(even though Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom/knowledge.) Jesus told us to not fear him who can kill only the body, but to instead fear Him who can kill the body and cast the soul into hell.
The main contention is there are 2 kinds of fear in the Bible. There is not 1 kind of fear. There is a fear born from unbelief, and it will send people to hell.
But
the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." - Revelation 21:8
Cowardice is born from fear. In one place in scripture, we see a man who has a great fear of God:
But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ... "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
Afraid:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5399&t=KJV
Philippians 2:12 -
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
It's the same word.
One is wicked and evil, and the other good.
To most every human I have met in the USA, there is 1 kind of fear, not 2 kinds. If we "fear God" as the man who feared him in the first verse, we are wicked.
If we fear God as in philippians 2, this is good.
I fear God enough to believe him. My fear of God if anything then, comes out not as fear but boldness because I desire to believe him, just as his righteous servants did believe him. But then his love casts out all fear, and so the righteous servants "feared him" but this fear never produced fear in them but boldness in serving him. Maybe I should be afraid more? But how? I have not figured out how to be afraid of God, without sinning and behaving as the wicked servant. It's useless and sin, so I don't do it.
Really, if the wicked servant truly feared God, he would have believed to the point he was obedient like the other servants who did fear God, but notice those servants did not behave afraid. The fear is immediately substituted with faith, peace, and then also love in the case of a Christian.
But for me, I follow God not because I am terrified of him. God knows my heart. I follow God because I know he is good. If I did not believe it so, I would not follow him. Fear is irrellevant to the reasons I have in my heart that I would follow God.
I wanted to do good when I was lost. I failed and was unable. I needed God to help me do the good I wanted to do. That I want to do good is because I believe it exists, and I believe in an obligation to live good. Me desiring to do this was never born of fear. However, when I respected God, it was the beginning of my ability to have wisdom from God... I recognized my failure, and his supremacy.
My hunch is the word "fear" has been perverted in our modern English diction to become 1 thing, when in the historical past, it would have included other concepts besides "terror". Terror is evil 100% of the time. Many other words in scripture have been perverted in this manner, such as "wisdom" and "love".
You can actually get correct English definitions from the 1828 webster dictionary, and these will more closely mirror the ancient Greek definitions of words used in scripture. On fear it says:
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/fear
6. In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear
I will put my fear in their hearts. Jeremiah 32:39.
Slavish fear is the effect or consequence of guilt; it is the painful apprehension of merited punishment. Romans 8:15.
The love of God casteth out fear 1 John 4:1.
This matches what my heart already knew the truth was, and this definition from the dictionary affirms the character of God and the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the "terror" manner of fear isn't scriptural for Christians to follow.