For those of us who have been Christians for any length of time, 1 John 2:15-17 is no doubt a familiar passage of Scripture. The apostle John writes: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). This passage speaks to our affections, particularly to our affections, when they have shifted away from God. As fallen creatures, we are often drawn away from God and towards sinful things. When this happens, we don’t simply need to turn our gaze from sinful things, but we need to look toward the Lord. We need to reorient our affections.
Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish pastor who lived from 1780-1847, preached on this passage, and it has become a very well-known sermon, titled “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” In it, Chalmers addresses how man is to rid himself of a love for the world. He states:
“There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world—either by a demonstration of the world’s vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one…..The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world’s worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world, by a simple act of resignation. But may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its wonted ascendancy.”1Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/Chalmers,%20Thomas%20-%20The%20Exlpulsive%20Power%20of%20a%20New%20Af.pdf
Here, what Chalmers is getting at is that simply trying to quit sinning by recognizing that a particular sin is worthless or vain will not last. Even if we do seem to gain a momentary victory over sin, it will often present itself in other ways because we have not addressed the heart issue, or we just leave a void to be potentially filled by some other sinful desire. As Calvin stated “man’s nature…is a perpetual factory of idols”.John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8 Our minds (our hearts) are never-ending factories that can produce and cling to all sorts of objects for us to focus our desires on. We are probably all too familiar with the battle to chase after the idols of our hearts instead of after God. Simply tossing out one idol and leaving a void will not work. Chalmers recognizes this and notes that another object must take our minds captive and then it “disposes the first of its influences.”
This thinking pre-dates Chalmers though and is no doubt familiar to many of us. In fact, it was the apostle Paul who wrote about the need for biblical replacement of sinful desires, more commonly known as “the put-off/put-on principle” in Ephesians 4:22-24. Paul’s description in this passage gives us the picture of someone changing a garment. The Ephesians, and believers today as well, are told to take off the old garment, one of “corruption through deceitful desires,” and to put on a new garment “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Paul does not see the removal of the first garment as the result, but rather after removing the first (the old self) we are told we must then put on the new garment (the new self). Paul views both steps as necessary. This isn’t simply a surface change though. Paul mentions our desires. What we want. What we lust after. What we have a passion for. Underlying this is an even greater question: What are we worshipping? Or perhaps to state it differently to focus on our heart condition: What does my heart delight in?
Again, Chalmers in his sermon is helpful to point us to where we need to go: “We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep in our hearts the love of God—and no other way by which to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves up on our most holy faith.” It is at this point that I would like to add to Chalmers’ point. Where do we go to build ourselves up in our most holy faith? This isn’t an instantaneous process to desire God above all else. This isn’t us thinking that maybe we can just muster up enough faith then our love for the world will decrease. In this view, faith becomes some mystical thing that is hard to quantify, but something that we must work up in ourselves and in our own strength. A biblical view of progressive sanctification informs us that our faith will grow as we come to know more and more about Christ, who is the object of our faith, according to the revelation of God in the pages of Scripture.
The Psalmist’s Instruction in Psalm 119
There are many places in the Bible where we could turn if we wanted to stir up our hearts with a love for God and His Word, but perhaps none are better than Psalm 119. Let’s take a brief look at Psalm 119, a sort of 20,000-foot flyover, specifically focusing on some of the wording that the psalmist uses throughout the psalm as he addresses God and His Word. The psalmist gives us a vivid description of what it would look like if we set our affections upon God and not upon the things of this world that so easily captivate and entice us. Psalm 119 contains 176 verses of focused attention meant to express the psalmist’s desire to “seek God with his whole heart, or as one author put it “it is a poem that rejoices in the fact that God has revealed himself to his people. He has spoken, and the unnamed psalmist shows intense devotion to the word of God. The focus of attention throughout is on God.”Allan Harman, Psalms: A Mentor Commentary: Volume 2: Psalms 73-150, p841-842
Psalm 119 focuses in on God by way of His commandments and its multiple synonyms: His precepts, His Law, His Word, His Ways, His Statutes, His testimonies, and His ordinances. The study of God’s Word must never be mere intellectual exercise. As the psalmist tells us in verse 2, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.” So, we must aim at seeking God, savoring Him, and delighting in Him in our time in the Word.
Some of the ways in which the psalmist describes his focus on God’s Word are: my eyes [are] fixed on all your commandments (v6), with my whole heart I will seek you (v10), in the way of your testimonies I delight (v14), My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times (v20), I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes (v48), your statutes have been my songs (v54), your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart (v111). It is clear from his choice of words that the psalmist displays an intense desire to know God through His Word. Cultivating an affection for God’s Word like the psalmist displays in this psalm will help to drive out affections that we may have towards lesser things.
The psalmist also uses vivid language to describe how he wants to relate to God’s Word. Take note of the language that he uses and the picture that the words create in your mind: I cling to your testimonies (v31), O LORD, I will run in the way of your commandments (v32), how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (v103), I open my mouth and pant because I long for your commandments (v161), my heart stands in awe of your words (v161). The psalmist clings. He runs. God’s words are sweet to him. He pants longingly for them. He stands in awe of them. The question that this presents to us is: Do we cling to, and run after, and desire the sweet taste of, and pant longingly and stand in awe of God’s word daily in our lives? Or do the things of this world stir our affections and rule our desires? If we are to have victory over the sins that so easily ensnare then we must constantly reorient our affections from the things of this world to the Creator of this world and the Word that He has given to us so that we might know Him and His ways more.
A God Who Empowers His People
Finally, but certainly not least in importance, is the psalmist doing this based on his own strength? Is he finding in himself the ability to awaken these affections for God on his own? The psalmist answers these questions in this way: let me not wander from your commandments (v10), teach me your statutes (v12), Deal bountifully with your servant (v17), open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (v18), hide not your commandments from me (v19), give me life according to your word! (v25), make me understand the ways of your precepts (v27), strengthen me according to your word! (v28), put false ways far from me (v29), give me understanding (v34), lead me in the path of your commandments (v35), Incline my heart to your testimonies (v36), turn my eyes from looking at worthless things (v37). The psalmist’s words clearly reflect his understanding of God sovereignly working this desire in him and his constant need for the Lord to work in him and on his behalf. So, we find in the psalmist a heart that sounds strikingly like the apostle Paul’s understanding of his work and God working in him (Philippians 2:12-13). The psalmist is diligent to cultivate his affections toward the Lord all the while knowing that it is God who must do the work in him to even give him the desire to seek after God.
Like the rest of our growth in the Christian life, we must put in effort. We must strive to know God more by delighting in His Word. We must desire Him more than the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. We must fight to be holy by loving His truth more than the false claims that the world, the flesh, and the devil put before us every day. And we do this knowing that any victory we have in expelling sinful affections and replacing them with affections for God is only done by the Spirit and in His strength. Since our new birth by the Holy Spirit, we have been given a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Our growing affection for God and His Word will always be grace-fueled and Spirit-empowered, not a natural desire that we possess in ourselves. Thus, we should pray, like the psalmist, that God would incline our hearts to His testimonies, and that we should find our ultimate delight in God and in His Word, and that our hearts would be controlled by the love of Christ so that we might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
Further Reading:
Spiritual Mindedness by John Owen
The Love of Christ by Richard Sibbes
Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
View original blog Reorienting our Desires.
