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Chapter 1. Our message tonight is topical,
and we will consider a few of the Proverbs, but we won't confine
ourselves there. The specific subject of consideration
tonight is the fear of God. Proverbs chapter 1. I'll just read verses 1 to 7.
The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding,
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and
equity, to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge
and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase
learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to
understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their
riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Amen. Well, let
us pray. Father in heaven, we pray for
that wisdom now. We pray for the ministry of the
Spirit that we may understand this doctrine of the fear of
God. As we consider who you are, it
ought to promote the fear of God in our hearts. There ought
to be that reverence and that respect and that awe before such
a holy and gracious God. We would pray tonight that you
would guide our thinking, that you would help us, God, to see
how important such a thing is in our own lives. We ask again
that you would forgive us for our sins, forgive us for those
instances and those times where we give little evidence that
we actually do fear the God of heaven and earth. Please wash
us in that blood, purify our hearts, and cause us to receive
with thanksgiving what Scripture says concerning this disposition
wrought by the grace of God upon the people of God. And we pray
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in this brief introduction
in Proverbs chapter 1, Solomon highlights the purpose for Proverbs. In other words, why is this book
in the Bible? He says, to know wisdom and instruction,
to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of
wisdom. to give prudence to the simple. He says a wise man will
hear an increase in learning to understand a proverb and an
enigma. In other words, the book of Proverbs
has a very practical end, that you be more conformed unto the
image of Christ, displaying something of a godly wisdom. And then he
highlights the necessary prerequisite to this wisdom. Verse 7, the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise
wisdom and instruction. Now I think at times Christians,
along with non-Christians, have a misconception of what the fear
of God actually means. In other words, we hear that
phrase and we think it means to run and hide underneath the
piano because God is coming to get us. Well, that is called
a slavish fear. This particular type of fear
is what we might call a filial fear. And I think both of these
are very well demonstrated in the book of Exodus. Just to try
and flesh this out before we begin, look at Exodus chapter
20. Exodus chapter 20 highlights the two types of fear. I think
this filial fear does indeed include at least a little portion
of running under the piano to hide sort of a fear. In other
words, when we understand who God is and we see ourselves in
relation to Him, it ought to promote in us this disposition,
this fear. But if you look at Exodus chapter
20, specifically at verse 18, this is after the giving of the
Decalogue or the Ten Commandments. Notice in verse 18, now all the
people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound
of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And when the people
saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses,
you speak with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with
us lest we die. Because that's the kind of fear
that I'm speaking of, of running underneath the piano so that
God doesn't get us. Now note Moses' instruction in
verse 20, and Moses said to the people, do not In other words,
don't fear that way. Don't try to run away and hide.
Do not fear is what that means. But going on it says, for God
has come to test you and that His fear may be before you so
that you may not sin. So, the people stood afar off,
but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was." So you
see, in this one verse, there is two references to fear. A
fear we're not supposed to evidence, and a fear that we are supposed
to evidence. And what John Gill says, I think,
is fitting in this place, with reference to the instruction,
do not fear. He says, be not afraid with a
slavish fear. And then when it goes on to say
that his fear may be before you, he says, not a slavish fear of
death, of wrath, and damnation, but a reverence of the divine
majesty, an awe of his greatness and glory, a serious regard to
his commands delivered in so grand a manner and a carefulness
to offend him by disobeying him." So this idea of the fear of God
carries with it this reverence for God, this respect for God,
this esteem for God. So on the one hand, they are
discouraged from manifesting the slavish fear, but on the
other hand, they are told to have present in their hearts
this filial fear that marks their souls in this particular way.
Now John Murray in his book Principles of Conduct has a very helpful
chapter in there on the fear of God, and he describes the
fear of God as the soul of godliness, the soul of godliness. He goes on to explain, the fear
of God in us is that frame of heart and mind which reflects
our apprehension of who and what God is. So you see, the fear
of God necessarily follows when we esteem God as He is, or when
we see Him as the Scriptures declare Him. And then we understand
our relationship to Him. So the fear of God in us is that
frame of heart and mind which reflects our apprehension of
who and what God is. And who and what God is will
tolerate nothing less than totality commitment to Him. So this fear
of God ought to result in totality commitment to Him. So I just
want to draw out four propositions tonight, again by way of a topical
survey, looking at the book of Proverbs but elsewhere, and then
make some concluding observations. In the first place, the fear
of God is wrought by the grace of God. In other words, the fear
of God that is right, the fear of God that we should possess,
the fear of God that we are speaking about is that fear that the Lord
God puts in us Himself. We see this in several respects.
