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The Fear of God Has a Righteous Influence on Our Lives
The whole duty of man involves a fear of God (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This was the point of the message Peter delivered to the house of Cornelius in Acts 10. Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to Him” (vv. 34,35). Peter’s message teaches us that we become guilty before God if we choose not to do the things His word has assigned us to do. If we then become acceptable to God through fear of Him and righteous behavior, we displease God when our thoughts and actions are not that which “becometh saints” (Ephesians 5:3-5).
Saints of God must surely know the value of righteous living. It was the righteous behavior of Noah that caused God to look upon him with favor (Genesis 6:8). Hebrews 11:7 declares the righteous acts of Noah were motivated by fear of Jehovah: “By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Does the saving of the souls in your house mean anything to you? “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1). “Godly fear” must move us toward righteous living so we might save our families from the corruption that is in the world.
It is worth noting that Noah’s righteousness “condemned the world.” This was not Noah’s primary objective in following God, but it is the consequence of righteousness. The ungodliness of the world is judged as unacceptable before God. Godliness glorifies God (Matthew 5:16) and unrighteousness is condemned because it exalts itself rather than God. As a result, those who are not right hate to see their unrighteousness exposed (John 3:19,20). The question is, whose acceptance and approval would you rather have - God’s or the world’s?
What should be of great importance to anyone is what a person must do to meet God’s approval. A young man came to Jesus asking, “What good thing shall I do, that I might have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). The answer is Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). Although we cannot be righteous enough to save ourselves, it is necessary we do right to obtain God’s favor. The fear of God is what promotes the righteous act of baptism followed by a life of righteous service. Give God the honor He deserves and let it influence your life for right.
