WALKING IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Dr. W. A. Criswell

Acts 9:31

10-23-77    7:30 p.m.

And once again and with deepening appreciation, thank you, choir and instrumentalists, for
making our evening hour so fully worthy the praise and name of the Lord.  On the great radio
station of the Southwest, KRLD, and on the radio station of our Bible Institute, KCBI, we
welcome the throngs of you who are sharing this hour with us in the First Baptist Church of
Dallas.  This is the pastor bringing the message entitled Walking in the Fear of the Lord. 

In our preaching through the Book of Acts, we are in chapter 9.  And let us read outloud
together verses 26 through 31.  Acts 9:26-31, Acts 9 beginning at verse 26 and reading through
verse 31.  Now, all of us together, reading it out loud:

And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the
disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them
how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, and how
he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the
Grecians: but when they went about to slay him.

Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent
him forth to Tarsus.

Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and
were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, were multiplied.

[Acts 9:26-31]

And our text: that characterization of Dr. Luke of the churches after the conversion of the great
arch-persecutor, Saul of Cilicia: “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, Galilee,
Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, they were multiplied” [Acts 9:31].

Could you think of a more typical characterization, using Bible words and imagery and thought,
than you find in this word: “Walking in the fear of the Lord?”  The word “fear of the Lord” is a
phrase that the Bible loves, and approves, and uses so frequently.  For example, there are more
than three hundred instances in the Old Testament where that phrase, “fear of the Lord,” is used
or referred to.

Do you remember that the wisest man who ever lived closed the Book of Ecclesiastes with that
word: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.”  Namely: “Fear God, and keep His
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” [Ecclesiastes 12:13].  Sum up all of the
relationships of this earth with God above, and it is said in that brief word, “Fear God and keep
His commandments; this is the whole duty of man.”  You have it also no less in the New
Testament.  In the tenth chapter of the Book of Acts, for example, Cornelius, this worthy
centurion in Caesarea, the capital of the Roman province of Judea, he’s described as a man
who feared the Lord with all his house.  And that commended him to the grace and mercy of
God.

What does that mean in the Bible: “the fear of the Lord?”  You can see its meaning in the one
hundred thirty-ninth Psalm, when the psalmist says: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  I am
fearfully and wonderfully made” [Psalm 139:14].  That is, it is awesome how God has constructed
this human frame.

There is no miracle seen in the stars above or in the earth, the planet that swings around this
sun, like the miracle of the framing of a human life.  All of those little engineers and all of those
little carpenters and all of those little bodies put together, working day and night in the unseen
womb of a mother, building a new frame, a new life: an anatomical miracle; that’s what that
word means.  An awesome wonder; I am fearfully and wonderfully made, awesomely
constructed.  There is no part of it but that the more the anatomists will study it, the more
miraculous and wondrous it seems.

Look again at the use of that word in the Book of Hebrews.  Speaking of the atoning death of
our Lord, the author writes, “Our Lord, who in the days of His flesh, offered up strong crying and
tears unto God who was able to save Him out of death, and was heard in that He feared”
[Hebrews 5:7].

That is, when the Savior, who learned obedience by the things which He suffered [Hebrews 5:8]
—when the Savior offered Himself unto God, He did so in that reverent awe of God the Father,
who is able to save Him out of death, giving Himself on the cross; committed Himself to the Lord
God in heaven, who was able to save Him out of death, to raise Him out of death, to lift Him out
of the grave, to raise Him in glory [Hebrews 5:7].  And this Son of God was heard, in that His
awesome reverence before God was accepted in the presence of the Almighty as a gift of love
and praise and obedience.  It is a marvelous phrase.  It is a wondrous phrase: “Walking in the
fear of the Lord” [Acts 9:31]; the awesome wonder of God Almighty.  And now our message
tonight will be that word: “The fear of the Lord,” walking in His presence.

First of all, according to the Word of God, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,”
Psalm 111:10, and that is the text of the Book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom” [Proverbs 9:10].  Now, what does he mean by that?  It is something that is very
apparent and very beautiful: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Now, you look. 
What is the difference between wisdom [Proverbs 9:10] and knowledge [Proverbs 1:7], or science
or logic?

