Restoring The Fear Of The Lord
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name.”
-Malachi 1:6, ESV
Do you fear God? At first, we may balk at the question, since Scripture repeatedly commands us not to fear. However, Scripture also repeatedly commands us to fear God (eg. Leviticus 19:14, Deuteronomy 6:13, Isaiah 8:13, Matthew 10:28, Philippians 2:12, 1 Peter 2:17). In fact, fulfillment can only come through fearing God and keeping His commands (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This should not be surprising, as the fear of God is also the root of knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10). This type of fear is a healthy respect in which we honor, stand in awe of, and even tremble before God. Our culture has forgotten how to do this. The American Church needs to relearn the fear of God as if our lives depend on it—because in a very real sense they do. A church that does not fear God will not endure, so the American Church must either relearn the fear of God or perish.
This problem is not distinctly American or modern. It has been seen throughout redemptive history, perhaps most vividly in Malachi. A lack of fear of God caused these Jews to neglect His commands in various ways. They were despising God by taking the worship of God lightly, withholding their best and essentially giving Him leftovers (Malachi 1:6-14, 3:8-12). The priests were careless in both following and teaching the Law, thus leading the whole nation to sin (Malachi 2:1-9). The people were acting treacherously by mixing with the world and thus failing to remain holy (Malachi 2:10-12) as well as cheapening marriage through easy divorce (Malachi 2:13-16). They also disregarded the justice and righteousness of God due to the perceived prosperity of the wicked, leading them to question the value of obeying God (Malachi 2:17, 3:13-15). All of these have modern American parallels, so the American Church must heed the warnings of Malachi. I will deal with the issue of tithing in the next post, but address the rest here.
Start by Fearing the Real God
Before looking at the specific sins that stem from not fearing God, we must first restore a healthy fear of God through a proper view of who God actually is. Many American churches depict God the Father as nothing but a loving cosmic grandpa. As a result, most American “Christians” through misapplying Matthew 7:1 have a hard time imagining God judging sinners and condemning sin. To many, the fact that God is love means that He must be tolerant (and therefore accepting) of all people, regardless of what they do. This means that many attributes of God that are clearly taught in Scripture—righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14), holiness (Isaiah 6:3), jealousy (Exodus 34:14), and wrath (Nahum 1:2)—are completely ignored by many who claim to be Christians. Their view of Jesus Christ is similar, often following the modern cultural depiction of “hippy Jesus” who is all about peace and love, emphasizing His humility and sometimes even rejecting His divinity. Instead, Jesus came as King, bringing division rather than peace (Matthew 10:34, Luke 12:49-51), sharply rebuking the religious leaders, and combining compassion towards sinners with calls for repentance (John 5:14). Scripture describes Jesus in His present state as the exalted King of Kings and Lord or Lords ruling over the entire universe and steadily crushing all of His enemies (Psalm 110). One day, all people will either pay homage to Him or perish (Psalm 2:12, Philippians 2:8-11). Finally, on the dreaded Day of the Lord, it is Jesus Christ who will judge everyone (2 Timothy 4:1). They also see the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force that dispenses gifts instead of a divine person of the Godhead that convicts us of sin (John 16:8-11).
As I observed when discussing last year’s Ligonier State of Theology survey results, denying the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit are just some of the ways the American Church commits idolatry by espousing a grossly distorted view of who God is. If we don’t understand who God really is, we are actually worshipping a false god of our own imagination—and as I observed in another post, God will not accept such idolatrous worship. In some cases, people’s view of God is so distorted that they cannot be considered Christians, since to be saved requires that we confess not only that Jesus Christ is our Savior but also our Lord (Romans 10:9-10). Many who call Jesus their Savior do not submit to Him as Lord over them. While all Christians struggle daily to submit to Christ as Lord in practice, many in American churches do not even acknowledge Jesus as their Lord. Jesus is our emasculated boyfriend but our King to whom we must bow even as we anxiously await our royal wedding (Psalm 45:6-15). When we rightly understand who God is based on all of His attributes as revealed by Scripture, our proper response is not only thanksgiving for His amazing mercy and grace in saving us but also fear and reverence that submits to His Lordship (Hebrews 12:28-29).
This means that in following the commands throughout Scripture against fear, we must not do away with fear entirely. Instead, we must replace unhealthy fears of the world with the only thing that can displace them—a healthy fear of God (Luke 12:4).[1] For unbelievers, the fear of God should be a constant terror of His judgment that looms over them because of their incessant sin against Him (eg. Hebrews 10:27, 1 John 4:18, Revelation 14:7). But for the Christian, that judgment has already been carried out on Jesus Christ, removing God’s wrath—the ultimate thing to be feared (Romans 5:8-11, 1 John 4:18). Therefore, a Christian’s fear of God is not a dread of judgment.[2] Instead, the fear of God for a Christian is a form of respect and awe that causes us to be careful to obey Him and avoid anything that may bring Him dishonor. A lack of such fear of God leads to carelessness when approaching Him, which is what we see in the American Church and in Malachi.
