The fifth reason for fearing God

 

5.        His Goodness

The fifth reason why the rightful fear of God should be stimulated in us it is because of His goodness as indicated by the Psalmist David who wrote, "Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19).

It is the goodness of God that leads one to repentance; for this reason, God ought to be revered. That is, He deserved to be truly loved, highly respected, greatly honored, show reverence, and stand in awe of Him. The prophet Samuel said, I will teach you the good and right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you" (1Samuel 12:23-24).

Because of God's goodness, we are to fear the Lord our God, and serve Him, and to Him we should hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is our praise, and He is our God, who has done for us great and awesome things which our eyes have seen.

The goodness of God is manifested in three ways:

1. In material blessings

One should always remember that, all that we are and all that we have is a blessing from the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14: 15-17).

Furthermore, we have been duly admonished by Jesus Christ saying; “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).

2. Spiritual blessings

The goodness of God is also spiritually manifested as confirmed by the Psalmist who wrote; “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!” (Psalms 1:19-21).

3. Forgiveness of  sins

The goodness of God is also demonstrated by His forgiving mercies as again confirmed by the Psalmist who wrote; “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalms 86:3-5).

And so, our attitude towards the goodness of God should be one of rejoicing, remembrance and satisfaction because of all the good He has done for us by providing us with His physical and spiritual blessings and follow the example of King David who wrote; “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.” And according to the prophet Jeremiah, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD." (Psalms 145:4-7; Jeremiah 31:14).

The stark reality is, The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. All His works shall praise Him and His saints shall bless Him.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The fourth reason for fearing God

 

4.     His Forgiveness

The fourth reason for having the rightful fear of God it is because of His forgiving mercies for it is written, "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared (Psalms 130:3-4).

Thankfully, "the Lord has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities; but He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us or will He keep His anger forever" (Psalms 103:8-10).

The willingness for the Lord to forgive ought to stimulate the rightful fear in us, by holding Him in high esteem, reverence, adoration, and to depart from evil. For, "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1John 1:8-10).

The gracious thing is that, Jesus Christ has made all the provisions for His people to live in holiness, and be constantly cleansed of their sins, through the cup of the New Covenant (agreement) which He instituted on the night before His death. For it is written; “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11, Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14, 20; Hebrews 9:22; 1John .1:7; Matthew 26:28).

The cardinal error which most people make is, accepting sin as part of our new nature. How often do we hear people make such comments as, "God understands!" when someone exercises a lack of faith by not trusting God, or being disobedient, or exercising a lack of self-control, by habitually living in sin. This is very prevalent because the basic assumption is, God understands their needs, their predicament, their weakness of the flesh, and therefore will sympathize with them when they compromise with sin. But what the Lord truly understands is our willingness not to sin as we have been duly admonished saying; "My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin" (signifying that there is the possibility of not sinning. And if anyone sins (not when anyone sins, as though it is expected, but "IF" signifying that it is optional, peradventure), we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." What the Lord understands and sympathizes with us is, "As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him: For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" (1John 2:1; Psalms 103:13-14).

Notice; His pity is not towards those exercising lack of faith, or lack of self-control, or who violates His laws with impunity, but towards those who fear Him because, it is by the fear of the Lord that one departs from evil.

And so, we have been instructed saying;, "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them" (Psalms 103:17-18).

The Lord pities those who strive for excellence because we have been duly instructed saying; “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” So, those who strive to enter the narrow way; those who, when faced with trials and temptations whilst pursuing the right path, will boldly come to the throne of grace, so that they may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." For, "Indeed, He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham" (Hebrews 4:16, 2:16).

Furthermore, we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

And, "for to this we were called, because Christ also suffered for us (in the flesh by being tempted just as we are being tempted yet without sin), leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth" (1Peter 2:22).

Therefore, since Jesus Christ suffered for us in the flesh and leaving us an example that we should follow His steps, we are to arm ourselves with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin" (1Peter 4:1).

Yes, if indeed we have proven that the Lord is gracious, His forgiving mercies will stimulate the right fear of God in us, and we will strive to give unto Him the honor, the reverence, and the glory which is due to Him by departing from evil, stop disobeying His commandments and making excuses. That is, not allowing our independent sinful nature which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked to entice us to walk after the imagination of our own evil heart and do what seems right in our own eyes and worshiping Him according to the commandments and traditions of men.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The third reason for fearing God

3..      His abundant grace

The third reason for fearing God it is because of His abundant grace which is described as His unmerited favors, mercy and compassion which He imputes on humanity without their participation and input. for “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace we have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9).

