What does the Bible mean when it tells us to fear not / do not fear?

Then how necessary to cultivate habitually the fear of God! There is nothing right where this fails. The holy fear of God shuts out every dishonouring fear of man, and all tormenting fear of God. We know His majesty, His holiness, and His righteous character; and we know also that He loves us beyond a father's love, with the perfection of the Son's Father. May we all deepen in our fear of Him!

This fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trustfulness accompanied by hatred of evil. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever.” Where this is maintained the presence of the Lord is a reality and joy.

Thirdly, we are exhorted to "fear God." This is a wholesome word, but one that is very little in use in these days. Further on in the same epistle the apostle explains the character of this fear. He says (chap. 3:15), "but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts." This is a quotation from Isaiah 8:13, where we find these additional words, "and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread." The "fear of God," then, is not a craven fear, but rather the setting the Lord always before us, not doing or undertaking anything without reference to Him. Alas! how many things we do, and perhaps never consult Him at all. As long as it is not anything absolutely wrong, we seem to think we can do pretty much as we like. "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts." Who from this time will begin to do it? It is not talking much about it, but "in your hearts." It is having the heart continually in the presence of God. This is the blessed life, that everything should be "begun, continued, and ended in Him." This was the life of the Lord Jesus: "I have set the Lord always before Me."

Very often it is the fear of man that is before us. The Lord Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, but I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear Him which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him." And then He adds, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows": words which seem, at first sight, to have no connection with what has gone before. And yet the connection is very striking. God has power to kill and to cast into hell. In other words, He has complete mastery over all His creatures. And yet that same One is full of love. He is not a tyrant. Great as He is, He takes notice of the price five sparrows fetch. And He numbers the very hairs of our head. And so the Lord says first of all, "Fear God," and then He says, "Fear not." For if we fear Him, we have nothing else to fear; He will care for us. May we then take heed to this third exhortation to "fear God."

The poor unbelieving heart may, however, inquire, "If I thus rise above human thoughts and human opinions, how shall I get on in a scene where those very thoughts and opinions prevail?" This is a very natural question: but it meets its full and satisfactory answer from the Master's lips; yea, it would even seem as though He had graciously anticipated this rising element of unbelief, when, having carried His disciples above the hazy mists of time, and set them in the clear, searching, powerful light of eternity, He added, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Ver. 6, 7) Here the heart is taught not only to fear God, but also to confide in Him — it is not only warned, but also tranquillised. "Fear," and "fear not," may seem a paradox to flesh and blood; but to faith it is no paradox. The man who fears God most will fear circumstances least. The man of faith is, at once, the most dependent and independent man in the world — dependent upon God, independent upon circumstances. The latter is the consequence of the former; real dependence produces real independence.

When the reality of guilt is brought home to a man he cannot but be filled with dread. Thus Felix trembled as Paul pointedly urged upon him the claims of God. There will be a universal trembling when the great Judge appears in the clouds of heaven, and every eye beholds Him. But to every soul whose confidence is in Christ and in the precious blood He shed, the divine message is, "Fear not." Such are entitled to know that their sins have been adequately atoned for and put away for ever. Their hearts turn gratefully to the God of infinite love who provided such a costly sacrifice for them. Dread is at once displaced by love. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment" (1 John 4:18). The Holy Spirit, who is then conferred upon them, is not the spirit of fear, but the Spirit of sonship whereby they cry, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). From that moment we "serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life" (Luke 1:74).

But though dread is thus banished from the believing soul, reverence remains and deepens as God and His Word become more fully known. Hence the exhortation, "Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb. 13:28). Along with this there is developed an inward horror of sin in its every form, and an earnest desire to walk in complete separation from it. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Prov. 8:13). He who wallows in sin, whatever his religious profession, has never known our God.

"Fear not," says Elisha. This is always grace's first word. It is able to reassure a troubled soul. How many times this word "Fear not" is spoken in Scripture! It fills the Old and the New Testament. Everything in this world is of such character to inspire poor, feeble, sinful beings like ourselves with fear. We are confronted with difficult circumstances, the world, its seductions or its hostility, Satan's hatred, our own selves, and our sinful nature; beside, there is the necessity of presenting ourselves before God and of having to do with Him. Who will answer so many troubling questions? Who can calm the anguish and agitation of our hearts? God alone can, for He has the answer to everything.

