In our last post, we traced the origin of fear back to the moment of humanity’s fall, where disobedience opened the door to shame and spiritual separation from God. It is this separation that gives rise to the destructive, tormenting fear that so many of us know. However, the Bible presents us with a fascinating paradox: while it repeatedly instructs us not to fear, it also commands us to “fear the Lord.” Scripturally, fear can be divided into two distinct types: godly fear, which is healthy, and ungodly fear, which is harmful.

Difference Between Godly Fear and Ungodly Fear in Scripture.

Understanding the difference is crucial to living a fearless life in Christ.

What Is Godly Fear?

Godly fear is the art of reverencing God. God has the power to terrify anybody. On Mount Sinai, He revealed Himself in a terrifying way to create His fear in the hearts of the children of Israel. Thus, they request that Moses should speak to them but God should not. God is love, and He demands that we walk in love, and there is no fear in love. As a father or mother, you will not want your children to have a tormenting dread of you. Because of the parental love you have for your child or children. God is love, and there is no fear in love. Therefore, the fear of God is not the usual mental traumas and panic that you are familiar with—that charaterises the fear we are forbidden by the Scripture. So, godly fear is a condition of heart that awes, reverences and humbly submit to God and His words.

Unlike the tormenting fear that paralyzes, this kind of fear is a healthy emotion.

Characteristics of the fear of God.

The fear of God is not tormenting.

The fear of god is not a mental hallucination.

Why is it important to fear God?

It is important to fear God. Because the fear of God comes with a lot of indispensable benefits.

The Benefits of fearing God.

The fear of the LORD is a pathway to wisdom, life, and blessing: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”—Proverbs 9:10“The Lord delights in those who fear Him…”—Psalm 147:11.

The Fear of God Initiates Wisdom

Godly fear is not about being terrified of God; it is about respecting His immense power, holiness, and love so deeply that we are compelled to honour and obey Him. It is the understanding that He is the Creator, and we are His creation, and our proper response to His majesty is one of reverence.

The Fear of God bring Blessings.

blessed is the man that seat not in the seat of ungodly. it is the fear of god that refrain you from seating in the seat of the sinner. the blessings that follow this are stated as follow.

The Fear of God Preserves you from the consequences of the lack of the fear of God, sin, the wrath and God’s punishment for sin.

The is not tormenting.

If you lack this fear, the Scripture says you have sinned against God by not having what He commands you to have. Godly fear is a healthy emotion that does not contain torment, because it is rooted in love and not dread.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.

Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

What Does the Bible Say About Ungodly Fear and Torment?

This is the kind of fear rooted in the flesh—fear of death, loss, people, poverty, shame, or the unknown. These are ungodly fears because God refrains us from such forms of fear. It often springs from disobedience to God, lack of trust in God and a focus on our own circumstances or abilities.

Understanding Ungodly Fear: From Death, Loss, and Shame in Christianity

This is the enslaving, destructive fear we discussed in our first post (click here to read). It torments our minds, manipulates our decisions, and hinders us from fulfilling our God-given purpose.

Bible verses of Ungodly Fear vs Godly Fear.

Ungodly fear is the kind of fear the Scripture warns us against and encourages us to overcome. While godly fear is godly fear because the Bible instructed us to have this kind of fear.

Biblical refrains from Ungodly fear.	Biblical instruction to demonstrate godly fear.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness	Deuteronomy 13:4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.	Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.	Deuteronomy 31:12 Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 20:1 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.	1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.	Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Numbers 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.	1 Peter 2:17 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.	2 Kings 17:36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
Psalm 27:1 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?	Job 28:28 28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.	Psalm 2:11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.	Psalm 34:9 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Psalm 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day.	Psalm 111:10 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding has all they that do his commandments: his praise endures for ever.
Isaiah 35:4 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.	Proverb 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.	Proverb 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Isaiah 54:4 4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore.	Proverb 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Jeremiah 1:8 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.	Proverb 9:10 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Matthew 10:28 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.	Proverb 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Matthew 10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.	Ecclesiastes 12:13 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.	Isaiah 8:13 13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
1 John 4:18 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that fear is not made perfect in love.	Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.	Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.	Roman 10:20 20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
Roman 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.	2 Corinthians 7:1 1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.	Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.	Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Overcoming the Spirit of Fear: 2 Timothy 1:7 Meaning

the scripture say, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”—2 Timothy 1:7.

Conquering Tormenting Fear Through Power, Love, and Sound Mind.

If God has not given us the spirit of fear, then it cannot be from Him. It is a spiritual force that opposes God’s will for our lives, an instrument in the hand of the devil used to intimidate people and prevent believers from exercising God’s gifts of power, love, and a sound mind.

The purpose of this blog series is to help you renew your heart and overcome this kind of tormenting fear.

If you haven’t read them, be sure to catch up on the first two posts in this series:

[My Battle with Fear: Finding Boldness in the Face of the Unknown: check it out here]

[What is Fear? Understanding Its Spiritual Roots: click here to read]

In our next post, we will tackle a crucial question: If God has not given us the spirit of fear, then why do so many Christians still struggle with it?