Love Makes Faith Work

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. (Galatians 5:6)

I've had the privilege to meet and speak for some of the most important major ministries of the 20th century. As I've met the leaders, these amazing men, and women of faith, I've noticed one thing was true for every single one of them. They were all people who were full of love.

In Galatians 5:6, Paul was trying to get his readers to understand an important Biblical truth. It does not matter what your background, your upbringing, your color, your financial situation, or your connections are. What matters the most in the life of a believer is if they are operating in love toward others. Because if you are not operating in love, then your faith cannot work, no matter how hard you try.

Love makes your faith effective. People often wonder why God uses some ministers more than others in supernatural signs and wonders. The difference is love. While everyone has a measure of faith, not everyone is making that faith work with love. When your love for God and your love for others is your primary focus, it’s like adding rocket fuel to your faith. When we become love people as much as we are faith people, we will see mountains moving, miracles happening, and lives being transformed by the power of God through us.

Love is not a sentiment; it is the key to make faith work every time.

Practical Application

If your faith doesn’t seem to work, look at your love walk. Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to help? Can you sow time or money into another person’s life or ministry out of love? When we walk in the love of God, our faith is fueled to operate in supernatural power.

1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:8

The Overflow of God’s Love

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5)

Love means different things to the world than it does to people of faith. The world views love as an emotional feeling towards another. It constantly confuses lustful feelings with love.

The love the Bible speaks about and that believers are called to have is agape love, or God's kind of love. In Romans 5:5, Paul made it a point to let us know that God's love is not partially given to us. His love is not given in small amounts; instead, Paul explained that God’s love has been shed abroad in our hearts.

Shed abroad means God’s love was so fully given to us that there was nothing left out, and nothing missing in His love. He has given us all His love and all His heart, holding nothing back.

God’s love is not some fluffy emotion or warm sentiment we have. The agape of God is the very driving force behind everything operating in the kingdom of God. Nothing in the Bible operates without faith, but faith cannot operate without love.

In fact, our own ability to really love others can only happen because God first gave His love to us.

Practical Application

Take time today to thank God for His love towards you. Think of ways that you can express your love for God this week. Maybe it’s giving something from your heart or helping God’s church in a special way. Allow His love to transform your heart and display that love toward others.

Philippians 1:20; 1 John 4:19

The New Creation in Christ

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I want you to inspect one small word in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It’s the word new; this small word has great impact when we really understand what it means, especially in this context. If you’ve been born again, you’re not a “renovated” creature. Jesus did not come to make us better versions of what we already were. Jesus came to make us into something that has never been seen on earth before.

For thousands of years, humanity had to deal with sin and sin’s effects without being able to fully wipe their own slate clean. In a 33-year period, everything changed. When Jesus stepped into His creation by putting on human flesh, bearing our sins, and conquering death, He also brought us into a new way of living. Those who accept Christ become brand-new creations.

When the Holy Ghost came into the church like a freight train on the day of Pentecost, a seismic shift occurred. The power of God was no longer only on select individuals, such as the king, priest, and prophet of the Old Testament, but was on everyone who would receive.

God now deals with mankind differently than He did in the Old Testament. Instead of dealing with us from the outside in, he now deals with us from the inside out.

That's what Paul was trying to get us to understand in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The newness of life that we walk in is not just change on a surface level. It is an entire overhaul of our spiritual DNA. When we give our lives to Christ, our old sinful nature, with its lusts and desires, is killed off and we walk in a new life, infused with God's power to affect the world.

Practical Application

Embrace your identity as a new creation in Christ with confidence and boldness. Recognize that you are a child of God with a unique purpose and calling. Do not accept the lies of the enemy when he says you are not good enough, or that you were simply the sum of your past mistakes. You are a new creature; the old you is gone, along with its lusts and desires.

Isaiah 43:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21