In the first place, by nature, man does not fear God. You can
turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. Hopefully you remember the particulars
of Romans chapter 3. Paul starts his gospel presentation
in Romans chapter 1 at verse 18 with the bad news. You see,
the gospel means good news, but good news makes no sense unless
it's in a context. In other words, the bad news
is presented by the apostle Paul first in order to highlight the
goodness of the good news. And so in chapter 1, verse 18,
to chapter 3, verse 20, the apostle highlights the universal condemnation
of man as a result of his sin. He highlights the sin of the
heathen in chapter 1. He highlights the sin of the
Jews in chapter 2. And here in chapter 3, he summarizes
with Old Testament citations to make the case that all mankind
is guilty before a holy God. Now, notice in Romans 3, specifically
at verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no,
not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after
God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable.
There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is
an open tomb, with their tongues they have practiced deceit. The
poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way
of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. You see, that's the grand indictment
upon man in sin. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. That's evidenced in the reality
that they don't esteem God, they don't respect God. In the language
of Paul in Romans 1, although they knew that God is, they don't
honor Him as God or glorify Him as God, nor are their hearts
thankful to Him. So they live in a world as if
there is no God, and that fleshes itself out in all manner of wicked
practice. You have to see the connection
that Paul makes in Romans 1. Verse 18, the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men. He highlights the fact that they
live as if there is no God. They say, essentially, no God. And as a result of that, of their
ungodliness, then all manner of unrighteousness follows. That's
what's wrong with society today. Yes, homosexuality is a problem.
Yes, abortion is a problem. Yes, transgenderism is a problem. Yes, euthanasia is a problem.
But the primary core is that men don't fear God. Men do not
respect the lofty one of Israel. Men do not esteem Him, they do
not praise Him, they do not revere Him, they do not dread Him in
terms of His majesty and His honor and His power. And when
men have that rejection of the true and the living God, then
all manner of wickedness follows. So Paul says here specifically,
with reference to those outside the grace of God in Jesus Christ,
there is no fear of God before their eyes. Notice in Romans
8. Romans 8, by nature, man sees God as his enemy and therefore
does not fear Him. Romans 8, verse 7, because the
carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to
the law of God, nor indeed can be, so then those who are in
the flesh cannot Please, God, there is a cannot involved in
man's nature. He cannot save himself. He cannot
make himself better. He cannot make himself even save
a bull. He sees God as his enemy, and
therefore he does not fear Him. As well, by nature, man esteems
himself over God, and thus his commitment is to self and not
God. If, as Murray says, this proper
fear of God translates into totality commitment to God, we see in
the reality that man loves and esteems himself over God as a
rejection of the fear of God. Notice in 2 Corinthians 5, I
suppose that one of the last idols to die is the idol of self. I suppose that one of the most
difficult idols to identify is the idol of self. We might go
out and present the gospel to people and they might say something
like, well, I'm not a murderer, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not
a thief, I'm not a wicked person. At the root, all of us are wickedly
committed to ourselves. Note one of the grand designs
of the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14,
for the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus, that
if one died for all, then all die. And he died for all, now
notice, that those who live should live no longer for themselves,
but for Him who died for them and rose again. We lived for
ourselves. Totality of commitment was not
directed to God, vis-Ã -vis a proper fear of God, but it's directed
to ourselves. Paul the Apostle highlights this
in his letter to Timothy, specifically 2 Timothy chapter 3, when he
identifies or he describes or he characterizes what the last
days will look like. I don't believe this is in our
future, but I think the last days here used by the Apostle
Paul refers to that period between the first and the second coming
of our Lord Jesus. But notice in 2 Timothy 3.1,
but know this, that in the last days perilous times will come,
for men will be lovers of themselves. That doesn't mean you kiss yourself,
and it doesn't mean you look at the mirror every two seconds.
