And Moses said unto the people, “Fear not; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.”
Exodus 20:20
“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”
II Corinthians 5:11
“Our God is a consuming fire”.
Hebrews 12:29
There is a lot of talk about this vaporous idea they call “godly fear”. It’s usually included with some utterly moronic term like “healthy fear”. What exactly is a healthy fear? It is stupid to try to make people believe in a healthy fear of God. “Our God is a consuming fire.” We have records of him incinerating men who did not worship Him properly (Leviticus 10). We have records of Him opening the earth to swallow alive those who rebelled against Him (Numbers 16:32). And everyone knows the story of God sending the angel of death to slaughter every firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 12). Without compliance with the will of God, death ensued.
The idea of healthy fear is wishful thinking that attempts to make us believe that we shouldn’t be afraid of God or that we shouldn’t think that He is some kind of sadistic monster who eliminates His creation at will. Regardless of this wishful thinking, people of the world will still think about God in that way. In fact, individuals regularly think about God as a destroyer and it is one of the many reasons they choose to reject Him. People are going to charge God with wrong, and trying to convince people of the existence of a healthy fear for this God is a weak attempt to try to stop it.
There is no “healthy fear”, there is only fear.
There is only terror. The Bible speaks about the “terror of the Lord”, not about some healthy fear. Therefore, the idea of a healthy fear is merely conservative propaganda: people trying to preserve their idea of what God should be rather than accept the reality of what God really is.
Healthy fear is also a component of liberal propaganda: people trying to ‘buddy up’ to God and make Him less of a punishing judge and more of a “bro” or a friend. God is not your “bro”. The Consuming Fire is not your buddy.
Fear is an intense motivator. Human beings are mostly motivated by fear and slightly motivated by reward. Men are the most motivated when you combine the two. Fear is also a fail-safe that prevents us from doing evil (Exodus 20:20). Who is going to commit conscious sin when he knows impending doom is hanging over his head? (An idea covered in The Art of Manliness podcast, #574). Most Christians don’t like that image, but it is a reality. There is massive punishment waiting for us if we do not do exactly what God says.
Modern Christians minimize the role of fear with regard to obedience.
Fear is a critical component of righteousness. Noah was moved with godly fear when he built the ark. Godly fear is legitimate; “healthy fear” is not properly defined in scripture and is the result of mere speculation. Fear energizes obedience and ensures that we do not become complacent in our faith. It is a tool for growth, not something to be avoided.
People don’t want to associate terror or fear with God because they think these are negative emotions. This is untrue. Just because something is painful does not make it bad or evil. Physical training is painful, yet it yields positive results. Vaccinations are painful, their effects are life saving. Fear is painful, its effect is soul saving. Embrace fear. Be a Man.
Mantra
Fear is an energy source.
Application
First, dump the idea that intense fear of God intensely is bad. It is not bad, we have every right to tremble before God (Hebrews 12:21). This fear is a motivator, it will keep us on the path when we are tired. When we no longer want to do what is right, the fear of punishment will at least keep us from doing wrong.
Fear is a tool, not something to be sad about.
Use fear to grow. When you cannot grow, use fear to avoid sin. Also, remove the idea that there is such a thing as a “healthy fear”. The notion of such a fear is radical propaganda from both the right and the left. Fear is just an emotion that can be simplified down to biochemical reactions in the brain, just like the other emotions, so do not get overly caught up in it.
All of this talk of fear is not to be overly negative about God. The fact is that you are far less likely to do wrong if you take an intense view of God than if you view God as your “bro”. It is a better mindset to have. Listen to the podcast referenced in this section and you will see from the case study they referenced why this is true. People simply behave more righteously if they believe God is a punisher. You also must recognize the immutable justice of God as a punisher. It will compel you to behave righteously, not move you towards depression.
Just as high standards drive high performance, so also high fear of God drives righteous performance.
Conduct Yourselves Like Men.
