Proverbs 16.6
“By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.”
This is a wonderful proverb. In one short verse it summarizes God’s plan of salvation. The Hebrew word used here for “steadfast love” is hesed, and it is equivalent to the NT word for love, agape. This is the word for love used in John 3.16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
The Lord atoned for our iniquity and sin through the sacrificial death of Jesus, and he did so because he loves us. When we recognize and understand what the Lord has done for us in Christ, we repent of our sin, receive his gift of grace, and turn away from evil.
“The fear of the Lord” refers to a deep respect for who God is, what he has done, and what he calls us to do. The fear of the Lord means that we acknowledge that God’s principles and standards are true, and then we submit to those standards. It is exactly the opposite of the “arrogance of heart” referred to earlier in this chapter.
Arrogant people do not fear God, and as a result they do not turn away from evil.
The only way to gain access to God’s steadfast love and the atonement that he offers is by fearing the Lord and turning away from evil. In other places in scripture, this is called faith and repentance.
As Paul said to the elders of the church at Ephesus: “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:20-21)
And again later Paul testified to Agrippa that he “declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” (Acts 26:20)
God loves us, and he offers us the gift forgiveness. He offers us what we need most: atonement from our sin. In order to receive that incredible gift, we must have the deepest respect for who God is, what he has done, and what he calls us to do.
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:10-11)
