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About Jesus Steve Sweetman
"...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." - Galatians 5:6 We see two key New Testament words in this scripture. They are "faith" and "love". Paul often puts these two words together in the same context, as he does in this case. Certain men were trying to get the Galatians off track by adding rules to their salvation by faith. Paul, who was quite upset by this says that all those extra rules can't save you. They mean nothing. He says the only thing that counts, the only thing that means something is "faith that expresses, or shows itself through love". This should put the argument to rest that says Paul was only concerned about faith and not with good works. What do you think Paul means when he says we need faith that expresses itself through love? Paul is saying that something should accompany faith. That something is love. If you say that you have true faith, real trust, or reliance in the Lord Jesus then that faith will produce loving actions. True faith is productive. Maybe this is what Jesus was talking about when He said, "by their fruit you will know them". Faith is the seed that produces fruit in your life. So if you look at your life and you don't seem to have much fruit of love, it is logical to ask, just how much faith you really have.Then, if that is the case, you might want to ask, "what is true faith"? I believe, if you have faith in the Lord, that means you have a relationship with Him. From that relationship, and depending on your closeness to Him, comes trust. Trust is another word for faith. Relying on Jesus is yet another way to put it. You trust Him to produce in you what is needed to bring forth acts of love in your life. Thus your faith will express itself through love. You can therefore ask yourself, do I love? Do I have true faith? Does my faith really produce loving acts to those I come in contact with? Think of faith as a seed. Think of love as the fruit that comes once the seed of faith is planted in your life. Then give that fruit away to those who are hungry and need some nourishment that your fruit of love can provide.
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