It's Our Duty - #271

The fear of the Lord is not something God asks of us to make life harder, but something He invites us into because it leads to blessing. 

Transcript

The fear of the Lord is not something God asks of us to make life harder, but something He invites us into because it leads to blessing. Over and over again, Scripture connects the fear of the Lord with wisdom, joy, stability, peace, and with a deepening relationship with God Himself.

 Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast—a weekly Bible study packed with practical truth from God’s Word to help you pursue lasting purity, spiritual integrity, and genuine freedom in Christ. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #271 – join me as I dive into part 2 of a series on Fearing God entitled “It’s Our Duty!”  

This series I’ve started is not just about understanding the fear of God as a concept but learning how it actually works its way into our everyday life. When you see God clearly, you will lift Him higher. When you lift Him higher, you will stand in awe of His majesty. And when awe settles into your heart, reverence becomes the way you live.

The goal of this series on fearing God is to help you see God more clearly.  If you can begin to see Him as He truly is then the rest will follow. Your heart will respond. Your perspective will shift. Over time, your life will begin to reflect that reality.

Fearing God is not presented in Scripture as an optional spiritual “extra” for the particularly devoted believer. It is not something reserved for a few mature Christians, or for people who are exceptionally serious about their faith. The Bible actually speaks about it as something every follower of God is called to do.

Let’s begin this episode with a look at Joshua 4:24 where Joshua commands us to “fear the Lord your God forever” (Joshua 4:24 NASB’95).

This moment comes right after God had done something remarkable for the people of Israel. He stopped the flow of the Jordan River so the entire nation could cross over safely. It was another powerful reminder that the God who brought them out of Egypt was still with them—still faithful, still powerful, still actively caring for His people. Joshua essentially says, “In light of everything you have just seen God do, there is only one fitting response: fear the Lord your God forever.”

Joshua is calling God’s people to something deeper than a temporary reaction to a specific event. He is calling them to a lifelong posture of reverence toward God. To fear the Lord means living with undivided loyalty to Him. It means you do not treat God casually. You do not push Him to the side or make Him just one voice among many competing influences in your life. Because of who He is and what He has done, He deserves your whole heart.

That word “forever” is important. Joshua understood something about the human heart: we tend to drift. We easily forget. The things that once filled us with awe slowly start to feel normal. Yesterday’s miracle does not automatically guarantee tomorrow’s obedience. So, Joshua solidifies his call to faithfully fear God by reminding the people that their response to Him should not fade with time.

Fearing the Lord forever means consistently choosing alignment with Him. Each new day becomes an opportunity to reaffirm, “God, you are first in my life.” When new opportunities come along, you begin to filter those choices through His will rather than through personal ambition alone. And when cultural pressures push against what God’s Word says, your loyalty to Him remains steady because it is anchored deeper than whatever the culture happens to be saying at the moment.

It also means being aware of how easily subtle compromise can creep in. Most people do not suddenly walk away from God overnight. Drift usually happens gradually with a small shift in priorities, a quiet neglect of prayer or Scripture, or a slow blending of God’s authority with personal preference. But fearing the Lord forever helps guard against that drift. It keeps your heart alert and your obedience intentional.

Listen to what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 12:13. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments … for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV’84).

Solomon brings everything he has been talking about in the entire book of Ecclesiastes to a simple but powerful conclusion. After exploring all of life—success, pleasure, wisdom, accomplishments—Solomon steps back and says, “If you want to know what really matters, it comes down to this: reverence of, and obedience to, God.” Notice closely the order: fear then obedience. This is an important connection: we will not faithfully keep God’s commandments if we are not first anchored in the fear of the Lord.

When you read all of Ecclesiastes, you see Solomon describing what life looks like when we try to run things ourselves. We chase results. We try to control outcomes. We build things, achieve things, gather things; and yet there is still a sense that it is never quite enough. That is why when Solomon says, “Fear God,” he is really saying, “Let’s settle something first: who is actually God, here? Because it’s not us.”

Once that truth settles into place, everything else begins to change. Since God truly is God—holy, wise, sovereign, and perfectly righteous—then His commands are not random rules handed down by someone trying to control us. They are guidance from the only One who sees the full picture of life.

