Faith Series: Faith That Operates by Love

Faith Series: Faith That Operates by Love

All right, this morning we looked at what is faith, right? 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 wherewith 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 is 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 Lord bless his word to our hearts as we look into it this evening.

We read in the first very beginning of the passage we just looked at, the word of liberty. We're told to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. Well, what is this liberty? 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. Well, the law was never intended to be kept by the flesh. Because all the law, 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. 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, you know, 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, 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. And I want you to jump up there and touch the top of that flag. There's a flagpole over there. Well, Lucas might give it a try. He might give it several tries. And then after a few minutes, he's going to realize this is impossible. I cannot touch the top of this flagpole.

And yet, we could. This is an illustration I heard a pastor giving recently. I'm kind of modifying it a little bit. But he said you could take the flag. You could take the flagpole 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. But what we actually did was we changed the law, right, to fit Lucas's 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 sometimes the gospel has been lowered to such a level that it's not even the gospel anymore. 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 bend 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 a 60 or whatever it is, down to a 30, and then everybody can pass, right? But that doesn't help them. That's 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 Gelderen, okay? I'll give him the credit for, 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, there's another power that is there helping him, enabling 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 circumcising? No, by cleaning the outside of the cup. No, we don't, we don't just become righteous because we, we do some tangible things.

But does that mean that, well, I guess we should all just be lawless, you know? No, 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, 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 under the law. And yet he kept. 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 gift of righteousness that God wants to give to everybody. You and you and you and anyone can receive.

It is God's law. The Lord is God's law. Because he's the Lord and he's the God who knows you. He's the God who knows you. That's what he's saying to us. It's a long suffering that brings salvation, isn't it? The long, the long suffering of God is salvation. It, it makes salvation possible. If God was a long suffering nobody would be saved. He would have just wiped everybody out, but because he is rich in 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 one, the only reason any one of us are righteous. That's the only one, the only reason any one of us are righteous. 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 three, though. Titus chapter three. We notice there in verse number three, it says there, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived. In 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 envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God, our savior toward man appeared. Oh, on what basis did this kindness and love of God appear? Why did this kindness and love of God appear? Why did this kindness and love of God appear? Why 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 of 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 receive the righteousness of God, which is by faith, when we receive 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.

In 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4 verse 15. In verse number 15, we are familiar with this, aren't we? Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Christ, or is 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. Herein 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 casteth out fear. Because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us.

So when we receive, when we receive Christ's offered righteousness, the gift of his offered righteousness, we are believing, what are we doing? We're believing the love he has to us. I love you so much that I'm going to give you righteousness. I don't want you trying to attain it. I don't want 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. 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 whosoever believeth. Whosoever believeth 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 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 unrighteous, 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. Stretch 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 hymn we sing? No work of mine, dear Lord, can take the place of thine, or something along those effects. Thy love hath pardon wrought for me, and so on and so forth. But complete in thee, no work of mine can take, dear Lord, the place of thine. That's 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 1 John 4 says there is no fear in love. We're not fearing the enemy, but we're also not fearing condemnation, are we? We're not fearing wrath because, yes, God is a consuming fire, and we need to fear God and reverence 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, we, it is a contradiction to say that we live in fear. No, we live by faith. The just shall live by faith.

And God's love is, goes hand in glove with faith. Our love to God is the response to his love for us, isn't it? We read that 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, verse 16, we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. Have you known and believed the love that God has to us? Every soul has to ask that question. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God. So when we receive the righteousness of Christ, what we are doing is we're believing the love God has to us. God so loved 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 chapter 5, verse number 5, it's, as we've already read here in verse number 5, it says, for we, who's we? It's we who are in Christ. We who are in the liberty wherewith 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 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. 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. No, all other ground is sinking sand.

