Episode 58 - Fear Factor

Have you ever wondered what the Bible means when it talks about the fear of God? Isn't God a God of love? This month's podcast looks at what this phrase means, how it has been misunderstood, and how it applies to all who consider themselves to be Christian.

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/12ZPJ6PlPjAiSLzta6xWrt?si=9dHQkl0CSx-ebED3vOZsUA

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zkV2Y9lxhnTcYDB2r8iM4?si=G_TBZclnRwmkmm8Mseu-_Q

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 4:10 What is Fear
• 11:47 Fear as a Tool
• 17:34 The Fear of God
• 25:38 Closing

Transcript

Fear Factor

Introduction

Christianity is a religion of fear, right? I’ve heard that if you don’t believe in the god of the Bible you’ll go to hell, Preachers say you must fear God and shame on you if you don’t. In fact, there is a lot of shame if you don’t obey every single word in the Bible. After all, doesn’t Christianity use fear and threats as a tool to keep you from thinking for yourself? The church is an organization of control, manipulation, and brainwashing.

It is this fear that leads people in the church to pursue an attitude of deconstruction and deconversion; it is this belief that drives the atheist and agnostic to point to the worldly failings of the church; and it is this misunderstanding which attempts to erase the truth of Scripture so that we do not examine what Christ said about hell, and the will of God.

We are told in Genesis 22:12, the angel of the Lord said to Abraham, ”now I know that you fear God,” Joseph said in Genesis 42:18, ‘I fear God’, in Nehemiah 5:15; we are told that Nehemiah feared God, later in Nehemiah 7:2, we read Obadiah “feared the Lord greatly”, Job is describe as one, “who feared God” in Job 1:1 and the list goes on... So, what is meant when we talk about the fear of God?

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In keeping with our tradition of addressing an October-esque, Halloween adjacent, topic; This month we are looking at fear, more specifically the fear of God.

Searching the phrase “Fear of God” I came across a line of independent American luxury fashion. Not what we’re talking about today, but an example of how phraseology can be turned to linguistic theft. Redefining the original content to mean something opposite, or tangential.

What is the meaning of the phrase, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” ? It is found three places in Scripture: Job 28: 28, Psalms 111: 10, and Proverbs 9: 10.Is Christianity a religion of fear, and what about those accusations I read earlier? Even as a child I was told to fear God, so, are any of the accusations true?

What is Fear

I think fear is a common experience, a reaction to self preservation, and a response to previous experiences triggered by emotion. Unfortunately, fear is often tied to weakness and cowardice but it is fear that prevents us from doing those things which could endanger us. Yet, fear can also keep us from learning, experiencing, and engaging in parts of the human experience which are ultimately rewarding. 

The fear of learning to ride a bike is different from social fears and anxiety. The fear of heights is different than the fear of embarrassment. I would rather wear a pink shirt than set trusses on a third story wall, for example. What do you fear? The things you cannot control, the unknown, or something greater, something supernatural? What does that fear look like and how should we respond?

If we read the passage in Matthew 14, we find it has a lot to say about fear. Fear of death, fear of crowds and public speaking, fear of the unknown, and holy fear. 

Consider the actions of Peter in this chapter. The disciples see someone walking on the water as they are out trying to cross the Sea of Galilee. Recognizing that it is Jesus, Peter jumps in the water to join Him. Miraculously, Peter begins walking on the water toward Jesus. At some point he sees the crashing waves and feels the wind blowing, and he becomes afraid. 

This is a result of doubt, Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and doubts what he is experiencing. Peter's fear was based on His experience with storms on the Sea of Galilee. He wasn't a coward, he just took his eyes off of the Lord.

Fear brings you to either faith or doubt. How do you deal with fear? Remember, fear is a choice. I know a few pilots and flying instructors and they have told me that when pilots are being trained the instructors will kill the power to the engines. This is to teach the students that they must fly the plane even without the engine. The instructor will tell the pilot, "regardless of what happens, keep flying the plane!" What most students forget is that a plane is just a powered glider. In a time of fear your training will keep you calm and you will land fine.

But what does Jesus tell us about fear? It is interesting to discover that the Bible never records Jesus as being afraid. Matthew 26:36-38, seems to be the exception as it records Jesus preparing for His execution. It says, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.””