Well, knowledge is just a collection of facts, all of these things we know.  That is knowledge.
Science is the arrangement of those facts.  Here they are in this position and this position and
this position.  That is science.  Logic is the relation of facts.  This and this and this: that is logical
and reasonable.  But wisdom is in altogether a different category.  Wisdom comes from God. 
Wisdom is the sensitivity to the hand of God in all of the phenomenon and all of the facts that
we observed in human life and in the world of nature around us, below us, and above us.  And
without God, there is no purpose and no meaning and no ultimate in any fact that we know in
the universe.  It is God and the hand of the Lord that gives facts, pertinency, and purpose.  That
is wisdom.

Now, the psalmist says and the text of the Book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord—the
awesome reverence of the Lord—is the beginning of wisdom.”  And when we stand in the
presence of the Almighty God and look at His hand in history and in human life and in the whole
universe, we stand in reverential awe, and I can almost say terror, in the presence of the
omnipotent and almightiness of the great God Jehovah.

For example, in the word of His mouth, He can destroy a whole civilization.  It says that in the
eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews: “Noah, being moved by fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house” [Hebrews 11:7].  With just a word from God, a whole civilization, the
antedeluvians, was destroyed [Genesis 7:21-23].  With a word from God, cities are destroyed. 
When Lot came to his sons-in-law and pled with them in Sodom to escape the judgment of God,
Genesis says that, to his sons-in-law, Lot was as one who mocked [Genesis 19:14].  He jested. 
Surely, he couldn’t be serious.  God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?  And they
laughed and scoffed.

Oh, the terror of the judgment of God!  The Lord in a word can destroy a great army.  In the
thirty-seventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah, in one night with one angel, just one—think of what
a host of angels could do—just one angel passed over the Assyrian army that was
encompassing Jerusalem, and the next morning one hundred eighty-five thousand dead
corpses lay in those forsaken and judgmental tents [Isaiah 37:36].  Ah, the awesomeness of
God.  Just with a word of the Lord, a whole nation can be destroyed.  The little Book of Nahum
is a description of God’s judgment upon Assyria.

Ah! what God is able to do, “walking in the fear of the Lord” [Acts 9:31].  And it is no less so with
a king and with a queen.  Jehovah God sent Elijah to confront Ahab and Jezebel in the stoning
to death of Naboth [1 Kings 21:17-18].  And the Lord God, through Elijah, said to Ahab: “In that
place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick up thy blood, even thine”
[1 Kings 21:19].   And turning to Jezebel, he said, “And dogs shall eat       ueen Jezebel at the
entrance of the gate into the city of Jezreel” [1 Kings 21:23].   The awesomeness, the terror of the
omnipotent judgments of Almighty God! 

You know, sometimes you could wonder, why don’t men tremble before the judgments of God? 
Listen to the Word of the Lord, and you’ll see why:

 
 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the
heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 

Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I
know that it shall be well with them which fear God, which fear before Him.

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, because
which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

[Ecclesiastes 8:11-13]

Look at that.  “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily.”  Because the
judgment of God does not fall immediately upon an evil man, “therefore his heart is fully set to
do wrong” [Ecclesiastes 8:11].  Ah! does God allow time and a day to temper that ultimate
judgment?  No!  He said to Adam: “In the day that you eat thereof thou shall surely die” [Genesis
2:17].  And that day his soul died, and 930 years later, Adam died [Genesis 5:5].  The judgments
of God inevitably fall.  Though not maybe now, yet some day, they inevitably fall. 

Take Nahum.  Nahum delivered that prophecy against Assyria [Nahum 1-3].  But it was a full
generation, a whole generation, before it came to pass.  When Elijah said that to Jezebel: “Dogs
shall eat your flesh at the entering in of the gate of Jezreel” [1 Kings 21:23], that prophecy did not
come to pass until twenty years later [2 Kings 9:30-37].  But it came to pass.  That is the fear of
the Lord: the fear of God in a man’s heart; the fear of God in a woman’s heart.  And that is the
beginning of wisdom [Acts 9:31].  The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the almightiness of God,
reverential awe as we stand in the presence of Him who holds our life and our breath in His
hand.

