Godly Fear Triggers Actions of Obedience but Love Sustains Conduct
God loved you before you even became aware that God made you (Job 10:10-12). God does not want to love you from afar and be just a spectator of your life. God wants to form an intimate, loving relationship with you according to His character; Love wrapped in the arms of holiness and justice. Granted, it is hard to see this truth in the middle of poor circumstances and upset feelings, but non-the-less, when you look at it from God’s perspective and character, rather than your own, your perception changes and this births the possibility of changes in your thinking and behavior. It's hard to see God's truth when you are over-confident in your own abilities to solve a problem (from viewing the world with a "one-eyed" perspective). Judgement is relying on objective truths to make decisions while relying on your own perception is subjective because your interpretation is skewed by self-righteousness. What tempers your behavior is the vulnerability and awe in which you approach God and incorporating His wisdom into your refreshed perspective.
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Read more about a "fearless vulnerability" at https://spiritandtruthonline.org/fearless-vulnerability-in-worship-the-example-of-king-david/ and in Appendix 2N.
When you become aware that God wants to engage in a relationship with you, your attraction to Him intensifies and leads to a fearful respect of God's Majesty that can (if you let it) motivate your reverence and loyalty to Him (Isaiah 30:21). With honor and acceptance of God as your ultimate authority, you want to get to know him better by exploring the Bible or by listening to Christian pastors or other discerning Christian artists so you can become aware of His constant presence in your life and, as a result, mimic His love in your heart and soul (Zephaniah 3:12-13, Proverbs 2:1-5)! This relationship is what motivates obedience to God. It is an obedience that is authentic because it comes from a heartfelt conviction of the truth rather than an obedience that is insincere, stemming from a mindset of self-justification and compliance. Obedience that is acted out freely doesn't feel like an obligation.
The more Biblical knowledge you discover, the more you begin to realize that there is a great division between a Holy, loving, God and a sinful, self-focused man. As you read the Bible, you find out that God's definition of love - Holy Love - is different from that of sinful man's definition of the word love and His Word provides you with a description of how you can imitate His holy love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Ephesians 5:1-2, Romans 12:9-21). While God loves you and all of His creation unconditionally (despite your opinion/acceptance of His love), God does not change His standards just so He can be in relationship with you (2 John 1:4-9). God waits patiently for you to see that, as Creator of humanity, His ways are right and true (Romans 1:25). He waits for you to realize that He loves you as you are and, while he doesn't demand perfection, He does want you to behave within the boundaries of His character. God is good and wants the same for His people (1 John 4:18). He does not change with circumstances (Habakkuk 1:13, James 3:17, Malachi 3:6).
The acceptance of God's love for you is what awakens your God-consciousness and begins this relationship. (The Christian God sends His Holy Spirit into your heart and purifies it - spiritually - so you can partake in this relationship with Him.) However, your shift towards Him just begins this Holy, grace-filled relationship with God. It's up to you to "continue in Him" (Colossians 2:6-10). This means that you choose to get to know the character of this Triune Christian God and, as you do, you grow in your motivation to apply His Holy principles to your lifestyle
(2 Peter 1:3-8). When you value God's opinion more than those of yourself and others, your God-consciousness leads to a change in your A, B, C's change because you can see that God is the answer to interrupting a "Cycle of Sin" as depicted in Appendix 1I. You begin to recognize that without God, your perception of love is skewed -tarnished by a self-righteous, conditional view of love (Philippians 3:2-11).
Instead, by learning God's kind of Love, you discover a Love that is pure and holy - not corrupted by favoritism or judgement that stems from personal preferences (Luke 20:21, James 2:1). Humility clears out the fog from your eyes so you can zoom in and see things from a God-centered perspective which unleashes the energy needed for change to take root in your attitude and corresponding behavior (1 Peter 5:5). Humility opens the door to this concept of pure, uncontaminated love and this is what changes the way you see things (Zephaniah 2:3, 3:9, 3:11-14). By following God's truth, you learn you can trust Him to withstand the volatile circumstances of life as explained by Jesus in chapter 7 of Matthews gospel (Matthew 7). Accepting love from God enables you to hear God's direction and follow His ways (Ephesians 1:18, 1 Timothy 1:12, Matthew 18:4).
