Faith Series: Faith That Operates by Love

Faith Series: Faith That Operates by Love

All right, this morning we looked at what is faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. It's the ground upon which our hope rests. And if it wasn't for that ground or the object of our faith, the person in whom our faith is, then hope wouldn't have anything to rest on. If it wasn't for the Lord Jesus Christ and his promises, his righteousness.

And tonight I want to see faith that works by love in Galatians chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5 verse 1. We hear a lot about, you know, we hear that word, faith a lot. And what is it as God defines faith? And God tells us how to live by faith. What does that look like? What does that mean in our lives? How does that, how does it look? And how should it look in our lives?

So in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1, we're told here, stand fast, therefore, in the liberty where with Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ has become of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. For we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. And may the word bless his word to our hearts as we look into it this evening.

We read in the very beginning of the passage we just looked at the word liberty. We're told to stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has made us free. Well, what is this liberty from? What is this liberty from? Well, it's from trying to keep the law, trying to please God by the works of the flesh, trying in our own power to be righteous, trying in our own power to keep the law. The law was never intended to be kept by the flesh because all the law is good and the law is holy and the law is right. But what it does is it's just a big spotlight that's shining on our sinfulness that reveals how incapable of keeping it. We fall short of the glory of God. We cannot achieve righteousness. We cannot attain to righteousness through the works of the flesh.

Someone, I heard a preacher recently that said, think of it this way. He said, look at this flag over here. We've got the little gold spear or whatever you call that, the point at the top. And let's say, let's for the illustration tonight. Let's say Lucas, come down here. And I want you to jump as high and as hard as you can. I want you to jump up there and touch the top of that flag pole over there. Well, Lucas might give it a try. He might give it a little several tries. And then after a few minutes, he's going to realize this is impossible. I cannot touch the top of this flag pole. And yet we could. This is illustration I heard a pastor giving recently. I'm kind of modifying it a little bit. But he said you could take the flag pole and you could lean it over a little bit. And if you get it low enough, eventually Lucas is going to be able to jump up and touch that. And we could all go, yay, Lucas, you did a good job. What we actually did was we changed the law. To fit Lucas' inability to keep the law. We adapted it. And it's not really even the law anymore, we might say. It's not even that standard that it was. It's just, and that's what we see has happened a lot in Christendom, we might say, today where it's sometimes the gospel has been lowered to such a level that is not even the gospel anymore. It's like it's another gospel, right? It's not the actual words of God. It's kind of cherry-picked the words of God. And so if we've been that enough, you know, it's kind of like saying, well, if the students aren't passing, they're getting 40s, then maybe we need to lower that passing grade down from like a 70 or 60 or whatever it is down to a 30. And then everybody can pass, right? But that doesn't help them. That just a deception, isn't it?

But the pastor also mentioned this, the preacher that I was listening to was mentioning, by the way, his name was Jim Van Gelder, and I'll give him the credit for it. And he might have got the illustration from someone else. But he said, but if we get a strong tall guy in the sanctuary and we lift him up, the man lifts up the boy and he's able to touch the top of the flagpole. He's doing it through a power that is not his own, right? He's able to touch the top of the flag. He can do it, but he can only do it because there's another power that is there helping him and abling him to do it. What he would not naturally in his own state be able to do. And when we think about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that's very much a picture of it, isn't it? We cannot attain unto the righteousness of the law through the works of the flesh. We are falling far short. We're missing the mark. We're missing the mark when we try to be good. We try to establish, but that doesn't, does that mean that just because by the circumcision as Paul gives the illustration here can't attain the righteousness of the law just by recognizing, no, by cleaning the outside of the cup, no, we don't just become righteous because we do some tangible things. But does that mean that, well, I guess we should all just be lawless. Neither is uncircumcision going to please God either, right? It's the law is righteous. It can, but it condemns us, doesn't it? That's the purpose of the law. It reveals our weakness. It reveals our weakness.

But the only way to receive the righteousness which is of God is by faith in Christ, the one who was made unto the law. And yet he kept the law perfectly. He is without sin. He is without spot or blemish. The only way to receive it is by, the only way to receive it by faith, the righteousness of God by faith is to view it as a gift, the gifts of righteousness that God wants to give to everybody. You and you and you and anyone can receive it is God's long suffering that brings salvation, isn't it? The long suffering of God is salvation. It makes salvation possible. If God wasn't long suffering, nobody would be saved. He would have just wiped everybody out. But because he is rich and mercy and he's long suffering, he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's the only reason any one of us are righteous. That's the only reason any one of us could touch the top of the flagpole. We might say the only reason any one of us could be accepted in God's presence and enter into His heaven. That's the only reason. That's the only way. And so if we see it as the gift, boy, that really changes. That really changes the mindset about how to keep the law. It changes it because God must enable us just as the strong man, the tall man must pick up Lucas and help him touch the top of that flagpole.

