The Only Thing That Counts

Intro: Theme/Topic (What’s the problem, the question, etc.)

I don’t know if you’ve heard…this Tuesday is Election Day. And I know — some of you just felt your blood pressure go up, and some of you just breathed a sigh of relief, because it means it’s almost over.

For months now, we have been told — from every possible direction — what matters most in this country. Every ad, every mailer, every yard sign. And now — we’re even getting text messages!

We laugh — but underneath all of that noise is actually a serious question…

Every one of those ads, every one of those messages, is trying to answer the same thing:

What counts? What actually matters? What is the one issue that will make the difference?

And of course, they all disagree with each other.

The economy. Immigration. Education. National security. Each one is saying:

This is it. This is the thing that counts above all else.

Now — I am not going to tell you how to vote on Tuesday. That’s between you and God.

But I am going to tell you that the apostle Paul, in the text we’re looking at this morning, asks a far more consequential version of that same question.

Not “What counts in this election?” but “What counts in your life before God?”

And more specifically — and this is the question I want you to sit with this morning —

What makes your Christian life actually count for anything?

Because if you’re honest, you’ve probably felt the weight of that question. Maybe not in those exact words. But you’ve felt it.

You come to church. You read your Bible — most days. You’re in a small group. You’re serving somewhere. You’re giving. You’re trying to raise your kids in the faith. You’re doing the things you’re supposed to do.

And yet sometimes you lie in bed at night and wonder:

Is any of this making a difference? Does any of it actually matter?

Or maybe you’re on the other end of that — you look at the list of things a “good Christian” is supposed to be doing, and it feels overwhelming, and you think:

I can’t keep up. I’m never going to be enough.

Paul has an answer. And it’s not what you’d expect. It’s not another item to add to the list. It’s not “try harder.” It’s something far more fundamental — and far more freeing.

Let’s read it together. Galatians chapter 5, beginning in verse 6.

Scripture

If you need to use a pew Bible, you’ll find today’s text on page 1157. Once you’re there, please stand with me if you are able and follow along with me as I read...

Galatians 5:6–12 ESV

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

This God’s Word!

Prayer

Father open our eyes to see and open our hearts to receive Your Word today. Holy Spirit teach us, train us, convict us, and clearly show us Jesus exalted today that we may marvel at Your grace and take even greater joy in knowing Jesus.

Intro: Formal (give context to passage, setting the scene, big idea)

Last week we looked at the first five verses of Galatians chapter 5, and we saw Paul draw a line in the sand. He said:

You have two options. You can try to stand before God on the basis of your performance —

your law-keeping, your moral track record, your religious résumé —

But if you go that route, Paul says Christ will be of no advantage to you.

You’ll have to keep the whole law perfectly. And you will have fallen from grace.

Or — and this is where he ended in verse 5 — you can wait.

You can, through the Spirit, by faith, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

Not a righteousness you’ve produced. A righteousness that’s been given to you — and that will be fully revealed on the last day.

And that little word “faith” at the end of verse 5 is the hinge. Because Paul picks it right up in verse 6. He says:

“For” — here’s the reason, here’s the ground — “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Do you see what he just did? He took the whole argument of this letter —

law versus grace, performance versus promise, flesh versus Spirit —

And he boiled it down to one sentence. One principle.

THIS is the only thing that counts.

And that brings us back to the question I asked you before we read the text:

What makes your Christian life actually count for anything?

You’ve got a list of things you’re doing — or things you feel like you should be doing. And the answer is not to make the list longer. The answer is not to try harder.

Paul’s answer is this:

What makes your Christian life count for anything is not your performance for God but the faith that fuels love for Him and others.

That’s it. That’s the only thing that counts. Not circumcision. Not uncircumcision.

And for us today: Not your best day. Not your worst day.

But, FAITH — active, Christ-relying, love-producing FAITH.

And Paul is going to unpack this for us in three ways in our passage this morning.

