The truth is you cannot fear and love God at the same time. Fear and love are incompatible. The person who is afraid cannot trust the one they fear. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid it is for fear of punishment and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love, (1 John 4:18, NLT).
The heart is the seat of love. Perfect love is a love that has reached its goal; it has been received and reciprocated. The person who walks in perfect love has not just received the love of God but has, in fact, given their love to Him fully and completely. The ancient Hebrews understood the fear of God to mean the fear of hurting your relationship with God by breaking His heart.
The person who has fallen in love with God can trust Him fully and completely, he or she is never afraid He will bring pain or punishment, their only concern is keeping the heart-to-heart love relationship alive.
If you’ve never loved anyone so much that your only fear was damaging the relationship, it’s time you to discover real love that conquers all fears. JOIN ME this week as we explore The Missing Ingredient in this relationship: the heart. And if you’re ready to take your relationship with God to a heart-to-heart love affair check this out www.moveyourboundaries.com.
Hi,
Thanks for this write up, However, I have a different understanding. So, here I go. Please, feel free to correct me.
In 1 John 4:18, I believe the fear spoken about here is not the fear of God but of judgement.
Also, the fear of God is the same as the love of God. I can back that up with the scripture.
Deuteronomy 6:2 “That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.”
John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
1st John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
From these three scriptures, we can see that to fear God is to keep his commandments and to love God is also to keep his Commandments. Therefore, to fear God is to love God and to love God is to fear God. There are many similar scriptures but I just chose these three.
Hi Lawrence, I would suggest you get the new book Ten Words That Will Change Everything You Know About God by Dr. Richards and Chaim Bentorah. Not at all saying you are incorrect but I think their word studies will clarify what you are thinking. Blessings.