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The Fear of the Lord Part 2

12 Mar
The Fear of the Lord Part 2

I’ve been going through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post I took a side trip to talk about the fear of the Lord. That was based on Peter’s statement about the work of holiness in our lives.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

We saw that the lord judges our works, not on the appearance, but on the quality. That’s more about the motivation that was involved. Good works may impress people, but God looks at the heart.

The way we learn about motivations is how well we serve the Lord when no one is looking.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13 NIV

I keep emphasizing the fact that the fear of the Lord is more than simply a reverence before Him. This verse makes that point abundantly clear. When Paul uses the word “trembling”, he’s obviously going way beyond reverence.

However, we need to know how this fear should work in our lives. Remember, we’re not talking about being afraid of God. That’s not how He works. The Lord doesn’t want you to serve Him because you’re afraid that He’ll blast you if you mess up.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:15-16 NIV

The clear teaching of Scripture tells us that we’re not to be slaves to fear. Some Christians mess this up – they let fear control them. As I said in my last post, what we should be afraid of is messing up the relationship we have with Christ.

This fear is of the loss of some of the good things we have in Christ. It’s like a loving parent who tells their child, “Clean your room or you’re not going to your friend’s party tonight.” The child doesn’t fear the parent, but missing the party.

How does that work in us as believers?

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I John 4:18 NIV

Fear has to do with punishment. That’s the same with the fear of God. Like all children – we don’t want to be punished. Too many preachers and teachers focus judgment and punishment.

The judgment of God is an important truth. But the fact is, God would rather reward our obedience than deal with disobedience. And here’s the beauty of it.

“Love drives out fear”

NOOOOOO!!

It’s perfect love. Mature love. That drives out fear. As a child, in becoming mature, I learn better and better to obey. So, the older I get, the less fear of punishment I have. As my love matures, don’t work because of fear, but because I’m part of the family.

The bottom line is that as love matures, our misplaced fear decreases.

Question: How have you seen this love maturing in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2025 in Faith, Legalism, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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The Fear of the Lord Part 1

10 Mar
The Fear of the Lord Part 1

We’re now going through a series of posts in the epistle of 1 Peter. He’s been talking about the importance of walking in holiness. In my last post, we left off talking about the fear of the Lord.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

In looking at this verse we took note of the word “since”. Peter is addressing a people who are calling on the Lord. If that’s the case, then we must get an accurate picture of God as the final Judge.

We saw that He judges our works impartially. He’s not impressed by what we do as much as the motivations for doing them. So, I want to take some time to go into the fear of the Lord a little deeper.

In my last post I talked about the fact that many times we water down the fear of the Lord. Many teach that it’s simply a healthy respect. We need to see that it really is a fear.

It’s not being afraid of God. But being afraid of harming the relationship that Christ paid such a high price for.

Too often we only zero in on what we can get from our relationship with the Lord.

“God wants you happy, healthy, rich, full, entertained, satisfied.”

We have to understand that our eternal rewards or lack thereof are based upon His decisions. Unfortunately, there are times when we become too familiar with worshiping the Lord.

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV

Again, the word reverence in this verse is the Greek word phobo – the literal word for fear. It should be clear from this and other Scriptures that the fear of God produces holiness.

Paul talked about the day of judgment that we will face as believers. It’s not about heaven or hell, but the quality of our rewards. We’ll be judged on how we built upon the spiritual foundation Christ laid down for us.

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 NIV

The fire is the final exam. But we’re clearly told that it’s not our works that will be tested. When you talk about building, anything listed in this verse can be used to build with. I’ve seen these structures around the world.

Even in the USA there are some pretty impressive houses made of wood. But that’s not what’s being judged. It’s the quality of the worked based upon how fire-resistant it is. God is looking for quality, not appearance.

When we look around the body of Christ these days, a question arises. Why don’t we live as we should for God the way they did in the early church? In many circles worship seems to be optional. We shy away from Bible study and prayer. I believe it all comes down to a lack of the fear of the Lord.

This is an important topic. So, I’m going to take one more post to talk about it.

Question: How much of the fear of the Lord do you see in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 10, 2025 in Faith, Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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Be Holy

07 Mar
Be Holy

We’re continuing on our walk through 1 Peter. He’s bringing us along the path of holiness. After telling us how to prepare our thinking, Peter takes us to the bottom line.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV

To be “holy” means to be “set apart.” It means that we see ourselves as reserved exclusively for God’s use. I’m no longer a part of a crowd, headed for destruction. Through Christ, I’ve been singled out to serve the Lord.

Notice that it’s not about what we do. We’re not called to simply do holy things. We’re called to BE holy.

It’s not enough for me to look holy. I must have a lifestyle of holiness to the Lord.

The problem with the Pharisees of Jesus’ day was that they only wanted to appear holy in order to impress those around them.

That can’t be our way of living. This is Peter’s whole reason for writing. He continues.

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17 NIV

We need to look at this verse closely. First of all, Peter makes an assumption. He’s assuming that the people he’s addressing are calling out to God. So, he’s not talking to carnal Christians.

We serve God the Father. So, we need to understand His way of doing things. The literal translation of this verse tells us that the Father does not judge our work on face value or what it appears to be.

Like I said earlier, it’s not enough just to appear holy. You can do holy looking works, but God isn’t fooled by them. He knows whether or not your heart belongs to Him.

Knowing this should bring us to the next level in our Christian walk. That’s the fear of the Lord. According to Peter, knowing how the Father judges…in fear we should spend the rest of our time as strangers.

This is another thing we miss sometimes. There are many who try to soften God’s image. Even in this translation they say reverent fear. Some explain the fear of the Lord as a holy respect.

God is big enough that He doesn’t need your defense. You don’t need to tone down the words He uses.

The word for fear in this verse is the Greek word phobo. That’s where we get our word phobia. It literally means fear. But we do need to understand the object of the fear God is looking for.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Hebrews 11:7 NIV

Noah is a good example of this. Because of his faith – he believed what God said – he was afraid of what would happen if he ignored God’s warning. He was not afraid of God. I’m sure he loved God for warning him of the future.

It’s like someone who buys a new, expensive sports car. He may drive slowly and carefully. But it’s not because he’s afraid to drive, but afraid he may lose what he has invested in because of recklessness.

That’s what it’s about for us. We’re not to be afraid of God. He’s not out to get us. But we need to be afraid of doing something to ruin the relationship we have with Him.

Question: How do you see the fear of the Lord working in your life?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2025 in Legalism, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Fear Without Fear

01 Jul
Fear Without Fear

We’re continuing through the Gospel of Luke. Jesus is teaching His disciples in chapter 12. We now come to a very interesting portion of Scripture. In this section we’re going to see two important aspects of fear.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

Luke 12:4-5 NIV

The first thing we need to understand is the fear of the Lord. This is the foundation of a mature walk with God. We know from Scripture that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10) and the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).

I’ve heard people teach about the fear of the Lord in the past. Sometimes they’re a little off base when they say that this kind of fear is only a healthy respect. I choose to differ.

The word for fear in this verse is the Greek word from which we get the word phobia. It’s talking about actual fear, but you need to understand how it works.

This kind means a fear that changes your actions. Because you know the possible outcomes, you change what you’re doing. That’s the fear of the Lord.

I know that there will be a final Judgment Seat. There’s a lot at stake. Jesus says that if found guilty, I could be thrown into hell – literally, the lake of fire.

But, I know how I’ll be judged, and I know how to come through with an innocent verdict. The only way to freedom is through the payment made by Jesus Christ on the cross.

Since I know this, it changes what I do. I accept His Lordship over my life. I strive to please Him. This is the fear of the Lord. It’s more than respect; it’s a change of lifestyle.

Having said that, there’s another part to this fear. Look at what Jesus says immediately following this thought.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:6-7 NIV

Having talked about judgment and hell, Jesus wants to make things clear to His disciples. Knowing all of this, should I constantly be living under the fear of hell? Absolutely not!

I’ve come to Christ and declared Him as Lord of my life. Now my future is secure in Him. My fear of the future should be gone.

Now I need to concentrate on the grace, goodness, and love of the Lord. His knowledge of me and my situations are deeper than I could ever imagine. Even though I may feel neglected at times, I’m never out of His thoughts. God is always working on my behalf.

Along with this, I need to cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord. But, I’m not talking about fear of judgment and hell. It has a different focus.

I saw a documentary once about diamond cutters. One in particular paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a huge uncut diamond. He believed that if he cut it just right, the cut diamonds would be worth millions of dollars.

What he did surprised me. He didn’t just start cutting. He spent the next year studying the diamond and making notes. He didn’t want to ruin the diamond with a wrong cut.

That’s a great view of the fear of the Lord. I don’t fear judgment and hell. But, my relationship with God is so valuable to me, I don’t want to mess it up. I want it to become more valuable each day.

My relationship with Christ is like an uncut diamond. I don’t see the final outcome yet. God knows what I can become. So, I want to follow His plan as closely as possible each step of the way.

This is what the fear of the Lord is all about. It can be the greatest blessing of your life. Cultivate it more and more each day.

Question: How do you see the fear of the Lord changing your actions?

© 2022 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on July 1, 2022 in Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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How Careful is your Faith?

04 Aug

DiamondI’ve been posting about the faith of Noah as recorded in Hebrews, chapter 11. In my last entry I talked about the fear of the Lord. I said that it didn’t mean to be afraid of God.

The Greek word in that verse actually comes from a compound word that means to take care. We must be careful how we live out our faith.

It’s a lot like a diamond cutter working on a costly gem. They will sometimes study a diamond for months before they ever make the first cut. It’s not that he’s afraid to cut the diamond. It’s because the stone is so valuable, he wants to make sure that he makes it the best possible shape.

