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8/13 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 3; Romans 3; Jeremiah 41; Psalm 17
Romans 3:18
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
FEAR
Paul quotes Psalm 36:1. He makes a powerful case in Romans’ third chapter for human depravity apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Evil has run rampant in America these days, more so than ever before. It is because many do not fear God. Unless God opens their eyes and awakens their souls, godly fear will be as far from them as the east is from the west. Our corrupt flesh may rise within us to tempt us to blame God: “Why don’t you do something about it, Lord?” The sweet psalmist of Israel provides insights into sinful man’s hardened heart:
They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly…. Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!” Psalm 17:10, 13
Yet because I fear God, I am afraid to dishonor Him by bringing presumptuous accusations against Him. He is sovereign. Except the Lord had saved me by His amazing grace, I would have remained godless and without the fear of God before my eyes. Now, when I read a verse like this, penned by David around a thousand years before Christ died on Calvary’s cross, a truth made very real even today through the lives of those who still refuse Christ and reject God’s Word, I rejoice in the many evils I’ve been saved from— one of them being the lack of godly fear. Godly fear makes me afraid of the judgment to come. Not for my sake, but for the sake of others. Christ received the full brunt of God’s holy wrath in His person when He hung upon the cross, wrath you and I deserve. Therefore, in Christ, we are not appointed unto wrath (1 Thess 5:9). Yet at the same time, godly fear also makes me fear dishonoring God by not trusting the promises and protections of His Word. I fear that my flesh may rise to dishonor God, but godly fear causes me to trust that His Word is true and that Christ’s righteousness is placed upon my account by faith (Rom 4:22). I grieve over the sinful, wicked world, full of godless lusts; yet godly fear makes me fear offending God by not trusting that He is sovereign and in complete control. Godly fear also sparks within me wisdom, as it is written:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs 9:10
And in that wisdom, I stand in awe of God’s promises in Christ; that though I fail, though I’m frail, though I sometimes flounder in faith, Jesus has promised those He has saved:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Fear the Lord, you, His saint,
This world is not your home;
Put on Christ’s strength and do not faint,
His precious blood atones.