I mean, it could translate to be that way, but it just means
your totality commitment is to yourself. This is what is characteristic
of man in the last days. This is what is characteristic
of man outside the grace of God through the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. So we maintain the fear of God is wrought by the grace
of God. By nature, man does not fear
God, Romans 3.18. By nature, man sees God as his
enemy and therefore does not fear Him. By nature, man esteems
himself over God and thus his commitment to self is to self
and not to God. So we conclude that by grace
man fears God. Didn't we just sing that in Newton's
hymn? "'Twas grace that taught my heart
to fear." Have you as a Christian ever considered the fact that
you're here praising God, wanting to praise God? Have you as a
Christian ever considered the fact that on a Thursday morning
you're reading scripture and you're praying? Have you ever
considered the fact that your orientation in life is now different
than it once was? Who gets the praise, who gets
the glory, and who gets the honor for that change of heart? It
better not be you. It is grace that taught our hearts
to fear. Now, was this devised by Newton
with his Calvinistic soteriology and his Reformed leanings? No,
he gets it from the prophet Jeremiah. You can turn to Jeremiah chapter
32. Again, establishing our first
point tonight, the fear of God is wrought by the grace of God. Notice in Jeremiah 32. Whether this is the particular
text Newton had in mind when he penned that particular hymn,
I don't know. I like to think it is. It's certainly
a good candidate as he's penning that most glorious hymn of praise
unto God. I like to think that Jeremiah
3240 jumped into his mind and he thought, wow. That'll really
communicate what I'm trying to get across. "'Twas grace that
taught my heart to fear." Let's look back for just a moment to
verse 36. Behold, I will gather them out
of all countries where I have driven them in my anger, in my
fury, and in great wrath. I will bring them back to this
place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. God, through
the prophet, is encouraging the exiles that the exile is going
to end. There will be restoration. They
will return to Judah. That is the place, the location
from whence Messiah will come. It says, they shall be my people,
and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart
and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them
and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them
good, but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they
will not depart from me. Yes, I will rejoice over them
to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with
all my heart and with all my soul." You see, it was grace
that taught. my heart to fear." And that is
precisely what the prophet says at the end of verse 40. But I
will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart
from me. John Flavel commenting on this
particular theme, that the fear of God is wrought by the grace
of God, says this. This fear of God is a gracious
habit or principle planted by God in the soul, whereby the
soul is kept under an holy awe of the eye of God, and from thence
is inclined to perform and do what pleases Him, and to shun
and avoid whatsoever He forbids and hates. It is planted in the
soul as a permanent and fixed habit. To fear man is natural,
but to fear God is wholly supernatural." in this state or in this condition
of fearing God rightly because of the grace of God. And thus,
by grace, man's fear of God therefore reflects, albeit impartially
and albeit imperfectly, a correct understanding of who God is and
who we are in relationship to Him. Secondly, we ought to appreciate,
in terms of a more practical application, the fear of God
affects our thinking. The fear of God affects our thinking.
We go back to the book of Proverbs. The fear of God is wrought by
the grace of God. Secondly, the fear of God affects
our thinking. Proverbs 1.7, the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and
instruction. Notice Proverbs 2.5, then you
will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of
God. You see how these two are in close relationship to one
another. There is no true knowledge, there
is no true understanding apart from the fear of the Lord. If
you are here tonight and you do not fear God, if you are here
tonight and you identify with those highlighted in Romans chapter
3, yeah, you may know what 2 plus 2 is. You may know how to balance
your checkbook. You may know how to look for
bargains at Superstore. You may have some knowledge to
be sure, but in terms of God's response, or in terms of God's
approval, true knowledge, true wisdom, true understanding is
closely connected to the fear of God in the heart of a man
who is saved by grace. Notice in Proverbs 9.10. Just
establishing this fear of God ought to affect our thinking. It does, but hopefully it will
more once we get these things into our minds. Proverbs 9, 10,
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of
the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 14 and verse 26. In the fear of the Lord, there
is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of
refuge. And then in Proverbs 15, verse
33, the fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before
honor is humility. So you cannot discount that connection. The fear of the Lord is directly
connected to our knowledge, to our understanding, to our wisdom,
to our growth and grace. Perhaps you have trouble learning
theology. Perhaps you have trouble understanding
your Bible. Perhaps you are not growing in
the knowledge of the Savior as you ought. The problem might
be more fundamental. You might need to cultivate in
your own soul, under the gracious power of God Most High, more
of the fear of the Lord, to esteem Him properly, to revere Him appropriately,
to see Him as He is, as He's revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
This is absolutely requisite for us to have a proper understanding
of who He is. We must approach Him as the God
revealed to us in Holy Scripture, and that is the vantage point
upon which, or the vantage place by which we grow in our understanding. Christ emphasizes this effect
in the mind when He repeats what is given in Deuteronomy 6. Remember
when Jesus is asked, which is the first and the foremost commandment?