Let's look in Titus chapter 3 though. Titus chapter 3. We notice there in verse number 3. It says there, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, and other words, we had fallen far short, hadn't we? We were disobedient, we were deceived, we were serving divers, lusts and pleasures, living in malice and in the hateful and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God are savored toward man appeared. On what basis did this kindness and love of God our Savior appear to us? It was not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So God gives, He shed it abundantly. We read here that it was according to His mercy that He saved us. Not our own works lest any one of us should boast and say, look at what I did, look at how good I am. There is none good, no not one.

But when we received the righteousness of God which is by faith, when we received it, what is actually happening? What motivates us to say, I want this gift. I received this gift. I thank you for this gift. Well of course it's a gift, but what is, let's look a little bit more into this. First John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4 verse 15. In verse number 15, we were familiar with this, whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and He in God. Who is the way we shall confess that Jesus is the Christ, or is this the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and He in God? And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love and He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in Him. Here in is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love cast it out fear, because fear hath torment. He that fear hath not made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

So when we receive Christ's offer to righteousness, the gift of His offered righteousness, we are belief, what are we doing? We're believing the love He has to us. I love you so much that I want to give you righteousness. I don't want you trying to obtain it. Don't you trying to pay for it? I don't want you trying to work your way to it. In fact, that's actually an offense to grace, isn't it? That's offensive. That is frustrating the grace of God. I don't want, I am telling you, I so love the world that I'm making the offer of righteousness available to whoever believe it. Whose whoever believe it may have this righteousness, may have this everlasting life. And so when we believe the righteousness of God, what are we doing? We're believing the love He has to us and we're believing the good news. We're believing the gospel. The good news is that even though we're on righteous, even though we can't touch the top of the flagpole, God's gifting it to us. And we just say, thank you Lord for saving my soul. Thank you Lord for making me whole. Thank you Lord for giving to me. Thy great salvation so rich and free.

So we are, what do we say this morning that John Patton came to realize what he needed to tell those people. He needed to tell them, put your weight on the Savior. We're strict yourself out on Him. Rest in Him, whatever the word he, whatever it was in that language. But the idea of that, we are resting in what when we believe the love that God has to us and the offer of righteousness, we are resting in what He has already accomplished, the finished work. We're resting in His completed work. What is that Him we sing? No work of mind, dear Lord, can take the place of dying or something along those of that. I love hath pardon wrought for me and so on and so forth. But complete in thee no work of mind can take dear Lord the place of dying. That's what the words I was trying to think of.

Now, so we're resting in Christ. We're not fearing the enemy. The passage we just read in first John 4 says, there is no fear in love. We're not fearing the enemy, but we're also not fearing condemnation. Are we not fearing wrath? Because yes, God is a consuming fire and we need a fear of God and revere God. But we're not. If we truly are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and we are heirs of the righteousness which is by faith. It is a contradiction to say that we live in fear. No, we live by faith, for just shall live by faith. And God's love goes hand in glove with faith. Our love to God is the response to His love for us, isn't it? We read there we love Him because He first loved us. His love motivates our love, His love energizes our love. He is the source. He is the fountain of love and we are the recipients but we are to be the reciprocators of that love. It is not our love, but it is the response of our heart. Thank you, Lord, for loving me. Thank you for giving me this righteousness. If we're resting in His love and His righteousness, we're not afraid. We're not afraid of the condemnation that we were once under. We read here in this passage in 1 John 4 that we have known for 16. We have known and believed the love that God has to us. Have you known and believed the love that God has to you? That's every so else to ask that question. God is love and He that dwelleth in love, the love, and God. So when we receive the righteousness of Christ, what we are receiving, what we are doing is we're believing the love God has to us. God's love, the world that He gave. We believe that love. And so we believe God's love, we believe He's gifted us with this righteousness.

And then let's go back to Galatians 5. Turn back to Galatians 5 together. In Galatians 5 verse number 5, it says, for we, who is we, who is we, who are in Christ, we who are in the liberty, where with Christ has made us free, we who are to stand fast in this liberty that we've been given in Christ, we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by God. By faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. This morning we saw that faith is that solid ground on which hope is built. Our hope is built on that solid ground of the faith, that faith in itself is not solid. It's the solid rock that our faith rests on that hope is built upon. On Christ the solid rock I stand, know all other ground is sinking sand. But we're not waiting for judgment. The Christians, the Christians life, though we may at times fear for a moment. We may have fears that come to us. We are not to live in fear. We are not. It tells us tonight, first John told us that he that fear of this is not made perfect in love. In fact, that's God sometimes puts us to the trials to reveal that there's some fear in the tea bag, we might say, when the hot water, when the tea bag is putting the hot water and the and what comes out is there's some fear in there still. Well, perfect love cast out fear, right? Let's get rid of that fear. Let's purge out that dress. God will put us in some things that we are over our heads so that we will see. I still have some fear in there, Lord. Purge it out of me. Help me to live, help me to walk through this trial by faith.

You know, it could be some big, it could be the sea word cancer. It could be, it could be what somebody that has been very close to me. What do they think about me? I may be tempted to fear because of the condemnation of a person towards me. And yet I'm going to have to learn to fear God above all else and trust him. Not be afraid of what men can do unto me. It may be the government comes pounding on my door one band says we're going to take you to prison if you don't, you know, bow and kiss Caesar's toe or something like that. You know, we're going to, if you don't deny Jesus Christ in so many words, then you're going to be persecuted. Well, even we sing this morning, even when we walk through what my faith looks up to me, it says, even when we come to life's final hour, the hymn writer said, even then fear and distrust remove, all barely safe above a ransom soul. The Lord is wanting to get rid of any and all fear. And it's in its place. He's not given us as he's told us. He's not given us the Spirit of fear, as it. He's given us the Spirit of love and of power and of a sound mind. Fear is insanity. Is it fear? Is it not a healthy mind? Fear, the wicked live in fear? The wicked are always looking over there shorter because they have a bad conscience, don't think they have a bad conscience. They're afraid. They don't have the peace, the way a peace they've not known. They don't know the righteousness of God. They don't live in love. They live in like we just read in Titus tonight, hatred and envy and divers lust and hating one another. And it's just, well, just look at how people act when you interact with people. I'm not saying everybody, well you can clearly tell the difference between Christians and those that don't know the world when you interact with people. People are afraid and angry and bitter. That's how we would be if it wasn't for the love of Christ, isn't it?

But remember what we're told in Hebrews chapter 2. Christ over there in verse 15, it says that Christ came to deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Even in Hebrews chapter 10, just a few verses before the passage we looked at this morning, it talks about those that who have received the knowledge of the truth, but if they sin willfully against the truth, they're just sort of like, well I'm going to do what I want to do anyway, even though I know this is the truth, but it tells us there in Hebrews 1026, they're the mainst no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. That's contrasted with just a few verses later, now faith. Fear and faith are in contrast to each other, aren't they?

You know, I know you're aware of some of the things that we've had to deal with this past year with another ministry and there's a lot of fear in that ministry, a lot of fear motivates people. Fear drives decisions. Fear, fear, fear. And this is why we've had to separate because we cannot live by, I'm not talking about the fear of God, right? But we can't live under the fear of a man. We cannot be motivated by fear. In fact, this passage tells us tonight that what God is looking for, what is pleasing to Him. Is not a law-based trying to keep all the aspects of the law in the power of the flesh, which is what it ends up being. It's a man pleasing fear-based kind of thing. Think. We cannot keep the law. We're going to keep on failing in that. We're going to. This is impossible. It's impossible. And then we just get frustrated and people just give up because they, I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm trying. And we might even say, so we might even say we're not trying to, you know, we believe in grace, but when it comes down to it, are we actually living out of life? Do we really have that personal relationship of a faith that works by love? Is that real? Is that true? Well, if it is, we're going to have to get rid of any kind of a fear-based relationship because that's not of God. That's not of the Lord.

Now, all that being said, I want you to turn over with me to 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1. 1 Corinthians 13 verse number 1. It says there. Paul says, For though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass for a tinkling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and have all knowledge and knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. So if I have faith, but I don't have charity, what if Paul said to the Galatians tonight? He said it profits be nothing. Here he says in this passage, I am nothing. It's useless. It's vain. It's empty.

