Why the Fear of the Lord Is Missing from Modern Worship
The fear of the Lord is a theme that runs throughout scripture, from cover to cover, Old Testament and New Testament. Yet it is rarely preached about or sung about in modern Christian churches. When was the last time you heard a song about “the fear of the Lord”? When was the last time you heard a dedicated message about it at your church? For many Christians, the answer is “never.”
The fear of the Lord is one of the most lacking attributes in the lives of many who identify as Christians. And yet, the Bible is clear that it is one of the highest qualities that God praises and values in a person’s life. The scriptures are filled with warnings, teaching, and promises of reward that are all tied directly to whether or not a person walks in the fear of the Lord.
As a pastor and worship leader, I have found that most people simply have no idea what the fear of the Lord is. And I don’t blame them, because it is not taught about from the platform, nor is it part of the songs we sing. I did some research on the top 100 songs sung in Christian churches in the past year.* Not surprisingly, there is not one of them that is about the fear of the Lord. I dug a little deeper and found that in the past 30 years, ZERO of the top 100 songs have used the phrase “fear of the Lord/fear of God” or have been remotely connected to that theme. No wonder it is so absent in modern Christianity, since the songs that have formed and discipled this generation completely avoid the subject. What people don’t understand, they don’t value. What they don’t value, they don’t walk in.
Even on the occasions that people do talk about the fear of the Lord (because it is unavoidable if you actually read the scriptures), I find that people are rushing to redefine what it means. Conversations almost always gravitate toward defining what it is not. I hear people say things like,
“The fear of the Lord isn’t really fear…”
“It’s not terror…”
“It’s not being afraid…”
The current teachings about the fear of the Lord are dominated by what the fear of the Lord is not, surely cannot be, or what we just don’t want it to be—because it’s too unpleasant or just doesn’t fit in the theological boxes we’ve created regarding the love, grace, and goodness of God.
While most people are quick to define what the fear of the Lord isn’t, I can hardly find a person in this generation talking about what it is. And perhaps that’s because they don’t know—or don’t care to know. I’d guess that some are afraid to know.
Modern Christianity seems to dance around the subject, insisting that what the “fear of the Lord” is must be something—anything—besides fear. And that is the root of our problem. It is insisted upon that it cannot mean anything related to being afraid or a feeling of terror. But if you actually read through the Bible and take note of the stories, contexts, and teachings about the fear of the Lord, you will find that it encompasses exactly those things. People struggle with that, because they have just finally come to a place of revelation about the love and goodness of their Father—so how can that be true?
YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BOX (OR NO BOX)
The real reason many people don’t understand the fear of the Lord is that they don’t truly know who God is. They “kinda” know Him, and their relationship with Him is based on a set of things they’ve heard about what He’s like. A lot of those things are true. But they are not the whole picture.
We get ourselves into deception when we discover one attribute of God’s nature and then think that is all He is or can be. That is “putting God in a box.” If there’s one thing I know, it’s that all of our boxes are far too small. But we love our boxes. They give us the illusion that we are in control because we can neatly put everything in a place of our choosing, accessing what we want when we want and filing it away when we don’t. But God is not an object under our control and subject to our whims, nor will He accept our boxes as His home.
There has been a wonderful wave of revelation that has swept through the body of Christ about the love and goodness of God. We are beginning to grasp the vastness of the Father’s love, the wonders of His goodness, and the immense privilege to be offered friendship with Him. But that’s not all.
When the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they could know God better, he specifically prayed that they would have “power to grasp” what they were about to be shown, because he knew “how long, how high, how deep, and how wide” revelations of God’s nature are. When we endeavor to know and understand God, the best starting place is to ask God for power to grasp it and then to take on an attitude of humility that recognizes there is always so much more that we don’t know or understand yet. This is why Paul admonishes us, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22, NASB). This is written because of our natural tendency to only dwell on the parts of God’s nature that we like—a tendency to remain simple rather than possess a broader perspective of what He’s really like.
