Understanding the Fear of the Lord
If all peoples of the world had a fear of the Lord, then all peoples of the world would be converted or reconciled to God. There would then be one faith, one baptism, and one Lord (Eph. 4:5). There would be no more war because there would be so much love, respect and concern for the welfare and needs of others (Phil. 2:3).
What is the fear of the Lord? The Bible says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). A better word than fear would be reverence. How do we show reverence for God? The dictionary says we revere God when we show honor and profound respect for Him because of His position.
How do we show honor or respect for the one who created us? God’s word says we glorify Him with good works. We let our lights - good works - shine before men in such a way that God is glorified (Matt. 5:16). How do we do that? We walk in God’s Ways by imitating Jesus Christ, His Son (1 Cor. 11:1). We keep His words and practice His sayings (Matt. 7:24; Luke 8:21; 11:28; John 8:51; 11:26; 12:47).
Jesus is our example of how to walk in God’s Ways by doing good works. So are John the Baptist, James, John and Paul (Matt. 25:33-40; Luke 3:10-14; 6:33-34; James 2:14-18; Acts 26:20; Titus 3:8; 1 John 3:10, 18-19).
Jesus Christ is making a peculiar people who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). We were created in Him to do good works (Eph. 2:10). We are to learn to be servants of the most if we hope to be called great in the kingdom (Matt. 20:26-28; 23:11; Phil. 2:3-5; Mark 9:35; 10:43-45). We are to imitate Jesus Christ and the Father (1 John 2:6; Eph. 5:1).
We are to walk in the truth and keep the commandments by practicing righteousness daily to please God (2 John 4, 6; 1 John 3:7). It is not hard, but easy and pleasant (1 John 5:3; Matt. 11:30). Practicing righteousness is how we worship God in our bodies. It is our spiritual service of worship (Rom. 12:1). We are to worship God in spirit and in truth by practicing the truth (John 4:23-24; 3:21). We practice the truth when we present our bodies as instruments of righteousness and when we overcome evil by doing good for God daily (Rom. 6:13; 12:21). This is the one and only way to revere or fear the Lord our God.