Recapture the Reverence: Why Taking God Seriously Matters

By J.R. Waller, MBA

Recapture the Reverence: Why Taking God Seriously Matters – Introduction

Ever since Eden, the greatest problem that man has brought upon himself is a lack of reverence for God. For many reasons, we either willfully or ignorantly fail to give God the respect and honor he deserves.
 
However, God is worthy of our reverence. When we neglect, re-imagine, or dishonor him it doesn’t just do him a disservice, it hurts us and has negative ramifications throughout all areas of society.
 
Treating God like he’s not God causes the entire cosmic order to go out of alignment. Again, this began in Eden and continues today. We put ourselves in God’s place and become our own “gods” and chaos always ensues.
 
We were never meant to take God’s place in the universe, nor are we able to handle it. No matter how much we want to be God, we can’t.
 
Conversely when we properly acknowledge, reverence and honor God, and accept our proper place in the universe as his created beings, the world and our place in it makes sense and society thrives.
 
Still, a reverential approach to God doesn’t come naturally. That’s why it’s up to every generation to recapture reverence for God.
 
Peace, stability and continuity are the hallmarks of civilizations that prioritize the God of the Bible. Moreover, taking God seriously cultivates strong, mature individuals, churches, families, and communities.
 
How you view and approach God matters. Everything in a person’s life is profoundly influenced by his or her perspective of God. This is why it’s essential to develop a proper understanding of who God is, and it all starts with a reverential attitude.

God is Worthy of Reverence

Reverence by definition is an attitude that is conveyed to someone based on their relationship or position to us. Often we are reverent to someone who has greater authority than us or someone with more experience.
 
In particular, The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1975) describes reverence as being given to someone or something because of its “exalted and sacred character.” As such, respect precedes reverence and worship naturally follows it.
 
Reverence to God is central to the Christian faith, and for good reason. God is the only being worthy of our deepest reverence because he is God and his nature and attributes demand our respect.
 
Even a cursory glance at God’s attributes in the Bible shows us why we must reverence him. In fact, we have every reason to believe that he is a God to be reverenced. Yet so many people simply don’t know who God really is, let alone why he should be admired.
 
That’s why God sent his Son Jesus to earth to save us and rescue us. God came in the flesh, so we could better know God and be restored to a rightful relationship with him. That’s also why we have God’s word preserved for us in the Bible. The Bible is a collection of 66 books (a codex) all about God and his character.
 
Who is God to you? To some he exists simply to grant wishes. Others view God as they would their earthly parent, often as too nice or too mean.
 
Yet the Bible puts God’s nature and character into proper focus and alignment with truth and reality. This is foundational to Christianity. Knowing God is absolutely essential to developing a proper reverence for him, and when we do we can’t help but honor him.

“We were never meant to take God’s place in the universe, nor are we able to handle it. No matter how much we want to be God, we can’t.”

For example, we can look at God’s all-powerful nature (his omnipotence). God is our creator and sustainer (Jn. 1:3, Col. 1:16), and he upholds the universe (Col. 1:17). History is his story, all that happens does so under his sovereign oversight and care (Is. 48:13, Ps. 103:19, Matt. 10:29-31, I Pet. 5:7). Nothing surprises God, and we cannot go anywhere where he isn’t (Ps. 139:7).
 
God has already secured total victory over the enemy and will realize this fully when he returns to rule in the new heavens and new earth forever. Truly, God will make all things new (Rev. 21:5, Is. 65:17).
 
Moreover, God works miracles and still does so today. Just ask anyone who has been called, justified, sanctified and brought to saving faith in Jesus (Rom. 8:29-30). Those who are saved have their sins washed away, they are brought back into a right relationship with God, and they have Jesus righteousness’ clothing them (Rom. 8:29-30, Col. 1:21, Gal. 2:16, Rom. 5:1-2). All of those results are impossible without God; they are miracles and gifts from him!

