.
The person who fears God always obeys. This person, at the core of his or her being, is unmovable from the following foundational truths: God is the One who knows what’s right for me. God is pure love, and I am the focus of His love. God will never tell me to do anything that is detrimental. Whatever He says will always end up best. Therefore, no matter what He says, I gladly choose to obey.
Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies. (Deuteronomy 28:47–48 NKJV)
five sins that kept Israel from its destiny: craving evil things, worshiping idols, sexual immorality, testing God, and complaining (1 Corinthians 10:6–10).
It opened my eyes to the fact that complaining is the antithesis of holy fear; it’s not trembling at His Word. We dishonor God and His Word when we think or speak from the posture of discontent.
Those who fear God are firmly established that there’s nothing more important or beneficial than obedience. They obey no matter the cost and don’t filter God’s Word through the culture or trends of present-day society. They also don’t base their obedience to God’s Word on how other believers behave; they simply obey.
Holy fear instills in our hearts that what’s important to God is priority to me.
This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God. (Matthew 5:23–24 MSG)
“Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me?” (1 Samuel 2:29).
When we are slow or neglect to obey God for any person or purpose, we honor that person or purpose above honoring God.
“I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” (1 Samuel 2:30)
We think lightly of God when we delay or neglect to obey His Word. We in essence communicate: He’s not our priority.
To repent means to change the way you think—and thus act—in order to come in line with God’s Word.
However, when what is not sin takes precedence over the Word of the Lord, it becomes sin.
If we delay our obedience to God’s Word for personal excuses, we communicate that His will is secondary in importance.
It’s possible that seemingly harmless things can detour us from fulfilling God’s will. When what is not sin takes precedence over the Word of the Lord, it becomes sin.
the fear of the Lord truly is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10).
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5–6)
The person who fears God obeys, even when it doesn’t make sense.
There are times God will tell us to do something that just doesn’t make sense in our minds. But His wisdom is always confirmed by the results.
“Wisdom is shown to be right by its results” (Matthew 11:19).
Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. (Proverbs 28:26)
It is man’s duty to love and to fear God, even without hope of reward or fear of punishment. —MAIMONIDES
There was nothing in it for her, yet what was important to God was most important to her, no exceptions. She trembled at His Word; she feared God.
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:25)
We most often miss the greatest blessings by shunning God’s wisdom that doesn’t appear to be personally beneficial. In essence, we hurt ourselves in the long run. We can never outgive God.
Apart from obedience, there can be no salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility. —A.W. TOZER
Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. (1 Peter 4:1 NKJV)
True Christianity seeks to obey God and, in the process, faces a fallen world’s resistance, which often results in suffering.
The fear of the Lord is what arms us; it maintains a deep resolve in our will to obey God no matter what suffering it may entail.
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. (1 Peter 2:21–23)
They lived in a fallen world that is hostile to the kingdom of God (Hebrews 11:36–39).
“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy . . . they sing as they return with the harvest” (Psalm 126:5–6).
In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. (Proverbs 14:26 NKJV)
The fear of the Lord is what arms us to maintain a deep resolve to obey God, even in the face of adversity.
Insecurity needs to be called out for what it is: a dangerous trap.
Never quit! . . . Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way . . . When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:2–3 MSG)
When men no longer fear God, they transgress His laws without hesitation. The fear of consequences is no deterrent when the fear of God is gone. —A.W. TOZER
