What is better, the fear of God, or His love?

Question

If you live by the fear of God, how can you believe in His forgiveness, mercy and love; and if you love Him how can you stay fearful of His punishment?

Answer 1

i believe in doing good and in love.

Answer 2

The word 'Fear' that appears in biblical scripture does not translate very well from Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic as they have all slightly differing meanings in their own contexts. Basically..the word 'Fear' usually translates more accurately to the word 'Awe' and has nothing to do the kind of fear your expressing! It's more to do with wonder and amazement. God's not punishing anyone...we're good enough at doing that ourselves. If God is love..there cannot be any 'fear' that co-exists alongside it. If you switch on a light..that darkness goes...it doesn't remain 'hidden' somewhere. Same with fear..if loves there..it shows fear the door!

Answer 3

Living by the fear of God is not the thing that God accept.By this fear you try to be a good people only to not goto hell or to not be punished by the God.

If you can find the real love, the pure love (it s the love against God in Islam life) then you can understand that in love theres no fear or pain..

Love is the piece of God..

Answer 4

Fear of God doesn't mean panic; in this sense it means reverence and recognition of who He is and what he has done for us. Reverence, respect, awe...that sort of thing. God is love and perfect love casts out fear. Although most people if faced with the Almighty God in all His power would probably be pretty frightened...I guess that's why the phrase "Fear not" occurs 366 times in the English version of the Bible. That's one per day in the year and one extra for leap year; sounds like God wants to get a point across...

Answer 5

Remember that "fear" means more in the line of "healthy respect" for. I have a healthy respect for AC power because I know what it can do if it contacts your body and seek not to get shocks. I don't live in fear of electricity.and that it may leak out of the plugs in the wall.
The same goes for God. You need a healthy respect for God and be aware that God is loving and just. The 2 go together in a bigger picture.

Answer 6

It really depends on what you want...

It is difficult if not impossible to have a love relationship built around fear. If one looks at children from abusive homes one can see the result of a fear based relationship. The child lives in fear of being punished by the adult. The child also tends to become secretive and will withdraw from the parent as the child grows older. The child will seldom seek comfort or guidance from the parent either.

Many older adults (those who grew up in hell, fire and brimstone churches) have this relationship with the divine. Many of these adults have a difficult time being warm and supportive to others of their faith. Instead they become bitter and backbiting.

If I am in relationship because I love someone as time passes I will move closer to the person (deity) I love. I will maintain the relationship even as my life changes and I grow. We never outgrow true love relationships. Moreover if I feel safe and secure in my relationship with the divine I will more likely be able to share that love with others (rather then to try and hoard it to myself and make other look bad).

Now being in a love relationship with the divine does not rule out being in awe of the divine. If we look at a father and son relationship we can see what I’m talking about. When the son is small he wrestles with his father. They have a grand time. They roll around on the floor growling and thrashing. But, Dad always stays in control. He never gets angry or hurts the child. But eventually the father holds down the boy who is wiggling and screaming and just holds him still for a moment before letting him up for a big hug. The boy is left with an impression that dad is big and strong and can do anything. The son is in awe of his father and this feeling will remain even after the son is big and strong enough to really hurt his father.

There is plenty of room in a love relationship for awe. Fear will tend to poison the relationship.


To quote the Bible:
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love."
--1 John 4:18

Bright Blessings
Pabs

Answer 7

A friend of mine explained this by saying that you can see God as your father, you love and to a certain degree fear your father.

Personally I don't think that fear should be in the equation. I do not fear my father, I respect him, I do not want to disappoint him. I'd say that if you do nothing much wrong, you shouldn't have fear of God.

Answer 8

Fear of God is Love of God. They are one in the same. If you fear Him you are showing Him that you Love Him.

Answer 9

Fear of 'God' seems to be a necessary component of any religion which invents a vindictive, cruel deity, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam. They invent a god so imperfect that he can't be loved on his own merit, so fear fills in the gaps where love should be.

Answer 10

You don't even know what fearing God means. It means to respect Him, and place Him first in all things, and to honour HIm. It does not mean to be afraid of HIm. This statement of yours is so typical of a non believer, who does not study the bible, or allow God to open it up to them. You're. just like many one here, who use this forum to bash God and His word.

There is a difference between just reading the bible and actually reading and studying it. How can a non believer of God expect to understand the bible when they dont' believe in it's author, which is the almighty God?
Defination of Fear God-(Chaldee); corresponding to H3366: - glory, honour.

From H3365; value, that is, (concretely) wealth; abstractly costliness, dignity: - honour, precious (things), price.

You speak of what you do not know. You cannot dive into the scriptures and disect it that way. The meaning of some of the words back when the bible was written, have changed over the years. We are not to change or alter the scriptures in anyway. but with all the "new versions" that is exactly what people have done.

Revelation22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Because the meaning of the words over the years have changed so drastically, the entire message from God has changed as well.

For example..

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The word "shew" today means to run off or to scare away. The word shew in the bible means to "show" or to "prove"

shew- From G3488 and G2476; to stand beside, that is, (transitively) to exhibit, proffer, (specifically) recommend, (figuratively) substantiate; or (intransitively) to be at hand (or ready), aid: - assist, bring before, command, commend, give presently, present, prove, provide, shew, stand (before, by, here, up, with), yield.

You cannot just pick up a bible and read it like any other book, because it is not like any other book. It is the word of God.

Answer 11

Can't have one without the other. Those who know Him have a childlike fear of His Power and Holiness but also know His tender mercies so that yes He may chasten them when they disobey but it will be with a Fatherly hand of love not anger.