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. You see, this fear of the
Lord ought to affect the thinking of God's people. The fear of
the Lord ought to work its way into our minds. The fear of the
Lord ought to produce and promote in us a wisdom and a knowledge
that is derived from Scripture wherein we think God's thoughts
after Him, and we're able to go out into this world and give
a reasoned, rational argument for the truth as it is in Jesus. Too many Christians have suspended
the noetic, or the intellectual. They have suspended the mind,
and they just want to love Jesus. They just want the emotions.
Brethren, any emotion that is not driven by the truth would
be highly suspect in my estimation. It is the truth which should
drive the emotional response. It is the truth which should
bring about the emotional effect. If the truth is lacking and somebody
has all the warmth and the emotivity that they can concoct, it is
very and highly suspect where that emotivity would have come
from. Brethren, the fear of the Lord
ought to affect our thinking. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2 and verse 16, as believers in Christ, he says, but we have
the mind of Christ. So again, working off what John
Murray said, totality commitment to God certainly includes our
mind. Last night at our AGM, we rehearsed
the fact that we offer a lot of services, not offer a lot
like it's a used car lot or something like that, but there's a lot
of opportunity for teaching in our church. Well, why is that?
Because Christianity in the first place is about what we believe. That's what makes us different
from other people. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses
and Muslims and all, you know, atheists, they can do good things. They can walk old ladies across
the street. They can donate money to the
Red Cross. What is it that distinguishes
us? What is it that makes us different?
It's the truth that we believe. The reality that Christ Jesus
came into this world, sinners to save. The reality that He
is the bloody knife and the smoking altar by which sinners enter
into the presence of a holy God. It is what we believe. If we
are not cultivating and growing and learning and understanding
more, we are violating a command, first of all, 2 Peter 3.18. Peter tells us to grow in the
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
But as well, brethren, we're not going to be useful in the
hands of the master. He wants people to think. Isn't
that amazing? God wants us to think. See, Baal
didn't care if you thought, because obviously Baal isn't real. But
let's just suppose for a moment that Baal was real, or Baal,
or Asherah, or Moloch. They don't care if the worshipers
think. If the worshipers actually started to think, they would
realize that this is a fake. You know how they worshiped Baal?
They would copulate with one another in order to get Baal
to copulate with one of his goddess consorts, and then Baal would
be happy to reign upon the earth and bring fertility to the land. I mean, if you stopped and thought
about that for, oh, five seconds, you would realize that this just
doesn't seem or sound right. So Baal's not really concerned
whether or not you think. Baal's all about your emotivity. Baal is all about you thinking
from the waist down. Baal is all about the emotions
and the reverie and all that sort of thing. But don't engage
the mind. Yahweh of Israel, however, was
about engaging the mind, not looking for forms, not constructing
idols, not being visually oriented. You saw no form. You heard the
voice. God revealed himself through
his word. And they were to hear, they were
to learn, they were to take heed. It was not emotivity, it was
thinking what God says. So totality commitment to God
indeed reflects our thinking. Thirdly, the fear of God ought
to, I'm going to say it does, it ought to more, the fear of
God affects our actions. The fear of God affects our actions,
Proverbs chapter 3. Now, if it's not doing that,
then brethren, we need to cultivate the fear of God. We'll have some
things to say about that in just a few minutes. But notice, the
fear of God affects our actions, Proverbs 3, 7. Do not be wise
in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from
evil. It will be health to your flesh
and strength to your bones. Essentially, the passages I'm
going to read to you from Proverbs echo that. Fear the Lord and
depart from evil. See, what's the implication? You can't fear the Lord and stay
in evil, right? When you're clicking on that
internet porn site, you're not fearing the Lord. When you're
smoking that crack cocaine, you're not fearing the Lord. When you're
committing adultery, you're not fearing the Lord. You see, these
are two contrary things. The fear of the Lord is to depart
from evil. To engage in evil is to not fear
God. It is really that simple. One
person said, I'm really struggling with this particular sin. Oh,
yeah? Well, perhaps you're struggling with the fear of God, because
the fear of God not only affects our mind, but it ought to affect
the way that we live. It affects our actions, and this
is highlighted several places by Solomon in the book of Proverbs.
