Marks of Discipleship - Faith Expressed by Love Galatians 5:6-12

As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn't matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love. You were doing so well. Who stopped you from being influenced by the truth?

The arguments of the person who is influencing you do not come from the one who is calling you. A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. The Lord gives me confidence that you will not disagree with this. However, the one who is confusing you will suffer God's judgment regardless of who he is.

Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn't be offensive anymore. I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves.

1. Paul clarifies three WARNINGS a. You LEFT the right track (verses 7 & 8) b. Yeast is very PERVASIVE (verse 9) c. The agitators will be JUDGED (verse 10)

2. Paul Clarifies His MESSAGE (verse 11) 3. Paul clarifies the path of DISCIPLESHIP (verse 6) “One of them, an expert in Moses' Teachings, tested Jesus by asking, "Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses' Teachings?" Jesus answered him, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself.' All of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:35-40 GW)

Definition of LOVE “Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved.” “The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love” 1 John 4:8 “We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.” 1 John 4:16 “Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? (James 2:22 MSG) “use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

MEN “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. LADIES If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. MEN If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere.

LADIES So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. MEN Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.

LADIES Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies.

MEN Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. LADIES We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. MEN But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be cancelled. LADIES When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. MEN When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

LADIES We don't yet see things clearly LADIES We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. MEN But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! LADIES We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

TOGETHER But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Response (What will I do this week to express my faith by love?) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn't matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love."