“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” ~Proverbs 1:7
There are the two worldviews that God says exist. They are in essence polar opposites, completely contrary to one another, and mutually exclusive.
One worldview is to see everything in light of the existence of Almighty God, to see life as God sees it, to understand life from His perspective, and to think according to His philosophy.
The other worldview is to discount God, His Sovereignty, power, and authority, and to live out a philosophy contrary to all He is, says, and commands.
All the history in the Bible, the heroes, cautionary tales, doctrines, commandments, teachings, and principles– all of it, are illustrations of the clash between these two worldviews.
Light and dark, angels and demons, Christ and Satan, good and evil, cursing and blessing, victory and defeat, life and death, Heaven and Hell… all present the constantly unfolding drama of the war between these two philosophies.
Either God is God, or He is not. Either He is your Creator, or He is not. Either He is your ultimate Authority, or He is not. Either he is Almighty, or He is not.
Here is the fundamental issue of all our Christian arguments concerning social issues, education, foreign policy, personal morality, and all the rest. The source of our reasoning, the bedrock of our worldview, the ultimate question is:
Does the God of the Bible have the right to tell you what to do and how to live your life?
Either He does or He doesn’t.
Either you acknowledge His authority over you and your world, or you don’t.
If you do, then you are obligated to live according to His Word.
If you do not, then you have set yourself as the enemy of God, and in His words, you are a fool.
That is why sin isn’t just a moral slip, or a minor bump in the road; it is an opposition against God. It is a rebellion against His authority. It is your choosing to make decisions that are not yours to make; He has already made them (as He has already made you).
“Choose you this day whom you will serve…”
“Friendship with the world is enmity with God…”
“You cannot serve two masters…”
“What fellowship has light with darkness…”
So, “The fear of the LORD” is the very beginning, the genesis, the first, prime starting place of absolutely everything. If you do not know that, you know nothing.
It is the primary principle of acknowledging the ultimate authority of the God of the Bible.
So I’ll ask again: Does the God of the Bible have the right to tell you what to do and how to live your life?
Yes or no.
~Johnny D. Taylor
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