Only Faith Through
Love
Galatians 5:2-6 ESV
“Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”
Circumcision is an outward cutting away of the flesh. It was
required of the Jews under the Old Covenant Relationship God had with his
people back then. It is not required for us under the New Covenant, so we don’t
have to be physically circumcised, even though I think that was limited to
males.
But, the problem there in the church of Galatia occurred because
Jewish “believers” in Jesus were trying to convince Gentile Christians that
they had to add circumcision on to their salvation, as well as some of the old Jewish
customs and ceremonies. But, that was not of God. It was not what he required.
It was man’s idea of what constituted true faith in Jesus Christ, or not. But
humans don’t get to decide that. God does! Only He does!
So, what matters to God? – Faith working through love, and
circumcision of the heart, not of the body (Phil. 3:3; Rom. 2:28-29; 1 Co.
7:19).
So, what does that mean exactly? It means our faith in Jesus
Christ is not proved genuine by outward displays of piety. It is proved genuine
by a transformation of our hearts, of the Spirit of God, in dying with Christ
to sin, in being reborn of the Spirit of God, and in the power of the Spirit
within us we now live according to the Spirit and no longer according to the
flesh.
But, it doesn’t mean that our faith is only some personal
belief between us and God, in our hearts, that does not have to impact the way
in which we live or that is not seen outwardly. For, what this says here is
that what counts (what matters) to God is faith working through love.
So, true faith in Jesus Christ is evidenced by what we do in
the power of God’s Spirit in obedience to Christ and to His Word (New Covenant),
for love for God is to obey Him. And, it comes from a change of heart by the
Spirit, not by the flesh. We don’t get to decide. God does! And, we just submit
to him and follow Him in obedience to what He says we must do or not do.
Faith and Love
So, this faith working through love that matters to God is
first of all faith that is divinely persuaded and is gifted to us by God. So,
the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is not of the flesh of man, nor of the
will of man. Thus, we don’t get to choose how this works, or what it should
look like. God does.
For, if the faith to believe in Jesus is of God, which it
is, then it will submit to Christ as Lord, and it will surrender to his will
and purposes, and it will walk in obedience to him, and it will die with Him to
sin and to self (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Eph.
4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14).
Also, the love involved in this is not human love. It is
god-like (agape) love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is
righteous, holy, godly, moral, upright, pure, faithful, and obedient to
God/Christ, etc.
It is also not a feeling or an emotion, but it is love in
action. If we love God, we will obey him as a matter of practice. If we love
other people, we will do for them and to them what is for their best, as God
determines best, and we will not sin against them as a matter of course, as a
matter of practice.
So, this is not to say that we will do this with absolute
sinless perfection, but that this will be what we practice, our life course
which we are following. It will be the way in which we walk (live), our habits,
our lifestyle.
And, it will come from the Spirit of God living within us,
and from hearts which are cleansed of sin, and which God is purifying, making
holy, and is conforming to his likeness. This is faith working through love,
which is visible. But, it is not outward only. It is of the heart and of the
Spirit of God.
Who Hindered You?
Galatians 5:7-12 ESV
“You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”
Ok, but not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is
obeying the truth according to God’s Word under New Covenant teaching. Many of
them have been persuaded that they don’t have to obey Christ by people who are
making up their own faith and gospel and grace.
So, there really is not much difference between the
Judaizers, who were adding to God’s grace, and those today who are removing the
essential elements of God’s grace from his gospel. For both are of the flesh of
man, with man creating his own gospel.
So, if you are being persuaded that your salvation from sin
and your eternal life with God require nothing but some profession of faith in
Jesus Christ or some mere acknowledgment of Christ or some words repeated after
someone else, then your persuasion is not of God, but of the flesh of man.
And, what is my basis for that statement? – The teachings
under the New Covenant which Paul referred to as “the offense of the cross.”
For, the “offense of the cross” is not a profession of faith
in Jesus Christ or some mere acknowledgment of him or some words repeated after
someone else. It is that Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. It is that he died to put
sin to death in our lives that we might now live for him and for his glory and
praise. It is offensive to the flesh of man because it requires death to sin
and walks of obedience to Christ for eternal life with God.
[Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal.
6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Eph. 4:17-24; Eph. 5:3-6; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Co.
6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Jn. 14:23-24; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Jn. 8:31-47; Rom.
11:17-24; 1 Jn. 2:24-25; Col. 1:21-23; Jas. 1:19-25; Jas. 4:7-10]
So, if we want to obey the truth, then we need to know the
truth. But, too many preachers today are not teaching the whole truth, but they
are teaching a modified gospel created to appeal to the flesh of man, so not
much different from what the Judaizers of Paul’s day were doing. For, both are
of the flesh of man, not of the Spirit of God.
So, what is the truth? It is that faith in Jesus Christ
involves death to sin, being reborn of the Spirit of God, and living to Christ
and to his righteousness as a matter of life course (of practice). We must turn
away from our lifestyles of living for self and for sin, and we must now
surrender our lives to Christ and walk in obedience to his commands if we want
to have eternal life with God.
On the flip side of that, if we refuse to walk in obedience
to our Lord, and if we choose to remain in slavery to sin, making sin our
practice, then the scriptures are real clear on that subject that we don’t have
eternal life with God but that we will die in our sins and we will face the
wrath of God.
For, many people will appear before God one day saying “Lord,
Lord, didn’t we do this or that in your name?” And, he is going to tell them, “Depart
from me. I never knew you.”
Why? Because they were following man-made religion and the
flesh of man, and they were not submitting themselves to the Lordship of Christ
or walking in obedience to his commands. They were calling him “Lord” but he
was not Lord (owner-master) of their lives. The flesh remained on the throne of
their lives, instead.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment