Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Psalm 130:4. But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
King Solomon says that before we can be wise, before we can know God, before we can really know anything, we must fear the Lord. Not be afraid of God. Respect him. Be in awe of him. Know him relationally, caring about what he cares about and understanding his character.
Solomon learned about fearing God from his own father, King David. David says in Psalm 130:4 that we fear the Lord when we remember that he forgives us.
That probably sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? Don’t people usually fear God when they think he is going to punish them and NOT forgive them? But the truth is that you can’t respect God, understand God, or truly have any kind of trusting relationship with God until you see him as a forgiving God.
If you can only see God as a punishing or vindictive God, a God to be appeased, then doubtless you will be afraid of him and obey him only because you are seeking to avoid his wrath. But when you can see God as the God who has forgiven all of your sins, then you can begin to obey him knowing that he loves you, that he is good, that he has your restoration and your transformation in mind, not your destruction.
The cross of Christ is where this wisdom is made manifest. At the cross God punished every sin and he forgave every sin, simultaneously in the death of Jesus. At the cross God proved his love for us, and satisfied his wrath against us. At the cross humanity was both condemned to die and cleansed of all guilt and shame.
The cross must cause us to fear God, there is no other proper response.
Fear the God who would take on flesh, adding limitation to his unlimited being, in order to rescue us.
Fear the God that would send God to save us from God.
Fear the God who hates our sin so much he would rather die than let it remain.
Fear the God who would take our sin and separation into himself in order to restore creation.
Fear the God who would not just forgive every debt but satisfy every debt in his own body on the tree.
Fear the God who would unite his life to ours in order to assure that we might live eternally in the knowledge of him.
This fear of the Lord, beholding the man upon the cross, is the beginning of knowledge. In what way? Because we can’t fully understand anything in life without understanding God, and we can’t understand God without first understanding his merciful love and forgiveness in Christ’s cross.
You: Do you believe that God has forgiven all your sins? Is there a failure that you are still holding against yourself that you need to lay down at the cross today?
You in Christ: How does knowing we are fully forgiven in Christ allow us to fear and trust God?
Christ in you: With what part of your life do you need to trust God’s forgiveness today?
Pray: Father, it is because you are always kind to me that I fear you, obey you, and honor you. Help me today to forgive like you and love like you. Amen.
To Live is Christ 