The Fear of God

1 Peter 1:15-17

Kee Seng Li
September 27th, 2015
WHY we should fear God (1/2)
Rightful one to fear Luke 12:4-5 (NLT)
Dear friends, dont be afraid of those who
want to kill your body; they cannot do any
more to you after that. But Ill tell you whom
to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill
you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he is
the one to fear.
WHY we should fear God (2/2)
Gods friendship Psalm 25:14 (NLT)
The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.
Knowledge & Wisdom Proverbs 1:7
& 9:10 (NIV)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom.
NASB Lexical Aids to the OT
(e.g. Psalm 25:14; Proverbs 1:7 & 9:10)
[Fear = Yare] There are 2 main types of fear
described by yare:
1. The emotion and intellectual anticipation
of harm, what one feels may go wrong
for him.
2. A very positive feeling of awe and
reverence for God, which may be
expressed in piety or formal worship.
NASB Lexical Aids to the NT
(e.g. Luke 12:4-5)
[Fear = Phobos]
1. Capable of a good interpretation in
which case it is godly fear,
reverence, or
2. Fearfulness, timidity, shrinking for fear
Scripture 1 Peter 1:15-17 (NLT)
15 But now you must be holy in everything you
do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For
the Scriptures say, You must be holy because
I am holy.
17a And remember the heavenly Father to

whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge

or reward you according to what you do.
17b So you must live in reverent fear of him

during your time as foreigners in the land.

Fear of God A Practical Definition
Positive Dimension Negative Dimension

Understanding of Acknowledgement of
Gods holiness Gods judgment
(1 Peter 1:15-16) (1 Peter 1:17a)
Decision Dimension

Acceptance of our responsibility for

the pursuit of holiness (1 Peter 1:17b)
1 Fear of God Positive Dimension
Understanding of Gods holiness (1/3)
Old Testament:
For I, the Lord, am the one who brought
you up from the land of Egypt, that I might
be your God. Therefore, you must be holy
because I am holy. Leviticus 11:45 (NLT)
New Testament:
But you are to be perfect, even as your
Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 (NLT)
1 Fear of God Positive Dimension
Understanding of Gods holiness (2/3)
Gods holiness the attribute that perfects all
his other attributes
Gods holiness majesty and moral
perfection
Majesty Isaiah 6, Revelation 4
Moral perfection 1 John 1:5, James
1:13, Habakkuk 1:13, Hebrews 1:9
A.W. Tozer, The Attributes of God
1 Fear of God Positive Dimension
Understanding of Gods holiness (3/3)
Ephesians 5:1-6:9
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do,
because you are his dear children.
Ephesians 5:1 (NLT)
1 Peter 1:14-3:12
So you must live as Gods obedient children
1 Peter 1:14a (NLT)
Oswald Chambers,
My Utmost for His Highest
2 Fear of God Negative Dimension
Acknowledgement of Gods judgment (1/3)
God is directing his actions toward an
all-encompassing goal, the transformation of
the entire cosmos into the glorious eternal
community of the new creation. What
marks the transition from the present order to
the new order God intends for his creation?
The Christian eschatological vision answers
with the word judgment.
Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God
2 Fear of God Negative Dimension
Acknowledgement of Gods judgment (2/3)
Present judgment = Within history, all nations
and individuals
Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19:24-25
Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:1-11
Taking bread and wine in an unworthy
manner 1 Corinthians 11:29-30
Remedial: 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (examine
ourselves), Hebrews 12:5-11 (when God tries
to get our attention through disciplining us)
2 Fear of God Negative Dimension
Acknowledgement of Gods judgment (3/3)
Future judgment = End of history/time, all
nations and individuals
And just as each person is destined to die
once and after that comes judgment.
Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)
For we must all stand before Christ to be
judged. We will each receive whatever we
deserve for the good or evil we have done in
this earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NLT)
3 Fear of God Decision Dimension
Acceptance of our responsibility for the
pursuit of holiness (1/3)
JV between God and the Christian
3 Fear of God Decision Dimension
Acceptance of our responsibility for the
pursuit of holiness (2/3)
3 problems preventing Christians from accepting
responsibility for the pursuit of holiness
1: Our attitude towards sin is more
self-centered than God-centered
2: We have misunderstood living by
faith to mean no effort at holiness is
required on our part
3 Fear of God Decision Dimension
Acceptance of our responsibility for the
pursuit of holiness (3/3)

3: We do not take some sins seriously

Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

Fear of God A Practical Definition
Positive Dimension Negative Dimension

Understanding of Acknowledgement of
Gods holiness Gods judgment
(1 Peter 1:15-16) (1 Peter 1:17a)
Decision Dimension

Acceptance of our responsibility for

the pursuit of holiness (1 Peter 1:17b)
Conclusion (1/2)
The pursuit of happiness vs. the pursuit
of holiness:
We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence:
Conclusion (2/2)
The pursuit of happiness vs. the pursuit
of holiness:
[T]he only way to be really happy is
to be really holy. Most people get
it the wrong way round. Gods will for
us is that we be holy in this world and
happy in the next, but many people
want to be happy in this world and
holy later.
David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible