Introduction

“Fear of God” is a popular clothing line that is receiving notoriety amongst influencers and celebrities. The designer’s name is Jerry Lorenzo. Jerry named his clothing line after a famous Oswald Chambers quote: “The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” Many people run from this term, “fear of God.” Often, the reason is there is an unhealthy view of what this truly means, but when we truly understand what it means, we find that it is in this place that we are met by the loving arms of our heavenly Father, ready to embrace us in the middle of our mess with abundant grace.

Fearing Everything

• Paul draws his argument to its logical conclusion in this passage. He asked, “What shall we conclude then?”
• Paul had just pondered whether there was any advantage to being Jewish. There was a limited advantage. They received the revelation of God’s Word, but that did not excuse them from needing salvation (Rom 3:1-2).
• The Gentile, rejecting the revelation of God in nature and pursuing a lifestyle that was both idolatrous and degrading, was deserving of the wrath of God (Rom 1:18–32).
• The Jews, who had the law but failed to put it into practice, received no benefit from their privileged position (Rom 2:1–3).
• According to Paul, both Jew and Gentile stand accused of divine justice. Both Jews and Gentiles needed salvation. Paul’s point of all this discussion about Jews and Gentiles is meant to make that one truth clear- we all need Jesus.
• Paul uses the phrase “under sin.” It speaks of our slavery to sin, literally meaning “sold under sin.” By nature, every person knows what it is like to be an enslaved person to sin, both Jews and Greeks.
• These quotes from the Old Testament come from several scriptures (Ps. 14:1-3; 5:9, 140:3, 10:7; 36:1: Is. 59:7-8). Paul weaves these passages together vividly to portray humanity’s sinfulness and how the human heart looks from God’s perspective.
• Those who do not fear God do not really believe He exists, even if their lives have an appearance of religion.
• Or if they do believe He exists, they reinterpret Him theologically until He is neither holy nor expects us to be holy.
• Once moral accountability is gone, the fear of God is also gone, and a person’s behavior is unleashed.
• When our behavior is unleashed, we have no fear of God, but we will fear everything in our brokenness.

Fear of God

• What does the term “fear of God” mean?
• It is much more than being frightened by His presence. It’s a fear that arises in those who have faith.
• People who believe God exists, that He is holy, that He knows everything they do and think, and that he will bless those who obey and judge those who do not direct their lives accordingly.
• When we have a healthy fear of God, the foundational reality of our lives is to please God.
• The “fear of God,” as Paul uses it here, describes the transformation that occurs in a person’s attitudes and behaviors when true faith is present.
• Paul wants us to see the inward wickedness of the human race flow out of hearts that lack faith.
• When we start with the correct view of the holiness of God and recognize Him for who he is, we will want to say what Isaiah said, “Woe is me. I am undone. I’m a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5), or Peter when he sees the glory of Christ and his power says, “Depart from me. I’m a sinful man” (Lk. 5:8).
• It is impossible to have a true biblical understanding of our own sin unless we see God in His holiness. Otherwise, it’s “Oh, I’m just a terrible person,” or “I didn’t do that well.”
• When you see God for who he is, you know you cannot solve your own sin problem.
• The fear of God is one of the greatest needs in the church today.
• The fear of God comes from a context where He is saying to us, “I have bound myself to you in love,” and our reverence is for a Father who we know is for us and with us. This shapes the way we live our lives practically in so many ways.

Grace of God

• God’s grace sets people free to be honest with Him, themselves, and others.
• The reason is simple: we no longer have to be afraid because of our savior, Jesus Christ, and we no longer need to lie, blame, deny, or hide.
• We can let God shine His light into the deepest places in our hearts and show us what is really there without fear.
• He takes all those things and lays them on His beloved Son’s shoulders as if they were His sins, leaving us with two profound emotions: bitterly sorry and extremely grateful.
• Nothing in our human experience can explain why God still loves us when we face the ugliness of who we are in our sinfulness.
• Seeing us for who we are, He draws us closer and asks us to trust that He is doing a good work in us and will continue that work until we see Him face to face (Php. 1:6).
• When we encounter this, it leaves us different. Suddenly, we feel clean, light, stronger, and less afraid of being honest.

Application

The enemy will always try to lie to us about God’s holiness and, in our human nature, we will want God to expect less out of us regarding holiness. All of this can lead us to a place where we do not fear God, or we believe a lie about what fear of God truly is. Fear of God leads us to the footsteps of a kind, good Father who exchanges our sins for faith and grace.

Here are some things we need to deal with regularly as believers:
1. Confession: An honest assessment of our own motives without making excuses. Calling it what it is: “I did it. I did it on purpose, and the reason I did it was…” The power of any sin to control us is broken when we choose to respond in faith the next time that impulse comes.
2. Compartmentalizing: Many Christians won’t answer self-convicting questions honestly. We will lie, deny, and attack the person who asks the question. It’s hard to believe we can compartmentalize this successfully- We can lie, blame, and never take responsibility for doing anything wrong with others, but at the same time, have deep honest self-evaluation and confession with God.
3. Walking in Grace: We all make evil choices, and we have no excuse and no one to blame for those choices. This is when we become desperate for God’s grace and how we came to Jesus in the first place, but it is also how we continue to walk with Him. We must continuously examine ourselves guided by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, which leads to frequent repentance and His grace. When we are honest with ourselves and Him, we will:
 Know our desperate need for a Savior.
 Be grateful for God’s mercy.
 Be unafraid to face the truth about our sin (Heb. 4:12-10).
 Be quick to examine our hearts and repent when dealing with others.
 Be gracious to others in their struggles because we continue to experience God’s grace.

Discussion Questions

Share a time when you wanted God to be less Holy and not expect you to be holy__.

Reveal Answer
What is your view of the term “fear of God”? Did you learn something new today__?

Reveal Answer
As a Christian, how does confession, compartmentalizing, and walking in grace impact you__?

Reveal Answer