God also preserves his saints until they see him in heaven, and they are each sealed by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 10:28-29, Eph. 1:13-14). Nothing can take away a believer’s salvation, nor can anything harm the Christian or his or her soul. God is faithful, he always keeps his promises, and he can be fully trusted at all times and in all seasons (Heb. 10:23, Rom. 8:38-39). He can do anything above what we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20-21).
 
God is also powerful in his uniqueness as God. When Moses asked God who he is, he said “I AM THAT I AM” (Exo. 3:14). God is the ultimate and infinite; Jesus confirmed this (Jn. 8:58). Moreover, God never changes (Heb. 13:8). He is so supreme that most words cannot adequately describe him. The angels though get it right when they refer to Him as holy, holy, holy (Is. 6:3).
 
Jesus is also the only way to God. He is the way, the truth and life, and there is no other name whereby we must be saved (Jn. 14:6, Acts 4:12). God has all authority (Eph. 1:21, Phil. 2:9-11) over the universe.
 
If God is God, then who are we in relation to him? We’re the created, we’re created for relationship with him and for service for his kingdom. We are meant to work throughout creation and accomplish good works that God has already established for us to fulfill (Gen. 1:28, Dan. 12:3, Eph. 2:10).
 
Men and women owe their identities to God. Each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. He formed us, knew of us before we were even born, orders our steps, knows the number of hairs on our heads and knows our hearts better than we know ourselves, and he even knows our intentions (Ps. 139:13-14, Jer. 1:5, Prov. 16:9, Lk. 12:7, Prov. 15:3, Ps. 139:23, 1 Sam. 16:7, 1 Chron. 28:9).
We’re God’s workmanship. The Christian is a new creature, indwelled with the Holy Spirit and “in Christ,” he or she is spiritually born-again (2. Cor. 5:17, Jn. 3:5, Gal. 3:28).
 
Ultimately, we can’t even begin to describe God. That’s why we will spend all eternity learning about him (Rom. 11:33). He is unsearchable (Is. 40:28) and his ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8-9).
 
God’s powerful miracle working, soul saving, saint preserving and identify confirming attributes set him apart from any other being in the universe. As such, God is not just worthy of our reverence, he requires it.

Reverence Required

In Christianity, reverence is not optional, it’s required. God doesn’t just deserve our worship, adoration, obedience and supplication (asking him to help us), all of these honor God, but he commands and asks us for our reverence.
 
Fearing (reverentially respecting) God is part of the “whole duty of man,” according to King Solomon, the wisest person who ever lived (Ecc. 12:13). The Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in 1647, is a famous Q&A booklet used in many Reformed denominations but applicable to any Christian. It is notable for its first question which states “What is the chief end of man?” The answer? “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.” Glory is rooted in reverence and we are called to glorify God in all that we do (1 Cor. 10:31).

“God’s powerful miracle working, soul saving, saint preserving and identify confirming attributes set him apart from any other being in the universe. As such, God is not just worthy of our reverence, he requires it.”

Additionally, it’s impossible to please God without faith. Each of us must believe that God is who he says he is (Heb. 11:6). You can’t humble yourself, repent of your sins and ask God to be your savior without acknowledging and reverencing him for who he is. In fact, when we realize that we cannot save ourselves, and that we need a savior, that is when we are open to receiving his gift of salvation.
 
The entire Christian life is wrapped in reverence to God. We obey him because we believe he is who he says he is in his word. Knowing who God is makes us realize the proper relationship we have to him which in turn cultivates and inspires reverence. It’s a beautiful circle, we revere God, which causes us to learn more about him which causes us to love him more.
 
Reverence isn’t easy though. It runs counter to our selfishness and natural inclination toward sin (Ps 58:3). We all seem to think that our way is the right way, because it often serves us the most, however God knows the truth, his way supersedes all others (Prov. 21:2).
 