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For more on how love motivates action read the section below called "Looking at Your Obedience From the Eyes of God's Electric Love" further down this page.)
Your gratitude to God broadens your perspective and together with humility motivates a behavioral change in you.
Putting your feelings/emotions into the frame of reference of a pleasing a Holy God, creates the opportunity for you to choose to become "slow to get angry" about things but instead choose to be overflowing in the actions of love, forgiveness and patience, because of the freedom of your choice to express Christ in you (Psalm 86:15, Proverbs 16:32, James 1:19, Colossians 1:27). The Holy commandments, found in the Old Testament, were summarize in the New Testament by Jesus as love, a reflection of your willingness to express God's character in you, publicly (Exodus 20:1-7, Romans 13:8-10).
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See the table of contents for "Manage Self in a Social World" for a look at how your perception and attitude can direct your behavior to achieve positive results both socially and psychologically.)
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Christian cognitive consistency produces peace and well-being within you when your heart and mind agree and is proven by the calm, confident, faith-filled actions you take in your daily life (Philippians 4:6-7).
Feeling peace and joy comes from acting on truth with love. When you see life from God’s perspective and by your acceptance of God’s love, you crave a deeper relationship with God which leads you to want to practice of His Holy Love (1 Peter 2:15-16, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15). When you incorporate His standards of love and justice into your Attitude and Behavior, His truth sets you free from a skewed perception. Willful compliance to His standards grows the more you know and apply God’s truth, and, with time, habits form in you that reflect "unconditional" love (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 5:22-23, Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2010)). Imitating God's Holy Love is referred to in the Bible as abiding in Christ; expressed as self-sacrificial love (Colossians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 3:16-18, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Appendix 2T). Your sacrificial love, motivated by the love of God, produces peace with God and your neighbor (Proverbs 3:3-6, John 8:31-32). Negative feelings (like anger, disappointment and/or discouragement) dissipate when you reposition your mindset to see situations through eyes of compassion and act from a secure identity.
Look at this Another Way
When you first become a Christian, you may have feared God because your lack of knowledge meant that you didn't know or understand God. This fear together with your admiration for God's character is the stepping stone that starts you on a progressive, developmental journey that leads to a life in Christ, secured by Love (Proverbs 9:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18, Romans 8:13-17, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). When you first receive Christ as Savior, you can begin a journey to know and serve God which is motivated by this awe or the “fear the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:1-6, Jeremiah 2:19, Psalm 33:8). This thought, Godly fear, triggers a hunger to know God by understanding the ways, the truth and the life of Jesus Christ and then by incorporating these learnings into your behavior -“serving God acceptably”, as demonstrated by actions of obedience - inspired by feelings of gratitude and security (Proverbs 3:26, Psalm 25:12-15, 111:10, Hebrews 12:28, 13:16). Upon reading the Bible, you'll see God's loving character traits and begin to understand the mercy and grace of God and this awareness is what triggers a love relationship, evidenced by your voluntary compliance to His standards (Proverbs 15:33, 1 Peter 1:1-3). Jesus relates the benefits of voluntary obedience like as relying on Him, the solid rock (1 Corinthians 10:4, Matthew 7:24-25, 1 Peter 2:6-8, Isaiah 26:3, 28:16):
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock."
*Abide in Christ (Psalm 119:165, Romans 8:6, 1 John 2:27, 4:13)
There is freedom found within the boundaries of Christ (Romans 6:22, Galatians 5:13).
Trust is faith in action.
It’s your obedience that proves God's trustworthiness. The more you trust that God will do as He promised, the more obedient you’ll become, proving God's character to not only yourself but others too (Proverbs 30:5-6). In the beginning of a relationship with God, your obedience is likely motivated by fear until you learn of His nature (Exodus 20:20-21, 2 Corinthians 7:1, John1:12, James 1:16-17, Psalm 68:5). As you begin to experience God, your hunger to learn more about Him which results in awe, respect, and a desire to please Him. When you decide to act consistently with your faith, you show your trust in God (Matthew 5:8, James 4:8, Titus 3:4-8, Proverbs 3:1-6). When your trust in Him is proven, your perspective shifts, love melts away fear and your honor of God is acted out in obedience, a by-product of this heart purification experience (Luke 1:74-75, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18). When love motivates holy conduct, you are living out the first commandment which leads to the second command Jesus referred to in Matthew 22:36-39. Obedience to Godly principles is a demonstration-a physical expression of - love to God (John 14:15). It's by being "in Christ" - by acting consistently with your born again Holy Spirit - that transforms your ability to love God, as shown by loving others, unashamedly and uncompromisingly. Love buffers fear. When you choose to purposefully direct your behavior to walk in the Spirit of God's Holy Love (your free-will decision activates the power of the Spirit in you so you can express actions of love within the boundaries of God's Holy Love), you are living out your spiritual righteousness physically
(Ephesians 5:1-2, 3:14-19, Galatians 5:24-25, 1 Timothy 4:8, Appendix 2H ).