Look again.  What is this “fear of the Lord?”  It is, the fear of the Lord is, to hate evil [Proverbs
8:13].  Isn’t that an unusual word, but you will find that thought much elaborated in the Bible. 
Listen to the psalmist as he says: “Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee?. . .I hate them
with perfect hatred: I count them my enemies” [Psalm 139:21, 22].  The fear of the Lord is to hate
evil.

Well, how do you interpret that placing it in human life?  I can easily illustrate it.  Never could I
forget the first time I ever saw a child with polio.  It was in my first pastorate out of the seminary. 
It was a disease to which I had never been introduced before.  And in our own congregation
was a sweet, dear, and precious family.  They had a boy who was fourteen years of age.  And I
went to see the boy.  He was in the home and there in a room, separate and apart.  And I stood
there and looked down into the face of that fourteen year-old boy.  He had gradually, gradually,
gradually, gradually, gradually, almost imperceptibly each day and hour, moved toward final
destruction and death: disintegration and corruption.

And when I looked upon him, he was a living skeleton.  And the suffering of the lad and the
length of time of that illness, oh, it was terrible to me!  And as I stood there and finally knelt there
by the side of the boy and prayed, I felt in my heart a welling up.  I hate evil and sin, and Satan
and the devil that brings such sorrow and such tragedy and such suffering upon the human
race.  God never intended that.  God never planned for its death.  He never planned for disease
and wasting and corruption.  God made us to live forever.  But Satan has deceived us, and
Satan has brought sin, and sickness, and sorrow, and suffering, and death into the world.  And it
is an awesome thing: “To fear God is to hate evil” [Proverbs 8:13].

Think again.  In Kentucky, where so much of our distilleries are located, these instruments of
death that are located in the limestone hills of Kentucky.  There was a man in my little
congregation there who hated the liquor traffic.  He did not just hate the liquor traffic casually or
summarily or indifferently, he hated with a vengeance.  And one day, in visiting with him, I asked
him why the vehemence by which he hated the liquor traffic.

And he said, “I’ll give you an instance.”  He had a friend, who what you now call an alcoholic,
who was a drunk.  He had a friend who was a drunk.  And late on Saturday night, when he had
spent his money, they kicked him out of the saloon.  They pushed him out; didn’t have any more
money to spend, drunk in debt, so they pushed him out.  And that drunk staggered down the
road and finally fell face down in the ditch on the side of the road.  When he didn’t appear by the
next morning, they sought to find him.  And in the cold wintertime, they found him lying there,
face down in the ditch, frozen to death.  And the man described to me his friend, as they pried
him up and stood him up, and the mud and the dirt on the face of the image of God [Genesis
1:27].  And he said, “I hate it.”

That is the fear of the Lord: to hate evil.  When men compromise with evil, they affront God. 
When Christians play footsy with iniquity, they disgrace the name of the Lord.  When we live in
our own self-compromised life, we do dishonor to the name of the blessed Jesus.  This is the
fear of the Lord: to hate evil [Proverbs 8:13].

Look again at a beautiful way that the Lord shall present this fear of the Lord.  The psalmist
writes in Psalm 34:9: “O fear the Lord, ye saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. 
They shall not lack” [Psalm 34:10].  Or, may I read it again, turning the page in the thirty-seventh
Psalm?

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: the Lord upholdeth him with His
hand.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.

[Psalm 37:23-25]

What do you think of that?  “O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear
Him” [Psalm 34:9].  “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I never seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” [Psalm 37:25].  God will take care of those who love and
fear Him.  If I had time, which I don’t, I’d like to just expatiate on why it is that a man that loves
God prospers in this life.  There is a reason for his prosperity.  There are a thousand evil habits
to which he never gives himself, never.
Last week, preaching in the Bahamas, the only reason the hotel is there is because of the
casino.  And as I stood there in the hotel and watched those people, all day and all night, I
cannot understand the make-up of a man’s mind who goes into a robber’s den, where he
himself knows that every machine is rigged against him.  How could the hotel be there and how
could the casino prosper if they didn’t make money on the idiots, stupid, who come in there and
throw their money away?  Why, that’s just as plain as day.  I never lost any money in a casino.  I
came back with it all in my pocket.  There’s a thousand ways that I could illustrate that.

