Fear of the Lord

What is fear? The “Britannica World Language Dictionary” defines fear as an

emotion excited by threatening evil or impending pain accompanied by a desire to avoid

or escape it; apprehension; dread. There has to be more to it than that. What is the fear

of the Lord? What does the Bible say about fearing God? Are there any benefits to

fearing God? What happens if I don’t fear God? How can I learn to fear God? In this

paper, I will answer these and other questions by sharing with you what I discovered.

“The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary” states that the fear of God is of several

kinds. There is superstitious fear which is the fruit of ignorance. There is servile fear

which leads to abstinence from many sins through the worry of punishment. There is filial

fear which prompts one to obey God because they love Him and want to please Him. In

Psalms it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: A good understandin...