In the modern church, Christians often don’t talk about fearing God. And perhaps the reason is that the concept is so misunderstood. When modern Christians think about fear, we usually associate it with terror and fright. We fear things that can harm us, things that intend evil against us. And without a doubt the Bible often uses the word “fear” this way. But this kind of fear of God has no part in the life of a believer. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:17-18:

Love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:17-18, NASB)

Love is perfected in Christians, and this perfect love casts out fear because God will never harm us. Therefore, this is not the kind of fear that Scripture intends when it speaks of the fear of God in a positive way. The kind of fear we have in mind is described by Moses in Deuteronomy 10:12-13. Listen to what he wrote there.

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

For instance, in Isaiah 33:5-6, we read this exhortation:

The Lord … will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure (Isaiah 33:5-6).

Notice that far from being an expression of terror, reverential fear is associated with confidence in God as our sure foundation and salvation. In Isaiah 11:2-3, we find that this fear also characterizes the Messiah. Listen to the prophet’s words:

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord — and he will delight in the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2-3).

Reverential fear is not a cowering, threatened response to God. On the contrary, it is a delight. Reverential fear of God is the sense of living in his constant presence. It is the understanding of who and what God is, and of what he requires of us. And as such, it is both an aspect of love and a motive to perform good works.