"THE FEAR OF THE LORD"
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
October 14, 2018
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 34:11 (ESV)
One of the most respected Lutheran parochial school teachers that I have ever met was a man named Glen Zorn. Glen taught the sixth grade at Emmanuel Lutheran School in Dearborn, Michigan, where I served as assistant pastor for a couple of years when I first graduated from the seminary. What made Mr. Zorn so highly regarded by parents and fellow teachers alike was the control that he had in the classroom. He had what most people felt was the most challenging age group at the school and yet his class was always quiet and well-behaved. What made this even more amazing was that Glen was by nature a very quiet, soft-spoken man. From time to time some of us would ask him: "Glen, what's your secret? What is the key to your success?" He would just smirk a little and say: "I don't even smile until Thanksgiving--and I don't laugh until Christmas."
The key to this teacher's success was that his students feared him. They weren't necessarily afraid of him, but they feared him. There is a difference. As a child and as a teenager I feared my Dad but I was never afraid of him. To fear someone is hold that person in awe--to take him seriously--to respect him because you are mindful of his position (especially in relationship to you) and of the authority that rests in his hands. This is the way that we are to look at God. We are to fear Him but not be afraid of Him. We are to take Him seriously--to realize that He is the almighty, all glorious Creator of heaven and earth and everything in them and that we are nothing more that His creatures--to acknowledge that He is the perfect One and that we are sinners--to understand that He is God and that we are mere humans. As we examine these words of King David this morning, let's especially give some thought to why we should fear the Lord and teach our children to do the same.
We should fear the Lord and teach our children to fear the Lord, first of all, because of who He is. We show respect for government and political leaders (or at least we're supposed to), so why should respect the Almighty One any less? We are impressed when we look at the mountains, the waterfalls, and the other great marvels of nature. Why should we be any less impressed with the God who made them all out of nothing and continues to sustain them? The truth of the matter is that God doesn't need to do anything to earn our respect. His very name says it all: "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He simply is, period. That alone commands respect, and even those who will not acknowledge Him and worship Him--indeed, who will not fear Him in this life--will have no choice but to do so in eternity. His greatness and majesty are not dependent on our thoughts or actions or even on whether or not we believe in Him.
But God is not only the Almighty One; for our sake He is also the Incarnate One. The almighty and eternal God--the Maker of heaven and earth and everything in them--permanently united Himself with our human nature when He became human in the Person of Jesus Christ. The evangelist writes: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). In mercy He looked upon our miserable and hopeless condition and was willing to become what we are so that He might deliver us from the sin and death that we had made a part of our world. What's more, for the sake of our salvation He willingly confined Himself to our limitations for a time, enduring all of the hardships and griefs of life that we must bear--even death itself. This is a God who is so loving toward His rebellious creatures that He consented to set aside His divine power and glory for the sake of sinners. That is remarkable--something that commands respect--something for which He is to be feared.
We should also fear the Lord and teach our children to fear the Lord because of what He has done. A mere glance at His works in nature will show us very clearly what He has done and continues to do. An even more obvious demonstration of His power can be seen in His mighty acts throughout history and especially in the life and ministry of His Son Jesus Christ. With great signs and wonders the Lord delivered His chosen people Israel from the slavery of the Egyptians and led them, also with many miraculous signs, to the land of promise that He gave them as their inheritance. "When the fullness of time had come" (Galatians 4:4) God became incarnate in His One and only Son and made known His presence on earth. Even His birth was a miracle, for it was not like other births. His mother was a virgin--He had no father but God Himself. The Lord Jesus, with many mighty wonders, "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). So great were His mighty works that He drew the attention of the crowds and also the attention of the religious establishment, which sought to destroy Him. Although they would never admit it, they stood in awe of Him--they feared Him.
But His greatest work of all is something that most people would consider to be a sign of weakness rather than a sign of power. I'm talking about the cross. In His suffering and death Jesus Christ--God Incarnate--did something that no one else could ever do or would ever do. He made full and complete atonement for human sin so that forgiveness and life are now realities for those who live and die trusting in Him. That mighty work of Christ, which He accomplished in His perfect life and His innocent suffering and death, was validated, confirmed, and proclaimed by God in His glorious resurrection from the dead on the third day. Because of what the Son of God has done for us, we have a reason to live and we have comfort and hope when we die. All of this, too, is reason to fear Him.
The fear of the Lord is an awesome thing. The task of teaching children the fear of the Lord is even more awesome. What makes this task even more difficult is that Satan, the ancient enemy, is lurking everywhere, seizing every opportunity to distract, to confuse, to enchant--to do everything that he can to prevent people from hearing, understanding, and believing the utterly simple message that "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). My friends, don't ever let anyone tell you that Christianity is any more complicated than that. True, it contains many facets that are interesting and worthwhile to study, but that simple Law and Gospel truth is the essence of it all. And knowing and believing that instills in us that sense of awe that God's Word calls "the fear of the Lord." His Spirit, working in and through that Word of the Gospel, blesses us all as we learn it from Him and as He, through us, continues to teach it in every generation.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.