Do believers have to live in constant fear of God?
No. Scripture teaches that believers have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; they do not have to walk around in constant fear. They are to respect and revere God, but because they know He loves them, they need not fear Him. The Holy Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are children of God, confirming this.
Les explains that the believer has not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. Therefore, believers do not have to walk around in constant fear. They still respect and revere God, but they do not have to fear Him, because they know He loves them. Les supports this by recalling a pastor's message on John chapter 13, where Jesus dealt with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. The emphasis was not how much they loved Jesus, but how much He loved them. That is what people must realize: salvation does not depend on how much we love Him, though we certainly will love Him; the important thing is realizing how much He loved us, enough to die and suffer for us. Les adds that when we have that kind of salvation, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. This contradicts the idea that you can never really know; Scripture makes it plain that believers can know they have passed from death unto life.