When we consider the fact that, everything that we have is a gift from God, for; to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift: Therefore, who we are is not of ourselves as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote; “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (Ephesians 4:7; 1Corinthians 4:7).

Therefore, since our salvation is all by the grace of God this should stimulate the rightful fear, respect and appreciation of God in us and should be cautious in heeding to the apostle Paul’s admonition which states; “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

So, since all that we are and everything that we have is a gift from God and we will have to give an account to God on how we use and develop it ought to stimulate the rightful fear of God in us. But how do we demonstrate the rightful fear of God in appreciation of His Grace?

Well, the rightful fear of God in appreciation of His grace is demonstrated by honoring Him for who He is as duly instructed saying; “A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name?' The Lord further said; “For I am a great King," Says the LORD of hosts, "And My name is to be feared among the nations” (Malachi 1:6, 14).

It is by observing the Lord’s Sabbaths which were ordained specifically to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings that the rightful fear of the Lord demonstrated, for thus says the Lord; “'You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.” For it is as often or whenever one eats of this bread and drink this cup, that the purpose or the objective for the Lord's death is proclaimed until He comes (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; 1 Corinthians 11:26).

It is by worshiping the Lord in spirt and in truth that one demonstrates his/her fear, love, reverence and appreciation of the Lord for Who He is and for what He has done and is still doing for humanity.

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Lucius joseph 

Fear God because of His holiness (part three)

 

the irony of truth in relation to the holiness of God is that, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1John 1:5-7).

Please note carefully that, the cleansing that takes place in order to have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another through the blood of Jesus Christ is current, it is something that transpires during the fellowship service and it is critical because, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 5:8-10).

It is also very important to note that, according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission because, the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11).

It is also imperative to note that the main objective for having a holy convocation is to offer the Lord the food for His offerings, For thus says the Lord; “These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day.”

We should note carefully that offering the Lord the food for His offerings is besides or in addition to observing the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:37-38).

Each appointed feast or holy convocation commemorates an event which the Lord has made in His master plan for the salvation of humanity, and they also foreshadows things to come.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Fear God because of His holiness (part two)

In order for one to have fellowship with the Father holiness is paramount as we have been duly admonished saying; “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

And so, there is an established protocol by which one gains access to the throne of grace which states as follows; “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, tremble before Him all the earth” (Hebrews 12:14; 1Chronicles 16:29-30, Psalms 29:2; 96:7-9).

 Holiness is associated to people, time and object that are consecrated to God for holy use. Christians are called "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people, that they may proclaim the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light" (;1Peter 2:9).

Having a good understanding of the necessity of being holy should stimulate the rightful fear in every one who has indeed proven that the Lord is gracious, for to the chosen people of God, He says; " I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt (synonymous to sin), to be your God, you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45).

Not only has God set apart His people for holy use, He has also set apart certain things as holy, and for holy use for He spoke to the prophet Ezekiel saying; "Her priests (Israel's) have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy (profane), nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them" (Ezekiel 22:26).

Therefore, disregarding to the Sabbaths, especially when Jesus Christ said, emphatically, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath" is a dishonor to God, a form of irreverence even though one has the liberty to observe or not to observe as endorsed by the apostle who stated clearly; “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” (Mark 2:27-28; Romans 14:5-6).

For Christ to be Lord (Master) of something holy as the Sabbath, should generate a certain amount of fear in those who have indeed proven that the Lord is gracious. Closing one's eye to the holiness of the Sabbath is profanity. The rightful fear of God, because of His holiness, should stimulate the awareness of making a clear distinction between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean (Leviticus 10:10).

One of the Holy things of God is His law. We are told that, "the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." And within the context of the holy commandment, we are specifically reminded saying; "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy:" Because, "the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (made it holy)" (Romans 7:12; Exodus 20:8, 11).

There are also specific times of holy convocations or holy assemblies, which the Lord specifically instituted, for the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them; the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts". Again He said, "These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times" (Leviticus 23:2-4, 7, 8, 21, 24, 32, 35, 36, 37).

