The Unregenerate Cannot Fear the Lord – (Proverbs 14:2)

Daily Bible Study
The term, "fear of the Lord" is used in the Bible to signify a deep love, respect, awe and reverence for God. It's meant to refer to a heart that is focused on, and in love with the Lord. This is the natural response of a heart that has been regenerated through Christ and as a result is now right with God. And it's this type of attitude toward God that the Bible calls, "fear of the Lord." Moreover, the Bible tells us this is the beginning of all wisdom. Because it's from this seed, which is a regenerated heart that true understanding and the study of God's word can thrive. And it's from this seed, which is a regenerated heart that the Holy Spirit can build us into the men and women of God. And by us following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can become prepared for the ministry and roles, which the Lord has planned for us. This is contrasted here in this verse with the unregenerate heart, a heart of stone, dead in trespasses and sin. A heart controlled by worldly desires, a heart that does not know God and is incapable of true wisdom leading to life. And it's this unregenerate heart that despises God and is perverse in its ways.

This is the heart of those who do not know Christ. Of those who have rejected salvation by faith alone, in Jesus alone. The Bible tells us that all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Moreover, the Bible confirms for us that all people before salvation are dead in their trespasses and sins. This is because of our sin nature. All people consist of a body, soul and spirit, this is referred to as the "trichotomy of man." Our spirit is dead in trespasses and sins, and our soul's are tainted by our sin nature. And prior to salvation, our hearts, minds and bodies get their direction from our souls which is corrupted by our sin nature. However, after salvation, we are made a new creation. Because with our salvation God, gives us a new spirit which is alive to God and the things of God. In addition, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who then works with our new spirit to change our hearts and minds from the inside out. Because of our salvation, we no longer look to our sin nature for direction, we instead look to the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in our walk with Christ. This process of spiritual growth is called "sanctification" and it continues from the moment of our salvation until we go home to be with the Lord.