Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
When you see the word “therefore”, we need to see what it is there for; a tired joke, I know but useful here. The fear of the Lord comes from the previous verse and the knowledge that we will stand before him and give account. Our fear is a reverential awe that recognizes his power but there is a key difference in our “fear”. It is tempered by the fact that we also know the salvation of the Lord, that because of Jesus Christ, our belief in him guarantees that we will be treated as sons and daughters of the King of kings while others will hear the drastic word, “depart”. The Corinthians can take heart in this fact and so can we.
Come to Cape Community Church as we worship the Lord for this seeming contradictory promise. We have a fear of the Lord and we have nothing to fear. Come and learn what this means, why we can be assured of it, and most importantly, what difference it makes in our lives as we walk this earth among people in real fear. Let this passage teach us how to teach others that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the truly wise cling to him in times of fear. Contradiction? Come and see that we can know that the Lord is “terrible”, but good.
Dear Lord, thank you for the power to destroy us and the mercy to save us. May we live our lives in awe of your majesty and in love of our heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church