Articles
“Demonstrating Reverence”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.
Leviticus 10:3
Stories like Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10), Uzzah and the ark (2 Sam. 6), Phinehas (Num. 25), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) and Herod Agrippa (Acts 12) all illustrate, in very dramatic ways, the importance of showing reverence to God. Psalm 89:5-7 says:
Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
God is altogether holy. He is in a category of one. Therefore, it is vital that his covenant people exhibit God’s holiness in their lives (Lev. 19:2). Knowledge of God’s holiness transforms the way we regard him in our hearts. Peter says, "in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (1 Pet. 3:15). When Christ is sanctified in our hearts (regarded as “holy”), we can demonstrate proper reverence for God in all areas of life: religious, moral, social, etc. Reverence is connected with the idea of a healthy fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). Fearing the Lord will affect our attitude toward morality. We will develop a hatred for wrong and a love for what is right (Prov. 8:13; Psa. 119:112-114). When we hate evil and love good (Rom. 12:9), we will turn away from evil and pursue good (Prov. 3:7; 16:6; Psa. 34:11-18). Thus, the fear of the Lord transforms us from the inside out. Learning to fear God keeps us from wrong (Ex. 20:20).
Lest we mistakenly think “the fear of the Lord” is merely an Old Covenant concept, consider God's promise through the prophet Jeremiah, “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jer. 32:40)
Practically, how can we demonstrate reverence toward God today? There are many ways, but consider these three:
We demonstrate reverence in how we speak of God — The third commandment says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Ex. 20:7) Using the acronym “OMG” or saying “Oh my God,” if it is not uttered in a prayerful or worshipful way, is a vain use of God’s name. To use God’s name as an expletive in conversation displays a deeply irreverent attitude. When we speak of God, we must speak of him with the highest respect.
We demonstrate reverence in how we speak to God — Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Mt. 6:9) We have a ready audience in prayer with our Father who loves us. But we must never forget that he is our heavenly Father. Yes, he is near, but he is also above and separate from us. Because of what Christ has done, we can approach God’s throne confidently (Heb. 4:16) but never casually.
We demonstrate reverence in how we listen to God — When Ezra the scribe read the Law before the congregation, everyone stood to listen. “And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.” (Neh. 8:3) The people demonstrated their reverence to God in how they listened to God’s word. Whenever the Bible is read and expounded, we must exhibit this same reverent attitude in our hearing. Let us “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” and be reverent doers as well as reverent hearers of the word (Jas. 1:19-27).
Are you demonstrating reverence to God in these ways?