There is a reason why God will prosper the man who is walking in the fear of the Lord, who
gives a tenth of what he has to Jesus, who gives an offering above to the Lord.  God prospers
that man.  His way is known to Jesus.  There is no want to those who walk in the fear of the
Lord [Psalm 34:9].  Now, I want you to come to the pastor’s study, and I want you to be behind
the door.  And I want you to listen and, if there is a little crack in the door, I want you to watch.
And this is what you’ll see: in the pastor’s study, there is an old broken gray-headed woman, a
widow of many years.  And she’s come to tell the pastor of the want and the need in her life.

And as she says, “My sole support”—now this has been years ago—“my sole support has been
my only daughter, who takes in sewing and has supported me and her.  And now my daughter
is sick and in the hospital, and we have no means, no way.  And we are in want, but I don’t
know what to do.”

And the pastor says to that old gray-headed woman, “What?  What?  You are in want?  You are
in need?  Why, I cannot understand.  Your Father is rich.”

“Oh, no,” says this old gray-head woman, “My father is not rich.”

“But He is.  But He is.  But He is.  He has all the wealth of the world in His hands.  He is rich,
your Father is.”

And she remonstrates, “Pastor, no, my father has been dead for years.  And he died a poor
man.  My father is not rich.”

And the pastor says to that old gray-headed widow, “Your Father is rich in houses and land. 
The cattle on a thousand hills are His [Psalm 50:10].  All the gold and silver are His” [Haggai 2:8].

She says, “Oh, you mean God.”

And the pastor says, “Yes, I mean God our Father is rich.  Why don’t you ask Him for your
need?”

And she says, “I never thought to do so.”

So the pastor says, “Let us bow our heads and let us ask the Father.  Tell Him all about our
want and our need.”  So that old gray-headed widow bowed her face before the Lord and told
God all about it.

You know what your pastor did?  The next Sunday morning, I told our people about that dear
old woman.  And I said, “I’m going to stand back there at the door.  And I want all of you when
you go by me, I want you to take a dollar bill and you put it in my pocket.”
Did you know when I got through shaking hands with all of those people, I looked like a
decorated Christmas tree.  They stuck those bills in my collar, down my neck.  They stuck them
in my shirt.  They stuck them in my pockets.  They stuck them in my shoes.  They stuck them in
my belt.  They covered me.  They showered me with those sweet, kind remembrances.  And I
put them all together, and I gave them as a beginning of a remembrance of love for that old
gray-headed mother.

“God will take care of you.  Through every day, o’er all the way, God will take care of you” [from
“God Will Take Care of You,” Civilla Martin].  Trust Him for it.  Ask Him for it.  It is in the Book.
There is no want to them that fear the Lord: “I have been young, and now I am old: and yet have
I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” [Psalm 37:25].

My time is gone.  Let me read just one other passage.  One of the most beautiful and precious
in the Bible, listen to it.  This is in Malachi:

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord
hearkened, and heard it, and caused the book of remembrance to be written
before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.

And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up My jewels;
and I will spare them, as a father spare his own son that loveth him.

[Malachi 3:16, 17]

“They that feared the Lord spake often one to another” [Malachi 3:16].  It is a part of that
inwardness of the Christian life itself that makes us want to be together and to talk about the rich
mercies of the blessed Jesus.

I want to tell you something.  You know, a little boy goes through lots of things in growing up. 
My family went to church all the time.  We went to Sunday school.  We went to BYUP, then.  We
went to church Sunday morning.  We went to church Sunday night.  We went to church
Wednesday night.  I even went with my father to the choir on Thursday night.  And every time
the church was opened, why, my family went to church.  So, I came to the rich conclusion as a
growing up young man that that was idiocy and foolishness: to go to church all of the time.

So, when the next Wednesday night came, I said, “I’m not going.  I’m not.  Enough is enough. 
Go to church Sunday morning and go to church Sunday night, enough is enough.”  So, our
home was cater-cornered across from the church, just like that.  So, my father and my mother
and my brother went to prayer meeting.  Not I.  I was going to stay at home.  All of that church-
going—enough is enough.  So, I was there, trying to read some kind of a sorry book.  I don’t
know what it was, it was so sorry.  But I was there, trying to read some kind of a sorry book.  In
a little town, there wasn’t anything to do but to read a book.  So I was there trying to read that
sorry book.

