What does the Bible say about fear?

Use these prefiltered searches to craft sermons and prayers, offer pastoral care, or plan worship services around the theme of fear. 

• The cold grip of fear shows up in the Bible with the advent of sin. As soon as Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden tree, they sense their naked shame. When God comes to the garden for God's daily walk, they slink away and hide, admitting their fear (Genesis 3:10, Adam admits his fear).

• Throughout the Bible, people in various circumstances are told not to fear. In some cases, this happens when they face a truly fearsome situation. When the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt, they turn around to find Pharaoh pursuing them. Their backs are to the sea—they're trapped. Moses reassures them, telling them to stand firm and await the Lord's deliverance (Exodus 14:13, Moses says not to fear). In other cases, people are told not to be afraid when they are confronted by God or an angel, as when the angel speaks to Mary at the annunciation (Luke 1:30, don't be afraid, for you are favored by God). 

• The Bible's wisdom literature echoes with the call to fear the Lord. Some Bible versions translate fear as reverence, seeking to demonstrate the distinctive quality of this fear as a combination of awe and adoration, wonder and worship—a kind of holy love.

  • Proverbs 9:10, the fear of the Lord leads to wisdom

  • Psalm 34:9, those who fear the Lord have everything they need

• Yet there is a sense in which God is truly fearsome:  

  • Psalm 36:1, the wicked don't fear God; they've fallen for a lie 

  • Revelation 6:16, the wicked fear God's justice

  • Hebrews 10:31, falling into the hands of the living God is a fearful thing 

• Perhaps the deepest truth about fear in the Bible is that perfect love is its very antidote (1 John 4:18, perfect love drives out fear).  

Sermon ideas about fear 

In a sermon on fear, we can use a single sentence to illuminate the two meanings of fear found in the Bible: When we fear the Lord, we need fear nothing else in heaven or earth. Put another way, fearing God is a cure for our earthly fears.  

When we encounter the deep love of God in Jesus Christ, we are delivered from fear once and for all, whether that's fear of God's judgment or fear of the evil that might overtake us in the world. Like a child in the arms of a parent, we are safe from our fears in the arms of our loving God.