Revealed as We Are

In Week One we considered what Scripture means by holy awe.

We saw that the fear of the Lord is not simply being afraid that God will punish us.

It is reverence for who He is.

His holiness.

His authority.

His glory.

His mercy.

His love.

But once we begin seeing God more clearly, something else happens.

We begin seeing ourselves more clearly.

That is one of the unavoidable effects of God's holiness.

The clearer our view of God becomes, the harder it becomes to maintain false views of ourselves.

The Fatal Collision

The biblical story repeatedly shows that God's holiness cannot be treated casually.

One sobering example appears in Leviticus 10.

Two of Aaron's sons had been given the privilege of serving near God's presence, yet they approached their responsibility irreverently.

The consequences were severe.

The account confronts us with a truth that modern Christians can be tempted to avoid:

Nearness to God never makes His holiness less holy.

God is gracious.

God welcomes us.

Through Christ, we are invited to draw near.

But access to God is never permission to make Him common.

Familiarity with God should deepen reverence, not erase it.

What Happens When Holiness Collides with Us?

Scripture gives us several pictures of people encountering the holiness and power of God.

Isaiah saw the Lord and suddenly became aware of his own uncleanness.

Peter witnessed the power of Jesus and became deeply aware of his sinfulness.

John saw the glorified Christ and fell at His feet.

These encounters did not mean that God rejected them.

Instead, God's holiness revealed the immense contrast between the Creator and the creature.

His light exposed what could remain hidden in ordinary life.

Pride becomes visible.

Self-sufficiency becomes visible.

Indifference becomes visible.

Casualness becomes visible.

The “fatal collision” is not a message that God delights in destroying His people.

It is a picture of what must die when we truly encounter Him:

the old insistence on being our own center.

God's holiness does not merely comfort us. It confronts what cannot remain if we are going to live near Him.

God's Light Reveals Rather Than Flatters

Human beings are remarkably skilled at managing appearances.

We know how to present the version of ourselves that we want other people to see.

We can appear confident while feeling insecure.

We can appear spiritual while protecting areas of disobedience. The difference between Christian appearance and a life genuinely being shaped by Christ is explored more fully in Two Kinds of Christians .

We can appear humble while quietly craving recognition.

We can even become more concerned about our reputation than our actual condition before God.

But God is not impressed by the image we construct.

He sees the heart.

Holy fear gives us courage to stop managing appearances and begin living truthfully before Him.

Fear and Trembling

Paul uses language that can sound strange to modern ears.

Paul is not telling believers to live in constant panic.

The emphasis is reverence.

Humility.

Careful obedience.

Awareness of God's greatness.

Dependence upon Him.

There is a seriousness here, but not hopelessness.

Notice the second half of the passage:

God is at work in us.

Christian growth is not anxious self-salvation.

It is a reverent response to the God who is already at work shaping our desires and actions according to His purposes.

Handle What Is Precious with Care

Think about the way you handle something irreplaceable.

You do not become careless because you are afraid the object will attack you.

You become careful because you recognize its value.

In a far greater way, our relationship with God is precious.

His grace is precious.

His presence is precious.

His Word is precious.

His calling is precious.

Fear and trembling means we refuse to treat what is holy as trivial.

Reverence is not panic. Reverence recognizes value.

Fear Without Panic

Scripture can tell us both:

Do not fear.

And:

Fear the Lord.

Those commands are not contradictory.

We are not called to live controlled by panic, anxiety, dread, or terror.

We are called to reverence God above every lesser fear.

The believer's concern is not:

“Is God looking for a reason to reject me?”

It becomes something closer to:

“I do not want to dishonor the God who has loved me so completely.”

Holy fear is relational.

It grows from knowing that the One we love is also the holy God.

The Fear of God Reorders Other Fears

One of the paradoxes of Scripture is that fearing God makes us less controlled by other fears.

When God's approval becomes weightier than human approval, the opinions of people lose some of their power over us.

When God's authority becomes ultimate, circumstances no longer have the final word.

When God's faithfulness becomes more real, anxiety does not have to determine every decision.

Holy fear does not make us frightened people.

It begins making us freer people.

When God becomes our greatest reference point, lesser fears begin to find their proper place.

Three Images of Ourselves

This week's material raises an important question about image.

There can be a difference between:

the person others think we are,

the person we try to present,

and the person we actually are before God.

We might think of these as a perceived image, a projected image, and an actual image.

The perceived image is how others understand us.

The projected image is what we deliberately communicate about ourselves.

The actual image is the reality God sees.

Our culture makes it unusually easy to invest enormous energy in perceived and projected image.

Reputation.

Appearance.

