Surely you cannot have a relationship with God if you are frightened of him
2006-12-15 06:31:03 · 28 answers · asked by cloudbunny 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
that is not what it means... it is more like "awe" or think of it in terms of how you felt about your father... :o)
2006-12-15 06:33:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The phrase "fear of the Lord" occurs twenty-five times in the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The phrase occurs twenty-three times in the Old Testament and two times in the New Testament. The phrase first appears in 2 Chronicles 19:7 and then again two verses later. The other references are as follows: Job 28:28; Ps. 19:9; 34:11; 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26-27; 15:16, 33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17; Isaiah 11:2-3; 33:6; Acts 9:31; and 2 Corinthians 5:11. The phrase "fear of the Lord" appears more times in the book of Proverbs than in any other book in the NASB.
Fear of the Lord. The word "fear" in the phrase "fear of the Lord" comes from the Hebrew word YIRAH (transliterated), and it means "to be terrified" (Jonah 1:10), "to be awe" (1 Kings 3:28), and "to have respect" (Lev. 19:3). The "fear of the Lord" is the reverence one would pay to a king because he is the majesty. But if one has offended the king and punishment is coming, that fear in the Hebrew is YARE. YARE is used in the phrase "fear the Lord" 31 times in the Old Testament. Therefore, when one sins, that person might fear God's discipline (Deut. 10:20).
Proverbs says that the "fear of the Lord" - honor and respect for the Lord - is wisdom and it is the beginning of knowledge.
2006-12-15 07:06:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
people think that you can not fear someone and love them at the same time. When I was a child I loved my Dad but also feared him, which is why I respected him and still respect him highly to this day. If your children do not fear you in any way then they will run all over you and never have any respect for you and probably no respect for anyone or anything else either. My kids know that I love them, but they also know that they will be disciplined if they do something wrong too. Same thing with fearing God.
2006-12-15 06:39:31 · answer #3 · answered by starchild8072 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To fear God means to show and have respect for God. In the culture that the bible was written they have a different understanding of what fear meant than we do today. When you love and respect someone you make choices that you do not think will be hurtful to them or disrespectful to them. In those days your elder and/or who you were accountable to was feared or respected for the influence and impact they could have on your life. The influence that they could exert into your life could literally effect your lifestyle and your ability to succeed during your whole life. As a result the term "to fear" was relative to the positive or negative impact someone could have on your life. When reading the bible and it says to fear God, replace the word fear with respect and it will make alot more sense to you.
I don't remember how many times the bible tells us to "fear not" and uses it in reference to God and our circumstances. Without understanding what the term "fear God" and "fear not God" it would seem that the bible is being contradictory when actually it only our lack of understanding.
The only time I know of when we should fear God is in our disobedience to God. This would be the same kind of fear a person had with their parents growing up and doing something radical that you knew you were going to get busted for.
2006-12-15 07:34:22 · answer #4 · answered by David R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"God fearing" means when someone is worried about being punished for their sins that they do in their life. They are scared they will be punished by God for these acts. In Puritan society, back in the 1600s, this was an accepted theory. When their house burned down or something like lightening happened, they thought God was punishing them for something. Now, people don't have this theory as much, but some still beleive this.
2006-12-15 06:38:44 · answer #5 · answered by burn_this_city 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fear of God is similar to the fear you have of your parents... do you come home on time, because they have asked you to ? Did you date the people they generally approved of? Why? Did you go to school because they expected you to get an education and make something of yourself? Did they frighten you into all that, or did you do it out of respect and love for them? Did you avoid displeasing them because you did not want to hurt them, or cause them concern? THAT is healthy fear... the kind we are to have towards our Heavenly Father, Jehovah. Not a morbid fear, but a healthy fear of not pleasing Him.
2006-12-15 07:12:39 · answer #6 · answered by themom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bible speaks of fearing God out of respect and awe of the almighty creator of all things. He is God, the beginning and ending, alpha and omega. We have nothing that wasn't given to us by Him, don't you think He deserves awe and respect? His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts. He desires a relationship with us, and through that relationship He reveals Himself to us. His word speaks of Love, God is Love - Fear is not our understanding of fear - it's a wow and awe, not a scream and hide. you can even look up fear in the dictionary and it will give that same type of definition. the bible has all the answers. read it and believe! following God the way He wants us to follow Him is not found in religion. Christianity is not a religion.
2006-12-15 06:43:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"God fearing" is a man-made term. Jesus/God would never want us to live in fear. Remember, religion is what men have created and twisted over the centuries to control the people while spirituality is the pure loving essence of God we can tap into at any time.
2006-12-15 06:38:30 · answer #8 · answered by SG 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can have a wonderful relationship with God. Anyone can if the want is there.
However, what "god fearing" means is merely that one has great respect for God, in knowing that he is the almighty, and perfect, and is the judge for all of mankind.
None of us need or should be dwelling, however, on judgment day, and live our life in true fear of God. God truly does not want us to be fearful of him.
All we need to do is be the best person we possibly can, treat others as we would want them to treat us, and do our best in having a good relationship with God. We can do that by giving him all of our troubles, talking to him, praying to him, always trying to do better, helping others who need us, going to church, obeying the 10 commandments, and learning to respect and love God, since he gave his only son to us and allowed him to die on the cross, in order to save mankind from sins. He also gave every one of us the gift of life, and we have the opportunity through God's graces to have eternal life with eternal total happiness.
I understand your question and understand why many people would question this, but hopefully, I've given you another way of looking at it.
Best of luck to you!
2006-12-15 06:40:24 · answer #9 · answered by Peekie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People who fear something do it because they are afraid of sinning. If you know you are a good person and are living positively, you'd fear nothing. For that reason I think religious leaders fear God the most.
2006-12-15 06:39:04 · answer #10 · answered by Craiova 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fear of God to me means the awareness of the presence of God's power that produces in me a sense of awe and calls forth from me honor, respect and reverence.
2006-12-15 06:40:35 · answer #11 · answered by ~*~*~ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