When the next leader comes with his theology and example, I remember faith. Already I enjoy God’s favour because I belong to Christ. I do not need his approval for my Christian life nor that of my brother. In the sight of God, I have already been justified. Faith is the starting point. Then comes working through love, a fruit of the Spirit. I hear the suggestions that are made by Christian leaders and fellow believers. I want to honour God in response to the grace that he has shown, and that is my approach to Christian necessaries and disciplines.
It is necessary to be baptized, to baptize my children. It is a biblical command and duty,1 but not a means to God’s favour. It is necessary to join a true church and be involved in Christian fellowship,2 to serve and help fellow believers, but it is not a means to God’s favour. It is a good idea to read from God’s Word, day-by-day, to pray before meal times and to sing together as a family but it is not a means to God’s favour. It is a good idea to limit your time on social media, to be out in the sun, to eat healthy meals and help your neighbour, but again, it is not a means to God’s favour.
Faith working through love: do you see how it can help us to navigate the problem of peer pressure? I begin with the certainty of God’s favour in Christ, faith. There is nothing that I can do to contribute to my salvation. From that basis, I respond to the suggestions and comments from others, working through love.
Paul is going to tell us more about what this love looks like. First he will make reference to the law, as we see in Galatians 5:15. Then he will talk about the fruit of the Spirit, which we find from Galatians 5:22 on. But fundamentally, and if we think back to what we have seen earlier in Paul’s letter, the love which he has in view is the love that we find in God. Specifically, it is the love that Christ has demonstrated for us (Galatians 2:20), self-sacrificial love, kindness towards those that do you wrong. It is works in keeping with God’s moral law. This is the love that the Spirit produces in the hearts of God’s people. This is the love that follows and flows from our union with Christ. Confident of God’s favour, our aim is never to please the men and women around us, but to live for his glory, to follow Jesus come what may.
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.