Well, here I am trying to read that no-account book, and I hear the people began to sing.  Oh,
dear!  And I turned the page and try to see what that no-account author was saying in that no-
count book and, there, those songs of the Lord coming to my ear.  And then, when it was quiet, I
knew they were praying.  And then, I’d hear, wafted through the window and across the street
and to the house, the songs of the Lord.  Did you know, that’s the last time I ever tried it?  I
closed that book.  I stood up, walked out the door and came to the house of the Lord.

I don’t go to church because I have to.  I love to be here.  If I were the janitor of this church, I’d
be right here out of the love of my soul.  I love to mingle with Christian people.  I am most
awkward and most ill at ease where people are taking God’s name in vain, where they live
trashy and sorry and worldly lives.  But I love being with God’s saints, to pray, to sing, to listen
to the expounding of the Word of the Lord, just to be here in God’s place.  O Lord, how happy
and how pleasant has the Lord cast my life and lot that I should be here with you.

And that is our precious invitation to your heart, to open your heart Christ-ward and God-ward
and heavenward; to be with us in the fellowship of God’s redeemed; to join yourselves to the
household of faith; to be one with us, come, and a thousand times, welcome!  A family you, a
couple you or just one somebody you, in the balcony round, down one of these stairways; in the
press of people on this lower floor, down one of these aisles; on the first note of the first stanza,
come.  When you stand up in a moment, stand up walking down that aisle, walking down that
stairway.  Make the decision now in your heart, and when we stand up to sing that first stanza,
you stand up, walking down that aisle.  God bless you.  Angels attend you in the way as you
come, while we stand and while we sing.

http://www.wacriswell.com/sermons/1977/walking-in-the-fear-of-the-lord/

The Fear of God

Psalm 33:8 - 34:9 -67:7 - 85:9 - 103:17 -
111:10 -115:15 - Prov. 1:7 - 9:10 - 14:27
by Cooper Abrams

           Introduction:    The Bible uses the word "fear" 400 times in 385
verses. As we can see from these verses the fear of God is vital in
salvation and in living for the Lord. A man who does not fear God will
not believe in Him and thus not be saved. Salvation is believing in Jesus
Christ and accepting who He is A professing Christian who does not
fear God will not live a godly life. It refers to one's attitude or disposition
toward something, one's state of mind. One's attitude toward something
will determine how one acts. The will make choices in line with their
disposition. Their natural inclination will be to live their lives as their
disposition.
          One's disposition or attitude will be based on what the believe and
accept as true. If you believed that something was healthy and good for
you, you would eat that food. If you thought it was poisoned you would
not. You belief would guide your action.

          Further a professing Christian who does not have a proper fear of

God will not truly live for the Lord or be used of Him. A godly fear of the
Lord as the Lord explains is the beginning of wisdom. As Psalm 111:10
states a fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

          "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom." (Psalms 90:12) A wise man will accept the frailty and
uncertainly of life. He will accept that he is God's creations and as such
God has a purpose for giving him life and that each man is responsible
to God. He will accept God's word as true and pattern his life after God's
instructions realizing the life is short and that eternity is before him. A
wise man will not waste the time God has given him. Most of all a wise
will believe in God and by faith accept God's grace know that he is a
sinner and to go to heaven his sin's must be forgiven. He will accept
God's word and His plan of salvation and reject the false religions of the
world.

I. To understand what biblical fear is let's look at the various

words that are translated in our English Bibles "fear."
A. Mowra (*mo-raw) [noun] - a fearful thing, something
dreaded. God in Genesis 9 charges Noah and his sons to
replenish the earth. He further says speaking of the
animals, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall
be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of
the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all
the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered."
(Genesis 9:2) Clearly, we see this fear demonstrated in all
wild beasts and birds as they flee from man.

B. Yirah (yir-aw) - [noun] (dreadful or exceeding fear "And

Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God
is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's
sake." (Genesis 20:11) Abraham was speaking of the
Ahimelech a pagan Philistine king. He meant that the
Philistines were immoral and sinful people. Because they
did not fear God, or know Him they had no regard of what
was morally right. They were therefore a wicked people
with no regard for others. This is the nature result when
men, a nation, or society rejects God.

