We’re looking at Galatians in our morning services, and Galatians is quite a difficult book. The passage we have for today is quite complicated, but I have found just eleven words which I think sum up the whole book for us. So if you are with us just for today, you’re going to get the whole book of Galatians in eleven words! They are these eleven words:
‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’
The whole book has been about this word ‘faith’; and I think this verse is going to tell us what Paul means by it. We’re going to look at each half. The first thing is: ‘The only thing that counts is faith.’ Paul says faith is the one thing that we need when it comes to knowing God – all that matters is faith.
1) The only thing that counts is faith
I want to ask you if you’ve ever travelled in a cable-car. You can see there a picture of a very high and steep mountain. And there is a cable-car which runs right the way up to the top.
Have any of you ever travelled in a cable-car? Yes! Some of you have. Great! Many of the adults will have done too. Or you may have been on a chair-lift when you’ve been in the mountains sometimes? Well, this is pretty similar.
Now, I want you to imagine that Katie, here, and I are at the foot of this mountain. Imagine this conversation between us:
“Katie, why don’t we take this cable-car right up to the top of the mountain?”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. That would be great. But I don’t think I’m going to be very happy when I get to the top. I will feel that the cable-car has done it all for me, and what will I have done? I won’t feel a sense of achievement. So, Mark, I think I’m going to walk.”
“But hold on, Katie. This is the only place, down here, that we can get into the cable-car. You can’t get into it later on. You have to start by getting into the cable-car or you won’t get to the top.”
“Yes, but it’s a lovely day, Mark, and I’d like to walk, at least some of the way.”
“Look, Katie, once you start walking you’re going to have to walk the whole way to the top. And do you know something? Nobody has ever walked to the top of that particular mountain. You can see that, look at it! Nobody has ever walked up that mountain. And there is no way to get to the top except by getting into the cable-car. If you try walking, Katie, we’re going to see your dead body lying on that mountain in a day or two’s time. Nobody’s ever got there by walking.”
“But Mark, I’d really like to walk. I’d feel a sense of satisfaction – what am I going to feel if I get to the top and I’ve just sat in the cable-car and it’s gone all the way up and I’ve done nothing? I really would like to walk some of the way.”
“But Katie, as I’ve explained, if you start walking up the
mountain you’re going to have to walk the whole way! Nobody’s ever done that.
No-one’s ever got to the top of the mountain that way. The only way is in the
cable-car. You can’t take the cable-car and walk!”
Well, we‘ll leave that
imaginary conversation for a moment (without making any comment on how well I
was communicating with Katie!) Paul says that it’s like that with God. There is
a ‘cable-car’ which Paul calls God‹s grace. That’s his word for my picture of
the cable-car. It’s God’s grace: and we get into it by faith. The only thing
that counts is faith, says Paul. There’s no price for the cable-car. When you
went in a cable-car you probably had to pay. You don’t have to pay with this
cable-car: it’s absolutely free. All you’ve got to do is to trust God and get
into it. And it takes us right to the top: it takes us right into a
relationship with God for now and for ever. There’s no price to pay – but it is
the only way to the top. If you and I try to walk there, we’ll perish in the
attempt. 
Here’s a little chap called Works, Fred Works. But I’m afraid he’s
dead Works. He never made it to the top. A little picture of dead Works, who
thought he could walk and he couldn’t. Nobody’s ever made it to the top
of that mountain. And so Paul says to us the only thing that counts, if you
want a relationship with God, is faith. You think that’s simple, children,
don’t you? Do you think that’s a simple idea? Look at the grown-ups around at
the moment. Do you know, there are plenty of them who think this is a simple
idea too – but they’re not doing it. Some of those grown-ups (not a lot, but
some) are thinking they can walk up the mountain to have a relationship with
God. By trying to be good, to work hard, to be good parents – whatever it might
be. And they’re not hearing what Paul is saying to them when he says, ‘The
only thing that counts is faith ... ’ You try to walk up that mountain
like Katie was so determined to do – you’ll end up like dead Works, lying there
on the mountain side, because you can’t have a relationship with God that way.
