Unpacking The Fear Of God Series

Series: 1 Peter

Sermon: “Unpacking the Fear of God”

1 Peter 1:17-21

A sermon for October 20, 2024

Pastor John Bright

1 Peter 1 “17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

When I start teaching a new book in Bible Study, I like to ask the “newspaper questions” – Who? What? When? Where? Why?

When was 1 Peter written? Peter was martyred by Nero in 64-65 AD. Because he writes about the persecution the Early Church faced, it was probably written after 62 AD when Nero began a great persecution of Jesus Followers.

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It’s a good thing we can fear. It helps with self-preservation. I remember way back when I was a teenager being curious on the highway. What would it be like to max out the speedometer of my mother’s Ford LTD? Around 95 mph, the steering was getting really loose, so I backed off. I never had the desire to go that fast again. 😊 A few years ago, I had the chance to ride on the track at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) with a racecar driver who competed at South Boston Speedway. He to told me we probably got up to around 120 mph on the straightaways. I was very relaxed the whole time – I was in a car designed to go fast and had a driver who was very experienced. I really enjoyed it!

I believe that the Fear of God is a healthy and helpful kind of fear.

What is the Fear of God? v. 17

“17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;”

There are two different meanings for the “Fear of God” – one for us and one for them. “For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html

Got that? Those who are lost should fear an eternity in Hell that Jesus Followers will be spared. Those who are saved should fear turning away from the will of God. I will not lose our salvation for choosing to do it my way instead of God’s way. Remember my view of the process of sanctification: Every day, there are a percentage of decisions I make to follow God’s will and God’s way. There are also a percentage of decisions I make to follow my will and my way. Over time, I want one percentage to go up and the other to go down. That’s as simple as I can make it and I need it simple to make it work!

The awe and reverence that makes up the Fear of God for believers is a healthy and helpful kind of fear. Imagine that you are standing before a judge in courtroom. That’s how the Bible describes God. Back in Genesis 18, God (could this be Jesus?) and two angels visit Abram on the way to judge/destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram bargains with God about how many righteous people will prevent God’s judgement. Genesis 18:25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

In Psalms we read of God as the Judge: Psalm 75:2-7

“2 God says,

“At the appointed times,

I judge fairly.

3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,

I make its pillars secure.” (Selah)

4 I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”