What does it really mean to fear God in the Bible?

[Anonymous]

Updates

1 mo

What’s the funniest thing you did as a kid that you still remember

[BCRanger10]

In the most perfect sense, it means having a sense of awe and reverence at the greatness and holiness of God.

I just finished reading this great book called Christ: The Life of the Soul by Blessed Columba Marmion. He notes that this fear comes in both a servile and a filial form. Servile fear means the fear of punishment and divine retribution. Filial fear is the aforementioned reverential fear, a "fear which expresses itself in adoration and is altogether holy", and he then quotes Psalm 18 (or 19, depending on the translation), saying "The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring forever and ever".

Then he says the following...

"It is the this reverence that the Holy Spirit puts in our souls; He keeps it there, but by mingling it, through the gift of piety, with that sentiment of love and filial tenderness which results from our Divine adoption and which makes us cry out to God: 'Father!' This gift of piety imprints in us, as in Jesus, that propensity to refer everything to our Father."

[strateguy632]

see exodus 20 :20 Moses said unto the people, that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." but respect or adore differs.

[strateguy632]

it means awareness about punishing. when you feel tempted to sin in pleasures, fear god.

[jennifer_bloom]

The bible says, fearing God means showing respect for others, refusing to take advantage of others, refusing to sabotage the spiritual practices of others by hiding wisdom or telling tricky truths in ways designed to increase the risk of error and false beliefs, refusing to burden weak people with levels of behaviour they are not able to handle, refusing to engage in bad behaviours that injure or hurt or disrespect others, being productive, avoiding bad behaviour to the best of your ability and strategic knowledge, and being humble enough to glorify God and not your ego and appetite.

[Iron_Man]

to respect him to be humble to appreciate him to fear that he is God you have to have total respect

[Asker]

True

[Iron_Man]

Yes…..

[slatyb]

It means people were pretty stupid, and many still are.

[Anonymous]

No idea. Not religious.