The Commanding Affections--Jesus explained that the Law of God, and the elaborations and applications of the Law provided in the rest of the Old Testament, are summed up in the twin commands of loving God and neighbor.

The Rule of Law: Government of the Heart (3)

Two affections above all must shape the desires of your hearts.

“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” Deuteronomy 10.12

Jesus explained that the Law of God, and the elaborations and applications of the Law provided in the rest of the Old Testament, are summed up in the twin commands of loving God and neighbor. Of these, loving God with all our hearts is the primary affection, for unless we love God we shall not be able to love our neighbors according to what God prescribes in His Word (Matt. 22.34-30).

But how do we nurture love for God? We cannot simply decide to love God and then suddenly love Him. Love for God must grow out of knowledge of Him and experience with Him. Unless we know the Lord and have some experience of His steadfast love and faithfulness, we will not be inclined to love Him.

Thus love for God must begin somewhere else. And that somewhere else is in the fear of God.

This will seem strange, I have no doubt. But if we know God for Who He is – holy, just, almighty, and so forth – and if we know ourselves truly – as rebellious, ungrateful sinners – then we should fear what God can do to such as we. Over and over in the Law, God reminded His people of what He had done to stubborn and rebellious Pharaoh. And He warned them that such discipline would come to all who reject His promises, rebel against His Word, and disobey His commands, which He graciously gave in order to bless them.

The people thus should fear the Lord, and, in their fear, walk in His ways, according to all He commanded them. As they did, they would discover the mercy, grace, and blessings of God, Who gave them such abundance though they were the least of all the peoples of the earth (Deut. 7.6-11). Thus fearing God and obeying Him, they would be blessed by His grace and would, with grateful hearts, come to love Him. Their obedience would thus transition from being based in fear to being based in gratitude and love. They would never cease to fear the Lord – His never-pleasant discipline is always ready to correct His wayward children (Heb. 12.2-11) – but their love for Him would be the commanding affection to direct all their desires and guide them in the way of grateful obedience.

Fear of God and love for Him, therefore, must be the commanding affections of our hearts. We nurture these affections by careful and consistent study of and reflection on the character of God, and by daily, thoughtful experience of His steadfast love and faithfulness.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.