A wise young lady once said, “Growing up it was so easy for me to just focus on God’s love because He is love! He has poured that beautiful and endless love out on to us. But, I was missing the truth. I was missing the fact of the fear of the Lord and did not have my own faith as a foundation.” This was a quote from my beautiful little role model of a sister as she shared her testimony at an event in Pittsburgh.
Her words made me think. In today’s world, there is a great focus on God’s love, which, don’t get me wrong, is extremely important (1 Corinthians 13:13); however, God is not just love—at least not in the way we tend to perceive and know love to be. Thus, to quote Tim Keller on the subject:
Half a God is not God at all
I have found that when we solely focus on God’s love toward us and attempt to walk solely in the freedom we find in that love, we miss a very important aspect of who God actually is. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) if we focus on love without fear, are we actually understanding the point of what true love really is?
Now of course, “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), but that is not the kind of fear I am referring to. When the Bible talks about fearing God, it talks about standing in awe of Him (Psalm 22:23), it talks about walking in truth and delighting in His commandments (Psalm 86:11; Psalm 112:1; Proverbs 2:1-5), it talks about acknowledging Him in ALL of our ways (Proverbs 3:5-8) and being careful what we do—doing all things in faithfulness with our whole heart (2 Chronicles 19:7; Colossians 3:22-25). The Bible also talks about rejoicing with trembling (Psalm 2:10) and working out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). It’s not a fear because our God is a big scary evil monster. No! It’s a fear because our God is a powerful, holy God worthy of all honor and praise. It’s a fear because He relentlessly displays steadfast love to an undeserving creation that continuously goes astray. It’s a fear because our God is not only our father, but also our master. And as Malachi 1:6a says “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts…”
We are adopted children and coheirs of Christ (Romans 8:12-17) but we are also slaves (Ephesians 6:5-6) —both of these things go hand in hand. God is a good good Father and He is also a a fair, just, and kind master worthy of respect. So what does this mean? Well to quote John Piper, “To be a slave of Christ implies He has absolute right to tell us how to live. Yes, He does.” (Luke 6:46) For “you are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” (Colossians 6:19-20)
If we truly walk in Christ’s love and freedom than we will most certainly (in His strength) conduct ourselves in humble obedience remembering that “we love him because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
So yes, God is love. And because of God’s great love and the grace He bestowed on us by sending Christ to die for our sins we are free! We have a free will and the choice to live how we please but though all things are permissible not everything is profitable. (1 Corinthians 6:12) “What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) True freedom is the realization that we are free from sin. Therefore, “As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.” (1 Peter 2:16)
If we claim the love of Christ, and that love is true in us, it will be revealed as we walk in a manner worthy of the calling. Living our lives to please Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in our knowledge of Him (Colossians 1:10).
God is a God of love, but He is also a God of discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11). He is a God of compassion, but He is also a God of jealousy (Deuteronomy 4:23-24). God is a God of mercy, but He will judge rightly (Hebrews 10). God is a God who is worthy of all honor, of all glory, and of all praise.
”Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again — not of perishable seed but of imperishable — through the living and enduring word of God. For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.” ~ 1 Peter 1:13-25
