When I was a false convert in the Roman Catholic Church, I was afraid of God. I thought He was a wrathful God whose primary job was judging and punishing us for breaking His commandments. Since I became a true Christian, I have learned more about God’s character—He is merciful, gracious, and abounds in steadfast love. Such a description should not warrant fear, yet Scripture repeatedly says we must fear the Lord. Proverbs 1:7 even says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
I have always thought it odd that Scripture exalts God’s love for us and at the same time tells us to fear Him. If He loves us enough to die for us, why must our response be fear? And how can we love God with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength and yet fear Him? Michael Reeves clears up this confusion in his book, Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good news of the Fear of the Lord.
Rejoice and Tremble is a treatise on the fear of the Lord. Many Christians like me struggle with the concept of fearing God because of conflicting Scriptures. Sometimes Scripture says we should not fear God (1 John 4:18), and other times it calls us fools if we do not (Proverbs 1:7); or that Christ frees us from our fear, but we must respond to Him with fear.
Reeves, therefore, wrote this book so Christians could get the correct understanding of the fear of the Lord and understand the seemingly conflicting Scriptures.
He says, “My aim now is to cut through this discouraging confusion. I want you to rejoice in this strange paradox that the gospel both frees us from fear and gives us fear. It frees us from our crippling fears, giving us instead of a most delightful, happy, and wonderful fear. And I want to clear up that often off-putting phrase ‘the fear of God,’ to show through the Bible that for Christians it really does not mean being afraid of God.”
The book has only eight chapters: Do not be Afraid! Sinful Fear, Right Fear, Overwhelmed by the Creator, Overwhelmed by the Father, How to Grow in This Fear, The Awesome Church, and Eternal Ecstasy. But it’s a well-rounded book.
I love how Reeves slowly explores all the facets of fearing God. He explains the different biblical fears and categorizes them into sinful fear—fear that drives us away from God, and right fear—fear that draws us close to God. The distinction of these fears helps clarifies the conflicting Scriptures about fear.
Reeves then explains why Bible translators use the negative word fear when used positively in the Bible. To my heart’s delight, Reeves takes us on a crash course on the original Hebrew and Greek words and thoroughly explores the meaning of the words. I particularly appreciated this exposition because I always struggled with theologians saying that fear means awe or reverence. But after reading Reeves’s explanation, I understand their choice of words.
Reeves then digs deeper into the right fear of God, provides biblical tips that will help us grow in it, and lists all several incredible benefits of fearing God. He concludes by demonstrating from Scripture that Heaven is a world of fear and love, and we will continue to rejoice and tremble for eternity.
Another thing I love about this book is the plethora of quotations from past theologians. Reeves saturates this short book with quotes and even poems from the puritans and reformers that enrich our reading.
Rejoice and Tremble is an excellent all-around book. Reeves masterfully uncovers the mystery of fearing God and backs up all his arguments from the Bible. After reading this book, I have a much better understanding of what it means to fear God and now see that it is a marvelous privilege, not a painful burden. I highly recommend it!
*Crossway Publishers graciously gave me a complimentary copy for an honest review.*
Favorite Quotes
“It is God who provides the logic and matrix of morality: when he is no longer feared, moral confusion must follow.”
“The living God is infinitely perfect and quintessentially, overwhelmingly beautiful in every way: his righteousness, his graciousness, his majesty, his mercy, his all. And so, we do not love him aright if our love is not a trembling, overwhelmed, and fearful love.”
“True fear of God is true love for God defined: it is the right response to God’s full-orbed revelation of himself in all his grace and glory.”
“Fear not only defines our love for God and our joy in God. It also prompts us to trust in God.”
“For the nature of the living God means that the fear which pleases him is not a groveling, shrinking fear. He is no tyrant. It is an ecstasy of love and joy that senses how overwhelmingly kind and magnificent, good and true God is, and that therefore leans on him in staggered praise and faith.”
“Knowing God the Redeemer in Christ will make our Christian fear distinct from the fear shown by the devotee of other gods. It is what we need if our fear is to be specifically and happily Christian.”
“For the grace of God serves as a bread-crumb trail, leading us up from the forgiveness itself to the forgiver.”
“It is a ‘blessed confusion,’ made of sweet tears, in which God’s grace and kindness shown to you at the cross make you weep at your wickedness. You simultaneously repent and rejoice. His mercy accentuates his grace, leading you to a deeper and more fearfully happy adoration of the savior.”
“We who love theology need to remember that there is no true knowledge of God where there is no right fear of him. The fear of God is the only possible foundation upon which true knowledge is built: all knowledge acquired elsewhere is counterfeit and will eventually prove itself as such.”
“Only in the light of God’s holiness and majesty do I truly understand how puny, how vicious, and how pathetic I naturally am. In other words, I do not have a true knowledge of myself if I do not fear God.”
“When God is so marvelous in our eyes that we rejoice and tremble, we cannot but praise him and throw ourselves on him in hearty and dependent prayer.”
“For the filial fear of God is the soul of godliness and the essence of the new life implanted by the Spirit. It is the ultimate affection and the very aroma of heaven. It is the affection that expels our sinful fears and our anxieties. It is the affection that expels spiritual lethargy. To grow in this sweet and quaking wonder at God is to taste heaven now.“
