The Fear of the Lord

 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”

And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”   

- Isaiah 6:3-5 

What comes to mind when someone mentions the fear of the Lord?

-Is it the angry God of the Old Testament contrasting with the loving kindness of Jesus? (maybe you should check your gnosticism). 

-Is it a system of traditions and language that are meant to show respect?

-Is it emotion filled praise and worship?

The fear of the Lord can be defined as:

A reverence for the greatness and holiness of God that teaches us to turn from (to hate) evil and walk in His ways.

LINK: Open Bible - Verses on Fear of the Lord
But look at what else the fear of the Lord is:

1) Beginning of Knowledge, wisdom and understanding (Prov 1:7) (Job 28:28)
2) Strong Confidence (Prov 14:26)
3) Refuge (Prov 14:26)
4) Fountain of life (Prov 14:27)
5) A path to Friendship with the Lord (Psalm 25:14)
6) A path to Mercy (Luke 1:50)
7) Satisfaction (Psalm 34:9)( Prov 19:23)
8) Blessing (Psalm 112:1) (Psalm 128:1-5)
9) Clean (Psalm 19:9)
10) Fulfillment (Psalm 145:19)
11) A path to church growth (Acts 9:31)
12) Pleases the Lord (Psalm 147:10-11)
13) How God works in you (Philippians 2:12-16)
14) Riches, honor and life (Prov 22:4)
15) Protection (Psalm 34:7-9)
16) Acceptable worship (Hebrews 12:25-29)
17) Prolonged life (Prov 10:27)

A believer who fears the Lord will understand two things: 

1) The value of Christ's Sacrifice on the cross:  The solemn remembrance of calvary, most notably through communion, has the effect of resetting our hearts, devotion and desires on Christ our salvation.  This prevents us from turning living a life of disgruntled obedience, or worse hypocritical law-keeping. 

2) The value of God's commandments:  growing closer to God means denying ourselves and seeking the Lord's things.  This means that we train our hearts to hate evil and love what is good.  When we desire to please Him in all our ways, then God's commandments cease to be odious and burdensome and become our joy and life.