Now, let’s consider at something different. My wife, Fiona, and I sometimes have a little conversation which goes like this: one of us says to the other, “I love you.” And the other replies, “And I love you too.” (Isn’t that sweet?) Now, God says to you and me, “I love you”. He says it by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. His grace is God saying to us, “I love you.” But you know the right answer that you and I give is not actually, “And I love you too.” That may sound strange – I’m sure it’s the right answer for me to give to my wife – but it’s not the right answer for me to give to God. Do you know what I need to say first to God? I need to say two very simple words first to God: I need to say, “Thank you.” His love for me is such that my love for Him is an irrelevance compared with it. I need just to accept what He’s done for me, and to thank Him for it.
And we need to say that before we start telling God how much we love Him, how much we are going to try to live for Him, how much we are going to try to respond to His lovely grace for us. That ‘thank you’ is the faith that simply steps into the cable-car of grace. And to take it knowing that that car will take us the whole way up. Do you see, each of the little supports for the cable are crosses? Because it’s the Cross that starts the journey, when we realise Jesus died for our sins. And it’s the Cross that’s going to take us the whole way up to the top.
But the verse goes on: ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’ That’s the second thing we’re going to look at.
2) Faith expressing itself through love
Faith is the trust that takes us into the cable-car of grace. We don’t get into the cable-car by love – that’s not what Paul means by saying this. He’s not saying that you enter that cable-car by love. But he’s saying that once we’re in, that is the place for love. That’s where we say, “And I love you, too.” Once we’re inside God’s grace and have accepted His great love for us; unlovable, undeserving as we are.
At the Millennium Dome I understand they have an area there called The Spirit Zone. Well, this is the real Spirit Zone – when you and I accept God’s love for us, and He sends His Spirit into our hearts so that we can begin to live in the way He wants us to. That’s what happens when we accept God’s grace: the love He wants us to show in our lives begins to show: because we know we’re forgiven.
Now, it looks to me as if we need another illustration at this point. So I think we need to turn to Katie again. Have a close look at Katie doing her Spice Girl imitation here! You will see she’s dancing to the music of her Walkman. But you and I can’t join in, can we? Because we can’t hear that music that she’s listening to. To dance you need to hear the music.
Well, to love in the way God wants us to love, we need to have accepted His grace, we need to have accepted His love for us if we’re ever going to love in the way He wants us to. The music we hear when we step inside that cable-car is the music that allows us to dance: to love in the way God wants us to.
Some music does make you want to dance, doesn’t it? What about this? [Some catchy piano music is played] I think some toes began tapping as they heard that! Well again, do you see the point? Do you see the illustration?— the love of God for us is great; it saves us freely; as it were it sets our toes tapping. We want to begin to live in a new way in this world. Love will never take you up the mountain. I would long for everybody here to understand that. It’s God’s grace that takes us up the mountain, received through faith. But that faith also is the music that gets us beginning to love in the way God wants us to. That’s the love God wants, and we only learn how to love when we realise we are loved by God.
Faith takes us in, it’s the ‘thank you’ that takes us into that cable-car. And then it teaches us how to love. And ‘The only thing that counts [says Paul] is faith expressing itself through love.’ Faith is how we step into the cable-car, and inside the cable-car we are in the Spirit Zone where love is danced to the tune of faith.
Children, you’ve been brilliant. Thank you very much indeed. Before you go back to your seats I’m going to say a prayer and then we are going to sing our final hymn.
Father God, it’s hard for us to understand that you have done it all for us, and all that counts, all that matters, is faith – simple trust in your love for us. But we thank you so much for that. And we thank you for the music that it plays in our hearts, that teaches us to dance – to love people as you want us to. Father, we thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.