When a person comes to Jesus one thing gets replaced by another. Guilt is replaced with innocence. Shame is replaced with honor. But what about fear? What is fear replaced with? Fear is replaced with fear.
There are many ways that people fear. For one thing, they fear other people. This kind of fear results in all sorts of trouble. 'The fear of man is a snare', says Proverbs. Fearing other people - what they will think about you, how they will respond to you, how they might use their power over you - will result in slavery. This is the wrong kind of fear.
Adam and Eve feared with the wrong kind of fear, but they didn't fear other people. They feared God. That's why they hid when He showed up after they ate the fruit. They 'just knew' that God would explode at them because of their sin. That's a fear of God, but it's the wrong kind.
There is a fear of God that is right, so very right. 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' This kind of fear understands a key fact of life. God is God, and we aren't. People who grasp this basic fact can fear God in the right way, and they are able to live wisely.
When someone repents and believes the Gospel the wrong kind of fear can be dealt with, removed. So, there is no need to fear other people. And, instead of some slavish fear of God, there is the right kind of fear of Him. This kind of fear knows that since He is God He is good. Life works by knowing Him and, as a result, fearing Him and only Him.
Christians, then, are people who have been freed from the wrong kind of fear. Instead, they are freed to fear God in the right way and live well.