This process, in Biblical terms, is said like this: knowledge of God moves from your head to your heart, displayed by loving actions (John 14:15, 14:23-24, 15:14, Galatians 5:1, 6, James 2:14-18, Willard, D. (2014). God reveals that He uses fear to establish a relationship with Him in Jeremiah 32:40; “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me”. The feeling of fear motivates respect for the sovereignty of God. The Holy Spirit comes to live with you when you reach this heart level awareness (that you need and ask for God to enter your life). With time, the knowledge of God's Word and your maturity, fear is diminished as your love and gratitude towards God increases. This loving relationship is progressive and deepens as your knowledge of the Word of God increases.
These feelings inspire voluntary behavioral CHANGE (free will compliance to God's commands) because your initial fear melted into love and now your behavior proves itself both righteous and cognitively consistent (see Appendix 1O and Appendix 1P). Additionally, imitating Christ's righteous conduct reinforces itself through the consequences it achieves resulting in peaceful cognitive consistency, reinforcing the A, B, C's of Christian conduct (read more in "Deciding to Live a New Normal Life Style in Christ"). When you walk in God's Holy Love (implementing His principles on yourself and others) because you fear, know, trust, and love Him, you live securely knowing that God will take care of you so you express a confident, holy, love as you walk in peace through the volatility of this world (1 Thessalonians 4:1, Philippians 4:9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 91, and see Appendix 1G for more).
Your recognition of God's love motivates this self-sacrificial love in you. Choosing to pursue righteousness by way of humility, gratitude and the knowledge of the Lord turns your fear of the Lord into awe (a positive feeling stemming from respect that grows into love with time/experience) so you live a God-honoring life (Proverbs 15:33, 21:21, Colossians 3:22, read more in Appendix 1U and Appendix 2P). Your motivation from law compliance (ie; the 10 commandments) to gratitude for God's grace results in behavioral change, unlocking conduct that is consistent with your beliefs producing your character integrity to God (Proverbs 3:1-8, 34, 1 Chronicles 29:17, Psalm 107:1-3). Thus, Christianity is not a set of rules but an attitude of love that is expressed through righteous actions as defined by God, not man (Ephesians 2:7-10, Romans 2:29, 3:20, 3:31, James 2:14-17, Appendix 2S).
Christians achieve peace because of the conscious decision to express the mind of Christ in actions that mimic the love of God. Christ showed us how to live as a Christian; perfectly balancing the mercy and grace of God with the truth of His Word - love and justice (see behavioral integrity in Appendix 1S). Christ first introduced people to the love of God (through His miracles and teachings) and then directed them on how to live within the boundaries of His love; abiding “in Christ” (John 8:10-12). The gift of God's Holy Spirit of Love (righteousness, mercy and grace) is energized by your trust and hope, which is demonstrated by repentance and by "waiting on the Lord" "(a change in thinking/doing because of the new awareness, Hosea 12:6). Practicing the fruit of the Spirit while you wait produces this confident behavior that brings peace and joy (Galatians 5:13-16, 22). Read more in Appendix 2G and Appendix 2H. As Jesus said in John 15:4, 8-11:
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can produce fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ... By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full”.