But what are we really seeing in what Jesus is experiencing? Sometimes referred to as Filial fear, we see Jesus displaying what we know as holy fear. This isn’t just a matter of semantics, author and theologian Tom Nash, says that, “while Jesus had fear of the Lord in relation to his heavenly Father, he did not have it with respect to himself, because he is one person, a divine one, not two persons—a divine and human one—which would introduce a duality and confusion in Jesus, which is impossible for one who is God. Indeed, if taking on a human nature caused confusion for Jesus, he would have been shown to be not divine, to not to have been an omnipotent, eternal person.” [https://www.catholic.com/qa/did-jesus-experience-the-fear-of-the-lordgod]

In talking about how we are to live in likeness to Christ, John writes this famous line in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

It is interesting to see how Roman culture at the time of Jesus understood fear. As a deeply superstitious culture, many of their fears stemmed from their fear of a pantheon of gods and an unknown future. Based on the need for survival, we all possess, these fears informed how they worshiped, hierarchy of status, the creation of festivals, and folk narrative. But the use of fear by the emperors and local authorities worked to subdue social unrest.

In his book, ‘Representations of Fear. Verbalizing Emotion in Ancient Roman’, Dominic Ingemark writes, “Human existence was precarious in many ways in antiquity: success could swiftly turn into misfortune, health into illness and death, with disastrous consequences for the most important social network in this era, the family. These misfortunes could be difficult to cope with, and adversity, calamity and death had to be made intelligible emotionally. By verbalizing fear – in the form of stories of demons, witches, ghosts and wild animals – it could be endowed with a concrete shape.” [Ingemark, C. A., & Ingemark, D. (2020). Representations of fear: Verbalizing emotion in ancient Roman folk narrative.]

It is of no surprise that the Roman historian Tacitus referred to Jesus as a troublemaker, His crucifixion necessary to quell unrest. The fear generated by such an event instilled a false order which had immediate, yet temporary, results. How ironic is it that the King they were crucifying ruled with love and forbearance, and taught peace and servanthood to establish His kingdom.

Jewish culture holds that to fear anything other than God is a subtle form of idol worship. Yet, when Jesus was teaching and preaching to His people it is evident that there was fear in the lives of those who were following Him. Certainly we must admit that there was a minor amount of novelty tied to His ministry and some who listened were only there to say they had heard Him for themselves. I’ve done this very thing, it is why we go to concerts, watch sports, and enjoy fireworks.

But the pressure of law, both civil and religious, on the backs of the Jewish people was noticed by Jesus many times. In Mark 7:37, Jesus questions the application of Jewish law in regards to cleanliness, and in Matthew 15:39, Jesus calls these same religious leaders out for subverting the very same laws to benefit themselves. How could a common person live without some fear of reprisal? Even Pontius Pilate feared the power of the temple knowing full well that riots and strikes could result in thousands of deaths if the religious leaders felt that they had been disrespected. And so in the light of fear and the idolatry it creates, the Biblical teaching of fear and love remains relevant in every century.

Fear as a tool

There is a popular claim that Christianity uses fear to spread its message and keep weak people in the faith. We can read through “Martyrs Mirror”, “Foxe's Book of Martyrs”, or “Extreme Devotion” from the Voice of the Martyrs organization to see how Christians have suffered, and continue to suffer, for their faith over two millennia. But it is how the church has treated non-believers and skeptics which drives the misunderstanding behind today's topic.

Jesus saw the misuse of Scripture during His time on earth, and He confronted those who did it, calling them vipers and whitewashed tombs. In Matthew 23:15, Jesus goes so far as to say, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” These same men encouraged Paul to find the Christians of the early church and have them killed for what they believed.

What we see being done is spiritual abuse against the very people who have come to believe those things they have been taught will make their lives better. And maybe it is this teaching which really is to blame when the fear of God is understood to be a terror and dread in our lives.

There are two deceptions that are used to spread the message of Christ through fear. The first is that Christianity will make your life better, it will solve your problems, and it will grant you prosperity. The second is that our religion is your ticket, or free pass, to heaven and all the fear mongering about hell is a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, “you know better, right?” light in the dark, as long as you do what you're told.