Notice in Proverbs 5.21. Now, the language, fear of the
Lord, is not used, but the context suggests it. Just to back up
for a moment. Proverbs chapter 5, I submit,
teaches us the three R's of sexual purity. You know what the three
R's are in school, right? Reading, writing, and arithmetic.
I just thought that was kind of interesting that you butcher
arithmetic to get your sort of alliteration down. But you understand,
the three R's, reading, writing, arithmetic. I think Solomon presents
his sons in Proverbs 5, 3R's to sexual purity. In the first
place, remove. Notice in verse 8, remove your
way far from her and do not go near the door of her house. What's
the best way to avoid sexual immorality? Don't go near the
woman. If you're a woman, don't go near the man, right? My choice, it's my body. Why
didn't you make that choice nine months or three months prior?
You see, there's a surefire way to end abortion. Do not engage
in immoral behavior, you see? And Solomon tells his sons, unfortunately
himself didn't follow this advice later on, remove your way far
from her and do not go near the door of her house. Notice what
Solomon says. Remove your way far from her,
don't go near the door of her house. He doesn't say don't go
near her bed. Don't even go near her door. If you know that this
immoral woman is there, you are playing with fire to go near
her. And we can reverse it. If you're
a woman, don't go near the door of his house. It's just written
in this particular way. Don't say Solomon was a sexist
and only women are bad. No, men are bad, women are bad,
everybody's bad. And I think Solomon would agree
with that. Well, I know Solomon would agree with that because
he tells us in several places in his writings. But remove your
way far from her. Don't go near the door of her
house. How do we apply that to the home computer? Don't even
go near the site. Don't even think about clicking.
I know that this is a real-life temptation for real-life human
beings, and what Solomon says is, remove your way far from
her. Do not go near the door of her house. Notice the second
R, rejoice. Verse 18, the Lord is good. Paul
deals with this in 1 Corinthians 7. This is why God gave us marriage,
for the prevention of uncleanness. I say this every time, but I'll
say it again. Young men, when you go to ask your new bride's
hand in marriage, this is the way to do it. I want to marry
you for the prevention of uncleanness. You will sweep her off her feet
with romantic love and joy. Guarantee it. But notice what
Solomon says in verse 18, the second R. Rejoice, let your fountain
be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. In other
words, you shouldn't be going near the doors of other women's
house. You should rejoice with the wife of your youth. That's
what you're supposed to do. And then the fear of God arises
in the third R in verse 21. I suggest that this R is remember. So remove your way, rejoice in
your wife, and remember that the Lord God Most High is omniscient. The Lord God Most High sees you.
The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, beholding the good and
the evil. But I think suggestive here is
this concept of the fear of God. You ought to be afraid in the
presence of Almighty God to engage in sexual immorality. And then
notice in Proverbs 8, verse 13, similar emphasis on the fear
of the Lord affecting our actions. Proverbs 8, 13, the fear of the
Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way and
the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 16, verse 6. In mercy and truth, atonement
is provided for iniquity, and by the fear of the Lord, one
departs from evil. Proverbs 19 and verse 23, the
fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide
in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil. There is a demonstration of this
outside of the book of Proverbs in a real-life scenario. Perhaps
I should have brought this forth in our consideration of Proverbs
5. But notice in Genesis 39, Genesis chapter 39, I suggest
that this is what marked Joseph in Potiphar's house. In fact,
as you read this narrative, you ought to see conspicuously the
point. The point isn't that Joseph is a great guy, though Joseph
was a great guy. But notice in Genesis 39 verse
2, Genesis 39 verse 21, and Genesis 39 verse 23, the Lord was with
him. How in the world could Joseph
do what he did? Because the Lord was with him. Do you understand
that she came on to him day by day? And sometimes people say,
well, you just don't know what it's like to be tempted. It's
so difficult. Well, Joseph certainly knew what
it was like, and he didn't give in. Joseph didn't just say, well,
you know, I'm going to let go and let God deal with me later.
