2022 has been a roller coaster year for me so far. A lot of changes have taken place in my life in the past five months but I have also hit a few lows along the way. My closest uncle, Juan Adame Tovar, died of unknown causes in early January of this year and a good friend that I’ve known since 2009 died unexpectedly in mid February. Because death has hit so close to home, I have spent a great deal thinking about the kind of life I want to live and the legacy I desire to leave behind. Whether we like it or not, death will come for us all and when it does, hindsight will either leave us with regret or peace.
I truly believe there’s not a single person who wants go out into eternity with regret but so many find themselves in that position. Even the wisest person who ever lived found himself full of regret in his final days and left a final word urging those who will listen to do that which he failed to do in his life:
“let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV
Solomon urges us to fear God and to keep His commandments. A life well-lived truly boils down to these two things but what does it mean to fear God and to keep His commandments? It seems like a silly question to ask but because the fear of the Lord is a topic most western churches avoid, many do not know what it means to fear God. And because many western churches have propagated a false message of hyper-grace, many believers see no need to keep God’s commandments. This is why it is not only appropriate but it is also essential to discuss the fear of God and keeping His commandments.
The Fear of the Lord
The Bible says God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7); however, the Bible makes it clear that fearing God is an appropriate response.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” Psalms 33:8 NKJV
The Bible mentions the fear of the Lord a total of 490 times. It would seem that the Bible is contradicting itself but if we think that, our understanding is faulty. We must first understand that the spirit of fear and the fear of the LORD are two different things. Moses makes this distinction when God manifested His terrifying yet magnificent glory on Mount Sinai.
“And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”” Exodus 20:20 NKJV
The fear of the Lord does two things: it keeps us from sinning, as Moses tells the people of Israel in the aforementioned verse and it also keeps us from departing from God. God spoke to the children of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah,
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” Jeremiah 32:40 NKJV
The simple truth is sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The very nature of God’s holiness exposes our sin and darkness so naturally it makes those in darkness want to flee His presence. Those who love sin are afraid of God and they want to get away from God but those who fear God are afraid of being away from God so their disposition is to hate sin. This is why Solomon defines the fear of the Lord as hating evil/sin (Proverbs 8:13). The fear of the Lord literally means to hate the very thing that separates us from God!
When the fear of the Lord is practiced, it opens up the possibility of having an intimate relationship with God. Solomon wrote in Proverbs, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7). The knowledge Solomon speaks of isn’t an intellectual knowledge but a relational knowledge of God; a knowledge that can only be obtained by having a relationship with God. This begins with the fear of the Lord. David also understood that the fear of the Lord was the key to having a relationship with God when he wrote in Psalms,
“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Psalms 25:14 NKJV
Keep His Commandments
There are many today who erroneously believe keeping God’s commandments is legalism but there is a difference between legalism and obedience. The motivation behind legalism is self-preservation but the motivation behind obedience is love.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NKJV
Obedience to God is the byproduct of our love for God. In fact, when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, His reply was,
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38 NKJV
R.A. Torrey once accurately stated, “If loving God with all our heart and soul and might is the greatest commandment, then it follows that not loving Him that way is the greatest sin.”
Our response to sin boils down to our love for God. When we genuinely love God, obedience to His commandments will naturally flow out from us; not because we seek something in return but because our greatest desire is to please Him.
Conclusion
Again, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV
It is our duty as men and women to fear God and to keep His commandments. When we succeed in these two areas, there is no doubt in my mind that we’ll not only leave this world in peace but we’ll leave behind a legacy of what truly serving the Lord looks like. My prayer is that my love for the Lord grows deeper each day and that the fear of the Lord never departs from my heart. I pray that is also your prayer in these last days.
Joshua Hawk 