What does fear of God mean? That’s a great question and we are glad you asked.
There are many different names for the phobias or irrational fears that people have.
Acrophobia is the fear of heights.
Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders.
Hippopotomonstro-sesquipedaliophobia, which is the fear of long words!
A Healthy Fear of God
Theophobia is the diagnosis given to a person with an irrational fear of God. But a biblical fear of God isn’t an irrational fear but a healthy fear. An unhealthy fear of heights, for example, will keep you from some experiences in life, like a ride on a Ferris wheel or a drive on a mountain road. But when a person properly fears God, they receive positive results:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Don’t miss out on spending eternity in Heaven with God. Accept His son, Jesus Christ, today. You will be saved. Please watch the Great news video on this page to find out how you can know Jesus as your savior.
Because we understand God is love, we think that’s the only way God reacts to us. But God has other attributes that affect His actions. He is holy, righteous, and just.
When people in the Bible saw God, they expected to die:
“Manoah said to his wife, “We are certainly going to die, for we have seen God” (Judges 13:22).
God is Good but not Safe
In the C.S. Lewis book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Mr. Beaver tells Susan that Aslan (who represents Jesus) is a ‘great Lion (God),’ not just a man. Susan then asks if Aslan’s ‘safe,’ and Mr. Beaver tells her, ‘’Course not, but He is good.’
Fully Other
God is totally ‘other’ because He alone is uncreated. Everything else, visible, and invisible, was created by Him. That means He is holy, separate from His creation. His Holiness also implies that He’s morally perfect, unstained by sin:
“Every good gift … comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no change or shadow of turning” (James 1:7).
Fully Pure
Because of God’s moral purity, He can’t tolerate sin. So, when we as human sinners are in God’s presence — or at His judgment seat — we must have a remedy or shield to spare us. We need something to cover, or better yet, to take away our sins and give us Jesus’ righteousness:
In the Garden of Eden, God provided animal skins after Adam and Eve sinned (implying that God shed the animal’s blood to temporarily cover their sin) because their fig leaves couldn’t cover it (Genesis 3:7, 21).
Isaiah saw the Lord and said, “Woe is me! For I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips.” But an angel took “a live coal … with the tongs from off the altar … and he laid it on my (Isaiah’s) mouth, and said, “… your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged” (Isaiah 6:5-7).
When other prophets saw God or visions of God, they fell on their face as if they were dead (Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 8:18; Revelation 1:17).
Healthy Fear for Believers
Even believers should fear offending God. God took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-10):
“Great fear came on the entire church and on all those who heard these things” (Acts 5:11).
When people don’t fear God, they disobey Him. They don’t treat Him or His Name with respect. Don’t mock God:
“Be not deceived. God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7).
Healthy Fear for Unbelievers
All those who’ve rejected God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will appear before God at the final judgment, also known as the Great White Throne Judgment. What are the Judgments in the Bible? – Cuurio
At this judgment, God will raise the dead and judge unbelievers according to their works. No unbeliever will escape this judgment, and when God doesn’t find their names written in the Book of Life He will cast them into the lake of fire (Hell). It’s healthy for unbelievers to fear this judgment:
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it…. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Books were opened…. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-12, 15).
Full Redemption
The ultimate remedy for satisfying God’s wrath is the death of Christ on the cross. Through His blood (which represents His death), Jesus accomplished eternal redemption for those who believe in Him:
“By His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).
In Eternity Believers will no Longer Need to Fear God
God tells us why:
“Look! The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. They shall be His people, and God Himself will be … their God (and) wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death (nor) sorrow nor crying nor pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:3-4).”
Don’t miss out on spending eternity in Heaven with God. Accept His son, Jesus Christ, today. You will be saved. Please watch the Great news video on this page to find out how you can know Jesus as your savior.
