When Fear is a Good Thing

When Fear is a Good Thing

(Proverbs 1:7; 8:13; 9:10)

Yearly Theme:  “Joy is…”

Series Title:  “The Joy of Wisdom”

June 14^th, 2020

Something to think about:

Words are powerful; and it’s because of this that that it’s important to understand the definition of words in order to make sure we’re speaking the same language in conversation together. 

Today, as we continue our series entitled, The Joy of Wisdom, and as we focus this month on the two dominant types of fear we find in the Bible, I want to focus more on the terms and definitions of what it truly means to “fear God.”  In order to do this, there are three different verses that I want to look at today that give us clues as to what the “fear of God” really is.  Let’s take a look…

Proverbs 1:7 (NLT), Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 8:13 (NLT), All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.

Proverbs 9:10 (NLT),  Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

What I believe these three verses in the book of Proverbs illustrate today is that…

Key Point:  “The wise person looks to God for understanding and truth.”

As we consider these three verses today, there are several words in these verses of Scripture that bear defining in order to clearly understand the importance of what is meant by the “fear of the LORD”:

• ______________

Fear translated as awe gives us greater insight into how we should approach God.  The “awe of God” truly is the beginning of all knowledge.

• ______________

The only way to overcome ignorance is to have a foundation of knowledge that is rooted in Christ so that we will not be swayed by merely human thinking or high-sounding nonsense that comes from this world.  To be rooted in Christ is not only to have knowledge, but also wisdom, in great supply.

• ______________

The act of discipline and instruction is a lost art in our culture today, and is something that we desperately need to acquire again.  This can only be done when we realize that all wisdom and truth come from God, and disciplining ourselves to stand in awe of Him and follow His lead is the remedy to our fallen and broken world.

Something to take home:

Abraham Heschel, in his book, Between God and Man, writes:

“God is a mystery, but the mystery is not God.  He is a revealer of mysteries (Daniel 2:47).  ‘He reveals deep and mysterious things; He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with Him.’ (Daniel 2:22)…

“We do not deify the mystery; we worship Him who in His wisdom surpasses all mysteries.”[1]

Our culture has deified the mystery of life, of creation, of science, and the unknown, but the One who surpasses all mysteries is the true God of all wisdom and knowledge that defies human reason by taking on human flesh to overcome sin and death through the cross and desires to draw us to Him through that sacrificial act of love.  Those who come to this realization, stand in awe of Him who is beyond human reasoning and fall in worship at His feet.  This is truly the beginning of knowledge that sets men and women free.

Key Point:  “The wise person looks to God for understanding and truth.”

[1] Abraham Joshua Heschel, Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism, (Simon and Schuster: New York, New York, 1959), 49-50.