Appropriate Fear
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:17-19
At first glance, some of Peter’s imagery to start his letter seems confusing. He refers to our relationship with God as Father and Son, yet then talks about God acting as judge. The term Father in the scriptures is a loving and accepting relationship. There are times where discipline is needed (Hebrews 12:5-8), but even that is a sign of love. God is a loving Father, who has adopted us as His children (Ephesians 1:5). In fact, as His children, we have been granted the right to call out to Him in our Spirit, crying “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15).
If God is our Father who loved us enough to adopt us, why do we need to be in fear of His judgment? Firstly, we need to acknowledge that God judges us for how we treat His other children. He loves them as well and expects us to treat them well. This is why the second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Another reason is that a Father deserves honor and respect. Failure to do so is what brings about chastisement and discipline. But Peter also points to another reason why we need to conduct ourselves with fear. Our adoption did not come without a cost. God, as the Father, had to sacrifice His son to bring us salvation. No amount of gold or silver could purchase our atonement. It required the blood of Christ for us to become Sons. Without that sacrifice, we never could have entered into God’s family.
That was a difficult sacrifice for the Father to make. He had to listen to His Son pleading for another way. But there was no other path for our reconciliation. It must have hurt God to see His beloved Son in agony on the Cross. He must have been incredibly pained to ignore His Son’s request.
When we see the emotions that God would have had watching Jesus suffer, it puts into context God’s judgment. Jesus went through all of that to redeem us from our life of sin. He wanted us to be pure and undefiled. It is easy to see that God would be infuriated by us mocking that pain and suffering of Jesus by reveling in the sins that caused His pain.
As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, it is a time of self-reflection. We remember the very sacrifice that the Father would want to be honored. If we are mocking God with our sinful lives, then we should fear His judgment. God will not tolerate mockers, and His sacrifice deserves our respect and our daily devotion.
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:17-19