It is not God's will that we stumble around in the darkness as fools. It is God's will that we have wisdom and understanding so that we may walk circumspectly as in the light. Throughout the Bible those who had wisdom had one thing in common-- knowledge of God. Knowledge is the single greatest factor towards salvation. Without the truth you have nothing. The importance of understanding God's will, given to us in the Bible, is evident as in Romans 10:17, Romans 1:16, Ephesians 5:15-17 and others. Having knowledge will not save you, but you must have knowledge in order to be saved. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him-- the word which I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (Jn.12:48). We will all be judged according to the Bible. I think of it as something I must measure up to. We will not be judged by something that is not in the Bible because God is just and would not ask us to do something we cannot do. God will not require anything of us that is not in His teaching. Everything required of us is in the Bible (2 Tim.3:16,17). Christ told us explicitly the penalty for rejecting the Word of God. We are required to understand it so that we can do it (Jas.1:22). Because God wants our obedience. Knowledge, we are told, has a beginning and that is the fear of the Lord (Prov.1:7). I am convinced that the only thing one must do to fear God is to learn about Him. The twelfth verse of the second chapter of 1 Samuel makes a very interesting connection for us regarding Eli's two sons. They were corrupt because they did not know the Lord. This is a simple truth. The sons of Eli were corrupt because they did not fear God. We are told that one departs from evil because they fear Him (Prov.16:6). I believe that this is the connection that produces obedience from the first time one can say, "I know God". Knowledge produces fear which produces obedience. We know that we know God if we keep the commandments. There are two reasons to submit to God-- love and fear. But fear comes first and remains. Remember the admonition in Ecclesiastes 12:13 and also the Bible does not say that it is by the love of the Lord that one departs from evil, but fear. We cannot say that we need not fear the Lord. God thinks enough of it to explicitly command it at least twenty-six times that I found and refers to it many more times as in Proverbs 16:6. Generally, you will find it coupled with obedience. But what is it? The word fear in the Bible is exactly what one would expect it to be. The fear of the Lord is not reverence as you might consider that Hebrews 12:28 distinguishes the two. The Greek word in the New Testament is where we get our word phobia. It means to be exceedingly afraid or in terror. That is what God wants. In Dueteronomy 5, God recounts to Israel how exceedingly afraid they were of His presence at Sinai. In verse 29 He says, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments." God desires us to fear because He wants our obedience. I do not walk around trembling because I fear God. To find if you fear God simply ask yourself if you obey Him. Because obedience is a product of fear and departing from evil becomes habitual and eventually a part of your character. Is obedience to God your lifestyle? If not, you cannot say that you fear God. You cannot say that you know God. If you reject His word, which is unwise, and continue to transgress you will appear before Christ as defiled and corrupt and that which has not been cleaned will not inherit the Kingdom of God. I pray that we all diligently seek to get to know our God better as we continue in our walks. Fearing Him is just the beginning of the knowledge we need in order to please Him. We have much to learn and a short time in which to do it. However, it is fear that moves us in the direction we need to go. It has been said that God uses fear as a prod to make us obey Him. I do not think that is true because that sounds as if God forces us to do His will. I believe that fear is the natural response when someone first knows Him followed by obedience. Fear God and you no longer need to fear the judgment because obedience has its rewards just as rebelliousness does. "See then that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.' Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are recieving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." -Heb.12:25-29-