No. Notice in Genesis 39, specifically
at verse 7, and it came to pass after these things that his master's
wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, lie with me. But
he refused and said to his master's wife, Look, my master does not
know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that
he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than
I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you
are his wife. How then can I do this great
wickedness and sin against God? You see, the fear of God ought
to affect our actions, and this is precisely what we see demonstrated
in the life of Joseph. Turn to the New Testament, specifically
2 Corinthians 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7, to underscore
this point that the fear of God ought to affect our actions. Just backing up to 2 Corinthians
chapter 6, at verse 16, because 7.1 really caps off what's going
on in chapter 6. That's one of those chapter divisions
or breaks that really breaks up the flow. Notice in 2 Corinthians
2.16, and what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said,
I will dwell in them. and walk among them, I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out
from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what
is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you,
and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Verse 1 in chapter 7, therefore, having these promises, what promises? The very promises he just stated,
the very things he just mentioned, God dwells in them. God walks
among them. I will be their God. They shall
be my people. The exhortation to come out from
among them. Be separate, says the Lord. Do
not touch what is unclean. I will receive you. Verse 18,
I will be a father to you. You shall be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty. So the promises involve the fear
of God. If we are rightly connected to
God as Father through Jesus Christ our Lord, that assumes the presence
of the fear of God. Paul then seizes upon that, capitalizes
upon that, and drives home a further exhortation in verse 1. Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God. You see, these promises are foundational
to our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Because we have
these promises, the exhortation follows. And this is specific
to us as God's people, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So the fear of God affects our
actions. And the fourth proposition I
want to set forth is the fear of God preserves our soul. The fear of God preserves our
soul. Proverbs 14 and verse 27, The
fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to turn one away from
the snares of death." And then, of course, Jeremiah 32. You can
go back there just to see how the fear of God does preserve
the soul of God's people. So it's not some antiquated concept. It's not something that was simply
confined to the Old Testament. You see this emphasis throughout
the New Testament as well. We, as God's people, have been
blessed by God who has put the fear of God into our hearts.
We are rightly connected to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, but that must trickle down to the way that we think,
the way that we function, and we must understand that it's
this fear that does preserve our souls. Jeremiah 30, 240,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will
not turn away from doing them good. But I will put My fear
in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me." The
perseverance of the saints is relative to God's fear. The perseverance of the saints
is relative to God having put the fear of God into our hearts,
so that we will not or may not depart from Him. See how important
this concept is. It's not antiquated. It's not
something confined to Old Covenant Israel. It is something operative
in the people of God through all ages. And it is imperative
that we seek by the grace of God to cultivate this and to
understand who our God is and who we are in relationship to
Him. So in conclusion, the first place,
the individual believer's need for the fear of God. We saw that
in the pursuit of holiness, 2 Corinthians 7. You've got a holiness problem,
you've probably got a fear of God problem. It's just that simple. I'm just not making strides,
I'm not making gains, I'm not godly, I'm not holy. Do you fear
God? Well, you know, I used to hear
about that in Little House on the Prairie, God-fearing Christians,
but I didn't think that was for us today. It most certainly is
for us today. If you don't have the fear of
God, you don't have God. You see, it's this implanted
by God in the soul of a man, a woman, a boy, or girl. As well,
the individual believers need for the fear of God. Philippians
chapter 2, a similar passage, but one we ought to reflect on.
Philippians chapter 2, specifically verses 12 and 13. Philippians chapter 2, verses
12 and 13. Therefore, my beloved, as you
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. Isn't that a beautiful statement?
Notice he's not saying work for your salvation with fear and
trembling. This is not a text that teaches us that man cooperates
with God in order to be saved. You can only work out what God
has graciously put in. The emphasis is you've been justified
freely by his grace. Now pursue sanctification. Be
upright, be godly, be faithful. Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. And then he goes on to highlight
God's grace even in that, for it is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His good pleasure there in verse 13. You
see, brethren, the fear of God is requisite for the people of
God so that they will indeed pursue holiness, so that they
will indeed work out their own salvation with fear and trembling,
and as well that fear of God is necessary because God most
high is worthy of it. If Murray's right, and I believe
that he is, if Gill is right, and I believe that he is, it
is to esteem, it is to revere, and it is to honor the divine
majesty. He is worthy of us to fear him. He is worthy for us to esteem
him. He is worthy for us to honor
and adore him. Secondly, just some helps to
cultivate the fear of God. These are always difficult things
to do because it almost sounds like the man presenting the helps
is a guru who has somehow mastered them. No, but just some things
in terms of reflection. It's always a practical help
to get at least some ideas on what scripture says concerning
the cultivation of a particular principle. In the first place,
as believers, we ought to realize that the absence of the fear
of God is indicative of unbelievers. I think that's a helpful thing,
Romans 3.18, there is no fear of God before their eyes. I don't
want to be like that. I don't want to imitate them.
I don't want to be like the lawless. I don't want to be like the godless.
