02/28/2022
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
"A Fresh Perspective on Fearing God"
A young woman who had just become a Christian approached me after my sermon… “I can’t buy this ‘fear of God’ stuff. I grew up being told what to do and when to do it. My family overworked the guilt card on me, and it doesn’t work on me anymore.” This young woman had what I call a stale perspective on what it means to fear God. I can’t blame her; I have had that same perspective of God at times too.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 gives us a fresh perspective on the fear of God…
I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God]. Amplified Bible
Interesting. This verse tells us that whatever God does, he does for one reason. That one reason is “so that men will fear him.” God wants more than anything for us to be filled with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God.
Jesus, commenting on marriage, said that we as humans should not tear apart what God has put together. When God does something, man should not add to it or take away from it.
God’s work, whether in Creation or in placing couples together for marriage, always cultivates respect for who He is. He wants us to look at His work and be in awe of what He has done.
How have you understood the “fear of God” in the past?
Is your past understanding of the fear of God the same as “awe-filled reverence?”
In your life, how has God been cultivating a respect for who He is?
Is there something God has done that you are trying to add to or subtract from?
