D.A. Carson on the Necessity to Both Fear and Love God

This year I have been going through For the Love of God by D.A. Carson, a daily devotional that follows a daily reading plan. Carson’s daily commentary provides rich biblical insight into one of the four passages that are read each day.

In today’s entry, Carson comments below on Deuteronomy 10:12-13:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

In our confused and blinded world, fearing God without loving him will dissolve into terror, and thence into taboos, magic, incantations, rites…

Loving God without obeying him will dissolve into sentimentalism without strong affection, pretensions of godliness without moral vigor, unbridled lust for power without any sense of impropriety, nostalgic yearnings for relationships without any passion for holiness.

Neither pattern squares with what the Bible says: “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him . . .?” (Deut. 10:12).

Lord, make me one who loves you, fears you, obeys you, and serves you with my whole heart. Keep me from separating my affection for you with profound fear and reverence of who you are.

You can read D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God daily at The Gospel Coalition or buy it on Amazon.

From the Blog Archive: 5 Reasons to Love Genealogy in the Bible

Bonus Resource: “The Love of God” Sermon by D.A. Carson

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Kevin

I serve with Unlocking the Bible. I blog for the glory of God, to nourish the church, and to clarify my mind. A lover of Christ first, people second, and random things like coffee, books, baseball, and road trips. I wrote When Prayer Is Struggle. Soli Deo Gloria