As we head to the concluding parts of this long expose, my earnest expectation is that you will see and move with a new vigor to walk to please the heavenly King, our Holy Father.

IV. The other word is, “with godly fear”; and this, suggests that we should serve GOD IN THE SPIRIT OF HOLY CHEERFULNESS. What sort of fear is this? for “perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment.” Observe that it is the fear that hath torment which perfect love casts out, but not this godly fear, which is quite consistent with our joy in receiving a kingdom. The more we have of this godly fear the better for us. We ought to fear lest we should offend the Lord even while we are serving him; fear lest the sacrifice should be a blemished one, and so be rejected at the altar; fear lest there should be something about our spirit and temper which would grieve the Lord. He is a jealous God, and must be served with holy carefulness. O for more of it! I do not know how my brethren feel who say they are perfect, but I am obliged to confess that when I would do good evil is present with me, and that though I would serve God like a seraph without one stray thought, or one selfish desire, yet I have by no means reached this attainment. I press forward towards the mark, and hope to reach it, but it is at present far beyond me. Oh, brethren and sisters, much of holy fear should be upon us, because we may so easily offend the Lord when we think we are pleasing him. Beware of presumptuous boldness before God. Let us not be rash with our speech, much less rude and coarse. I know that modes of worship which offend my taste may, nevertheless, be accepted with God, because he sees through the rough shell, and judges according to the sweet kernel; yet I fear that thoughtless, bragging, noisy service must offend the Lord, for it is so unlike that which was offered by his gentle, tender, well-beloved Son. If Christ be the model which he sets before us, some are far away from the mark. At any rate, let us never wantonly go into a wild, boisterous mannerism; for though we be the Lord’s children, and very near to him, yet he is in heaven and we are upon the earth; he is the thrice holy, and we are sinners. The psalmist says, “Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.”

There is another form of godly fear which comes over every genuine Christian at times— the fear lest after all he should not be serving God at all. What if I have preached to others and should be after all merely preaching because it is my vocation! What if you should be teaching in the Sunday-school, and should be doing it only because it is customary for professing people of your station to have some good work to do! My dear brethren, it is not for me to doubt you, and I do not doubt you half so much as I doubt myself, but it is needful that we question ourselves as to whether we are indeed the servants of God, or are living for ourselves. 

Knowing that God is to be served in his own way, and in that alone, there ought to be a godly fear as to whether we are walking in his ordinances or are following the traditions of men. God does not care for worship which he has never required at our hands. If a man invents a ceremony, he may think it helpful and instructive; but he has no right to practice it if God has not appointed it. If any of you are practicing rites and ceremonies which are not according to God’s word, I charge you cease from such will-worship, for the spirit which leads you to practice these things is the spirit of Rome, and of antichrist. If God has not commanded it, God cannot accept it. Not only are we to worship the true God only, which is the law of the first commandment; but we must worship the true God in his own way, which is the spirit of the second commandment. The second commandment as it forbids all worshipping of God through images does in the spirit of it forbid all worshipping of God in any other way than he has prescribed. Therefore when thou standest before the Lord ask thyself, “Did he require this service of me? Is this the way in which he would be worshipped?” for if not it is no better than idolatry, and cannot be accepted by the living God. Oh, what fear and trembling, what solemn awe, what sacred carefulness should fall upon the man who draws near to serve and worship the Lord our God – Charles Spurgeon.