Faith Without Fear is Fruitless

"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Isaiah 6:1-5

From Genesis to Revelation we see the fear of the Lord always associated with knowing the Lord. Adam hid in the garden when he knew that he had sin. He was terrified of God who called for him. Moses had to cover his face when he descended from Mt. Sinai for the glory of the Lord shown upon him and it terrified the Hebrew people. John the Beloved, the closest person to Christ Jesus while he trod this earth fell at Christs feet as dead when John saw Him in the Revelation. We cannot have truth faith without knowing the terror of the Lord. Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This terror of the Lord is the realization of our imperfection before the Holy God. We cannot truly know the Lord without knowing our disposition in relation to Him.

The modern church goes to great lengths to avoid the wretched state of man and emphasize the mercy of God without the holiness of God. The god of the church today is a permissive grandfatherly type who looks the other way. The God of the bible demands justice wherein the blood of Christ atones for our sin but does not change our helpless state before God. We are utterly helpless before God and must not presume upon His mercy but like Isaiah cry out to Him, "Woe is me for I am undone". If the terror of the Lord does not compel you to prostrate yourself before the Lord then it will eventually consume you.

Down through the ages when God has manifested His presence and poured out His spirit it is always highlighted by people crying out to God for mercy. The true presence of God will always be accompanied with a sense of fear. I have heard many preachers say that this fear of the Lord is nothing more than respect. I say it is much more than just respect. When I was a lad and did something wrong I feared/respected my father who may give me a whippin'. Jesus said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." I guess if you don't believe in hell then this will mean nothing to you but Jesus said it is so. The fear of the Lord goes well beyond just respecting Him.

I can recall two distinct times when I experienced the terror of the Lord. The night of my conversion God revealed to me the reality of hell and it was truly terrifying. About 2 years later I experienced the fear of the Lord in a less haunting but no less holy manner. I was in a period of protracted prayer. I was prostrate on my face worshiping the Lord when suddenly the room began to glow. The presence of God was so overwhelming I actually had to ask God to stay His hand. I will never forget that breathless moment in which time seemed to stand still. I guess one could say that was something like an epiphany. I have known the terror of the Lord.

Paul said, "knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men". Perhaps that is why there is much less evangelism occurring today because pastors, bible colleges and seminaries no longer preach or teach the terror of the Lord. Its an uncomfortable topic whereby our souls are completely exposed to the all knowing, all seeing eye of God.

In the second verse of Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending it captures the terror of the Lord that will be revealed when He returns to earth;

Every eye shall now behold Him. Robed in dreadful majesty!
Those who set at naught and sold Him, Pierced and nailed Him to the tree.
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, Shall the true Messiah see.

Dear friend, it was our sin that nailed Christ to that tree. Please, if you do not know the terror of the Lord on this side of eternity then you will not know the joy of the Lord on the other side of eternity.

We cannot know the reality of God's mercy in our life until we have seen our souls in the light of Gods holiness where we cry out to God, "have mercy on me for I am not worthy".