Fear is an instinctive emotion aroused by impending or seeming danger, pain, or evil. It is not to be permitted to rule a believer’s life (cons. Prov.3:25, 29:25, Matt.10:26, 29-31).
Fear of God which is imperative, is the feeling of deep unequaled respect for God consequent upon the appreciation of His Personality – His Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscient; superlative love, goodness, judgement etc. (cons. Ps.77:12-14, 139:1-12, Jer.9:23,24).
Possession of this grace ensures conformity to the dictates and demands of the Lord (cons. Deut.10:12, Mic.6:8).The thus possessed jettisons every appearance of evil in life, thereby making him pleasant to God (cons. Jn.8:29, Isa.11:1-2). Fear of God does not reflect only in one’s relationship with God, but also in the relationship with fellow men, hence making for harmony in the home, productivity in the work place and godliness in the house of God (cons. Eph.5:20-25, 6:1-9, Col.3:17-25, 4:1). It served as a stabilizer to the apostles when the billows of persecution rolled from the religious bigots (cons. Acts 4:13-21).
The superlative nature of the Creator which is beyond human comprehension makes fear of God mandatory for all (cons. Deut.10:12,13, 13:4, Jos.4:23,24, 1Chro.16:24-30, 2Chro.19:4-7, Prov.3:7, Eccl.12:13, Isa.8:13, Jer.5:22, Mal.1:6, 1Pt.1:17, 2:17). The Lord Jesus, the express image of God the Father revealed a major reason why God should be feared (cons. Matt.10:28, Lk.12:5 cp. Jas.2:19).
It is the lack of this fear that is primarily responsible for the unconversion of sinning churchfolks (cons. Heb.2:1-3, 12:31). It is behind the backsliding of the believer and degeneration into apostasy (cons. Deut.32:15, implied Prov.23:17, 9:10, 8:13, Rom.3:18 cp. Heb.6:4-8, 10:26-29). This damnable trait should be guarded against and vehemently resisted when one’s prestige, popularity, power, prosperity etc. begin to soar (cons. Job 31:24-28, Ps.52:7, 62:10, Eccl.5:10, Dan.4:28-37, Lk.12:15, 1Tim.6:17-19). Fear of God is an attitude that should serve as a prerequisite for companionship especially in marriage in the