Title: Faith Working Through Love
Contents
2 Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you are circumcised, Christ will do you no good. 3 I testify again to each one who is circumcised, that he is obligated to do the whole law, 4 that he is justified in the law. You who seek to gain it are cut off from Christ and have fallen from grace. 5 By faith we wait for the hope of righteousness by the Holy Spirit. 6 In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any effect, but faith working through love.
1. Words that begin
As I read a magazine article about a shaman famous for prophesying, a woman who once held a church office, I was reminded of the devil's amazing tactics and power to devour believers. It made me wonder if it would have been like that if I had trusted and relied on it.
There are many people who go to church without the assurance that they have been saved and then convert to another religion or become involved in heresy editorials. Also, there are those who are convinced that they have been saved but fall into the trap of the devil by staying outside the Lord.
2. Those who want to be circumcised
Being deceived by heretical editorials without the assurance of salvation was also occurring in the Galatian churches. The false teachers made circumcision as essential, teaching that not only the Lord is saved by faith, but also the law must be observed. So, there was a strong movement to get circumcised among the church members.
Even today, before Jesus Christ came into this world, Jews are said to have been saved by works of the law and Gentiles by works of conscience.
The Apostle Paul said, "If you are circumcised as a condition of salvation, Christ will do you no benefit." In other words, if we say that we are saved by circumcision, then that Jesus came according to God's promise of salvation, and that his atonement was in vain.
When it comes to obeying the law, breaking even one commandment is a violation of the law, so those who are circumcised are obliged to keep the whole law. However, far from properly keeping the whole law, which contains the will of the infinite, it is impossible to understand the inner meaning of the law. Therefore, all who seek righteousness in the law are cut off from Christ and fall from the grace of salvation.
Even in the Old Testament times, God the Father performed the work of salvation in Christ, who is God the Son. God saved not only the believing Jews, but also the Gentiles who turned from idolatry and believed in God. A good example of this is Rahab the prostitute, her relatives, and the people of Nineveh.
The reason that the prostitute Rahab was saved was not because of her actions as a prostitute, but because of her act of hiding the spies. Of course, the act of risking the lives of himself and his family and relatives to hide it was not the idols he believed in until then, but his faith in God. In Joshua 2:11, there is Rahab's confession of faith, "As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and people lost their minds because of you; for the LORD your God is God above and above."
Verse 12 says, “Therefore, since I have been good to you, I ask that you also do good to my father’s house, to spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who have them, to deliver our lives from death, and now swear by the Lord that Please vote,” he even begged.
It is said in Jonah 3:5 that the people of Nineveh turned away from idolatry and believed in God. “The people of Nineveh believed in God and proclaimed a fast, and they were clothed in sackcloth, small and large.”
The prophet Isaiah also declared, “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). , revealing that God exists.
In 1 Peter 1:10-11, there is an amazing saying that even before Christ came to this earth, he indwelled the prophets as a spirit to testify in advance that he would come into the world to enjoy the suffering of the ransom and the glory of the resurrection and ascension.
Therefore, please believe that people before Christ came to this earth will be saved through faith in God who has promised to save mankind in Christ. You can be saved only through faith in God the Creator, the absolute God who saves through the Messiah. As a creature, man can never save himself. That is why God sent Christ to this earth so that we could know for sure, believe, and be saved as human beings.
Now, all those who pursue a way of salvation other than faith in Christ have been cut off from Christ and have fallen from grace. Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
3. Characteristics of the saved
What is the characteristic of us who are saved only through faith in Jesus Christ, who came according to God's promise of eternal salvation?
First, we wait for the hope of perfect righteousness according to faith through the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts and guides and guides us. In other words, we, who have already been justified by faith in Christ, await the fulfillment of the fulfillment of perfect righteousness, that is, the final hope of God's approval and acceptance. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; from now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day. but also to all who have longed for the appearing of the Lord.”
Second, it is to live by faith working by love, which is a prerequisite for the fulfillment of the hope of perfect righteousness. “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any effect, except faith working through love.” That is, no religious observance, no human good deeds, no human effort has any effect on attaining perfect righteousness, that is, final salvation; only faith acted out of love is effective. James 2:14 says, “My brethren, if a man says he has faith, but has no works, what profit is it? Can that faith save him?” I am convinced that it cannot be saved.
Of course, please believe that the action that comes from faith in the God of love is that God's love is the motive and purpose. That's right. Only faith that works through love is the essential condition for receiving the crown of righteousness. What is the most important measure of human growth and maturity? The most important measure of growth and maturity is the size of love. May God's love be revealed more and more in our character and conduct day by day.
4. Conclusion
In 1873, Father Damien went to Molokai as a missionary. In a place where an average of 12 people were dying each week, the lepers were living in desperation. Father Damien worked hard to evangelize and love them, but for more than 10 years, it had no effect. So, I started to pray a heartbreaking prayer. “Lord, make me a leper. Just like Jesus who became like a sinner to save sinners, I want to become a leper to save lepers.” Shortly after that prayer, I met a priest to raise money for the mission. During the conversation, Father Damien, who had placed his hand on the burning candlestick, was unaware that his hand was burning. Shocked, the priest said, "Damien, you are finally lepers." Father Damien knelt down and said, “Thank God! . I also now have the qualifications and the ability to deliver drum music to lepers.”
After that, in just three years, the great work of salvation took place when 800 people accepted the gospel on the island of death.
Upon his death on April 15, 1886, he made the following wills: “I am so happy that I gave everything for my Lord. Brethren, when I die, bury me under the shade of the bapua tree by the seaside, where I fell down every morning and prayed.”
(Pungseong Methodist Church. Books: Complete Commentary on New Testament Volume 27/ Commentary on difficult scriptures/ Prayer of Prosperity/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/ Understanding Paul’s Humanity/ Sermonbook 18. T. 426-3051)