“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate” (Prov. 8: 13 ESV).
Some may think that fear of the Lord means dreading the punishment of sin. It isn’t (How Is Wisdom Righteous?).
The problem with that is we many not hate the evil behind the sin. We just hate getting caught and punished. We only start to hate evil when we are forgiven (How Is Wisdom Righteous?; Recognizing Evil Thoughts).
So, fear of the Lord can’t be just a mind thing. It has to be an action thing because it is a character thing (How Is Wisdom Righteous?).
We have to do more than just understand God’s ways. We have to embrace them. We have to walk away from evil (What Does Fear of the Lord Mean?).
When we fear God and give honor to Him, we want to serve Him. The fear is all about the reverence and love. That leads us to doing the good works for which we were made (What Constitutes an Obedient Disciple?).
Fear of the Lord is what draws us to Him for salvation (What Constitutes an Obedient Disciple?).
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