I don't want to be like the unholy, but rather I want to seek by
the grace of God to see that fear of the Lord grow. Secondly,
we ought to realize that this indeed characterized our Savior
according to His humanity. In other words, this is something
that Jesus Himself had. Notice in the prophet Isaiah
in chapter 11. You know, oftentimes you see
those bracelets. I don't know how popular they
still are, but the WWJD, what would Jesus do? He'd fear God. That's what he'd do. That's precisely
what he would do. He would fear God. Notice in
Isaiah 11, verse one. There shall come forth a rod
from the stem of Jesse. Again, we know that this is speaking
according to Christ, according to his humanity. He is a rod
from the stem of Jesse. This is the Davidic line. This
is the Messiah. This is Christ in his manhood.
And a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and
of the fear of the Lord. If you've got that little bracelet
and it says WWJD, know this, Jesus would fear God. Thirdly,
the consideration of God's attributes. In other words, who is God? It's
a great way to promote the fear of God. We might call them, instead
of attributes, His perfections. We talked about this whole idea
of attributes on Wednesday night when we looked at Solomon, or
two Wednesday nights ago. when we looked at Solomon's dedication
of the temple. Because before Solomon gets to
petition, before Solomon says, God, I want your help with reference
to adjudicating matters and civil affairs in Israel. God, I want
your help with reference to forgiveness for the whole host of ways we're
gonna sin against you. Before Solomon ever gets to any
petition, he spends time theologizing. He spends time rehearsing who
God is. He spends time contemplating
the attributes of God. In fact, turn there to 1 Kings
8. We got plenty of time. No problem. First Kings Chapter
8. The collective sigh just rose up in everybody's heart. First
Kings Chapter 8. I think Solomon's prayer reflects
Jesus, Lord's prayer, Jesus' prayer in Matthew chapter 6.
God comes first. Before we ask for food, forgiveness,
and protection, the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray that God's
name be hallowed, that God's kingdom come, and that God's
will be done. I suggest the same thing is true in Solomon's prayer.
Before he gets to particular petitions in verses 31 and following,
He first adores God. Notice 1 Kings 8.22, and spread out his hands toward
heaven. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God in
heaven above or on earth below like you, who keep your covenant
and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all
their hearts. God's incomparable. There's no God like you, Solomon
says. God is faithful. That is a display
of his incomparability. As I mentioned before, Baal doesn't
care if you engage your mind. Baal doesn't care if you're consistent.
Baal doesn't care to be consistent himself. Baal is going to ebb
and flow with the winds of change. It's not anything for Baal to
change. But with reference to Yahweh, a proof of his incomparability
is the reality that he keeps covenant, that he is merciful
with his servants and those who walk before God with all their
hearts. Notice in verse 24, he fleshes this out. How is this
the case? You have kept what you promised your servant David
my father. You have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled
it with your hand as it is this day. Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
now keep what you promised your servant David my father, saying,
You shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of
Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they
walk before me, as you have walked before me. And now I pray, O
God of Israel, let your word come true, which you have spoken
to your servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on
the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven
of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which
I have built." You see what he's doing here? He's rehearsing God's
attributes. He's rehearsing God's perfections.
He is considering just who God is. This cultivates the fear
of God. You see, it's the fear of God,
right? The more we know of this God, the more we understand of
his attributes, for instance, Westminster Shorter Catechism,
what is God? God is spirit, infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable. In his being, wisdom, power,
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Allow that to take
root in your mind and in your heart, and I hope the response
is what we see with the disciples when they witness Jesus calm
the sea and calm the wind, And it says that they were afraid.
In other words, when we come into the presence of this thrice
holy God, when we contemplate His perfections, hopefully the
net effect is going to be the cultivation of the fear of God. And then the fourth is continual
belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Continual belief
in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Psalm 130. If you,
Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But
there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. Isn't
that beautiful? The fear of God promotes, or
the forgiveness that God brings to his people. promotes the fear
of God. There is forgiveness with you
that you may be feared. These are just some helps to
get you at least hopefully thinking on the cultivation of the fear
of God. It's an amazing thing what we pursue as God's people
in this new covenant era and oftentimes give no concern whatsoever
to some very basic and very fundamental concepts that have always marked
and characterized the people of God. The fear of the Lord
is something that is absolutely crucial. And then finally, the
corporate manifestation of the fear of God. In other words,
how ought we to reflect this doctrine of the fear of God in
the context of the local church? Well, I think in the first place,
it manifests or it will manifest itself in a proper perspective. What's the church about in the
first place? It's God, isn't it? We have a very man-centered
approach to church. What is designed there for my
needs? Is the nursery fitting for my child? And again, I'm
not saying put your child in a spider-infested basement and
watch them roll around with crazy insects. But we look at churches
for what they give us. What are you gonna do for me?
