The Old Testament is one of the best places to grow the fear of God
The stories are filled with God sending retribution on those who rebelled,
who refused to follow His ways and those who rose up against His servants
God also has much grace and mercy He extends as He chooses
He showed mercy even to Cain when he killed Abel
He showed mercy to the Jews whom He called out of Egypt
He showed mercy to Esther and Mordecai and the Jews being persecuted
He showed grace and mercy to many people throughout the Old Testament
Story after story, you will find God’s grace and mercy
from Adam to Jonah to Malachi
The fear of God can be found in the New Testament as well
Jesus spoke of the fear of God
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
Jesus also warned us of ways we could lose our salvation
Here is just one: For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
That should let us all know the importance of the fear of God
God wants to share His mercy and grace
That will not be plentiful if we have no fear of God
Not fearing God leads to entitlement issues with God
Without fear, there is no wisdom and those who call themselves Christians,
but do not have the fear of God are going to be shocked one day
Either they will not be able to stand in this evil day
or they will find themselves before God
and expect that their righteousness will save them
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8
Just like the scripture says, it is a gift
Imagine if you had a gift available to you,
would you demand that you deserve that gift?
That is how Salvation is
We cannot demand it
We retain the fear of God and hope for the grace of God
God will not welcome everyone who wants that grace
Many could be turned away by Jesus on the day of Judgment
Those who were expecting to gain entry,
who might not have feared the Lord
and perhaps they would have done things differently had they feared Him
They will be expecting, perhaps even demanding His grace and mercy
Grace is a gift, it is not something we take
Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?
and in Thy name have cast out devils?
and in Thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
The fear of God is indeed necessary to serve Him fully