Galatians 5:6 KJV... faith which worketh by love. Grand View Church The Fourth Fundamental of Faith: Faith Works by Love December 12, 2010, Sunday AM I. Motives Matter A. Words and Works Release Faith. But words and actions mean nothing to God if they do not spring from a pure heart. B. The Actions of Love. Our Heavenly Father was motivated by His love for us to take action and send Jesus as our Savior. AFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life@ (John 3:16 NKJV). 1. Likewise, we should be certain that what we are attempting to do by faith is rooted in Christlike love. a) Too often, people say they are operating in faith when actually they are seeking to fulfil their own prideful needs. When the trappings of success are the goal rather than saved souls, healed bodies, and changed lives, then there is a problem with the motivation for ministry. 2. Example: chapel speakers - The pastor and the missionary. B. Motives Are ImportantCat Least They Are to God. 1. They are the reason we don=t receive from Him when we claim to be acting in faith. While we can talk a big story, God examines the heart. Our motives are not hidden from Him. He is a Adiscerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart@ (Hebrews 4:12 KJV). a) He complained against Israel: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it... (Isaiah 29:13 from THE MESSAGE). b) James, The New Testament writer, hit the nail on the head when he said, AAnd even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrongcyou want only what will give you pleasure@ (James 4:3 NLT). 1
II. There Is Only One Motive for Christian FaithCLove A. Not Religion=s Rituals; Love. The apostle Paul emphasizes that our Christianity becomes meaningful to God not through religious rituals, but through faith that is based on love: For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. (Galatians 5:6 AMP) 1. The Christian experience is not about outward signs or ceremonial expressions, but it is solely identified by the manifestation of faith through love. a) Faith is what we believe supported by the actions we take, and love is why we believe and take the actions we do. 2. Love for God and neighbor is different than religion. In fact, Jesus summed up the entirety of true religion as just thatcloving God and neighbor. B. No LoveCNo Profit. 37) Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38) This is the first and great commandment. 39) And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matt 22:37-40 NKJV) 1. Religion keeps us very busy, but is all that activity spiritually productive? It=s easy to feel religious and feel nothing for one=s neighbor. Even good works in the name of religion may do more to feed your pride than they do to free your spirit. 1) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NKJV) 2. The ability to do must be matched with the ability to love. Without love, I am nothing, and my work counts for 2
nothing. C. Religious Zeal vs. Christian Love 1. A lot of people are doing things in the name of God, but their hearts are filled with anger. a) Even the apostle Paul committed terrible crimes against the Early Church hoping to stamp out the spread of Christianity. b) Fortunately, in route to Damascus to inflict further harm, he was divinely visited by Jesus Christ Himself. 1) Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2) and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3) As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4) Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:1-4 NKJV) c) As a zealously religious man, he was a persecutor of the Church; as a loving Christian man, he became an effective promoter of the Church. Love of God and neighbor is the answercit is always the only answer. 2. Paul thought he was right, even though he was completely wrong. Because of blind spots. APeople may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives@ (Proverbs 16:2 NLT). 3. Examine your motives. God does. There is one excellent way to do this: Lay your thoughts, words, and actions next to the Bible=s admonition for thinking, speaking, and doing. Do they line up? Or, is there a stark difference between them? If there is a difference, that is the difference between the spirit and the flesh. III. Love Defined A. Faith works by love. So, what is love? 1. Biblical love is defined as being sacrificial. Love is not the trivial emotion common to today=s understanding. When the Bible speaks of love, it does so in terms of sacrifice. Therefore, love is a willingness to surrender self in favor of someone else=s needs. The following verses clearly show this correlation between love and sacrifice: 3