The truth of the matter is, God alone is holy and He has set apart holy times for His people to come and worship Him in the beauty of holiness by providing them with the medium by which they become holy themselves so as to have fellowship with Him and His Son and with one another.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph 

The second reason for fearing God

 

2. HIS HOLINESS.

The second reason for fearing God is His holiness, which is the unique quality of divinity; a life totally void and separated from sin and when properly understood should generate a tremendous measure of fear in us, if indeed we have proven that the Lord is gracious. And so, we have been duly instructed saying; "as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to the former lusts, as in our ignorance, but as He who has called us is holy, we also be holy in all our conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1Peter 1:14-16).

Holiness is purity, completely free from defilement and profanity, but the question is, how does a person become holy? For one to become holy God has ordained a specific method by which one become holy For this is what He spoke to Moses saying; “Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy” (Exodus 29:32-33).

So then, the way one becomes holy, it is by eating of those things with which the atonement was made, which in our new dispensation is synonymous to the body and blood of Jesus Christ which is the new and living way by which we can draw near to God, as attested to by Jesus Christ who said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Jesus Christ is the way to the Father through His flesh; He is the truth, by being the Word of God our High Priest, now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf, and He is the life through His blood, for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul' (Leviticus 17:11).

The apostle Paul rendered his support to this principle by saying; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

The crux of the matter is, the body and the blood of Jesus Christ which is repented by the bread and the wine have replaced all offerings and sacrifice for sins: For we have been duly instructed saying; “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He (Jesus Christ) came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.”

“In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come --- In the volume of the book it is written of Me --- To do Your will, O God.' "Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:4-10).

So, once and for all times and for all peoples there is an offering which can present the worshiper perfect, holy, blameless and irreproachable before God, for which they are Commanded to be careful to offer to Lord at their appointed time, because there are specific appointed times to offer the Lord the food for His offerings.

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Lucius Joseph

Gentiles and the fear of God

Are the appointed times relevant and applicable to Gentiles?

Anyone who truly knows Jesus Christ should know that, He is the One who created the heavens, the earth, the seas and all that are in them, Who gave His laws to Moses, chose the children of Israel as His chosen people, became flesh and blood and dwelt among men and remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

Gentiles we know at one time "were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having (at that time) no hope, and without God in the world, but now, in Christ Jesus, gentiles who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For He (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jews and gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between the two. Giving gentiles now the opportunity to rejoice and glorify God (not in isolation or in opposition to the Jews but rather) together with the children of Israel (Ephesians 2:12-14),

Therefore, we are told to, "Receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God (to preserve and perpetuate God's truth), to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to you among the gentiles, and sing to Your name". And again He says; "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!" (Romans 15:7-10, Deuteronomy 32:43).

Therefore, the current situation right now is that, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:8-29).

And if we have been born in the spirit then, we have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossian 3:10-11).

The appointed times to have fellowship with the Father and the Son therefore, are specifically for those who are living in the spirit whether Jews or Gentiles because Jesus said plainly; “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:22-24).

The rationale for the appointed times which the Lord has ordained for His people to appear before Him and have fellowship with Him, is more profound in the New Testament dispensation than they were in the Old Testament dispensation. For example, in the Old Testament the feast of Unleavened Bread was to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from the captivity of slavery. In our New Testament dispensation it is to commemorate our deliverance from the bondage of sin and death.

The feast of weeks was to commemorate the first fruits of the Lord and the day the law was given to Moses. In our New Testament dispensation, this day commemorates the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and the feast of Tabernacles was a reminder to the Jews of their temporary dwellings, but in our new dispensation this feast is to commemorate the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us and became our permanent dwelling. The Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates His circumcision by which Gentiles became joint heirs of the commonwealth of Israel.

The true significance of the Sabbaths therefore, is to make us aware, or to remind us that the Lord is the sovereign God and we express and demonstrate this belief and appreciation by observing His Sabbaths as we have been duly admonished saying; "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come: and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Revelation 14:7).

The Sabbaths is the only sign the Lord God gave to identify Himself as the Creator of heaven and earth for thus He said, "The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath throughout their generation as a perpetual covenant: It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed" (Exodus 31:116-17).

The crux of the matter is, the Sabbaths are blessed, sanctified, hallowed, a time of refreshing, rejoicing, and celebration of the Lord’s sovereignty, ascribing to Him the glory due to His name as instructed saying; "I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God" (Ezekiel 20:19-20, 44:24, Isaiah 58:13-14, Jeremiah 17:21-22. 27).

Although one has the freedom to observe or not to observe, this freedom nevertheless, does not relegate the rationale and objective for the Sabbaths which the Lord ordained as times of holy convocation.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph