Should We Fear God?

August 10, 2025

The Gospel reading that we have today is situated within the larger context of a long sermon that Jesus has been giving his disciples.  And in the beginning of the same chapter from which today’s Gospel is taken, Jesus tells his disciples not to fear those who kill the body but to ‘fear him who after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.  Yes, I tell you fear him.’  [Luke 12;5]. And the Gospel of today, like the parable of the five foolish virgins and others, tells us that we must be always watchful, for we don’t know when we are going to be judged - teachings which again instil a little bit of wariness or fear about the final judgement which we are told, we will all face.

This theme of the ‘fear of God’ or the need to fear God, is a common one that is seen across religions. Being a God-fearing individual or developing what is termed the righteous fear of God is often encouraged and even valued in most religions. In the Bible itself this theme occurs hundreds of times.  However, doesn’t this theme contrast sharply with the rest of Jesus’ teachings that speak repeatedly of God being a loving and caring Abba, one who  forgives seventy times seven, and bestows his love equally on the good and the bad? In the light of this stark contrast, we could legitimately ask ourselves the question:  Should we fear God? 

A study of Scripture  makes it clear that theme of the fear of God is more prominent in the Old Testament, than it is in the New Testament - but it must be acknowledged that the theme is also present in the latter. However, in general,  it is also clear that Jesus seems to focus much less on the fear of God and more on the love of God, so that despite what he has said earlier, Jesus clearly assures his disciples in today's Gospel:  “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’.  As I have remarked many times in these blogs,  the Bible is a story of the pilgrimage of our relationship with God, and so  we will notice a change in the Bible, a growth in the understanding of how we ought to relate to God, and this could give us an insight into understanding this fear of God in our own spiritual journeys - a journey  that is reflected even in our own daily experience of life.

As a child grows up, s/he may ‘fear’ the parent, so that when a parent says: 'Don’t do this', or 'Do that', the child obeys. This obedience often enough is out of fear of the consequences of disobeying. As the child grows older, and of course depending on how good the parenting has been, this ‘fear’ may and often does change to ‘trust’, so that when the child hears the same instructions at a later age, it is not only out of fear that the child obeys, but also, and hopefully increasingly, out of a trust that the parent loves him/her and so such commands are to ensure that no harm comes to him/her.

Thus there begins to be a gradual change in focus from ‘fear of the parent’ to ‘trusting the parent’ because the child is learning that the parent loves him/her.  Still later, as the child grows into an adult, the child hopefully has reflected on what the parent has taught, and is absolutely sure that the parent loves him/her, and now ‘obeys’ not only because the child trusts the parent, but because the child has internalised the principles that underlay the parent’s commands.  And if there is any ‘fear’ left, it is the fear of hurting the parent, of disrespecting the parent, or not treating the parent with love and care.  As we can see, the type of ‘fear’ has significantly changed or evolved.

And we find this growth in the Bible  too,  So Adam and Eve and Cain obey out of fear.  Job, whose story comes somewhere in the middle of the Old Testament, however, is not fearful of God, despite all his friends telling him that he must have sinned and that is why God is punishing him.  Rather Job  expresses a deep trust in God despite whatever has happened to himself, though he doesn’t fully understand why God is allowing all these terrible misfortunes to happen to him.  And then towards the latter part of the Old testament we have the later prophets like Jeremiah  (Jeremiah 31;33) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 11;19) prophesying that God will put his law in the hearts and minds of his people and give them new hearts, which means that they will have internalised God’s law.  And then in the New Testament, Paul, in his letters to the Romans (2;15) and Corinthians (2 Cor. 3:3) confirms that this internalisation of God’s will has indeed already happened or will soon happen.

If this is true, then the phrase, the ‘fear of God’ is not to be understood as human beings standing trembling before this all-seeing Judge who may come at any time to judge us, but rather as the Book of Proverbs advises, we may come to realise that ‘the  fear of God is the beginning of wisdom’ (Proverbs 9;10). And so, as we journey towards one-ness with God, our fear may turn into wisdom, i.e. a deeper understanding and experience of God as ABBA. 

First Reading: Wisdom 18: 6-9

That night was made known beforehand to our ancestors, so that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted. The deliverance of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies were expected by your people. For by the same means by which you punished our enemies you called us to yourself and glorified us. For in secret the holy children of good people offered sacrifices, and with one accord agreed to the divine law, so that the saints would share alike the same things, both blessings and dangers; and already they were singing the praises of the ancestors  

Second Reading: Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19 or 11: 1-2, 8-12

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,  for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,  of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”  He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Gospel: Luke 12: 32-48

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”  And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?  Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.  Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.  But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk,  the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful.  That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating.  But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.