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NKJV) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16 NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself [died] for her. (Ephesians 5:25 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave [for a sacrifice] His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 NKJV) 2. In his letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul builds on the idea of sacrifice when defining love. Each descriptive word he uses finds its roots in self-sacrifice: 4) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8) Love never fails. (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NKJV) B. Love Gives 1. In each of these verses we see that love gives; specifically, Christ gave His own life as a sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, love that motivates faith results in sacrificial giving. It takes faith to give sacrificially. Love makes that possible. IV. The Faith-Walk and the Love-Walk A. Offense Derails Faith. Love is the only weapon that is 100% effective in battling offense. 1. Offense is best described as AAn injury or wrong done to one.@ It is a poisonous cycle where the bitterness of one defiles all those around him. The writer of Hebrews warns: 2. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (Hebrews 12:15 New Living Translation) 3. Faith cannot work in a toxic mix of offense and bitterness. It is very hard to believe God to bestow blessings and 4
benefits upon you when you are feeling crushed emotionally. This is why the Devil deals so liberally in the art of offense. 4. Wounds require attention. The wounds of offense are as emotionally crippling as physical wounds. B. Love is the Answer 1. Love breaks the cycle of offense before bitterness can take root. Jesus taught us to do the opposite in the face of an offensive action: 44) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.... (Matthew 5:44-45a NKJV) A... whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also@ (Matthew 5:39 NKJV). AHatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins@ (Proverbs 10:12 NKJV). V. Your Holy Cause A. Love Has Ambition. God has put a holy cause borne out of love in your heart, and it will take faith to achieve it. 1. There is a reason you are on earth, and that is a holy cause for living. B. Serving Mankind 1. Serving others requires us to lay self aside and discover the needs of others. The human race is a muddled bunch, bogged down in sin and destructive behavior. The state of man seems hopeless, but it=s not because of you. 2. Ministry begins where pain is found and some attempt is made to alleviate that pain. Jesus healed, delivered, forgave, fed, protected, and met need after need. He is our example to follow. C. Empathy is a Core Value to Christians. 1. Empathy is feeling what others feel. Unfortunately, empathy is too often lost on a secular society that doesn=t care how others feel. It is a value that needs to be nurtured. 5
2. Example: Joe Ehrmann - The Season of Life. ATo me, the number-one criterion for humanity has to be empathy. Without that, we=re reduced to being nothing more than animalscyou know, just self-preservation, power, issues like that. But when you have empathy, when you understand the amount of suffering in the world, the pain that so many people are in, and the causes of all that pain, then you can have a cause beyond yourself. I think the alleviation of pain is a fundamental root or seedbed for understanding some kind of cause.@ D. Every Cause Will Stretch Your Faith 1. This is where one learns to trust God. What God has called us to do requires us to trust Him completely. No one can trust Him for us; we have to stretch and grow in our faith to get it done. 2. Because your cause is bigger than you are, it is going to take faith to get it done. 3. There is a reason that most people have never embraced their cause. Without the faith ingredient, a cause is simply impossible. The need is so big, and we are so small. It=s David verses Goliath. Before taking on the giant, ADavid said,... Is there not a cause?@ (1 Samuel 17:29 KJV). There was, and there still is. E. Your Cause Will Push You Out Of Your Comfort Zone 1. A God-cause will not only stretch your faith, it will also make you uncomfortable. The Cross wasn=t comfortable for Jesus, but it was necessary for Him to fulfill His mission. Your cause has a cross that you will have to take up daily. But that=s okay because the results of your efforts will certainly prove that it is all worth while. The Bible says of Jesus: A... who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross...@ (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV). The joy of the outcome is always the fuel for endurance. Comfortable? No. Effective? Yes. 2. Example: Evangelism class while at Bible school. One of my classmates was terrified about the idea of knocking on strangers= doors to share the Gospel until he led someone to the Lord. VI. Summary 1. Check Your Motives. It all begins with the heart. Faith that is not motivated by love is of no value to God. 2. Understand True Love. Biblical love is self-sacrifice. It is not the emotional, ooey-gooey feeling. Love is givingcto the point of death. 3. Avoid Causing or Receiving Offense. Offense undermines love because it traps you in a downward cycle of destructive 6
emotion and behavior. Jesus said break the cycle of hatred with acts of kindness. Refuse to become offended. Seek the high road. 4. Find Your Holy Cause. There is something you are called to do for the sake of others. Do it. It will stretch your faith in the process, and it will kick you out of your comfort zone, but that is the best thing for you. In your weakness, Christ is strong. Allow the anointingcthe Holy Spirit=s powercto do what you cannot. That way, God gets all the credit. 7