"Fear not," said Jesus to the sinner who casts himself at His feet, rebuked in his conscience in the presence of His mighty grace (Luke 5:10). It is the first word of our history. "Fear not," He said to his disciples when the storm rose up, threatening to swallow them (Matt. 14:27). "Fear not," when shipwreck is fully assured (Acts 27:24). "Fear not," He says to the little defenceless flock in the midst of wolves who have the power of killing the sheep (Luke 12:32; Matt. 10:28; Rev. 2:10). "Fear not," when Satan displays all his power to hinder the work of God (Acts 18:9). "Fear not," when death has already done its work (Mark 5:36).

I think it is not an exaggeration to suppose that we ourselves may be sometimes afraid of Him, particularly if we have done Him some slight wrong, if we have abused His grace to us, and if we have failed in our responsibilities to Him. There is then just a little feeling of fear, a distrust, an anxiety lest His heart may be turned away from us, and that when He opens His mouth that sharp sword will smite us. We feel we shall be judged and doomed. He does not, however, come to us in this way. He comes truly as the all-powerful One, but His words are, "Fear not." "You need not fear Me. I am still the One who cares for you. I am still the One who stands by you. I am still the One that will never leave nor forsake you."

Here is comfort for us, beloved friends. We may be fearing the world. We may be fearing the powers that are against us. This word, "fear not," comes to us with soothing power again. If He is for us, who can be against us? And the Lord went on to amplify this to John, setting Himself before him in the power of His Person and of His resurrection. "Fear not," He said to the apostle, "I am the first and the last. I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. And I have the keys of death and of Hades."

Now in love there is no fear; there is confidence. If I am sure that a person loves me, I do not fear him. If I am only desiring to be the object of his affection, I may fear that I am not so, and may even fear himself. Nevertheless this fear would always tend to destroy my love for him and my desire to be loved by him. There is incompatibility between the two affections — there is no fear in love. Perfect love then banishes fear; for fear torments us, and torment is not the enjoyment of love. He therefore who fears does not know perfect love. And now what does he mean by "perfect love"? It is that which God is, and which He has fully displayed in Christ, and given us to know and to enjoy by His presence in us, so that we dwell in Him. The positive proof of its complete perfectness is that we are such as Christ is. It is manifested towards us, perfected in us, and made perfect with us. But that which we enjoy is God, who is love, and we enjoy Him by His being in us, so that love and confidence are in our hearts, and we have rest. That which I know of God is that He is love, and love to me, and nothing else but love to me, because it is Himself who is so. Therefore there is no fear.

How he brings it down to us, this perfect love, encompassed as we are with the evidence of sin, and the ruin that sin has wrought, and of a judgment that awaits it! Even in this world we are as Christ is. He does not say as Christ was, because that would carry us back to His life on earth, and would make us think of moral likeness between ourselves and Him; and however grace may have wrought this, it is not that which gives boldness in view of judgment; nor could we say, without a tremor, that as He was, so are we. Not in any sense could we say this. Yet we can look up to the blessed place in which He is, and where we know He is for us, with the assurance in our hearts of what He has said, that because He lives we shall live also, and we can say, "As He is, even so are we in this world." He does not say, "As He is, so are we going to be when we leave the world." He is speaking of the perfection of our acceptance in the Beloved, which is what alone casts all fear out of the soul. Our eyes are off self and upon Him; and thus His perfect love casteth fear out of us. Love has thus been perfected with us, not "our love is made perfect," as the common version most wrongly has it, but God's love has been perfected in regard to us. It has found its way and wrought its will in blessing for us, and is not satisfied as long as it sees in us the least element of fear remaining; for, "there is no fear in love," but love and fear are (in this sense of fear — the fear that hath torment) antagonistic to one another. How little can the heart go out towards One whom it dreads as the God of judgment! The mother could better suffer the anguish of her child than God allow the torment of doubt in one of His own; but how, then, is it that there may, after all, be such among His people? The apostle's answer is, "He that feareth is not perfected in love." He has not learnt aright, as he should have learnt, the lesson which God is teaching him. He has not looked enough in the face of Christ, who is the manifestation of love. He is not perfect in his lesson; and yet this is the basis of all blessing for us, and this is that which works in transforming power to make us what He desires to have us. "We love, because He hath first loved us."

God is love, and that is first openly seen at the cross of Christ; and then in the new nature we have a capacity to enjoy that love; but the fear must be taken away, because fear hath torment, and torment is not enjoyment. Then he shows what removes the fear. "Perfect love casteth out fear" - not perfect righteousness; that had given the peace before God, but the revelation of Himself, and what He is, alone casteth out fear.