Three Motivations for Cultivating the Fear of the Lord

How can we cultivate the right kind of fear? Here are three things that will motivate you:

Fearing the Lord will give you wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psa. 111:10). When God carries weight in your life, you will be on the path of wise decisions. How does God view what I am doing and saying? Without this fear, you will make the wrong decisions, and choose the wrong paths.

Fearing the Lord will keep you from sin. “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin” (Ex. 20:20). Driving a car without good brakes is a disaster waiting to happen. The fear of the Lord is a brake against sin. It holds you back. You feel an impulse to sin, but you say, “How can I do this when God is watching?” The more you know of the fear of the Lord, the stronger your defense against sin will be.

Fearing the Lord will motivate you in evangelism. “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (2 Cor. 5:11). Since we have felt the weight of the judgment that is to come, we seek to persuade others. Paul says later on that the love of Christ “compels us” (2 Cor. 5:14, NIV), but here he starts with fear.

A church that ceases to believe in hell may do a great deal of good in humanitarian and social action. But it will not evangelize. It is those who have learned the fear of the Lord who will be compelled to declare His glory.

Which of these motivates you the most? Why?