C. Pachad (pakh'-ad) [verb] - (also translated ‘afraid')

refers to a sudden alarm, an emotion fearful reaction to
something dreadful, terror, sudden panic. "My flesh
trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy
judgments." (Psalms 119:120) This is a fear that comes
from recognizing who God is and His righteousness in
judging sin. God hates sin and judges it severely.

           Note "For we know him that hath said,

Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God." (Hebrews 10:30-31) The Greek word
is phorberos and means to be frighten and fearful.
This would be a parallel word in Greek.

          Psalm 36:1 "The transgression of the wicked

saith within my heart, that there is no fear [Pachad ]
of God before his eyes." (Psalms 36:1)

D. Yare' (*yaw-ray) -[verb] afraid, frightened, dreadful, to

stand in awe. "Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." (Psalms
33:8) This word is used 330 times throughout the Bible. It
refers to a psychological reaction to of being fearful of
something. When God appeared before Abram it was a
terrifying thing, thus God told him not to be fearful.

          This is the Hebrew word most used to

describe a biblical fear of God.

          Psalm 36:1 "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of

David the servant of the LORD. The transgression
of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no
fear [Pachad ]of God before his eyes." (Psalms 36:1)

E. The most used word in the New Testament for "fear" is

phobeo a verb. It means to have a reverential fear of God.
The reverential fear of God comes from understanding
 who God truly is which means recognizing Him as
Almighty, omnipotent God, who is all powerful.
II. What does this mean in the life of an unsaved man?
A. Speaking of the condition of the unsaved or lost man
who does not believe God Paul said, "There is no fear of
God before their eyes." (Romans 3:18)

          Speaking to His disciples when He send them

into all Israel to preach the Gospel Jesus told them
not to fear men. He said rather "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." (Matthew 10:28)

          The unsaved man, the unbeliever does not

accept that God can and will judge Him and they he
is responsible for his sins.

          Jesus said to the Jews and the religious

leaders who rejected Him and would not believe
even in the face of the great miracles He did. "I am
come a light into the world, that whosoever
believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And
if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge
him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to
save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth
not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word
that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the
last day." (John 12:46-48)

B. Do you understand why salvation comes to those who

believe....and why God tells the sinner to believe in Him?

          "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and

by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."
(Proverbs 16:6)

           All the cults have watered down or rejected

hell. Why? They do not believe God will judge the
sinner. The Protestant dominations do not preach
on hell. Like Billy Graham, they do not tell people
they are going to hell.
 (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/16/l
kl.01.html)

C. What is the greatest sin a man can commit? The

answer is simple....the sin of unbelief.
1. Ephesians 2:8-9 plainly states a man is saved by
God grace through faith. John 3:16 tells us to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we will not
perish. Two things are clear. One is belief saves, the
other is that unbelief condemns and the unbeliever
perishes.

          Jesus said "He that believeth on the Son hath

everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him." (John 3:36)

          It is a foolish man who ignores the fact that he

is on earth because God gave him life and put him
here. One is foolish who refuses to accept that and
understand that he is a sinner and that heaven is a
perfect place without sin. God tells us the Lord
Jesus, God incarnate in man, came to earth and
paid for the sins of man, because man was
condemned by his sins and cannot save himself. It
is a foolish man who does not recognize also that
he will one day die and that he will continue to live
in heaven because he believed and accepted God's
grace, or in hell because he died rejecting God's
wonderful offer.

           "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no

God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable
works, there is none that doeth good." (Psalms
14:1)

D. God has not left us in ignorance concerning the future.

He has lovingly warned the unbeliever of the
consequences of unbelief.

           Revelation 20:11-15 makes is crystal clear

what will be the end of the unbeliever. The eternal
 and everlasting Lake of Fire will be the final abode
of those who refuse to fear God and not believe Him
and reject His offer of love.

III. What does it mean in the life of one who professes to be

saved and a child of God?
A. There are two kinds of unbelief.
1. In Mark 9 a father came to Jesus seeking Him to
cast the demon out of his son. "Jesus said unto
him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to
him that believeth. And straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe;
help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:23-24)

2. The man admitted he had doubts, but he did

believe in Jesus and this was why he came to the
Lord. His belief showed itself in His action. He came
to the Lord seeking help. I do not think that every
person who comes to Christ does not have any
doubts. But because they believe that they are
sinners and needing His forgiveness they come in
repentance. They may not have a perfect
understanding of salvation, but they know they
need forgiveness and that only Jesus can forgive.