The Gospel message is built on the promise of salvation through faith. We don’t deny the truth of hell, in fact, Jesus talked about hell more than any other topic recorded in Scripture. But the hard truth is that God really will give you your desires, and if you don’t desire an eternity with Him, He has established an eternity which exists outside of Him. What we have to discover for ourselves is which eternity we desire.

Beyond that, the decision we make will have an effect on how we live, and if there is no effect, then the decision isn't true and it is rooted in poor soil. So faith is less about doing what we’re told to do and more about desiring the will of God to guide us.

And I feel that is why Christianity is accused of using fear to keep weak people in the faith. Too often, followers of Christ are called out as being sheep, weak willed automatons, who do not think for themselves. It is in 2 Corinthians 12:10, that we read Paul’s statement, "Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, in behalf of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

Quite simply, Christians must lean on God to be their strength; because on our own, none of us can live out the will of God.  But does the church use the weaknesses in us to control us? Philosophers such as Nietzsche despised Christianity because they saw this weakness as a herd-style morality, the teaching of Christ that we should be like servants grates against his understanding of power and suffering. Likewise the comment of Karl Marx that religion is the “opiate of the masses” misses the point. Again, he desired power and he felt that the church built up the wealthy classes and exploited the poor.  

It is most probable that when the history of the church is considered it is the despicable acts associated with it which blur the context of Scriptural intent. Several practices, teachings, and events have been used by the church to instill fear in people. A few examples are: the Inquisition, the threat of excommunication, the churches use of plagues to exert pressure through the threat of God’s wrath, the teachings of indulgences and purgatory, the Crusades, persecution during the Reformation, witch hunts, colonization, and end-time prophesies.

In each instance listed, the church of the day used an event to manipulate those under its authority; forcing them to capitulate to the unholy will of man. These events show how quickly we fall into sin, twisting what is good to create something which is evil.

Fear in today’s society was very quickly realized in our response to the COVID pandemic, fear drives conspiracy theories and rears its head in much of our mental health crisis; however, the hypocrisy evident in our own churches does not curry favor among those looking for a place which provides peace and assurance. In his book “The Great Divorce” C. S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” I wonder if some of our fear could be mitigated if we were moved to obedience to God instead of reluctance.

The fear of God

What’s so scary about God? When I was a kid I thought the fear of God was the same as a person who lives under tyranny. It was this perception that drove my approach to reading my Bible and how I interacted with those I encountered at church. Indeed, this misinterpretation had the potential to sell God as an angry deity, limited in love. An easy sale to most people. Popular Pastor Andy Stanley has chosen to use this scary god analogy to tell his listeners that we should discount the Old Testament, discarding anything that we feel does not represent a loving God.

In an article for Christianity.com, Jessica Brodie writes, “The “fear of the Lord” can mean two things: First, it can serve as an adjective, meaning the fear and awe that is God Himself, His immense and formidable nature — not only His wrath but also His power in general. But “fear of the Lord” can also mean the fear, awe, and respect we as human beings have of the Lord, and the relationship we have with Him. This is the fear we most commonly think of, for as human beings, it’s difficult for us to look at the world in any perspective beyond our own.” [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-is-the-fear-of-the-lord.html]

This is where we see the fear of God as being that which we work to attain, what we strive for.

When we think of the fear of God one story we should consider is that of Ananias and Sapphira and their actions in Acts 5. They lacked the fear of God and chose instead the sin of hypocrisy. Theologian Donald G. Barnhouse, in his commentary on Acts says, “if God acted in the same way today that he did in the fifth chapter of Acts, you’d have to have a morgue in the basement of every church and a mortician on the pastoral staff.”

295 times the fear of God is mentioned in Scripture, this is more than any other aspect of piety mentioned. And yet we live as though it was a mere suggestion. The vast majority of those who claim to be Christians lack a fear of God. In a September 2024 interview with Allie Beth Stuckey, former witch and occult practitioner Jac Marino Chen says that she always felt she was a Christian, even while participating in occultic and New Age practices based solely on the fact that she was born into a family that identified as being Christian.