A Change in Behavior is Motivated and Expressed by Faith and Confidence in God
The kingdom of God is within you! Do you show it? Your experience in life correlates to your trust and knowledge of God. Walk in love and do the right thing! Joshua 1:8-10, Romans 13:1 & 8, 1 Corinthians 8:1
What you do shows who you honor. If you have a poor or false image of yourself, (producing either insecurity or arrogance) you will find that turning to God will not be a solution you choose when looking for a way out of an unhealthy habit, addiction, or lifestyle. This is likely due to the unconscience fact that your addiction has its roots in self-image. Thinking too much or too little of yourself is an indication that you are hyper-focused on yourself to the exclusion of your responsibilities to or for others and your life’s priorities quickly falls out of balance (Sadler-Smith, E., & Shefy, E. (2004), Matthews 6:33). When you place God at the top of your priority list, His love brings you the security you need to love yourself as well as others and balances your priorities in this psychosocial world (James 3:14, Philippians 2:3, Matthew 22:39). For example, a perfectionist’s tendency to do a job without flaw comes at the expense of not having time for another valued task, such as spending quality time with family. These types of choices reveal cognitive dissonance. A wrestling match is taking place between your head and your heart. Your heart loses when you decide to overrule the values in your heart- not acting them out even when your gut is telling you to listen to your heart (1 Peter 1:13-16, read more about Jacob's wrestling match with God at
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-wrestling-with-God.html. We wrestle with God, Christian and non-Christian alike, when faced with an experience when we realize that total surrender to God - trust in all circumstances - is the answer to life's insecurities. God's love brings strength to your self-concept.
Looking at Your Obedience From the Eyes of God's Electric Love
The strength of a Christian’s self concept rests upon your perception of what you know and believe to be true concerning God’s love. Only when you know and accept the truth of His unconditional love for you does your self-concept become healthy, making room in your heart for Jesus so you can be free to love others. Is pride blocking your acceptance of of this reality? Pride, be it too much or too little, is often a sign of a poor self-image brought about by a crisis of trust. When a person grows up with trust problems, love becomes relative and differentiating between selfish and self-sacrificing love becomes blurry. When you accept and believe God’s love for you through Christ, His Righteous Holy Spirit lives in your heart and prompts you to act on what you believe, eliminating a “works mentality”and replacing it with zeal in expressing the
actions of love and righteousness for the sake of honoring God before yourself (Matthew 5:17, 7:12, John 1:14-16, 2:17, 1 Corinthians 14:1, Galatians 5:4-6, 14, Hebrews 10:16, James 4:7-10).
As a Christian stuck in addiction, you can be rescued by faith when you trade pride for humility and seek opportunities to express God’s kind of love to your neighbor (Mark 12:30-31, Philippians 2:3-8). Humility in man stirs up repentance to God and makes love possible. (Read about repentance and God’s grace in Ezekiel 18:30-32, Daniel 4:28-36). Love becomes the motive for helping others and this becomes the proof of your love and commitment to God (1 Peter 1:7). God's love fuels self love so you can focus on loving others. (While there is initial internal tension inherent between free choice and obedience, when you act because of the love of God, this tension dissolves.) Humility towards God makes holy love and honorable relationships possible for you as demonstrated by your humble, self-sacrificing love (Matthew 16:25, Romans 13:8, James 4:10, 1 John 4:21). It's how you learn to imitate God, balancing grace with truth (John 1:14).
God’s love is bounded by standards that shapes the definition of Holy Love. Jesus modeled what this looks when love is expressed physically, as He always expressed the will of God before His own (Luke 22:42). Jesus taught us that love is the language and spirit of the law and it is expressed in righteous action. Love and obedience is an output of faith because, as a child of God, the Holy Spirit empowers you to act with integrity and that action results in the peace of cognitive consistency. Integrity is a visible character trait that denotes you are a child of God (1 John 5:1-5). Integrity is what shows an intentional decision to take what is true in your heart and prove it true with your actions - as a free-will sacrifice to God (Leviticus 19:18, John 13:34-35, Psalm 54:6, Hebrews 12:14, James 2:8-13).
Becoming a Christian aligns your actions with your values so that you are capable of showing Holy love. The power of the Holy Spirit coupled with your intention becomes the strength you need to break old habits and create new ones. Showing God's Holy Love comes only after your decision to pursue and prioritize a relationship with Him. It's a commitment to learn to delay your own gratification so you choose to please God before yourself and others (Hebrews 11:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:4). Learning to live like Christ in the midst of a sin-filled world, takes time, practice, patience and adaptability in pursuit of this goal; be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul Philippians 3:12-14,
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
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Intend to ShinE (Appendix 1M)! For more on expressing the virtue of love see APPENDICES 2Q, 2R, 2S, 2T, & 2U.