Take Worship Seriously
God’s first indictment of the Jews through Malachi was that they profaned God’s Name by not taking worship seriously. In Malachi 1:6, God points out how they have not given Him the honor due to Him as their Heavenly Father or the fear due Him as Master of all, which meant they were despising His Name. He continues:
“But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the LORD’S table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.”
-Malachi 1:6b-8, ESV
The Law explicitly commanded that animals offered to God must be without blemish (Exodus 29:1, Leviticus 1:3,10, 3:1,6, 4:3,23-32, 5:15-18, 6:6, 9:2-3, Numbers 6:14, 28:1-29:36). Instead, the Jews were offering the worst of their animals to God and keeping the best for themselves. In doing so, they were saying that God was not worthy of their best. That is why God calls this type of sacrifice “evil” in verse 8. God then states that while they saw no problem with giving their leftovers to Him, they wouldn’t dare treat earthly governor with the same contempt. This is so bad that it would be better for no one to offer any sacrifices at all than to offer these unacceptable sacrifices that do not please God (Malachi 1:10). God even curses anyone who withholds His best from God and offers leftovers instead (Malachi 1:14) because God is the great King whose name will be feared. Essentially, they were not taking the worship of God seriously.
While the sacrificial system ended with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, a careless approach the worship of God is just as bad today. Instead of offering animals, we are commanded to offer the best of our praise, time, talents, resources, and our very selves to God in worship, but we often offer our leftovers instead. In many American churches, genuine God-focused worship has been replaced by man-centered concerts to generate an emotional experience. The “worship” music paints the wrong picture of who God is and often exalts man more than God, thus leading people to approach the Throne of God carelessly rather than in reverence and awe. They lie about who God is and cheapen Him through sings like “Reckless Love”, sings with “boyfriend” imagery, and songs that focus on self, which are all abhorrent to our God who must be feared. To paraphrase Malachi 1:10, O that someone would shut the doors of such churches so that they would not lead people to approach the Throne in vain.
But this is only one way we profane the Name of God. We often give God the leftovers rather than the best of our time, talents, and resources. How often do we skip quiet time for higher priorities? Instead, we need to prioritize time in the Word and prayer and constantly meditate on Scripture. If someone would look at our calendars, would they see that God is getting our best or our leftovers? On Sundays, do we fit church into our otherwise busy schedule or do we truly set aside the entire day to worship God and focus on Him rather than our normal activities? As I discussed in a previous post, we need to restore a proper view of the Sabbath, which is a crucial part of giving God the best of our time. We must also be careful to give to God and His Church the best of our talents and resources. I will discuss the latter next time, but for now it will suffice to say that our budgets like our calendars should show that we honor God more highly than anything or anyone else.
God’s rebuke also uses language of despising the LORD’s table. Under the sacrificial system, all offerings except burnt offerings were at least partially eaten by the priests and sometimes by the people as well. Therefore, the Table of the LORD at that time was not only the food God provided for the priests through sacrifice but also a way for the priests and people to have fellowship with God through a meal. This of course ties to Communion, so we can draw parallels between Malachi and 1 Corinthians 11. Like the Jews, the Corinthians were not approaching the Lord’s Table with the appropriate level of sobriety, thus they were eating and drinking judgment on themselves (1 Corinthians 11:29). So just as God promised curses upon the Jews for profaning His Table (Malachi 2:1-2), partaking of Communion in an unworthy manner brought about God’s judgment of sickness and even death on Corinthian church members (1 Corinthians 11:30). In many American churches, The Table has been likewise cheapened, so we must instead be careful to approach the Table with the same reverence and awe with which we approach the Throne in worship.
Take Scripture Seriously
Just as we must restore sobriety regarding the worship of God, we must also restore sobriety regarding the Word of God. A cheapened view of God ultimately stems from a cheapened view of Scripture, therefore God’s next rebuke to the Jews in Malachi is against their neglect of Scripture. God describes the Law as a covenant of life and peace undergirded by the fear of God (Malachi 2:4-5). The early priests stood in awe of God (Malachi 2:5b) and were therefore faithful to teach Scripture rightly, leading people out of iniquity (Malachi 2:6-7). Instead, the priests in Malachi’s day had rejected (or at least cheapened) Scripture and were therefore leading many astray by their instruction (Malachi 2:8).
