#FEAR - a feeling of #reverence, awe, and respect, or an unpleasant emotion caused by a #sense_of_danger. Fear may be directed toward God or humankind, and it may be either #healthy or #harmful.
A #healthy_fear is reverence or respect.
The Bible teaches that
-children are to respect their parents (Lev 19:3),
-wives are to respect their husbands (Eph 5:33), and
-slaves are to respect their masters (Eph 6:5).
The Scriptures also declare that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Pro 1:7) as well as "the beginning of wisdom" (Pro 9:10).
A #harmful_fear is a sense of #terror or #dread.
Believers are instructed not to fear human beings (Mat 10:28; Php 1:28), because they cannot ultimately harm us.
#Wicked men, however, are constantly fearing other people, especially the #righteous (Pro 28:1; Mat 14:5; Rom 13:3-4).
Such fear causes them to act deceitfully in an attempt to hide their sins (2 Sam. 11; Mat 28:4-15).
On the other hand, the #unbeliever has every reason to be panic-stricken at thoughts of God, for he stands condemned before Him (Mat 10:28; Joh 3:18).
And yet, this kind of fear of God does not often lead to #repentance. It normally leads to a feeble attempt to hide from God (Gen 3:8; Rev 6:15-17) or worse, to a denial of God’s existence and His claim on a person’s life (Psa 14:1; Rom 1:18-28).
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