¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“The fear of God” carries a broad, comprehensive meaning and application. On the one hand, there is a terror in falling into the hands of an absolutely holy and righteous Judge. The famed colonial preacher Jonathan Edwards, in 1741, preached a sermon well-known by its title: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In it he depicted vivid imagery of a literal hell, in hopes of instilling the fear of God and the consequence of sin, in an effort to awaken a spiritually complacent people who had drifted from God. Indeed, Jesus Himself often did the same thing in dealing with the hypocrisy of the Jews of His day: “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mk 9:43–44).

In our modern times such a presentation of the message of Christ falls on cynical ears, instilling charges of being old-fashioned and fear-mongering. Images of “hell-fire and brimstone” preaching “on the sawdust trail” provoke derision in many rather than repentance. However, the method of preaching the truth should never be confused with the content of the preaching. In fact, political speeches of 100 years ago often had the same fiery tenor as the gospel preaching of people like Billy Sunday and other energetic evangelists.

The fear of the Lord, however, also carries the sense of sober respect. I think of a child who cavalierly bounded up the ladder of a tall playground slide and flippantly danced at the top before going to slide down, only to lose his balance and fall six feet to the ground. At first he was terrified of going up on the slide again—or any slide for that matter. But encouraged by his wise father, he cautiously ascended again, only this time with no waltzing at the top. After a few more iterations with the father’s encouragement, he energetically regained his freedom to enjoy slides, but now having a respect, or in the language of our passage today, a healthy “fear” of tall slides.

Fearing God, for believers, does not mean living in terror of His anger (as we shall see while reading Romans further). But it does mean having a spiritually healthy respect for God, that He is our ultimate authority. It is only because of His pleasure and will that we are not consigned to eternal suffering in hell. He can still bring temporal consequences to us for not honoring or showing gratitude to Him. He is our loving Father, but He is still our Sovereign God.

Lord, I confess to living at times independently from You, and I now humbly bow before You and submit to Your sovereign authority in my life.