Seeking Jesus First Jan. 15, 2025
What happens to “The fear of The LORD” in The New Covenant?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.” (Psalm 111:10, NKJV)
“Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:21–27, NKJV)
The law was not able to produce life or righteousness. The fear of The LORD may keep people from doing bad things for a while, but fear does not inspire faith, hope and love. Fear was appropriate to tutor us until Christ could come and set us free.
Think about kids going to school. In my days, we were afraid that the teacher or the principal would paddle us if we did not act right. Then we were afraid that our parents would spank us with the belt or a switch when we got home. We managed to learn because of the threat of punishment. However, the more mature we got, the less we were willing to be deterred by fear. If we wanted to break the rules, we found ways to do it and not get caught. Fear was not enough to keep us in line after a certain point.
On the other hand, my mother taught me about faith in Jesus and I believed in Him. As I matured, the fear was replace by faith, hope and love. I believed God. I trusted His promises. I realized that His words to me were based upon His love for me.
Do I still have the fear of The LORD? I wouldn’t call it that anymore. Faith is greater and higher than fear. Hope is stronger than fear. The perfect love of Christ casts out all fear. I have faith, hope and love in Christ Jesus and The Father. God’s Word is given to us in order to bring us into the most prosperity, health and freedom as possible. Faith, hope and love inspire relationship and trust. We are now sons - family - of God.