It is a joyful fear that drives us to please him, and not the paralysing fear of punishment. It is a fear that fuels our courage to persuade others at the risk offending them when we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. When we rightly fear God as our loving Judge, we will have no fear of condemnation. Rather we will long for his commendation: “well done good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21, 23).
Believers should fear God our Creator in joyful awe, as I explored in my first article. But does fearing God as Judge feature in Christian experience? The answer is no and yes. We no longer fear the condemnation of God. But we feel a joyful godly fear because of our knowledge of God’s authoritative judgment; our confidence in his declaration of our acceptance in Christ; and our eagerness to receive his commendation for our lives of faith, obedience and mission.
Perfect Love Drives out Fear of Judgment
Fearing God as our Judge, seems at odds with the gospel. Surely it is the person who has no hope in Christ who should fear the judgment of God. This brings to mind the fear that drove Martin Luther away from God:
Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners.
By contrast, believers need no longer fear condemnation. When Luther grasped from Romans 1:17 the gospel truth of the gracious gift of God’s righteousness, he writes:
I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. … And I extolled my sweetest word with a love as great as the hatred with which I had before hated the word “righteousness of God.” Thus that place in Paul was for me truly the gate to paradise.
John writes in his first letter:
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
Perfect love refers to the love of God in sending Jesus to turn aside God’s condemning wrath. It is this love that drives out any fear of punishment. It is this love that assures us of our salvation. God’s grace in Christ is the refuge from God’s wrath outside Christ.
There is a trembling of punishment outside of Christ. But there is a different kind of trembling for those in Christ. As I argued in my first article, both fears involve ‘trembling’. But gospel fear will drive you toward Christ; unbelieving fear will drive you away from Christ.