Faith frees us from performance (v. 6a)

Faith fuels love for God and others (v. 6b)

Faith must be fiercely guarded (vv. 7-12)

Let’s start with the first one.

Faith That Frees You From Performance

Look with me at the first half of verse 6.

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything…”

Now, remember — circumcision in Paul’s context does not mean what it means for us today.

The Galatians were being tempted to use circumcision as a means to be right with God. It was the ultimate religious credential. It was how you knew you belonged. The mark on your body that said: “I’m serious about God.”

We don’t practice circumcision like this any more. But we have our own versions of it — the things we quietly rely on to feel we’re right with God.

Maybe it’s your church attendance. Your giving. Your years of faithful service. Your moral track record. Your Bible reading streak. Homeschooling your kids.

Whatever it is — it’s the thing you’d put on your spiritual résumé if God asked you to justify your place at His table.

Last week we saw Paul say: if those are the things on your résumé when you stand before God one day, they will give you zero advantage. None.

But here’s the question that nags at us, isn’t it?

Okay — faith in Christ got me in the door. I believe that. But don’t I need to prove now that I belong here? Don’t I need to show God that letting me in wasn’t a mistake?

Paul says no. And here’s why…

Think about your best week — your spiritual highlight reel…

The week you read your Bible every day. Served faithfully. Didn’t lose your temper once. Shared the gospel with your neighbor. You were firing on all cylinders!

And the truth is — that week — no matter how impressive — did not move the needle up one bit on how God feels about you.

Not because He doesn’t care. But because in Christ, His love for you is already at its maximum. There is nowhere higher for it to go.

Now think about the other side — what Paul calls “uncircumcision.” In his day, that was the irreligious pagan — the outsider with no spiritual credentials at all.

For us, it’s the fear that our failures have disqualified us. That we’ve used up God’s patience. That we’ve fallen too far to still be accepted.

So think about your worst week. Your spiritual blooper reel.

The week you didn’t open your Bible once. You lost your patience with your kids — again. You skipped church. You gave in to that sin you’ve been wrestling with for years.

And the truth is — That week — no matter how much of a train wreck it was — did not move the needle down on God’s love for you. Not one millimeter.

Because in Christ, God’s love for you is not fragile. It does not rise and fall with your performance.

Now — some of you needed to hear that first part. That your good works don’t make God love you more.

Because you’ve been living in the slavery of fear — fear that you’re not doing enough.

Or in the slavery of pride — quietly convinced that you are. Quietly keeping score. Quietly comparing your faithfulness to the person sitting next to you.

But some of you needed to hear the second part. That your failures have not made God love you any less. Because you’ve been living in the slavery of shame and despair — convinced that you are too far gone for God to still want you.

And this is Paul’s point at the beginning of verse 6. If you are in Christ — your greatest victories and your worst failures — if you are relying on them for God’s favor — they count for nothing.

Nothing.

The gospel frees you from the guilt of your imperfect performance.

And it frees you from the old drive to perform in order to assure yourself of God’s approval.

Faith says: “I don’t need to bring anything to the table — because Christ brought it all for me.”

Which means God’s love for you is not conditioned on your performance. It’s conditioned on Christ’s performance. And His performance is perfect.

This is freedom. Freedom from the exhausting, soul-crushing cycle of performing for a God whose approval you already have.

So — faith frees you from the need to perform. And Paul says that way of living — the performing, the striving, the résumé-building — it will never count for anything.

But he doesn’t stop there. Because faith doesn’t just free you from something — it frees you for something.

And what it frees you for is the only thing that counts.

Look with me at the rest of verse 6...

Faith That Fuels Love for God and Others

Now look with me at the last part of verse 6 to see what Paul says really counts...

“But only faith working through love.”

After faith frees us from slavery to our performance, it doesn’t become passive. Faith becomes an engine — and it moves us to love.

And this isn’t Paul swapping one checklist item for another. He’s not saying: “Stop doing circumcision and start doing love instead.”