It’s difficult to accept God and revere him, it was for Adam and Eve, but it’s necessary. This means giving up control to the one who is really in control. It means letting go of personal sovereignty for God’s sovereignty and “my way” for Jesus’ new and living way (Heb. 10:19-22). This all starts with an attitude of reverence.
 
This is why the fear of the Lord is often presented in Scripture as a “beginning.” For example, the fear of the Lord is described as the “beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7) and the “beginning of wisdom” (9:10). Knowing God and following him starts with a proper posture of reverence toward him for all that he is and all he has done and will do. Reverence is the foundation to living life after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).
 
Everything else in life falls into its proper place when we view and approach God correctly. Reverence inspires an awe for his attributes, a thankfulness for what he has done in your life through salvation, and a motivating energy to accomplish his plan for your life in service to him through the Holy Spirit.
 
Ultimately, when you take God seriously, you’ll take everything else in the Christian life seriously. This makes all the difference and fundamentally changes every aspect of our lives. We can see this by looking at how reverence specifically impacts us and others.

Results of Reverence – Order, Peace, and Stability

Reverence Leads to a Right View of God
As the previous section taught, we see God accurately when we approach him reverently. With this approach God becomes bigger than our problems, the center of our lives and our caring Father. We discover who he really is.
 
We learn he’s not a vending machine who exists simply to grant our wishes. We understand that he is not like our preconceived notions. He is no longer the God of our understanding but the God of the Bible.
 
Our view of God becomes balanced—he is neither lax concerning sin nor does he permit us to do whatever it is we please (Rom. 6:1-2, 1 Pet. 2:16). Moreover, God’s revelation to us through his word confirms his nature and character, putting them into proper focus and alignment with his truth and reality.

“Everything else in life falls into its proper place when we view and approach God correctly. Reverence inspires an awe for his attributes, a thankfulness for what he has done in your life through salvation, and a motivating energy to accomplish his plan for your life in service to him through the Holy Spirit.”

Reverence Supports Purposeful Service
A reverent heart seeks God’s will and his kingdom first (Matt. 6:33). Those with a high view of God act out his will instead of merely talking about taking action (Jas. 1:22). Put another way, when we take God seriously, we take our role as his ambassadors seriously (2 Cor. 5:20).
 
This means we give a defense for the hope that is in us, we live out the ministry of reconciliation that we are called to, and we serve together as fellow lights in the darkness of a lost and hostile world (1 Pet. 3:15, 2 Cor. 5:17-18, Lk. 14:23, Matt. 5:14).
 
The Christian who takes God at his word steps out in faith and advances God’s kingdom here on earth. Reverence to God gives us an eternal perspective, and causes us to invest in the eternal by storing up treasures in heaven and always keeping an eye on the bigger picture at play (1 Pet. 1:4).
 
Reverent believers serve out of love for God and what he has done for their lives, not out of obligation (Jn. 14:15, 2 Cor. 5:14-15). Their motivation is authentic, not self-serving or to get the attention of others. These men and women live acceptable to God and approved of men (Rom. 14:17-18).
 
When we honor God, we accept his call to be a royal priesthood and a city on a hill. It delights us to serve our King, and to show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). May we then serve God acceptably with reverence (Heb. 12:28).

“Reverent believers serve out of love for God and what he has done for their lives, not out of obligation.”

Reverence Promotes Personal and Spiritual Growth
Respecting God means respecting his ways, especially his process of sanctifying believers (making them more like Jesus).
 
When we honor God’s way of working on our lives, and give up control to him, God molds, shapes and prunes us, even when it hurts or doesn’t make sense to us—which it can at times (Heb. 12:6, Jn. 15:2, Prov. 17:3).
 
Allowing God to make us more like him is a good thing however, and vital to personal and spiritual growth. This is especially important because sanctification defines the Christian life.
 
Over time, God’s sanctifying work slowly does its fruitful work in us. Trials make us patient, help us bear spiritual fruit (otherwise known as good deeds and actions motivated by the Holy Spirit), strengthen our resolve, and make us bold witnesses to others (Jas. 1:3, 1 Pet. 5:10, Jas. 1:2-4, 1 Pet. 4:16).
 
Reverential Christians joyfully welcome God’s yoke, give up their selfish desires, and take up their cross daily to follow Jesus (Matt. 11:29-30, 10:38-39). They mortify or kill the sins that beset them through the Holy Spirit (Col. 3:5) and live no longer as slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6-7) but free to be who God originally created them to be. As Christians we are living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1-2).
 
God is our sufficiency (2 Cor. 3:5). He gives new mercies everyday (Lam. 3:22-23). Moreover, the believer who seeks God isn’t surprised by trials, rather he or she understands that they are for their good and part of life (1 Pet. 4:12).
 
Of course, this does not mean we always fully understand why God allows suffering in our lives, however we trust that he knows best, and that he is working all things for the good of his Saints (Rom. 8:28). Additionally, faithful believers recognize that God will finish the good work he begins in their lives until they reach heaven to be with him for eternity (Phil. 1:6).

Reverence Nurtures Standards and Dignity
Christians take sin seriously because God does and they live this out by living in the world but not succumbing to its detrimental influences.
 
Christians are spiritually separated from the world, born of God, called to holiness, and are to walk without blame before God in love as those that are chosen out of the world as members of God’s bride, the church universal (Jn. 1:12-13, 1 Thess. 4:7, Eph. 1:4, Jn. 15:19).
 
We follow God’s loving rules out of obedience to him, not to ruin the fun of life but because we understand that God’s rules are there to protect us, for the way of the transgressor is hard (Prov. 13:15).
 
Also, following standards doesn’t mean we hide and separate ourselves from the world (1 Cor. 5:10, Jn. 17:15). Nevertheless, we are commanded to flee youthful lusts and live worthy of our calling (2 Tim. 2:22, Eph. 4:1) because we have been bought with a price as God’s possession purchased by Jesus’s own death and blood on the cross for our sins (1 Cor. 6:20, Eph. 1:14).
 
Additionally, we must engage the culture around us and witness while also guarding our hearts (Prov. 4:23). This means we don’t love the things of this world, that we live above the world with minds transformed, and that we do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (1 Jn. 2:15-16, Rom. 12:2, Jas. 4:4, Eph. 5:11).
 
Christians that revere God take his advice to heart. They bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5b). Ultimately, Christians have standards because we love God, respect him and we know that what the world offers cannot ultimately satisfy.

In the end sin always destroys lives (Rom. 6:23, Jas. 1:15, Heb. 11:25, Prov. 14:12). We know the better way that leads to life everlasting!

Reverence Cultivates a Right View of Others
When we revere God we honor his great commandment to love our neighbor (Matt. 22:39). We also see and cherish the inherent value of others.

By the world’s standards, none of us are truly equal to another, however what makes us equal is that each of us are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26a). This is the doctrine of “Imago Dei” (Latin for “image of God”).

In Genesis, where this doctrine first appears in scripture, the Hebrew word used for “image” is the word tselem (Strong’s 6745), which means we are representative of God. Additionally, the Hebrew word for likeness is demuwth (Strong’s 1823), which in a similar vein means resemblance. Though we are not God, all of us at some level resemble God through distinctly human attributes. For instance, creativity, emotions, consciousness, the breath of life, reason, etc.

When we correctly see others as God’s image bearers, we respect them and serve them. The results of such an approach can be seen in the many positive effects that Christians have had on humanity through their love of others. 

Children’s and women’s rights, orphanages, hospitals, universities, and more were all primarily begun by Christians who carried out God’s will by serving and loving their fellow man (Jas. 1:27, Matt. 10:42). Christianity breaks down barriers between people.

Think of where the world would be without Christians. Sometimes I wonder who would take care of the sick, infirm and disabled if it were not for us.

Reverential Christians count others more significant than themselves and put others first (Phil. 2:3). They also understand that everything is a gift of God and do not define people’s worth by their possessions or circumstances. In fact, finances, belongings, prestige, all is given us from God to steward and one day we will give it all back to God (Ecc. 3:13, 1 Chron. 29:12, Matt. 6:24, Mk. 8:36).

“By the world’s standards, none of us are truly equal to another, however what makes us equal is that each of us are created in God’s image.”

Reverence Creates Strong Churches
Church becomes what it is meant to be when its members revere God. In such congregations, members submit themselves one to another (Eph. 5:21), and weep and celebrate together (Rom. 12:15) as fellow laborers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:8-9).
 
They are on mission, they understand that preaching is paramount, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). They stand on God’s unchanging word and are driven by that instead of capitulating to the fashions of the world (those who do not know God) (1 Cor. 2:14)
 
Worship in reverential churches is God focused instead of man-centered, it is characterized by awe, praise and thankfulness (Heb. 12:28).
 
The pastor with a high view of God is above reproach and handles his office with the utmost seriousness (Titus 1:7). Leaders in reverential churches are authentic instead of self-serving. Their platform is meant to elevate God, not themselves. They speak the truth in love and aren’t afraid to preach all of God’s word even when its unpopular to do so (Eph. 4:15, Acts 20:27).
 
Reverence Forms Stable Families and Peaceful Communities
Christians who hold God as the highest standard in their lives showcase this in their approach to marriage and family.
 
God loves marriage, that’s why it was the first institution created by him for man (Gen. 2:18). It’s a divine one created by God and prized by him between a man and woman.

Because God views marriage with high regard, his standards for it are high as well. Wives are to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord (Eph. 5:22) while husbands are to nourish and cherish their wives as the Lord does to his church (Eph. 5:29).
 
These are not lofty or antiquated ideals, they are the right way to live in matrimony. In a biblical Christian marriage, where both spouses reverence God, they will put the other before themselves, respect each other’s roles and differences, and live out God’s beautiful design for a peaceful and stable home and relationship.
 
Men are to be loving leaders and honor their wives. Women are to respond with loving submission and respect, as they were created to be suitable helpers, just as Jesus is a helper of God. Both are equals in worth, neither is superior nor inferior to the other.

“Reverential Christians, despite being works in progress who are continually molded by God to be more like him, are stronger Christians. And the churches, communities, societies and families who approach God with respect are stronger than those who do not.”

For the Christian, marriage becomes something purposeful beyond romance or fleeting feelings. It is a special bond that fosters commitment and mutual sanctification.
 
There is a reason why two parent households with one mom and one dad often raise successful and stable children. God’s design works for our good and the good of our families.
 
In turn, strong families lead to lower crime rates, more educated offspring, continuity among generations, and ultimately better communities.

Conclusion

How you view and approach God matters. It sets the tone for the type of Christian you will be. More so, it effects who you will be and become this side of eternity. Everything in life, in one way or another, is influenced profoundly by your perspective of God.
 
As this lesson has demonstrated, when you take God seriously, you’ll take everything else in life seriously, which makes everything else in your life fall into place according to God’s perfect plan and will.
 
Reverential Christians, despite being works in progress who are continually molded by God to be more like him, are stronger Christians. And the churches, communities, societies and families who approach God with respect are stronger than those who do not.
 
However, each of us has a choice to make. Will you accept Jesus and see God for who he really is as your savior? I promise you that if you do, you’ll never regret it.
 
For those of us who have accepted Jesus, we have every reason to revere, respect, honor and praise him for all that he is, all that he has done, will do and continues to do in our lives and in the universe.

Praise be to God, who is worthy of our greatest praise and admiration!

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Image Credit: Heraclitus, the Weeping Philosopher (c. 1630), The Art Institute of Chicago, 1897.296.