"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
(Proverbs 1: 7)
When it comes to the topic of fear, it can be a prickly subject to bring up, especially if it concerns the message of the Gospel being shared with someone. Now when it comes to my use of the word "fear," I am using it in the context of having a healthy "fear" of God. Meaning giving the Lord the "reverence" He is deserving of, as well as a healthy "fear" of judgment that awaits those who reject the message of the Gospel. You see, there are consequences to rejecting the Gospel. The consequences that await the person who rejects the good news of the Gospel is the judgment of hell.
People usually like the good part of the gospel that focuses on the love of God, salvation, and heaven; it is the bad part of the message they do not like, which focuses on sin, death, judgment, and hell for all eternity. It is this part that people usually get angry and object to. This is where people will accuse the Christian of "fear-mongering." What they mean by this is using such terms as the judgment of God and hell as a means of manipulating people into accepting the message of the Gospel. In other words, scaring people into the Kingdom of God!
What such people fail to understand is that there are times when it is wrong to "fear," and there are other times when it is right to "fear." To be continued...
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