Friends: Afraid of God? That’s a good thing. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #1009

March 17, 2026

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Tremble Boldly

By Bob Walters

“Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7

“Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10

“Fear of the Lord is the fountain of life.” Proverbs 14:27

“The Lord is my light and salvation – whom shall I fear?” Psalms 27:1

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, [who delights] in his commands.” Psalms 112:1

I’m having trouble remembering exactly when “Jesus is my homeboy” was a thing – 1990s maybe? – but I seem to remember it had something to do with pop singer Madonna and nothing to do with biblical Christian doctrine.

Yes, Jesus is my friend, but He is eternal Lord and King; I am here to follow him, not boss him around. I am his friend if I do what He commands (John 15:14). Obedient Abraham was God’s friend (James 2:23).  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes God’s enemy (James 4:4). That’s what “homeboy” says to me.

One doesn’t have to dive too deeply into scripture to understand that fearing God as a friend – bringing knowledge, wisdom, life, light, and blessing to us – is radically different from fearing God as an enemy and deserving His wrath (Eph 2:3). “Jesus is my homeboy” expresses non-understanding and, I’d say, non-belief in a sovereign God. It proclaims, “I am sufficient.” Oy. If I think I am God, I am too dumb to fear the real God.

Once we settle in our faithful minds that “fear of the Lord” is our path to peace in His glory and truth, our proceeding reverence expresses love and awe. The modern, wide, progressive, therapeutic swath of Christian doctrine that wishes either to control our actions with guilt, or to remove our accountability of faithful obedience, serves to remove reverence and promote vanity. The Bible is reinterpreted for our convenience.

And so, our American culture steadily creeps away from our nation’s founding Christian principles: love for God and others, personal moral and ethical accountability, sin, a Creator, divine judgment, objective good, real evil, and eternal truth.  The Bible’s lessons and truth, still very real, become discounted, murky remnants of “old ways.”

What about those who should truly fear the Lord but don’t, whose lives would be lifted up by the confidence a faithful, Godly life instills. Instead, their souls lie fallow. They feel life in the present but are shackled to it, not soaring in the unfettered joy of knowing God and participating in His glory. Ours is a fear that is inspiring, not dreadful.

The secular world conditions us to see worldly reward and punishment, not divine grace and the heavenly world beyond. The world fears earthly punishment and relishes material reward.  We as believers can stumble in those secular moments, at least I do, yet 365 times the Bible urges us to “fear not” (e.g. Isaiah 41:10), and our joy rekindles.

In the arms of Jesus, we needn’t fear God’s punishment. His sacrifice “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10) may not relieve our personal guilt and shame for our sins, but what the world calls “fear” the Christian learns to call trust, hope, love, and confidence.

Tremble at the mighty power of God, then boldly rise before the world.

Blessed is our humility, and great is His faithfulness.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) was inspired by THIS ARTICLE from Touchstone.