July 6

“…and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” Proverbs 16:6

God’s mercy and truth deal with the sin question totally and thoroughly. Once cleansed, sin must be avoided by the believer. The best motivation and inner strength for this resistance and turning from all that is wickedness, is a genuine and full-hearted love for God. The Bible often expresses the love we must have for the Lord, as ‘the fear of the Lord’. This expression highlights the great awe and respect we ought to have for God, which is a reflection of the love that we have in our hearts for Him. The more love we have for God, the greater our ‘fear of the Lord’ will be. This fear is not a being ‘scared of God’ fear, but being genuinely concerned not to displease Him, or offend Him, by our behaviour, thoughts or words. When we love, we want to please and not affront or hurt. It is in this context that the fear of the Lord helps, reminds, and encourages godly men to keep from sin. This is the right motivation by which those who love God, will avoid iniquity, resist temptation and turn away from doing evil! We must not replace this motivation with anything else, for whatever the replacement, it will be less effective and inferior as a reminder and an incentive to do righteousness. Some for instance replace true love and the respect of God as the motivator for living a holy life, with a personal desire to avoid the punishment of hell. While this may be a motivator in itself, it is a poorer stimulus for righteousness. Firstly, because it is a negative approach to doing something good, and secondly, because it has ‘self’ at the heart of the reason for avoidance of evil. Jesus must be the focus of our reason for living a holy and righteous life. Our love for Him is expressed in the way we honour, respect and give Him place in our lives. It is the best impetus, the inspired, God-ordained motivation, and the correct spiritual drive for our standing against evil, and performing our service unto Him!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion