The Oxford Dictionary of English defines “affection,” writing, “(1) A gentle feeling of fondness or liking, (2) The action or process of affecting or being affected…[and] (2.2) a mental state; an emotion” (Oxford. 27). One knows that emotions are designed by God within the framework of the human-condition by the biblical testimony of emotional display; i.e., God displays anger (Ps. 7:11), he laughs (Ps. 37:13), he shows compassion (Judges 2:18), he displays grief (Gen. 6:6), he extends love (Jer. 31:3), he expresses hate (Prov. 6:16), he feels jealousy (Ex. 20:5; 34:14), and he experiences joy (Zeph. 3:17). Needless to say, the human-condition, or nature, is corrupted (Rom. 1:21). Thereby, human understanding and experience of emotion are marred by the devastating effect of sin (Rom. 5:12). The human experience and application of emotion are not the same as a pure and holy God (1 Cor. 3:3). However, emotions, in the hands of the Holy Spirit and His’ grace are in fact designed within the human make-up to rightly pursue God, and serve people. 1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (ESV). Romans 12:1-3 insists one be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (ESV), which includes God-given emotional design of the human being. Humanity was made in His image (Gen. 1:26), thereby, human emotion has an origin in the image of God. Jesus wept (Jn. 11:35), and Paul conveyed, emphatically reporting, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” (Rom. 9:2) concerning his beloved kinsmen, Israel (v. 3).
As Oxford communicates, “affection” is an emotion; an emotion which has an effect. And while affection often runs the risk of fleeting whimsical feeling which may wither as fast as its fire burns; godly affection is an emotional desire produced by faith in Christ. Another way of putting it, affection is devotion. Now affection or devotion are renewed by faith which is received by the Spirit, alone (1 Cor. 12:3). Thus, it is safe to say, the reconstruction of one’s emotions for profitable use comes at Christ’ indwelling, Holy Spirit, thereby, through this restorative and sanctifying process, the emotional use of affection or devotion transcends whimsical-feelings. Affection or devotion are now sown to faith, and faith is stronger than emotion. Affection guided by faith in Christ, thus, becomes an agent of impact, or effect.
Jonathan Edwards, in response to “morally-based” religion (Lucas. 119), or “morality-based” obedience, which spurned the means of the gospel by suggesting all which was required for salvation was a general belief in God, and practical obedience, said thus, “Holy affections produce true virtue, and only those who know such affections can produce true virtue” (p. 130). In other words, it is not enough to believe in God and perform obedience, void of affection-based obedience. Good virtuous behavior does not save; Christ saves by His’ death and through the power of the Spirit, and thus true virtue aligns with Paul’s “debtor” mentality (Romans 8:12). Virtuous behavior, or, affection-based obedience, thereby, is an outworking of affection toward the One who saves. Edwards further states, saying, “Simply put, the Christian life- …the development of truly holy affections-could not occur without a theologically thoughtful, genuinely pious, and biblically oriented ministry of the word” (p. 136). And furthermore, Edwards correlated affection-based obedience with “burning and shining lamp” (Jn. 5:35); contesting, “If ministers would stir up holy affections in the hearts of their people, they must be shining and burning lights” (p. 139). Burning and shining lamps are driven by a holy conviction of sin, a holy affection with God who saves, and a holy ambition for affection-based obedience which demonstrates the power of God for salvation for all who respond.
Sonship: as an affectionate call to worship-based obedience, therefore aims to provide an appropriate response toward biblical obedience, and the grace of God message. If affection, in the biblical sense, is a devotion which surpasses its secular reduction of whimsical emotion, and God is preeminently after the human heart’s worship, then affection-based obedience is what happens when the human heart experiences His’ free imputed-righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), and thus pursues holy-obedience in response (Rom. 7:4-6). The child who, whereby, has been adopted into the familial of God, is one-hundred percent saved by the free gift of righteousness, which is imputed by salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9), which cannot be earned (Rom. 9:16; Gal. 5:4); is now a debtor to the grace of God (Rom. 8:12-14). A debtor to what? A debtor to righteous affection-based obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5). Therefore, in this vein, sonship: as an affectionate call to worship-based obedience challenges the ditches of hyper-grace, versus hyper-obedience, and extends, namely, a true child, or sonship, is marked by a faith grounded in grace, and this grace compels their heart toward righteous acts of obedience. There is a road between these ditches, a road which offers both heart devotion and godly works-and this road insists that devotion to Jesus and obedience to His’ commands are not only compatible, they are designed in the fullest sense this dark age has to offer, in dual oneness, as provision to the human heart to know God and make God known. An affection/devotion-based obedience is the biblical anthem of the Christian life.
Concluding, one’s justified legality in adoption to Christ manifestly matures by an affection which generates and is sustained through expressions of worship. Sin-infected humanity worships Christ in response to the magnitude of mercy God gives through the blood of His’ Son. Said affection matures over one’s lifespan due the indwelling Holy Spirit, namely, as the joys and pains of life set the stage for any number of gratificational temptations, which are desires to satisfy our longing for affection, submitting ownership of these emotions increase one’s pleasure for godly affections. Therefore, human emotions may not be the plumb-line or anchor for which one confidently navigates a godly life, emotions surrendered to the Gospel of Christ are not stagnant. God renews the heart and the mind of His’ children for the sake of worship-based affection. This means godly affections are kindling to stoke the proverbial fires of worship. When one worships God, the Spirit breathes upon these fires to mature affection, or devotion.
The false-grace message thrives on producing zealous affections, which is not inherently wrong. However, as life often is full of trials and tribulations, the difference between godly affections and human-driven affections show their depth. Human zeal may last a little while, yet, eventually, the barrenness of human sustained zeal fetters godly affection, revealing one’s need for dependency on God alone for true affections. When life is easy, it is easy to mistake grace in the goodness of one’s experience. Affection-based worship comes too easily when the going is good. When the pressures of life sink their teeth into one’s proverbial jugular, when gasping for air is all that is left, the face of one’s affections are then tested. And make no mistake, where one’s affection is, there also will their determination for help and healing. Far too often we think we are safe in grace, then suddenly crisis ravages our experience, and we wake up with regret and condemnation due running to sin for help, rather than running to Christ. Acknowledgment of one’s fickle emotions, our subsequent addiction to gratify the flesh amidst pain and perplexity, this is the beginning of maturing one’s affections in a godly manner. And godly affections are not subject to the experience of human emotion alone. The gift of grace in human affection proves itself when gratificational temptations lead us to dependency in His’ strength, rather than the humanistic obsession to rely on self-governance. The Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” are not those who are comfortable with little gratificational sins by some means of grace. Rather, when human emotions are submitted to the leadership of the a holy God, though perfection is not attainable until we are free of sin and death entirely, then godly affections which generate worship-based obedience to God, grace becomes the means to satisfy human gratification by devotion to Christ, instead. Freedom from condemnation is not a justification for imperfection, rather, it is an affectionate worship-based obedience which is anchored to the Word of God for help and healing, rather than sin-infected emotion. In this, human emotion is renewed by the Spirit as profitable for human affection and devotion to God.
Works Cited
ESV. English Standard Version, The Holy Bible. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2001. Print
Lucas, Sean Michael. The Theological Vision of Jonathan Edwards: God’s Grand Design.
Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2011. Print.
Stevenson, Angus. Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.