Fearing the Lord changes the way you hear His commands. Without that reverence, God’s commands can feel heavy. They can sound like restrictions that limit your freedom. Sometimes they can even feel like threats. But when you truly fear God, choosing to take Him seriously and trust His character, those same commands start to sound very different. They begin to feel like loving protection. They sound like wisdom from someone who knows what is best. They become boundaries meant to lead us into life, not take life away from us. As a result, you are no longer obeying because you are afraid of  punishment, you are obeying because you trust the One who is speaking.

Let me remind you  of the order in the verse: First fear God, then keep His commandments. Reverence comes first. Obedience flows out of it. We cannot perform well enough to earn God’s approval. We can only respond to who God is. 

When Solomon says this is the “whole duty of man,” he is not describing a cold obligation. He is describing the very purpose of our lives. This is what we were created for. Life works best when God is at the center. When He is not, something always feels slightly off, no matter how much we accomplish.

What does that mean for us practically? If obedience ever starts to feel heavy or confusing, it may be a sign that we need to recalibrate our understanding of God. Instead of just trying harder, step back and remind yourself who He really is. Invest time reflecting on His holiness, His authority, His faithfulness, and His goodness. Let Him regain His rightful place on the throne of your heart.

It also means taking an honest look at the places where we subtly start acting like the final authority. Are there areas where we decide what is acceptable regardless of what God says? Are there places where we quietly adjust His standards to match our comfort level? Fearing God gently brings those things into the light and reminds us that life makes the most sense when He sets the boundaries.

When you come across a command in Scripture that challenges you, it invites a deeper question: Do I trust Him? Because obedience ultimately flows from trust. If you truly believe that God’s ways are better than your instincts, then following His commands stops feeling like resistance. Instead, it becomes alignment with the One who knows you best and loves you most.

Isaiah 8:13 says, “The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Isaiah 8:13 NIV’84).

When Isaiah says we are to regard the Lord as holy, he is reminding us to consciously set God apart in our hearts. We must choose daily to recognize that God is not comparable to anyone or anything else that might compete for our attention, our trust, or our loyalty. He stands in a category all by Himself. Fearing Him means giving Him the highest place of authority and influence in our life. His opinion carries more weight than anyone else’s. His standards define what is right and true. His promises become the foundation of our security.

Then Isaiah uses the word “dread,” which might sound a little intense at first. But, as it is used here, dread does not mean panicking or living in constant anxiety. Dread is recognizing the seriousness of who God is. He is holy. He is just. He is not someone we can treat lightly or casually fit into our plans whenever it suits us. When we truly fear God, we understand that aligning our lives with Him is not optional, but essential.

Now let’s bring that a little closer to home. Think about the things that carry the most emotional weight in your life right now. Maybe you feel financial pressure or uncertainty about the future. Maybe health concerns, cultural instability, reputation, or career decisions are weighing on your heart. All of those things can feel substantial, even overwhelming. But fearing the Lord means none of those things are given ultimate authority over your heart. They may be real concerns, but they are not supreme. God is.

This becomes very practical in the way we handle anxiety. When uneasiness starts rising inside of us, fearing the Lord means we pause and remember He is truly sovereign. Instead of spiraling into panic, we pray. Instead of absorbing endless opinions and commentary, we anchor our thoughts in Scripture. We allow God’s character to interpret our circumstances instead of letting our circumstances reshape our view of God.

Regarding God as holy also reaches into the private areas of life. We do not treat Him as someone who only matters in church settings or public moments. We take Him seriously in the hidden places too; in our thoughts, our integrity, our habits, our financial choices. Fearing God means there is not one version of us in public and another in private. The same God we worship openly is the God we honor when no one else is watching.

This also deepens our understanding of sin. When we recognize who God truly is, we cannot treat disobedience casually. Yes, God is gracious and compassionate, but He is also holy. That awareness keeps our hearts humble. It keeps us from becoming careless or presumptuous in the way we live before Him.

The result of living this way is spiritual stability. When God truly holds the highest place in your heart, the other fears in life begin to shrink to their proper size. You become less shaken by headlines, less controlled by public opinion, and less overwhelmed by uncertainty. Your life becomes anchored in the One who never changes—and that kind of foundation steadies everything else.

Alright, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode. But before we wrap up, if today’s study on integrity challenged or encouraged you, I’d love for you to take the next step.

Head over to ThePurityCoach.com and check out the resources we’ve made available through The Pure Man Ministry to help men all over the world pursue purity, integrity, and real freedom in Christ.

Well, if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.