B. The Second kind of belief is one that rejects the Lord.

          Hebrews 3:1-12. Warns of the sin of Israel in

seeing the miracles of God and yet not believing.

           "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of

you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
living God." (Hebrews 3:12)

           God in the book of Hebrews was addressing

professing Jews who said they believed God and
had received Jesus Christ as their Savior.

However, several decades has passed and Jesus

had not returned. Further they were under great
persecutions and some of them were waning in
 their faith. They were thinking about returning to
Judaism and rejecting Jesus Christ.

          John says, "For whatsoever is born of God

overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4)

           Those who are truly saved have overcome

the world and thus they are to live like the
overcomer they are.

3. Many have misunderstood Revelation 2:26 "And he

that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to
him will I give power over the nations"
(1 John 5:5)

           "But without faith it is impossible to please

him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

           "For therein is the righteousness of God

revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)

           (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

           "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead,

being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith,
and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy
works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James
2:17-19)

Conclusion: A godly fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is the

beginning of knowing God and understanding who He is and what is His
plan for us personally.

          A godly fear will believe God and both His offers of
blessings and warning of judgment of sin.
           Without the true fear of God, one is left knowing nothing
(as in 1 Timothy 6:4), because the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). A person does not
even begin to have knowledge if they do not fear God, as it is
written, "fools hate knowledge" (Proverbs 1:22). Without the
true fear of God, a person is a fool, because the true fear of
God is also the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10).

           A person does not even begin to have wisdom if they do

not fear God, as it is written, "fools despise wisdom and
instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). The sad reality of all of this is, such
is the miserable state of mankind. They are fools. (Psalm 14:1-
3). (copied)

1. The question the message address is simple....Do you

truly fear God? Do you understand He is our Creator who
spoke the universe into being. Do you understand that He
is all powerful. Do you see yourself as responsible to Him
and accept and believe in the consequences of rejecting
Him and of sin?

2. Do you understand that God is a love and also just and

will give you grace or judgment based on your belief and
acceptance of His will for you life?

3. Do you truly believe there is a heaven and a hell as well

and you will spend eternity in one or the other?

4. Do you believe that if you live your life as God wills you
will live the best life possible and that you will be
rewarded in heaven? Do you believe also that if you do
not what the consequences will be for you?

5. Will you believe God and let God redeem you and give
you forgiveness, heaven, peace, and joy in your life? God
gives you that choice....because He respects your will. Do
you respect His?

http://bible-truth.org/msg197.html
This content is part of a series.

Fear Of The Lord (3 of 5)

Series: Proverbs - Roadmap For Living
Frank Damazio

Introduction: One of the keys to all of life and a main principle in the book of Proverbs is the fear of
the Lord. Most Christians have little or no understanding of the fear of the Lord. Most simply think it
is a reverence, but it is much more than that. To walk in the fear of the Lord is to realize that every
thought, word, action and deed is open before Him and is being judged by Him. Although we have
confidence in Christ to boldly approach the throne of God, we must also maintain a humble
awareness of His righteousness and holiness. The fear of the Lord opens the way for great blessing
and deeper intimacy with God. A.W. Tozer said, "The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but
His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not be afraid-that is the paradox of
faith."

I. DEFINING THE FEAR OF THE LORD

A. THE KEY TO A BLESSED LIFE

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and
instruction. (New King James)

Proverbs 1:7 To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord. Stupid people have no
respect for wisdom and refuse to learn. (Good News Translation)

B. LIVING WITHOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD

1. A people without the fear of the Lord.

a. Our present culture

b. Our present lifestyles

c. Our present beliefs

d. Our present perversions

2. Those who lack a fear of the Lord

a. Are focused on one's impulses

b. Have confusion of God's thoughts

c. Make foolish decisions

d. Have lots of horrible consequences

C. LIVING WITH THE FEAR OF THE LORD

1. Attentive listening

2. Clarity of God's thoughts

3. Makes the best decisions

4. Has an abundance of great results

D. THE FEAR OF THE LORD FOR THE CHURCH

1. Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were
edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfor ...

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