A Holy God

God is holy. That means He is set apart. He is "other-than", not like this present world nor like our fallen human nature. God is not contaminated with sin or impurity. His thoughts and ways are high above ours. He dwells in a lofty place, but also with those who are meek and tremble at His Word. His holiness is accompanied by humility, therefore His power is never arbitrary or capricious. He is gentle in His love for His people, even while His holiness upholds His justice.

I wonder, God himself must be humble.. a new thought. Could it be true? Immediately I thought of Moses, the meekest man on earth. God said concerning Moses that He revealed Himself to ordinary prophets through dreams and visions. But not so with Moses. This humble man had face-to-face encounters with God. That’s how much God values humility. I remembered the New Testament Scripture that said God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Humility attracts grace. Pride is incompatible with God. I thought of Jesus, who said, "Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and lowly of heart." Yes, God is holy and He is also humble. This revelation of God’s nature caused me to fear Him in a fresh way.

How will the fear of God affect our lives? The first thing it will do is to cause us to turn away from sin. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13). I know God is perfectly just and that He will cause me to reap what I sow, therefore, I fear Him. The holy fear of God is not the same thing as being afraid. I am not scared of God, but I fear Him. I am sustained by His unchanging love, but I am not casual about encountering His holy presence. The fear of God is clean. It is healthy for us. It is not a condemning, controlling, paralyzing fear.

The primary way the fear of God is shown in our lives is not with emotions, like being scared, but with obedience to His Word. In this way, the fear of God sanctifies us. Therefore, two forces drive us to obey God. Both are appropriate. They are fear of God, and love for God. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). We treat God’s Word the same as we treat God. Either we respect it or we despise it. To ignore God’s Word is to have no fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is not a feeling, but a decision that leads to submission to God. The Scripture says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph. 5:21 NIV). The fear of God results in us respecting and receiving one another. This is a mark of Christian humility. It is a characteristic of living in community, of being in God’s family.