A CONSUMING FIRE
When we consider the nature of God, it is true that He is a loving Father. It is just as true that He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Look at this passage from Malachi 3:1-4:
“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple….But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord.”
Do you know God in this way? He’s not merely a fire that warms our hearts, a fire representative of zeal, or a symbol for anointing. He is a fire that consumes. He’s a refining fire that burns away whatever is not pure. A fire can be the most wonderful thing or the most terrible thing. It’s not tame or controllable. The outcome of your experience depends on how flippantly or carefully you regard the fire.
I know some people will be mad and think, “This guy doesn’t even understand grace.” But it’s the fear of the Lord that makes the love of God mean something. The fear of the Lord is what will cause you to realize His grace is truly amazing.
DAVID AND ESTHER
In one blog post, I can never do justice to the vastness of this topic. But I do want to highlight two stories from scripture that changed my thinking about the fear of God.
First Chronicles 13-15 tells us about King David—the man in scripture known for his prolific worship and for being “a man after God’s own heart.” King David wanted to bring the ark of the Lord’s Presence to be with him in Jerusalem—a noble cause centered in worship. He intended to instate 24-7 worship in Jerusalem! But in this story, David and the people didn't follow God's instructions about how to carry the ark of God’s presence (carried by consecrated Levites in a certain manner). He elected to bring it in his own way (on a cart pulled by oxen). On the journey, the oxen stumbled and it looked as if the ark would fall. A man named Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark. The Bible says, “The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.... David was afraid of God that day and asked, 'How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?' He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite" (1 Chronicles 13:10-13). While David's desire was to be near to the Lord and to increase the worship in the nation—which are all good things—he got a reality check about God's nature. Love for God doesn’t replace the fear of God. He is good. But He is also dangerous. Fire is good, and fire can kill you if you treat it carelessly. It is what it is. He is what He is. But that’s not the end of this story. David hears that Obed-Edom’s household was WILDLY blessed by God. The same God that struck a man down was prospering another! So David tries again—now walking in the fear of the Lord and honor for His holiness—and finally gets to bring the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. And David danced before the Lord with all his might.
This story is a mirror that can show a reflection our own heart condition. In the modern church, there is more worship music than ever—yet there is little obedience, little holiness, and little surrender. We love and adore God. But many of us have not learned the fear of the Lord.
A second story has also helped me understand the fear of the Lord. Sometimes we struggle with the concept of fearing God but also hearing Him say “fear not.” The story of Esther is a beautiful example of how these seemingly opposite truths are simultaneously unified. Esther needed to go before the king to plead for the lives of her people. But she was afraid—even as the queen—to do so, because to go before the king uninvited meant she could be condemned to death! He was, after all, the most powerful man in the ancient world. “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives” (Esther 4:11, NIV). Esther fearfully dared to go before the King. She was so afraid she asked all of the Jewish people to fast and pray for her. The Bible tells us that the king extended his scepter to welcome her! He did not become any less powerful or lose any of his authority to end her life in a moment—He remained the same king whose presence was dangerous to approach apart from his invitation. But the extension of his scepter meant that she need not be afraid because He was granting her an invitation based on the favor he felt for her. The same is true for us when we approach the Lord. The only reason we may “fear not” when we approach Him is because of mercy. He has “extended the scepter” to us, calling us His bride and granting us access. It’s not because there’s nothing to be afraid of, but because of the invitation of His favor. Esther never lost her honor or regard for the king’s power. We must also not treat Him flippantly, as if He owes us anything.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’ve made it this far, I hope these thoughts stir you up to consider the fear of the Lord. My words might even make you angry, and you might disagree with me. That’s fine. If I at least got you thinking more about the fear of the Lord, that is my aim.
I wrote a song about this called “Dangerous (Fear of the Lord).” My prayer is that it will serve as a tool along your journey of walking in the fear of the Lord. To be clear, I’m not writing all this to get you to listen to my song. Rather, I wrote the song because I believe a renewed fear of the Lord is deeply needed in the Church today.
Here’s the link to listen.
Blessings,
John Gabriel Arends
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*The top 100 songs are as reported by CCLI.