Achievement.

Social approval.

Even spiritual reputation.

But holy fear shifts our attention away from protecting an image and toward becoming truthful before God.

What matters most is not the image I can maintain, but the person I actually am before God.

God Sees Motives, Not Merely Actions

Two actions can look identical from the outside and come from completely different motives.

A person can serve because they love others.

Or because they want recognition.

A person can give generously because they trust God.

Or because they want to be admired.

A person can say the right words while hiding resentment, pride, fear, or self-interest.

People usually see the action.

God sees the heart beneath it.

That truth is not meant merely to frighten us.

It is an invitation to integrity.

We no longer need to build a religious image before God.

We can allow Him to reveal us as we are so that He can transform us.

Our View of God Shapes Our Response to Him

The study also identifies different ways people can picture God.

Those images matter because the God we imagine strongly influences the way we relate to Him.

The Harsh Judge

Some people primarily imagine God as angry, distant, and waiting to punish every failure.

This view can produce constant guilt, insecurity, fear of rejection, and endless attempts to earn God's approval.

The problem is not that God's justice is unreal.

The problem is that this image neglects His mercy, grace, and love revealed through Christ. For a deeper look at how God's justice, holiness, mercy, and love meet in Jesus, see What Is God Doing on a Cross? .

A distorted picture of holiness without grace can make people run from God rather than toward Him.

The Indulgent Grandfather

Another distorted picture moves to the opposite extreme.

God becomes endlessly permissive.

Sin is rarely taken seriously.

Obedience becomes optional.

Holiness receives little attention.

This view rightly remembers God's kindness, but separates His love from His holiness and justice.

Grace then becomes permission to remain unchanged instead of power that draws us into a transformed life.

The Holy Father and King

Scripture gives us a richer picture.

God is perfectly loving.

Perfectly holy.

Infinitely merciful.

Completely just.

Approachable through Christ.

And worthy of absolute reverence.

He is our Father.

And He is King.

This produces both confidence and humility.

We run to Him rather than away from Him.

But we never make Him common.

Love draws us near. Holy fear keeps our hearts surrendered.

Love Without Reverence Becomes Casual

Love and holy fear are not enemies.

They protect us from two opposite errors.

Fear without love can become legalism.

Love without reverence can become casual, self-centered, and permissive.

But when both are held together, relationship with God becomes marked by intimacy and surrender.

We know we are loved.

We know we are welcomed through Christ.

We know God's grace is real.

And because the relationship matters, obedience matters.

Being Revealed Is an Act of Grace

It can be uncomfortable when God reveals something in us that we would rather not see.

Pride.

Fear.

Envy.

Hidden motives.

A need for approval.

Casualness about sin.

But exposure in God's presence is not automatically condemnation.

For those who belong to Christ, God's revealing light can become an instrument of grace.

He reveals what needs healing.

What needs confessing.

What needs surrendering.

What needs changing. To explore practical ways Scripture, prayer, obedience, worship, Christian community, and the Holy Spirit shape that ongoing transformation, see How Do I Grow in My Relationship with God?

God reveals us as we are because He loves us too much to leave us as we are.

A Question Worth Asking

Week Two brings us to a deeply personal question.

“Am I more concerned with appearing faithful, or actually becoming faithful?”

Holy fear invites honesty.

We do not need to hide behind reputation.

We do not need to pretend before God.

We can allow His holiness to expose us, His grace to receive us, and His Spirit to transform us.

Reflection

Take some time to consider these questions:

1. When God's holiness exposes something in me, do I tend to become defensive, ashamed, honest, repentant, or grateful?
2. Is there a difference between the image I project to others and the person I know myself to be?
3. How much energy do I spend protecting my reputation?
4. Do I tend to picture God more as a harsh judge, an indulgent grandfather, or the holy Father and King?
5. Is there an area of my life where love for God has become casual rather than reverent?
6. What might God currently be revealing in me that He wants to transform?

Take the Next Step

Set aside some quiet time this week and invite God to examine your heart.

Do not begin by asking Him to show you what is wrong with everyone else.

Ask Him to reveal where your projected image and actual life may not match.

Ask:

“Lord, where have I become more concerned with appearance than truth?”

If He brings something specific to mind, do not hide it.

Confess it.

Receive His grace.

And take one concrete step of obedience that brings your outward life and inward life into greater alignment before Him.

Continue Week Two

Complete the Week Two Study Guide

You have finished the Week Two teaching. Now take time to examine the key Scriptures more closely, consider the images you carry of God and yourself, reflect honestly on what His holiness may be revealing, pray, and identify one faithful response of humility and obedience.

Begin the Week Two Study Guide →