We can see this absolute lack of respect for God in our churches by the songs we sing, the Bible's we read, our lack of participation in Christian life, and the passive syncretism bleeding into our daily lives. 

“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” is a verse found three places in Scripture, all in the Old Testament: Job 28:28, where Job is describing the omniscience of God, Psalms 111:10, where the Psalmist is describing the justice of God, and in Proverbs 1:7; & 9:10, where Solomon is describing what wisdom is. But beyond that, Job says that if we fear God we will abandon evil and we will gain understanding. The Psalmist says that in this understanding we will obey the commands of God, and Solomon reminds us that the fear of God welcomes instruction and recognizing who God is, is what our understanding will accomplish.

If we describe the fear of God as horror, we are talking about a fear that can stem from a variety of sources, some of these are childhood teachings that instilled a sense of dread about divine authority or distressing experiences within religious settings. I see this with my kids, I feel it's important for them to view God as a perfect parent, capable of love and discipline, mercy and truth; so they learn to respect and honor God instead of seeing God void of His attributes. 

Consider the response of Adam after he had sinned. Genesis 3:10 records Adam saying, “'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.'” Adam feared God, but his fear of God wasn't because he thought God would act unjustly, no, he was feeling shame for what he had done. We don't give shame the attention it deserves, instead of being something that tears us down, shame is a response that signals our respect to another and the realization we have acted in a way contrary to what respect for that person deserves. 

Once we understand this point we can look at the verse in Matthew 10:28, and see how important it is. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The word fear appears twice in this verse and both times it means: to revere. The Martyrs Mirror and Foxe's Book of Martyrs detail how this was lived out in the lives of people who truly understood what it meant to fear God. Even in times of persecution, it isn't the loss of our life that should cause us to revere and respect someone, instead, knowing that the creator of all things, the sustainer of life, has offered to us eternity with Him and refusal means eternal separation – missing the purpose for which we were created – our fear is then an acceptance and acknowledgment of His perfect love.

It could be argued that when we begin to understand what the fear of God is, we have stepped into a posture of salvation. The good news, the gospel story, is just that; drawing us into a relationship of truth and love with God, the uncaused cause, our respect and honor bubbling through us in a manner which is beyond comprehension, and we fall to our knees because the fear of God has gripped us and our only response is to worship Him, trembling, overwhelmed with gladness and love.

So what is the fear of God? Quite simply, it means reverence and piety. [Genesis 20:11, 2 Samuel 23:3; Nehemiah 5:15; Job 6:14; Nehemiah 5:9; 2 Chronicles 19:9; Isaiah 11:3; Isaiah 33:6; Psalm 34:12; Proverbs 10:27; Proverbs 14:26,27; Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 19:23; Proverbs 22:4; Proverbs 23:17] It is a posture in the believer brought on by the knowledge (of God) [Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 2:5; Isaiah 11:2]; also called the beginning of wisdom in Psalm 111:10; and Proverbs 9:10; and manifests in us as knowledge, Proverbs 1:7. The fear of God means we are willing to accept the instruction of wisdom, Proverbs 15:33; we desire to hate evil, Proverbs 8:13, as well as departing from evil Proverbs 16:6. And ultimately, the fear of God is wisdom, Job 28:28.

Over and over in Scripture we are introduced to men who feared God. And every time they are described as those who viewed God with respect, reverence, and piety. Abraham - Genesis 22:12; Joseph - Genesis 42:18; Nehemiah - Nehemiah 5:15; Hanani - Nehemiah 7:2; Job - Job 1:1 But these men were all called to tasks to serve God in large and small ways. Not unlike a parent whom we love, our respect will produce expectation and the tasks we are called to will reflect that. What have you been called to? Are you faithful to that calling?

Outro

This is a very deep topic and I just tried to scratch the surface today. If this is something you have never heard before, or it has created a desire to know more, I would encourage you to explore this more for yourself. I've added links in the description to a couple other podcasts which discuss this topic from different perspectives than mine. 

Teaching about the fear of God seems to be missing in the church today and it is very evident in our approach to worship and our commission, it is evident in how we live, and it is evident in how we, as Christians, are perceived in today's society. If we are to live out our mandate we must have a righteous fear of God.