Fear God And Give Him Glory.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10-28
Jesus Himself preached this fear. When Jesus sent His disciples out, He gave them a sobering anchor for their courage. These are not the words of a prophet of doom. They are the words of the Great Shepherd of our souls. He spoke these words to them not to terrify them, but to anchor these disciples in the truth of His word.
Jesus wanted to admonish them to walk in boldness, receiving the boldness that comes from fearing God more than anything else. These words reveal a truth our generation desperately needs to recover. Jesus Christ redirects their fear. He acknowledged the reality of danger. Men could imprison them, harass and beat them, even kill them.
But He lifts their eyes higher. Human threats end at the body; but they cannot cross into eternity. The disciples’ fear must not be shaped by earthly outcomes but by eternal realities. The fear of God is not terror; it is the recognition of Jesus’s ultimate authority. This fear is not the dread of a tyrant. It is the deep-seated, trembling awareness that Almighty God alone holds the destiny of every soul.
Heaven or hell is not determined by earthly power but by the Holy judgment of the One who sees all, knows all, and weighs all things, this involves both motives and deeds in a balance.
“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.“Luke 12:2
This fear in our lives of the perfect justice and mercy of our heavenly Father births holiness in our lives. This fear produces obedience. This fear purifies motives and stabilises the heart.
It was this fear that kept the early church unshaken before rulers and persecutors. Herein is a revelation: they feared God too much to fear man.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you… Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.“Matthew 5:11–12.The message of the early church carried a weight we rarely feel today. They preached grace and love, yes, but they never divorced themselves from proclaiming the essential requirement of repentance, holiness, and the fear of the Lord being in the lives of believers.
They understood something so essential that the gospel without the fear of God is a gospel stripped of its power to transform. The fear of Almighty God restores Him to His rightful place in the message. It is of enormous importance in our lives as believers to grasp this reality: that when the fear of God is lost, preaching becomes soft, discipleship becomes shallow, and sin becomes casual.
But when the fear of the Lord returns, conviction deepens, repentance becomes real, personal holiness becomes desirable, the gospel regains its cutting edge.
Herein is a vital truth the apostles preached like men who had seen eternity. They perfectly understood Jesus’ warning. All human power ends at the grave, but God’s authority extends beyond it.
Therefore, every believer in Christ must understand that: Jesus proclaimed it. The Apostles lived it. The early church understood it. And the scriptures testify that the fear of the Lord is not a side note. It is foundational.
When this reverential fear returns to our preaching, the gospel will once again cut through darkness, awaken dead hearts, and produce disciples who walk in holiness with joy. The fear of God does not drive believers away from the Father; it draws them into a life of humble obedience, holy reverence, and joyful fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ.