What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord? E-Book

Michael Reeves

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Union
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord "Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." —2 Corinthians 7:1 We all have experienced fear at some point. And if we are honest, we don't usually think of fear as a good thing. So why does the Bible call us to fear the Lord? In this book, Michael Reeves explains that the fear of God is not a gloomy fear marked by anxiety but a heartfelt and happy enjoyment of God as Creator and Redeemer. As we learn more about the surprising good news of the fear of the Lord, we will discover the vital role we play in displaying to the world the awesomeness of our God.

Leseprobe

Thank you for downloading this Crossway book.

Sign up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

Crossway Newsletter

Or, if you prefer, we would love to connect with you online:

“Modern people often view the fear of God with disdainful suspicion, but Michael Reeves shows us that godly fear is really nothing other than love for God as God. Reeves also helps us to see that the greatest factor in promoting the fear of God is knowing his grace in Christ. As John Bunyan said, ‘There is nothing in heaven or earth that can so awe the heart as the grace of God.’ This wonderful book not only teaches but sings, leading us to ‘rejoice with trembling’ (Ps. 2:11).”

Joel R. Beeke, President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“We used to sing a hymn that said, ‘O how I fear Thee, living God! With deepest, tenderest fears.’ No longer. But the hymn’s first lines remind us of what we are missing: ‘My God, how wonderful Thou art, Thy majesty, how bright.’ Only those who find God to be ‘wonderful’ and his majesty ‘bright’ experience the ‘tenderest’ fear. So we have a problem; but thankfully help is at hand in What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord? Like an elder brother, Michael Reeves guides us into a fresh understanding of the fear of the Lord. On the way, he introduces us to some of his friends—masters in the school of discipleship—who have walked the path before us. Join him on the journey. You will soon discover why ‘the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him’ (Ps. 147:11).”

Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the Bible says, and reading this book will make you wise—wise to who God is and what God requires of us by way of loving, responsive discipleship. Packed full of historical nuggets, What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord? deserves to be widely read. ‘Walking in the fear of the Lord’ is language that has largely disappeared from the contemporary church. The result is the insipid quality of a great deal of current Christianity. Recapturing the sense of God’s incomprehensible greatness and holiness is the needed antidote this book provides. An absolute gem of a book.”

Derek W. H. Thomas, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina; Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Ours is a day of great fears—fear of financial collapse, fear of terrorist attacks, fear of climatic disasters, fear of a deadly pandemic—all kinds of fears, except the most important of all: the reverential fear of God. How needed then is this marvelous study of a much-neglected theme, one that is central to the Scriptures and vital to human flourishing.”

Michael A. G. Haykin, Chair and Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Michael Reeves has given us something we badly need and likely haven’t realized—a fresh encounter with the thrilling fear of the Lord. This book will bring renewed devotion and delight. Having read it, I can’t wait to read it again!”

Sam Allberry, apologist; Associate Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

Union

A book series edited by Michael Reeves

Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord, Michael Reeves (2021)

What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?, Michael Reeves (2021)

What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

Michael Reeves

What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?

Copyright © 2021 by Michael Reeves

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Dan Farrell

Cover image: Among the Sierra Nevada, California, by Albert Bierstadt, 1868 (Wikimedia Commons)

First printing 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-6536-6 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-6539-7 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-6537-3 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-6538-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Reeves, Michael (Michael Richard Ewert), author.

Title: What does it mean to fear the Lord? / Michael Reeves.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2021. | Series: Union | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020027787 (print) | LCCN 2020027788 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433565366 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433565373 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433565380 (mobipocket) | ISBN 9781433565397 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: God (Christianity)—Worship and love. | Fear of God—Christianity.

Classification: LCC BV4817 .R44 2021 (print) | LCC BV4817 (ebook) | DDC 231.7—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027787

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027788

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2020-11-24 02:51:55 PM

For Rob and John, my dear friends

———

In a perfect Friendship this Appreciative Love is, I think, often so great and so firmly based that each member of the circle feels, in his secret heart, humbled before all the rest. Sometimes he wonders what he is doing there among his betters. He is lucky beyond desert to be in such company. Especially when the whole group is together, each bringing out all that is best, wisest, or funniest in all the others. Those are the golden sessions; when four or five of us after a hard day’s walking have come to our inn; when our slippers are on, our feet spread out towards the blaze and our drinks at our elbows; when the whole world, and something beyond the world, opens itself to our minds as we talk; and no one has any claim on or any responsibility for another, but all are free-men and equals as if we had first met an hour ago, while at the same time an Affection mellowed by the years enfolds us. Life—natural life—has no better gift to give. Who could have deserved it?

C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Contents

Series Preface

   1  Do Not Be Afraid!

   2  Sinful Fear

   3  Right Fear

   4  Overwhelmed by the Creator

   5  Overwhelmed by the Father

   6  How to Grow in This Fear

   7  The Awesome Church

   8  Eternal Ecstasy

Notes

Scripture Index

Series Preface

Our inner convictions and values shape our lives and our ministries. And at Union—the cooperative ministries of Union School of Theology, Union Publishing, Union Research, and Union Mission (visit www.theolo.gy)—we long to grow and support men and women who will delight in God, grow in Christ, serve the church, and bless the world. This Union series of books is an attempt to express and share those values.

They are values that flow from the beauty and grace of God. The living God is so glorious and kind, he cannot be known without being adored. Those who truly know him will love him, and without that heartfelt delight in God, we are nothing but hollow hypocrites. That adoration of God necessarily works itself out in a desire to grow in Christlikeness. It also fuels a love for Christ’s precious bride, the church, and a desire humbly to serve—rather than use—her. And, lastly, loving God brings us to share his concerns, especially to see his life-giving glory fill the earth.