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Pastor Lud Golz
Pastor Lud Golz

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  Home | Transcript Archive | December | December 02, 2013

Monday, December 02, 2013

In our last visit I made reference to Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” A person who truly trusts in Jesus Christ will find that Jesus expressed His faith through love. Paul declared in Galatians 2:20, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  

Love motivated Jesus to die for me. That’s how He expressed His faith through love. If I respond to Him by faith in appreciation for His loving sacrifice for me He takes up His residence in me and begins to find ways to express His love for others through me. If I try loving others by my own effort it will not authentically represent Christ’s love for them. 
 
That’s why Paul began verse 20 by explaining a secret: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” When he says, “I no longer live,” he is obviously not saying he is dead physically, because he goes on to say, “The life I live in the body.” What he is saying is that he chose not to rely on self to accomplish what only Christ could do. He died to self by identifying with Christ in His crucifixion by faith. Then by faith he trusted Christ to live out His life through him. 
 
Christ does this by giving the Holy Spirit to indwell those who trust in Him. The Holy Spirit desires to be in control of the believer, but He does not force this on us. He wants us to submit to His authority and rely on Him to express Christ’s love through us. 
 
This is what it means to express our faith through love. And that is the only thing that counts according to Paul.
 

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