Some things just go together. You think of one, and you think of the other:
Peanut butter and jelly.
Hot and cold.
Soap and water.
Sun and moon.
Chips and dip.
Dos and don’ts.
Mashed potatoes and gravy.
Macaroni and cheese.
Salt and pepper.
Pork and beans.
Spaghetti and meatballs.
Batman and Robin.
Romeo and Juliet.
In the Bible, there are also familiar pairings—people like Adam and Eve, David and Jonathan, Joseph and Mary, Paul and Barnabas.
But Scripture also joins together great spiritual truths—and few are more closely linked than faith and love.
The Bible repeatedly speaks of them side by side:
“Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints” (Col. 1:4).
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love…” (1 Thess. 1:3).
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13).
Then there is this insightful statement:
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6).
Faith works. It is not passive, but active. It is not merely mental assent, but engaged, energetic, and obedient. Faith is on the move—moving God’s way.
Biblical faith is not a mystical experience, a sudden emotional “zap,” or something based on the subjective and the esoteric. Nor is it a “better-felt-than-told” sensation disconnected from truth.
Rather, faith is founded upon intellectual evidence. It engages the emotions, pricks the conscience, and motivates us to “walk by faith.” In that sense, the whole person—the heart—is faith-driven.
Yet faith does not operate alone. Faith is fueled by love.
As noted in an earlier post, this love is the Greek word agapē, which Bible commentator William Barclay described as “an attitude born within the Christian fellowship, and impossible without the Christian dynamic.”
Barclay offered this stirring explanation:
“The meaning of agapē is unconquerable benevolence, undefeatable goodwill. Agapē is the spirit in the heart that will never seek anything but the highest good of its fellowmen. It does not matter how others treat it; it does not matter who they are or what their attitude is—it will never seek anything but their highest and best good.”
Agapē is God’s love for mankind—the love that sent His Son to die for our sins while we were yet sinners (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). It is divine love that willingly, unselfishly, and sacrificially went to the cross. Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you” (John 15:9).
Thus, our faith works because it is fueled by divine love.
John affirms, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Paul adds, “The love of Christ constrains us” (2 Cor. 5:14). Other translations say it “controls,” “compels,” or “rules” us. As Mike Willis observed in his commentary on Galatians, “Christ’s love for man, when realized and believed, awakens in man’s soul a desire to please Christ.”
That is precisely why Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). When we obey God’s word, His love is perfected in us (1 John 2:5). Faith that works through love cares about God’s commands, desires to obey them, and demonstrates obedience in everyday living.
The Bible often describes Christian conduct as a “walk.” “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Yet that faith walk expresses itself as we “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us” (Eph. 5:2). The present tense points to a continual way of life—marked by goodwill, loving service, Christlike attitudes, and gracious speech.
When love fuels our faith, we resist ungodly emotions such as anger, bitterness, envy, jealousy, and lust. The love of Christ compels us to make good choices, walk in righteousness, and glorify God in both attitude and action.
Faith and love—they belong together. Spiritually speaking, you cannot truly have one without the other. On Monday morning, faith working through love shows up in how we speak, how we forgive, how we serve, and how we choose Christlike obedience when no one else is watching.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
ThePreachersWord 