The fear that leads to the love of God
The lecture affirms that the fear of God is the necessary spiritual beginning that leads a person to true love. Fear is not a negative goal but a motive for repentance, keeping commandments, and avoiding sin.
Stage of fear
Fear is manifested in dread of sin and of the consequences of sin: punishment, separation from God, loss of fellowship with angels and saints, and dread of judgment. The Church and the spiritual tradition teach this fear in prayers such as the Curtain prayer, the Midnight prayer, and the Prayer of Sleep.
Fear as an incentive to righteousness
Right fear awakens the believer’s conscience and leads him to perseverance in commandments, prayer, and refraining from laxity. It urges caution against the progression of sin from thought to habit to enslavement.
Fear does not lead to despair
The believer must balance fear with hope: fear drives him to rely on God’s help, not to despair. Hope makes fear a means for commitment and prayer, not a cause for discouragement.
Transition to love
The believer who perseveres in his fear and keeps the commandments experiences the delight of serving God and His blessings, and with perseverance and grace the Holy Spirit grants love in the heart. Mature love transforms fear into reverence and veneration, not its cancellation.
Role of repentance and confession
Repentance, confession, and the anointing of the blood of Christ are the way to erase sins and remove the cause of fear of judgment. Whoever remains in sin stays under the dominion of fear until he truly repents.
Biblical and spiritual examples
The lecture cites Scripture and sayings of the saints to show that both the Old and the New Covenants contain fear and love; and the saints lived the fear of God with piety and a life of struggle.
Practical conclusion
The practical call is that the believer should begin with fear, strive to keep the commandments, seek God’s grace through repentance and prayer, to ultimately attain the love of God which becomes enduring reverence and veneration.
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