The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
        all those who practice it have a good understanding.
        His praise endures forever!  Psalm 111:10 (ESV)  

Of all the religions I know it seems to me that adherents of Christianity approach God, the LORD, in the most light-hearted and casual way of all.  This can and should demonstrate a positive relationship with our loving heavenly Father, who Jesus himself teaches us to approach as Abba Father.  Or, it could, and I fear all too often does, represent a brazen misunderstanding of who God is, that yes, he is our father, but that he is also our LORD.

We in the “Christian” West tend to view God as we view our earthly fathers or as the type of father (or mother) that we ourselves have become.  We love our children dearly, but do we hold them accountable?  Do we discipline them when they need it?  Dare I say it, do we spank them with the rod when young so as to teach them right from wrong? 

A reason exists to explain why most of Christendom (wrongly) believes in a Hell of everlasting torment.  This reason is that God teaches us to fear him before he teaches us to love him.  Fear motivates obedience, while love, absent the balance of truth, teaches us that anything goes, that no judgment will ever come to those who believe in Jesus.  If you need some proof that judgment may indeed come to the believer in Christ, then consider James’ final words:

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,  [20] let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 (ESV) 

James writes to his brothers, fellow Christians.  He writes concerning fellow Christians who wander from the truth.  Such Christians become sinners, he says.  A brother of this sinning Christian who brings him back to truth from his sinful ways saves this one’s soul from death.  (Note: this is the second death which applies to many Christians.  This is dealing with soul salvation, not the salvation of the spirit)  Bringing a brother back to the truth covers a multitude of sins because it implies that the sinning Christian confesses and repents of his sins, that is, he begins to practice righteousness again.

But, here we see that practicing the fear of the LORD comes even before practicing righteousness.  “Our God is an awsome God,” the song goes, and awesome indeed defines him.  He inspires awe, which Funk & Wagnalls’ Standard Dictionary of 1980 defines as “reverential fear, a dread mingled with veneration.”  Do we see God in this light?  Do we approach God in this fashion?  Or do we assume that God accepts every work, sacrifice, and offering we foolishly place before him, as did Nadab and Abihu?

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.  [2] And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.  [3] Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace.  Leviticus 10:1-3 (ESV) 

Do you consider yourself “near to God?”  How, then, do you sanctify him?  Do you approach him frivolously?  Do you walk in his ways, or do you simply assume that because you claim that you believe in him that you can walk any way you desire?  How could a holy God ever be glorified by a people calling themselves by his name who walk in sin and disobedence to his commands?  Brethren, let us practice the fear of the LORD!  Let us set him apart as holy in our hearts and let us so represent him to those who do not yet believe!