He’s saying that faith itself — faith that relies only on Christ — is the only thing that can produce genuine love.

Love is the fruit, not a new requirement.

Now — this kind of love is not a feeling. It’s not sentimentality. Paul is not talking about being a nice, decent, respectable person.

This love is a joyful self-giving. Giving yourself away for the good of another — not because you have to, but because you want to. Because you can. Because you have nothing to lose.

And this love is a direct reflection of the love we receive by faith in Jesus — who, for the joy set before Him — GAVE Himself for us by enduring the cross.

Now if love is self-giving, then the opposite of love is taking. Not loving someone for who they are — but only for what you can get from them.

But understand something. It’s impossible for you to love like this unless you are a deeply secure person. And the only thing that makes you deeply secure is faith in Christ. Here’s why...

Think about what this can look like in the church.

The insecure person serves God out of fear — to earn His approval.

This person tithes, serves, attends — But it’s all driven by anxiety, not affection. That’s not love. — It’s a job application.

The self-serving person serves God to get something from Him.

This person gives expecting a return on investment. They don’t love God for who He is — they only love what He can do for them.

Neither one of these people is joyfully self-giving. Both are taking. And taking is the opposite of love.

This means you can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons. And when you do, it doesn’t count for anything.

Not because God is keeping score — but because love that isn’t freely given isn’t love at all.

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon used to tell a story about a farmer who grew the largest, most beautiful carrot anyone had ever seen.

And he decided one day that he would give it as a gift to the king that he loved.

The king gladly received it and told the farmer he would like to double the size of his land so he could grow more delicious carrots.

Now another man witnessed this scene and thought to himself: “If the king doubled that farmer’s land for a carrot — I wonder what he would give me if I gave him a horse.”

So the next day the man went before the king and said: “This is the finest, most beautiful horse I’ve ever bred. I give him to you, my king, as a gift.”

The king thanked him — and sent him away with nothing.

As the man walked away dejected, the king called out to him: “Do you know why I doubled the farmer’s land but gave you nothing? It’s because you weren’t giving ME a horse. You were giving YOURSELF a horse.”

Two gifts. Two givers. One was love. The other was a transaction dressed up as generosity. And the king could see the difference. How much more can God?

So I ask you — which man are you?

When you serve God. When you give. When you pray. When you show up on Sunday morning.

Are you the farmer — or the horse-giver? Are you giving because you love Him? Or are you giving because you want something from Him?

And here’s where this cuts deep. Some of us are horse-givers and don’t even know it.

Because the thing we’re trying to get from God isn’t always money or health or success.

Sometimes the horse we’re giving ourselves… Is the feeling of being a good person. The satisfaction of knowing we’ve done our part. The quiet assurance that God owes us something now.

Those are still transactions. They’re just more respectable ones.

So, what breaks this cycle? How do you move from horse-giver to farmer?

By faith — It’s by faith that we’re certain we already have everything we need in Christ.

In verse 5, Paul says we have the hope of righteousness secure and waiting for us.

In Romans 8:32, Paul writes:

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

And Peter declares in 2 Peter 1:3

2 Peter 1:3 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

Do you hear that? All things. Not some things. Not most things. All things.

For those who are in Christ by faith — the verdict is in. Everything is guaranteed. Your inheritance is settled.

And if that’s true — and it is — then you already have everything. You have nothing to protect. And nothing to prove.

You are free to love God for who He is and what He’s done — not for what He might give you.

And you are free to love others for who they are — not for what they can do for you.

This is what makes Christian love so different from anything the world has to offer.

The world says:

Love people who love you back. Give to those who can return the favor. Invest where there’s a return.

But faith says:

I already have my return. Christ is my return. So now I’m free to love people who can give me nothing. I’m free to serve where there’s no payoff. I’m free to give myself away — because I’ve already received everything.

This means: You’re no longer an employee working for a wage. You’re no longer a beggar hoping for scraps. You’re a child — who already has your Father’s full affection.