The diamond cutter will “take care” how he cuts. Because done correctly, the stone could be worth tens of millions of dollars. Done incorrectly, he could reduce the value to 100 times less.

Our spiritual life is like the diamond cutting process. Done carefully – in the fear of the Lord – our walk with God is glorious. Done incorrectly and we may lose out on much of what the Lord has planned for us.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Hebrews 5:7

The words reverent submission in this verse are the same words taking care that we’ve been talking about. Jesus took care in His walk with God. That’s why He was able to fulfill the destiny to which He was called.

This should be the mark of faith in our lives. If we truly believe what God says, we’ll take care.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:28-29

Reverence and awe is all about taking care. Why? Because God is a consuming fire. What does that mean? If I take a step out of line, then He’ll consume me in judgment?

Absolutely not! What it does mean is that everything that’s not of Him in my life is destined to perish. If I build my life on chasing after the things of the world, then I will eventually find myself with nothing to show for all my efforts.

If, on the other hand, I take God’s Word to heart and build carefully on those principles, then I’ll see God’s hand at work in my life. I’ll see those things come to pass that the Lord has promised me.

Even after my time on earth is finished, I’ll have an everlasting reward in the Kingdom of God. This is how we need to look at life. It’s not about what will make me happy right now in this moment. The question is what will be important to me one million years from today?

Question: What is an area of your Christian walk that you need to take care in?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on August 4, 2014 in Faith, Power of God, Word of God

 

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Listen to God’s Warning

01 Aug

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAI’m posting a series about Noah’s faith as recorded in Hebrews 11. In my last post I talked about how faith causes you to build upon the foundation of Christ.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Hebrews 11:7

The verse says that Noah was warned. But here’s the challenge. The things that God warned him about had not yet been seen.

It’s easy to prepare for the things that we see coming. A snow storm, a tax bill, or a new car purchase. The problem is that there are things we have yet to experience that the Lord warns us about.

In those times we build simply because of God’s warning. God’s Word warns us of many things. Some of them are good, and some are bad. Many of them are things we have not seen yet.

We don’t know God’s whole plan for us. On the other side, the effects of sin, living for self or chasing after the world aren’t always seen immediately. The problems start only after we’ve been off track for a while.

There are also other issues. Many times we start building on God’s Word, and then we go back to our old ways. We get impatient looking for the return on our spiritual investment.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”
Luke 14:28-30

Many believers are in this condition – unfinished, yet the project is abandoned. The work has stopped. They seem to be comfortable where they are and don’t want any more growth.

That’s a sad position to be in. I want to see growth in my life. I want to change and become more like Christ. That’s the only way that the world will be drawn to the Spirit of Christ in me.

How do you persevere? How do you keep allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your life even when there’s not a lot of obvious evidence of anything going on?

We need to go back to the example of Noah in the above verse. It says that he moved in holy fear because of the warning he received. Because he believed God’s warning, it instilled a fear of the Lord in him.

It’s this fear of the Lord gives us perseverance. That’s where the ability to keep going in the hard times – or even the daily grind – comes from.

One of the problems is that so many people don’t have a correct understanding of the fear of the Lord. We must have this understanding if we’re going to continue the building process in our lives.

For now, I’ll simply say that fearing God has nothing to do with being afraid of Him. That’s not a holy fear. In my next post I’ll deal with what the fear of the Lord actually means.

Question: In what ways does your life show the fear of the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2014 in Faith, Word of God

 

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The Fear of the Lord

26 Mar

Lightning 3What does that mean?  Should I be afraid of God?  Is He watching for any slip so He can zap me?

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is misunderstood by many people.  I have talked to Christians who were so very afraid that they would mess up even a little.  They think that God is watching them so closely that if they make the smallest mistake, they will be penalized severely.

Fortunately that’s not what it means to walk in the fear of the Lord.  The best illustration I ever saw was a show about people who cut diamonds for a living.  The show chronicled the diamond from when it went on the auction block to when it’s stones ended up in the fine jewelry shop.

The winning bid was about 3 million dollars for this large diamond.  The jeweler was sure that he could more than triple the value by the way he cut it up into smaller stones.  What happened next surprised me.  I expected him to immediately begin the process of cutting the diamond.  Instead, he took the first three months to simply study the diamond.  He basically stared at the diamond for hours a day, making notes, drawings, and plans for the cuttings he would perform.  With a stone that valuable, he didn’t want to do anything that would ruin it.

That is a picture of the fear of the Lord.  I am not afraid that God is going to get upset at me and hurt me.  On the contrary, my relationship with God is so important to me that I fear anything coming to disrupt it.  It is so valuable to me that I don’t want to ruin it.  I want to walk before God in such a way that our fellowship grows daily.

Cultivate a true fear of the Lord.  Meditate upon how valuable it is to be in relationship with Him.  Then let that attitude motivate you to live a reverent life before Him.

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

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