DOES TODAY’S CHRISTIAN FEAR THE LORD? Mark 4:38-41; 2 Corinthians 5:10.

One of the most dramatic scandals of my life was the implosion of the ministry of Jim Bakker. Throughout the 1980s, Bakker preached on a high-profile television show. He and his wife generated millions of dollars in donations. As is all-too-common, they promised donors that God would make the donors rich, but the ones getting rich were the preacher and his wife. Eventually, charges that Bakker paid almost $300,000 in “hush money” to silence former church secretary Jessica Hahn who claimed he had drugged and raped her led to a federal indictment, the ruin of the TV “ministry,” and finally criminal convictions for mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Bakker was found guilty on all 24 counts and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

In 1994, while Bakker was sitting in a jail cell, another pastor visited. He asked:

“When did you fall out of love with Jesus?”

Bakker answered: “Oh, I always loved Jesus. But I never feared Him.”

Think about that: I always loved Jesus, but I never feared Him.

I wonder how many other fallen preachers would say the same thing. And fallen husbands. And cheating wives. How many Christians feel a warm, fuzzy feeling about Jesus, and have no concept of standing in awe before the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth?

What about you? What about me? What about your pastor and mine? I am glad we embrace grace today. Grace has changed countless lives including my own. Yet we have all but lost the fear of God.  The most noticeable evidence of this shifting away from the fear of the Lord may be found in church music. Some criticize today’s pop-worship style as “God-is-my-girlfriend” music. That phrase is harsh and inappropriate, overlooking the Biblical origins of intimate worship with God (consider, e.g., all of David’s psalms). But the phrase does illustrate the shift in music from the sacred to the comfortable.

The second evidence of this shift is the way we preach today. Pastors barely raise their voices; some never speak an angry word about sin or injustice or corruption or worldliness. Many don’t even call them sermons anymore, they call them “talks.”

Don’t get me wrong: my comments about music and preaching address questions of style, not orthodoxy. That is, a given church’s music and preaching may be entirely Biblical within this contemporary style.

But our style choices illustrate our preference: modern churches do not prefer the fear of the Lord. Yet the New Testament warns us to fear the Lord. Do we? Do we talk about judgment? Do we warn Christians that even believers will be judged? (Do Christians even know that?)

“For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” 2 Corinthians 5:10, see also Romans 14:10-12.

The disciples understood the fear of the Lord. One night a terrible storm arose while at sea. They woke Jesus.

“Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ The wind ceased, and there was a great calm …  And they were terrified and asked one another, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and sea obey Him!” Mark 4:38-41.

I know it is hard to imagine this story. But imagine it. How would you feel if a man could speak to a hurricane and make it all go away? And this is just one time among many: I have written elsewhere about how many people were left frightened by Jesus.

When you encounter the Living God, you may be overwhelmed by love, by peace, by forgiveness, or joy. But sometimes you will be overwhelmed by FEAR. And thank God for it. Pray that He will bless you with the fear of the Lord. It will help you make right choices.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” Proverbs 1:7.

P.S. I think the biggest boost to a lifetime of healthy fear of the Lord is a healthy relationship with a strong but loving earthly father. Being raised by a man of integrity—who will punish consistently, but with a hand guided by love and mercy, is probably the best recipe for an appropriate fear of the Lord later in life.

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