Biblical, God-honoring faith is what we see here in Galatians chapter 5 verse 6 for in Jesus Christ. If you're in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision. If you're in the liberty, this is not liberty to just be a, what is the word I'm looking for, to be an anarchist or to be a liberty? Oh, we're not without law to Christ. We are under the law to Christ. But if in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision nor un-circuasion of else anything. But here's what God is looking for. This is the heart of the matter. It's a faith, personal faith, which worketh by love. We saw last week in that final morning message, the morning message last week, we saw that word, inner gaeo in the Greek. It's the word for it. What we get energy from, right? A faith that is in our gaeo by this operating, it's functioning. It's working by love. It's a faith that is not working by fear. Because that's what Paul was writing to the Galatians about. You've been brought back under bondage, even though you are in the liberty of this in Christ, there's some vases and there are some speakers and there are some messages that have come along. Somehow, all of a sudden you would have suddenly brought you back towards this bondage that you've been set free from. This bondage. Who has bewitched you? Bewitched you? You're thinking this way. Cleaning the outside of the cup is not ultimately what matters to God. What matters is the inside is the right. What matters is the heart is right. And of course, if the heart is right, then there's going to be works that flow out of that. But we got to be careful that we don't make the works. As long as the outside looks good, we're not concerned about the heart. No, that's dangerous. That's a dangerous way to think.

Faith energized by love, operating by love is what God is looking for. That's the driving force behind our faith, isn't it? It is the world of God. But God shed His love abroad. Has shown His love to us has lovingly gifted us with this righteousness. Now we're motivated by His love to trust Him, to put our faith, put our whole weight down upon Him. Lord, I trust you with my life. I trust you with my health. I trust you with my children. I trust you with my possessions. I trust you with everything because you've given me everything. I trust you with all of it because I know you love me. You love me so much that you gave me eternal life. You gave me righteousness. I could not have achieved it in my own strength. I would be a sad depress, hopeless man if you had not picked me up and given me the liberty now to live for you and to please you. Well, all the while remembering, I'm not attained neither am I perfect, as Paul said, but I'm striving to please Him at all that I do because of the love He's given and shown me. That's the motivation.

Paul tells us in Romans 14, 23, the principle there that whatsoever is not a faith is sin. Whatsoever is not a faith is sin. But, first Corinthians 16 verse 14, he says, let all your things be done with charity. Let everything you do be motivated by, love, be motivated by love to God, love to your neighbor, your brethren. So what is the motivating force, the motivating power of our faith is that, so we can boast. Look at how much faith I have. Look at me, look at what know. That kind of, if that's faith, that's not true faith. That's not Bible faith. That's not faith that's pleasing to God. Fear is a hallmark of the flesh. Love is the hallmark of the spirit, the fruit of the spirit. Serving God out of love, a heart of love that trusts Him. Fear is always present with the flesh as reigning. The flesh is in power. The flesh can be very religious though. The flesh can, can dress up real nice. It can look real good, but it's, it's not pleasing to God. Love is the fruit of the spirit, the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts as we respond in faith to God's love. Only the Spirit can enable us to love God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, our mind, strength, and to love our neighbors, ourself. Only the Spirit of God can enable us to, what does this Bible say on this, hang all along the commandments, right? It's to love God with all your heart. Love your neighbors yourself. And who motivates that? Well, we love Him because He first loved us, right? It's a response. It's a reciprocation of the love for the gift that has been given to us first of all.

As we go this week, as we interact with people around us, as we live with our family, we live with our spouse, live with our neighbors, our fellow employees, whoever is we interact with, may our words, let all our things be done with charity, may our words, may our actions not be motivated at a fear and self-preservation, may they be motivated by love to God. Whatsoever we do, do it all to the glory of God. Stand fast in the liberty where we've been made free. May we recognize when the trial reveals that there's some fear there in our hearts, oh God, please purge this out. May all that I do be done with charity, loving God first and loving my neighbor. That is Bible faith. That is the kind of faith God tells us that we need to live by, the judge shall live by, right? And may God help us to do that. Spirit empowered faith that works by love.

Heavenly Father, where we have so much still to learn, we have so much to do. And yet we know that we will not achieve anything without your strength. We will not learn what it is. We need to learn and apply it and implement it in our lives. Except it is by your enabling grace and your energizing love in our lives. And so we pray that you would help us to draw an eye with humble hearts, trusting you, putting our weight down on you, Lord, that you'll do it, Lord, that you'll enable us to do all things that you've called on us to do. If you give us a command, you also give us the grace to obey it. And so help us to just rejoice as we see that you are enabling us. You're strengthening us to do what you'd want us to do and be what you want us to be. We pray now and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.