Lacking The Fear Of God Leads To Evil

Devotion 12 - Lacking the fear of God Leads to Evil.

What happens when the fear of God is missing?

When Paul was describing the depravity of humanity and how it was degenerating, he said:

Rom.3:10-18 – “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. “

When there is no fear of God in the land, sin increases and there is no limit to evil. All the moral decadence we see in the society today is because people have no fear of God.

Psa.36:1 – “An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.”

 

Man's sins are the fruits of an inner evil. Men who dare to sin constantly and presumptuously have no fear of God as the righteous judge. Unholiness is clear evidence of ungodliness. If we truly believe that God be everywhere, and we fear him, how can we dare to break his laws in his very presence?

The bible often links a lack of the fear of God with sinful conduct. In fact, the first use of the expression “the fear of God” was found in Genesis.  And Abraham explained that he lied to Abimelech that Sarah was his sister because there was no fear of God in that place.

Genesis 20:10-11 – “Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.”

 

 

To Fear God is to Hate Evil

 

Pro.8:13 - The fear of the LORD is to hate evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil way.

 

In this text, the fear of the Lord relates to the inward feeling of hatred for evil. Hatred, like love, is an emotion of the heart. The Hebrew word for hate means to despise, to be hostile toward, to loathe. This departing from evil is the practical manifestation of a principle; it is a habitual practice founded on a strong conviction.

 

The measure of our fear of the LORD is measured by our hatred of the things He hates. 

 

Most importantly, the obverse of the coin is true too. If the fear of God is to hate evil, then the fear of God is also to love a godly way of life.

 

Hardening of the Hearts

Exo.9:27-30 – “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked…Moses said to him…But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

In this scripture, we have an account whereby Egypt has gone through the seven plagues and Pharaoh repented and asked Moses to entreat the Lord that there may be no more plague.

That sounded like perfect words of repentance from Pharaoh. However, Moses perceived that true repentance had not worked its way into his heart. Pharaoh was grieved by the consequences of the sin, but not at the sin itself. Moses knew and warned him against the hardening of his heart as he discerned that Pharaoh had not truly feared the Lord.

Exo.9:34-35 – “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So, the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.”

 

Lacking the fear of the Lord in our hearts often leads to continuous hardening of hearts to sin against Him!

Pro.4:23 – “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

The Bible teaches that the condition of our heart will determine how our life will ultimately turn out. Thus, it is vital that we always have a tender heart before God.

A proper and healthy fear of God is more than a just a feeling and attitude, it is a guiding principle that deeply affects every area of our lives and determines the way we live. It helps us to have a proper, humble perspective of ourselves in relation to our awesome God; it helps us in times of temptation when we need to remember the serious consequences of disobeying God; and it motivates us to become more like our loving Creator.

“The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” – Oswald Chambers