Whatever Happened to the Fear of the Lord?!

In an age where tolerance and subjective truth reign supreme, many Christians have lost sight of the fear of the Lord and the radical obedience that Scripture requires. There was once a time when Godly fear was a defining characteristic of the Church and the holiness of God was treated with awe and reverence. Today, however, truth has become a malleable concept, and disobedience to God’s commands is often measured on a sliding scale, with “minor infractions” seen as mere inconveniences, not worthy of serious consideration. But whatever happened to the biblical understanding of sin and the necessity of radical obedience? Have we lost the fear of the Lord?

The Tragedy of Subjective Truth

The world around us defines truth by personal experience and preference, and sadly, many Christians have unknowingly followed suit. Truth is no longer anchored in the absolute, unchanging Word of God but has become subjective—shaped by feelings, convenience, and cultural trends. This dangerous mindset has infiltrated the church, diminishing the weight of biblical commands and weakening the call to spiritual discipline. As a result, obedience has become optional, and holiness has been redefined to fit personal comfort rather than God's standard.

Jesus, however, was clear. “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). There is no room for compromise here. God’s commandments are not optional suggestions or good advice for those who choose to follow them. They are His direct orders, and they must be followed without reservation.

Yet, many Believers today treat God’s commands like a list of recommendations rather than the directives of a Holy King. They make excuses for why certain commands no longer apply, or they selectively obey only the ones that align with their personal preferences. This lax attitude toward sin has resulted in a diminished sense of accountability and a loss of the fear of the Lord. We’ve forgotten that every disobedience, no matter how small it seems to us, is an offense to God and worthy of His judgment.

Grading Sin: The Dangerous Scale of Tolerance

The modern church has grown accustomed to grading sins and redefining biblical boundaries. Sin is an expected norm—so long as it doesn’t get us into too much trouble. We’ve developed a scale where some sins are categorized as “more serious” than others. Minor infractions like a “little white lie” or a fleeting moment of impatience are seen as passable, while major sins like adultery or theft receive the full weight of condemnation. This graded approach, however, is foreign to Scripture.

The Bible makes it clear that any sin, no matter how “small” it may seem, separates us from a holy God (Is 59:2). The Scriptures teach that all sin is ultimately an offense against God’s holiness, and that every disobedient thought, word, or deed deserves the full penalty of eternal damnation (Rom 6:23). There are no “small sins” in God’s eyes. Every act of disobedience is worthy of His judgment. Therefore, we must take sin—ALL sin—very seriously, and strive to be rid of it.

Consider the words of our Lord: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Mat 5:48). Jesus calls His followers to pursue perfection, which includes overcoming all sin. It’s important to remember that Jesus didn’t soften His message when it came to sin. Consider the account of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:3-11). When the accusers left, Jesus did not say, “Go and sin a little less.” No, He told her, "Go, and sin no more." His command was clear and uncompromising—radical obedience to His will is not optional. Jesus didn't offer a lenient, Santa Claus-like excuse for her sin or suggest she could gradually improve. He called her to complete repentance, to turn away from sin altogether. In the same way, God's Word doesn’t present a graded approach to sin; it calls us to live in full submission to His commands, to flee from sin, and to pursue holiness with all our hearts.

Paul reinforces this call to holiness when he writes:

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Rom 6:12-14).

Here, Paul makes it clear that sin must not be given any foothold in our lives. Through the power of God's grace, we are called to live in righteousness, fully surrendered to Him.

This isn’t to say that we should live in perpetual fear of sin, but it is to remind us that God’s standards are not relative. He is holy, and we must approach Him with a reverence that acknowledges His perfect and righteous nature. A lack of fear toward God’s holiness leads to a casual attitude toward sin—and that is a dangerous path to walk.

The Precision of God’s Commands: A Lesson from the Tabernacle

When we turn to the Old Testament, we see an example of radical obedience that we must learn from. Take, for instance, the detailed instructions God gave to Moses regarding the construction of the tabernacle. In Exodus 25-30, God provided specific, exacting guidelines for how His dwelling place was to be built and how His people were to worship. Nothing was left to chance. Every detail was crucial, from the dimensions of the furnishings to the colors of the fabrics. God even prescribed the exact materials and their proportions.

Why did God go to such great lengths to be so precise? Was He simply being picky? Absolutely not. The tabernacle was meant to be a reflection of His holiness and perfection. It was a picture of the sanctity of His presence among His people. The Israelites were not free to improvise or adapt the tabernacle according to their own preferences. They were to follow God’s instructions exactly.

And yet, in our modern age, we often treat God’s commands as optional or open to reinterpretation. We have lost the precision that was demanded in the building of the tabernacle. We think we can add to or take away from God’s Word as we see fit. But God’s holiness has not changed. He is just as worthy of our radical obedience today as He was when He gave Moses the blueprints for the tabernacle. If God was so particular about how He was to be worshiped in the Old Testament, how much more should we be diligent to obey Him today?

Returning to Radical Obedience and the Fear of the Lord

What we need today is a return to radical obedience to God’s commands—a return to a fear of the Lord that drives us to follow His word exactly as He has given it. We need to recognize that God is not some soft, jolly grandpa whose commands can be ignored or reinterpreted. He is the Holy One, the Creator of the universe, and He deserves our complete submission.

We must also understand that the fear of the Lord is not a fear that drives us away from God, but a fear that draws us nearer to Him in humble worship and obedience. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), and it teaches us to reverence God’s word, knowing that it is life and truth (Ps 119:105). When we fear God, we will obey His commands not out of duty, but out of love for the One who saved us.

It’s time for the church to awaken from its spiritual slumber. It’s time to rediscover the fear of the Lord—the kind of fear that causes us to obey God’s commands without hesitation, without compromise, and without excuse. Let us return to a place where God’s holiness is revered, where His Word is treasured, and where radical obedience is the natural outflow of a heart that fears and loves the Lord. Only then can we truly reflect the holiness and righteousness of the One we serve.