The fear of the Lord.

     Throughout the Bible, God is portrayed as a holy God. He is eternal, all powerful, knows all and sees all. He is perfect in every way, He is perfect in His love and mercy, as well as in His wrath and judgement. He is free from all sin, in fact sin cannot dwell in His presence. We see in the Old Testament how He prescribed the way in which He was to be worshiped. He was to be approached with awe, a reverent fear. It was no small thing to be a priest in the temple. There were cleansing rituals, and sacrifices to be offered, nothing could be done in a haphazard way, it was serious for God was Holy!
     The coming of Jesus ushered in the gospel age, and with it a better way to approach God. Through Christ we have forgiveness, and reconciliation with this same holy God. We can now approach Him with bold confidence, we don't need to offer sacrifices or go through a priest, It is through Christ that we come to worship.
     Some have taken the idea of freedom in Christ,as a licence to cast off what we would call reverence, the fear of the Lord. They call it legalism, saying that since Christ paid it all we can come to Him in any way. It is true that Christ is our only way to God, nothing we can do in ourselves can add to that, or better that. It also is true that God is still HOLY! Grace never changed His holiness! In Hebrews 12:28 we see the exhortation to worship God in the acceptable way, with reverance and awe! That is New Testament, not under law, but under grace.
     I have recently seen some things that shocked me. Worship services called sloshfests where the people are "toking the Holy Ghost", "smokin' baby Jesus", invitations are given for a "free buzz." Those who respond to the offer to "get high on the Most High" are considered saved. This is considered christianity by many! The individual who leads this church has written books that are sold and read by Christians!
   I understand that Paul became all things to all men to reach them, but I believe this crosses the line of finding ways to reach the lost, to disrespect of God and Holy things.
    The Bible warns us of false teachers, and people who will not accept sound teaching. We must be careful to test what we see and hear by the Word that God has given us! If we Love God, and are truly grateful for the ultimate sacrifice He gave for us, we will not find it a burden to respect Him with reverent fear, it will flow naturally from loving hearts.