Reverence is honor and respect that is deeply felt and outwardly demonstrated. Due to the awesome power and majesty of the Lord God, He deserves the highest level of reverence (Leviticus 19:30). The Bible records reverence as the automatic response of all who encounter the awesome greatness of the Lord God Almighty (Numbers 20:6; Judges 13:20; 1 Chronicles 21:16).
The idea of reverence for God began with God. In the Old Testament, God taught the Israelites how to show proper reverence by giving them hundreds of laws related to purity, holiness, and worship (Deuteronomy 5). Sinful mankind does not know how to worship a holy God with reverence and awe, so He explained it to us in detail. His presence dwelt with Israel in the Ark of the Covenant, and they were not to touch it as a matter of reverence. The Holy of Holies within the tabernacle also required the highest level of reverence ( Leviticus 16:2 ). Whoever disobeyed God’s command to enter the Holy of Holies died instantly ( Leviticus 22:9 ; Numbers 4:20 ; 1 Chronicles 13:9–10 ). The purpose of such strict rules was to define holiness and instill in humanity the need to reverence in the presence of the Lord. God should not be played with.
In New Testament Christianity, reverence for God is demonstrated by our willingness to willingly die to self and obey his commandments (Galatians 2:20; 5:13; James 2:12). Jesus reminded us that we should reverence God properly. He taught the disciples to begin their prayers with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9–13). Sanctified means “set apart as holy.” We must treat God’s name with reverence. It is common to hear people, even professing Christians, use God’s name as an exclamation. OMG is launched as if it has no more importance than the word wow. We may not mean to be irreverent, but when we invoke his name in casual chat, we are being just that.
Another way we show reverence for God is by the way we live. Those with a correct understanding of the nature of God also understand his wrath. We show reverence by taking seriously His hatred for sin and the coming judgment on those who refuse to repent ( Colossians 3:6 ; Romans 1:18 ). We seek holiness because He is holy ( 1 Peter 1:15–16 ). Reverent people want to “say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and live a self-controlled, righteous, and godly life in this world” ( Titus 2:12 ).
We show reverence for God by learning to truly worship him. Jesus said that the Father is looking for people who will learn to worship him “in spirit and in truth” ( John 4:24 ). True worship is not about our favorite song. It is not limited to an emotional experience and is not synonymous with tingling feelings. True worship is a lifestyle. We worship in spirit when our hearts are abandoned to the Lord, willing to obey all that He has said. We truly worship when our minds are occupied and filled with the biblical understanding of the nature of God. To worship God is to know him and serve him. To worship him the way he deserves to be worshipped, we must align our hearts with his and seek to obey him (see Luke 6:46).
Reverence for God is a quality that is missing from much that masquerades as Christianity today. Instead of the kind of reverence we see demonstrated throughout the Bible, modern Christianity has adopted a “Jesus is my friend” attitude that downplays the holiness, power, and righteous wrath of the Sovereign Creator. Reverence does not refer to God as “The big guy in the sky” or “The man upstairs.” Once we truly know who God is, we revere him in our hearts. Even the thief on the cross, after realizing who Jesus was, rebuked the other thief for his irreverence: “Don’t you fear God?” he said to the other thief; then he turned to Jesus and honored him as King (Luke 23:40–42).
Human beings were created to worship God, so reverence is the natural response of a heart that has been transformed by the Holy Spirit. The more we grow in knowledge and understanding, the more reverence we feel toward Him. Proper reverence is not the same as rigid, religious formality. Jesus’ gift to us was God’s invitation to draw closer ( James 4:8 ; John 14:9 ). However, familiarity with God should not breed contempt, but rather greater reverence.