But we're not waiting for judgment. The Christian's 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, 1 John told us, that he that feareth is not made perfect in love. In fact, that's, God sometimes puts us through the trials to reveal that there's some fear in the teabag, we might say. When the hot water, when the teabag gets put in the hot water 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 dross. God will put us in some things that we are over our heads so that we will see, yeah, 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, could be the C word, cancer, you know. It could be, it could be what somebody that, that has been very close to me, what, what, what do they think about me? I, I may, I may, 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 day, and, one day and says, we're going to take you to prison if you don't bow and kiss Caesar's toe or something like that. If you don't deny Jesus Christ in so many words, then you're going to be persecuted. Well, even we sang 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. Oh, bear me safe above a ransomed soul.

The Lord is wanting to get rid of any and all fear in its place. He's not given us, as He's told us, He's not given us the spirit of fear, has He? He's given us the spirit of love and of power and of a sound mind. Fear is insanity. Fear is not a healthy mind. Fear, the wicked live in fear. The wicked are always looking over their shoulder because they have a bad conscience, don't they? They have a bad conscience. They're afraid. They don't have the peace, the way of 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 Lord 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 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 10, 26, there remaineth 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 can't live, we cannot be motivated by fear.

In fact, this passage tells us tonight that what God is looking for, what is pleasing to Him, what is pleasing to Him is not a law-based, trying to keep all the the the the the aspects of the law in the power of the flesh, which is what it ends up being, when it's a man-pleasing, fear-based kind of thing. We cannot keep the law. We're going to keep on failing in that. We're going to. It's 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, we might even say we're not trying to, you know, we believe in God, but we're not. But when it comes down to it, are we actually living out a life? Do we, do we, do we really have that personal relationship of a, 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 first Corinthians 13, verse one, first Corinthians 13, verse number one. 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 or a tinkling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and have all, all knowledge and all 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 did Paul say 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.

Um, biblical God honoring faith is what we see here in Galatians chapter five, verse six for in Jesus Christ. If you're in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision. If you're, if you're in the liberty that's in Christ, this is not liberty to, to just be a, what is the word I'm looking for? To be an anarchist or to be a libertine. Oh, we're not without law to Christ. We are under the law to Christ. But if in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but here's what God is looking for. This is, this is the heart of the matter is 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 in our gayo in the Greek. It's the word for, well, we get energy from, right? A faith that, a faith that is in our gayo by it's 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 church.

The Galatians about you. You've been brought back under bondage, even though you are in the liberty of this in Christ, there's some voices and there's some, there are some speakers and there's some messengers that have come along somehow alongside of you and have suddenly brought you back towards this bondage that you've been set free from this bondage. Uh, who has, who has not bewitched you, bewitched you that you're thinking this way.

Cleaning the outside of the cup is not ultimately what's Matt. What matters to God, what matters is the insides, 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, as long as the outside looks good, we're not concerned about the heart. No, no, that's, that's, 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 love of God. But God has 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, you know, my, 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, depressed, 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, I'm striving to please him in 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 it so we can boast? Look, look at how much faith I have. Look at me. Look at what? No, that kind of, if that's fate, that's not true faith. This is, 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 where the, where the flesh is reigning. The flesh is in power. The flesh can be very religious though. The flesh, the flesh 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, arm, mind, strength, and to love our neighbors, ourself. Only the spirit, the spirit of God can enable us to, you know, what does this Bible say on this? Hang all the law of the commandments, right? It's to love God with all your heart, love your neighbor as 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, to us.

First of all, as we go this week, as we interact with people around us, as we live with our families, we live with our spouse, live with our neighbors or our fellow employees, whoever it is we interact with, may, may our words, but all our things be done with charity. May our words, may our actions not be motivated out of 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, wherewith 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's, that is Bible faith. That is the kind of faith, God tells us that we need to live by the judge should live by. Right? And may God help us to, to do that spirit empowered, um, faith that works by love.

Let's pray. Heavenly father, Lord, we have so much still to learn. We have so much to do, and yet we know that we will not achieve anything, uh, 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, your energizing love in our lives. And so we pray that you would help us to draw an eye with, with, with humble hearts, trusting you, putting our weight down on you, Lord, that you, that you'll do it, Lord, that you'll enable us to do all things that, that you've called on us to do. If you give us, the command, you also give us the grace to obey it. And so help us, uh, 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.