Mentioned before, people will call, so what do you have at
your church? What do you got? It's like a used car lot. You
got a 72 Pinto. Do you have a, you know, 1990
Jetta? It's kind of like that. That's
the way people shop churches today. Well, they've got this,
and they've got this, and they've got this, and they've got this,
and they've got... Do they have God? That ought to be our primary
concern. It's about God most high. You see, when we come here
on the Sabbath day, it is great to see one another. I mentioned
last night, to come and be with the people of God is a great
boon. It's a great encouragement. It's a great blessing. But that's
not the primary emphasis. Our primary focus when we enter
into this place is to worship our triune God. So I suspect
and I believe that a proper fear of God manifested at the corporate
level will see priorities right It's not man first, it's God
first. As well, this fear of God will
dictate and will control and will rule how we worship Him. In Hebrews chapter 12, specifically
at verse 28. It says, therefore, since we
are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have
grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear. You see, that is what a worship
service ought to look like. A worship service ought not to
be akin to Baalism. It ought not to be about emotion. It can be about emotion, again,
if it's driven by an apprehension of the truth of God. Then emotions
follow, and that's wonderful. But emotions apart from the truth
is more akin to Baal. That is precisely what characterized
Baal worship. You know, this whole idea of
entertainment, this whole idea of man-centeredness, this has
more affinity with Baalism than the worship of the God of heaven
and earth. That ought to scare us. But the apostle says, since
we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have
grace by which we may serve God acceptably. Who defines what
acceptable worship is? Not us. You see, you might want
this, and I might want that, and I might want this, and you
might want... That's not how we're supposed to tailor our
worship services. We're to start with the crazy
question, what does God want? What does God say? What will
best glorify the householder? Remember, Paul identifies the
church as the house of God. When you come to my house, I
like to think that you would abide by my rules and do those
things that are acceptable in my house. If you say, well, that's
just harsh and vicious, I just don't think you're tracking,
because if I come to your house, you're going to want me to respect
and esteem the rules of the house. You don't want me to swing off
the light fixtures. You don't want me to put my feet
on your coffee table. You don't want me to, you know,
pour drinks on your carpet. And I get that. I esteem the
householder. And yet when it comes to the
church, we don't care what the householder says. We want bands. We want worship music. We want,
we want emotivity. We want, you know, all this stuff
that's just designed to make us feel good. Now, if the truth
makes us feel good, praise God. That's a blessed corollary. The
emphasis in our passage is on acceptable worship, and God defines
what acceptable worship is. And note how the apostle ends
his exhortation in verse 29, right out of Deuteronomy 4, for
our God is a consuming fire. Why do you think he adds that?
probably to say you need to fear Him. Our God is a consuming fire. Don't play games with Him. Don't
render unacceptable worship to Him, but rather obey Him, fear
Him, honor Him, revere Him, respect the divine majesty, which is
God, and worship accordingly. Well, brethren, those are some
thoughts with reference to the fear of the Lord. If you're not
a believer tonight, the way to fear God is through the cross
of Jesus Christ, that Christ I mentioned earlier, who lived
and who died and who was raised the third day. That Christ is
the only Savior, the only one who is able to deliver you from
your sins, from the wrath and judgment of God most high, and
the only one by which you will ever achieve this fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of life. this fear of the Lord
which affects the thinking of God's people, this fear of the
Lord which affects the conduct of God's people, and this fear
of the Lord that does indeed preserve the soul. Well, let
us pray. Our Father, we thank You for
Your Word, and we thank You for this fear of God, and we know
it was by grace that You taught us to fear. We acknowledge that,
we give you the glory and the praise and help us to seek to
cultivate even more in our lives and in our hearts a proper esteem
and respect and an awe of our great God. And may our church
and our worship services reflect such a position and may we render
acceptable worship, not acceptable to what man wants, but acceptable
to what God has commanded. And we pray that you'd go with
us now, watch over us in this coming week, guard your people
and our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, and keep us and preserve
us. And we pray these things through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
