Deuteronomy 6:3a, 5 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it…and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might
We humans tend to make distinctions where they do not exist, and sometimes we ignore distinctions where they do exist. A lot of times we pit one virtue against another. We often don’t do this intentionally, but we do it nonetheless. Let me give you a primary example which is pretty profound: should you love God or should you keep His commandments? Let’s make it really simple. Do you really love God or do you just keep the rules? Well, what God hath joined together let not man put asunder. I think it is simplistic and silly to think that as long as I am doing one, I don’t need to do the other. As long as I love God, I don’t need to obey Him, or as long as I am obeying God, who cares if I love Him or not. Both clearly come up short.
That is true in every aspect of life, not just your relationship with God. For instance, in marriage should I love my wife or keep my wedding vows? Well, those are not in conflict. One leads to the other, and the other leads to the one. They are both the same. The book of Hosea is a graphic example that God takes me and my sin personally. Hosea was married to an unfaithful wife and Israel was a nation who had been unfaithful to their God. To think that God is so great that He doesn’t care is to misunderstand what the greatness of God entails. God takes you personally.
To make this distinction would be a little bit like children wondering if they should obey their parents whether they honor them or not, or if they should honor their parents whether they obey them or not. Well, the one leads to the other; the other strengthens the one. Am I to love God or keep His commandments? There is not one without the other. What you learn in Deuteronomy 6 is that a wholesome relationship with God involves your whole life. It involves your whole life, not some of your life. A wholesome relationship with God involves everything.
Let me show you what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 6. In verse 3 God says to Israel through Moses, “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it.” He is talking about the commandments of God. By the way, this is not just in order to glorify God. That is the greatest reason, but over and again, verse 18 for instance, it says, “That it may be well with thee.” Is that a great motive for doing right, that it is going to be better for you if you do the right thing? It may not be the best motive, but it is a motive and it is given by God repeatedly in Deuteronomy 6 and previous chapters. If you circle all the times you find “do” or “keep” in regard to the commandments, judgments, and statues of God, you will have a very long list indeed in chapters 5-6 alone. Yes, it matters what you do.
In John 14:15 Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In I John 5:3 it says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” Romans 13:10 says, “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” Love is doing what is right. So, a wholesome relationship with God does not ignore loving God nor keeping God’s commandments. It doesn’t totally abandon the distinction, but it realizes that one helps and strengthens the other.
Verse 7 says, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” Verse 5 says, “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” With the entirety of my life I am to love and to obey God. I love God in order to obey Him. But, and this may sound strange, am I to obey God in order to love God? Well, along with the love of God comes the obligation to teach the commandments of God. Verse 7 says to teach your children diligently at all different times of the day when you are doing all sorts of different things. You are to bind these commandments on your person, your home, and your heart.
So, I am to teach the truth and I am to fear God. I am to love God, but verse 13 says, “Fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods.” This was in particular in context of remembering God. So, teach God, fear God, remember God. Verse 10 basically says, “When you come to this land and you are in a house you didn’t build, fields you didn’t plant, and enjoying prosperity you didn’t deserve, you need to remember the Lord your God, love Him, fear Him, teach of Him. When your son asks you in times to come what the testimonies mean, you will say to him, ‘We were Pharoah’s bondmen in Egypt and God brought us out with a mighty hand.’”
So, I am to love God and to obey God, and the two go together. Which produces which? Do I love in order to obey God or do I obey God in order to love God. I would say this is a place where what God has joined together let not man put asunder. Both are important. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? That is the kind of question we are looking at here. Am I to love my wife or to keep my vows to her? Am I to love my parents or to honor them? Am I to love God or to obey God? One without the other is empty. It is bankrupt, empty, and void; it means nothing. If I love God, I am going to obey God. If I obey God, it will help teach the fear of God, remembering who God is in mercy, grace, and goodness to me. I am to love God and obey God. I am to do both because a wholesome relationship with God involves my whole person and my whole life.