Many American churches have similarly led people astray by neglecting Scripture. I previously noted how the American Church has a generally low view of Scripture, so it should come as no surprise that many churches have compromised on many other doctrines as well. In many churches, culture rather than Scripture shapes the doctrines taught. Aligning with our culture’s emphasis on self-esteem, doctrines of sin and the fallenness of man are often neglected if not rejected outright. As a result, biblical views of gender and the nature of life have been all but abandoned by many churches, leading them to embrace what Scripture clearly condemns (such as abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, and even the culture’s view of sex). In extreme cases, churches have even abandoned the Gospel itself, substituting it with a gospel of social justice and critical theory on one end of the spectrum and Americanism on the other.
But in most cases, the neglect of Scripture is much more subtle. Many “sermons” are not sermons at all but instead feel-good messages filled with personal anecdotes, self-help, and worldly philosophy. If present at all, the Bible is just one source among many in such messages. Many sermons that do use Scripture take it out of context, making it self-centered rather than God-centered. A true sermon is based on Scripture, references Scripture almost exclusively, and preaches the Gospel from Scripture. Thus, the American Church must restore the supremacy of Scripture above all human authority and commit to teaching right theology from Scripture. Every Christian is a theologian—either a good one or a bad one. Therefore, we must all focus on filling our minds with good theology, which is a major reason I established this blog and my theology page. Only when we restore Scripture to its proper place of honor can we properly honor God as He is portrayed in Scripture.
Take Holiness Seriously
God then rebukes the Jews for profaning His beloved sanctuary with the abomination of intermarriage with the idolatrous people of the surrounding nations (Malachi 2:10-12). As I have previously discussed, the problem was not not mixing races but religions. Similar to Ezra 9, the returning exiles had continued the perennial sin of marrying people who worshipped other gods. Instead of abandoning their religions to worship God alone like Rahab, these people retained their religions and caused the Israelites to worship those false gods like Jezebel. Therefore these exiles did what the Israelites had done since the Exodus, by mixing the worship of God with the worship of false gods. Instead of being set apart from the nations as holy to God (Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9), they mixed with the nations and became like them. Instead of advancing the Kingdom of God through godly offspring (Malachi 2:15, 1 Corinthians 7:14), they failed to advance of the Kingdom of God by perpetuating worldliness through their families. Therefore, their sin went far beyond marriage to include an entire lifestyle that was the same as the idolatrous world and thus contrary to the Law’s repeated commands to live as people set apart by and for God.
American Christians do the same when we fail to live lives that are visibly different from the world. As in Malachi’s day, this certainly includes failing to prioritize common faith in Christ when pursuing marriage (1 Corinthians 7:39), but it also extends to the way we live out our lives, as Paul commands: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). He then points out how the Church is the true Temple of God before exhorting the Corinthians to live a life set apart by citing Leviticus 26:12 and Isaiah 52:11:
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
-2 Corinthians 6:16-18, ESV
Therefore, we must be distinct from the World. Since friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), if our lives look no different than the lives of unbelievers we are not obeying God and not acting as people who are chosen by God as a royal priesthood and holy nation separate from all other nations. Such compromise to the world can take many forms, but all communicate a failure to adequately fear God, so the American Church needs to restore a sense of seriousness about holiness.
Take Marriage Seriously
Next, God rebukes the Jews because their unfaithfulness to Him has overflowed into unfaithfulness in their marriages (Malachi 2:13-16). God does not regard their offerings because they have been unfaithful to their wives by breaking the marriage covenant through divorce. As I discussed when dealing with the Law, God takes marriage very seriously—so seriously that a less-than-ideal marriage is preferrable to sex outside of the marriage covenant. It is God who instituted marriage with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:24) and it is God who has joined every husband and wife since, so only God gets to determine when it is appropriate to dissolve that union through divorce. According to Jesus, divorce only exists because of sin and is only appropriate in cases of infidelity (Matthew 5:31-32, 19:1-9, Mark 10:1-12). Paul adds that in the case of a believer married to an unbeliever, their differing religions may make it impossible to remain together, in which case divorce would be appropriate when initiated by the unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:12-16). Outside of these extreme circumstances, divorce is tantamount to hate and violence (Malachi 2:16). In fact, one way to render verse 16 (see NIV and NASB) says that God hates divorce. A major reason for this hatred is the effect divorce has on children (verse 15). I have previously discussed the importance of a multigenerational perspective of the Kingdom of God and how the greatest impact most Christians will have on the Kingdom is by raising godly children. Divorce hinders this multigenerational work of Kingdom building while tarnishing the reflection of the Trinity and the relationship between Christ and the Church that God infused into marriage. Therefore, God warns the Jews to guard themselves to avoid breaking their marriage covenant through divorce.
