Whatever Happened to the Fear of the Lord?

We live in an age when the fear of the Lord and the notion of reverence seem to have become things that the church no longer believes should be practiced or encouraged. In fact, as one wag pointed out, evangelicals seem to have moved in their worship from 'Crown Him With Many Crowns' to 'Clown Him With Many Clowns!'

But Peter and the Apostles certainly didn't feel that our approach to God should be light, causal, humorous, irreverent and inane. Rather that Holy God we worship should inspire love, awe, and reverence in his worshippers.

In these verses, Peter gives the reasons why that holy fear of the Lord should be our proper response to God.