Our culture’s cheapening of marriage through easy, no-fault divorce has infected most American churches. Despite the clear and visible damage across our society and in our churches from nearly three generations of easy divorce, many churches still fail to uphold a biblical standard of when divorce is acceptable. In that way, even churches that promote the value of marriage by (rightly) opposing the illegitimate social constructs of “gay marriage” and polyamory ultimately cheapen marriage by accepting the culture’s understanding of marriage as a temporary friendship of convenience rather than a covenant union created by God that cannot be broken except in the most extreme circumstances. Many churches have also cheapened marriage by compromising at least somewhat to the culture on sex outside of marriage, casual dating without the intention of marriage, and valuing self and career above marriage and family. Until we uphold biblical standards for divorce and sexuality we will never honor marriage as we ought (Hebrews 13:4). To properly honor God, we must properly value marriage which He created and highly esteems.
Take Judgment Seriously
Finally, God rebukes the Jews for disregarding His righteousness and justice (Malachi 2:17, 3:13-15). God says that they have wearied Him by saying: “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them” (Malachi 2:17a) and asking “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17b). Seeing the wicked and arrogant prosper (Malachi 3:15), they concluded that obeying God is of no benefit (Malachi 3:14). God answers by promising that He will judge righteously. Just like Asaph (Psalm 73 cf. Psalm 37) and Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1-2), God reminds these Jews that He will judge everyone righteously in the end. After He sends His messenger to prepare the way (Malachi 3:1a)—who Jesus reveals to be John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7-10, Luke 7:24-27), God Himself promises to come suddenly, and no one will be able to stand against Him (Malachi 3:1b-2). He will refine His people comprehensively in order to make them holy (Malachi 3:2b-4). Then He will judge all evildoers who do not fear Him (Malachi 3:5). He returns to this theme in chapter 4: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1). This is common of judgment language found throughout Scripture. While evildoers may prosper on earth, they will ultimately receive their just punishment from God. And while those who trust in God will suffer in this life, we will receive the eternal reward that Christ has earned for us. The Jews in Malachi’s day forgot that, instead judging God as unjust based on what they saw in the present rather than righteous and just based on His promises.
The American Church also focuses on the present and often either forgets or downplays the justice of God. Like these Jews, many churches in America teach that God delights in everyone, even the wicked. It is commonly taught in most churches that God loves everyone, though Scripture denies that. Malachi begins with God saying that he hates Esau before declaring perpetual judgment against the Edomites who descended from him (Malachi 1:2-4 cf. Romans 9:13) so that His people will see His glory through that judgment (Malachi 1:5). Churches often teach that God loves the sinner but hates the sin. However, this and other passages say that God hates the sinner as well (Psalm 5:5-6, 11:5, 106:40, 139:21-22, Jeremiah 12:8, Hosea 9:15). Instead, as I said in my last post, one of the ways God gives us contentment is by helping us look beyond our present to trust in His promises of eternal blessing to us, which includes the final judgment of the wicked. So we can rest in God’s justice, leaving all vengeance to the wrath of God (Romans 12:19-21).
Instead, forgetting God’s coming justice often leads churches to focus on social justice. While the Church should influence society such that true justice abounds, that true justice comes because of the Gospel not in place of it. Furthermore, society’s view of justice today is often about oppressing the “oppressor” to achieve equity. The Bible calls this vengeance which must be avoided. A proper view of the final judgment of God will help correct this. It will also advance the Gospel, since an understanding of our plight in sin and our true depravity is the vital prerequisite to believing the Gospel. Without tasting the true bitterness of our sin, we will not understand the true sweetness of the Gospel and will thus devalue Jesus Christ, which is the greatest dishonor of all. Therefore, the American Church must restore a proper view of the final judgment in order to restore a proper fear of God.
In conclusion, a lack of appropriate fear of God in the American Church has led to an improper and casual view of worship, Scripture, holiness, marriage, and the final judgment. Such carelessness dishonors God. We must return to a proper fear of God such that we approach Him with reverence and awe while being careful to live our lives in a way that brings Him honor rather than dishonor. If the American Church does not emphasize a proper fear of God, we will perish. But if we fear Him, God promises great rewards as He uses us to advance His Kingdom:
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.
-Malachi 4:2-3, ESV
NOTES
[1] Edward T. Welch, When People are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man, Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing: 1997: 97, 114-115, 219-220; John Flavel, The Mystery of Providence, Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth Trust: 2021 (orig. 1678): 192.
[2] J.C. Ryle, Holiness, Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth Trust: 2014 (orig. 1879): 149-152.