Church — a faith-fueled Christian is:

The most generous, the most sacrificial, the most joyfully self-giving person in any room.

Not because they’re trying harder than everyone else. But because Christ has given them everything — and they have nothing to lose.

So let me ask you — where are you right now?

If you’ve been lacking in love for God or for others — If your devotional life feels like a duty, If your service feels like drudgery, If your relationships feel transactional — The solution is not to try harder to muster more love from within yourself.

The solution is to fix your gaze back on the object of your faith. Go back to the gospel. Remind yourself of what Christ has done for you and what you already have in Him.

And as you dwell on this — your heart will be melted by Christ’s love and begin to flow again with love for God and others.

The gospel doesn’t just free you from your imperfect performance — it frees you from the old drive to perform. And when that drive dies, something new grows in its place.

Not duty. Not obligation. Love — Real love. The kind that gives itself away and never asks for a receipt.

And let me be clear — Faith doesn’t free you from doing good works. It frees you from NEEDING good works to be accepted. And that changes everything.

Now — if you’re here today and have never put your faith in Christ. Maybe this love sounds incredibly attractive to you. If so, let me tell you something.

The only way you can love like this is to first receive the love of Christ for you — by faith.

The apostle John puts it simply: 1 John 4:19

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

And how did God love us? John 3:16 tells us:

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Do you see it? God loved by giving. The ultimate act of joyful self-giving is when God gave His Son —

And Jesus went to the cross to trade His perfect record for your failures and to pay for them with His life.

Then He rose again on the third day — and that victory is yours to share in — if you believe.

There is no greater love than this. And when you receive it by faith, it will make you a genuinely loving person — For the first time in your life.

You can receive this love right now — by saying something like this from your heart to God:

“God, I know I have failed to love you and others more times than I can count. I trust that Jesus died and rose again to pay for all my failures and to give me a heart that genuinely loves you and others. Forgive me, God, and give me that new heart. In Jesus’ name — Amen.”

If you just prayed that — this changes everything for you. Because God hasn’t just given you a longer to-do list. He’s given you a new heart. And that new heart will produce something your best efforts never could — genuine love for God and for others.

So, let’s step back and see where we are.

Faith frees you from performance. And faith fuels genuine love — the only thing that counts.

Now — if faith working through love is the only thing that counts for anything, then what happens when someone tries to take it from you?

Paul has something to say about that. And he says it with a ferocity that should get our attention.

Look with me at verse 12…

Faith Must Be Fiercely Guarded

Now before we look at verses 7 through 11, I want you to hear Paul’s conclusion to this passage in verse 12:

“I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”

— No one ever said the Bible was G-rated.

Now, this may seem harsh and even crude. But the pastor and theologian John Stott argues that this is a wish born not out of a thirst for revenge but out of a deep love for the people of God.

And I think what we should take from this is that for Paul — this really matters. This is life and death.

Paul isn’t angry because someone disagrees with him on a fine point of theology. He’s angry because someone is tampering with the only engine that produces love — and if that engine goes down, everything goes with it.

So in light of that — let’s go back and survey verses 7 through 11 to see what made Paul so fierce.

First, verse 7. Paul uses an athletic metaphor. Essentially saying:

“You guys shot out of the starting blocks on fire! You were off to such a great start!”

But now someone is cutting into your lane — pushing you off course — and they don’t want you to finish this race!

Paul says they were being hindered from obeying the truth.

And notice — he doesn’t say “obeying the law.” So what does he mean by obeying the truth? Is this some new requirement we need to add to a performance checklist?

No. Listen to how Jesus responds to the crowd in John 6:28-29.

John 6:28–29 ESV

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

I think this is what Paul is getting at. Belief and faith are deeply connected — they both call us to exercise absolute trust and dependence on Christ.

Which means the Galatians were being hindered from doing the only thing that counts for anything — living by faith in Christ that expresses itself in genuine love.

Now look with me at verse 8.

“This persuasion is not from him who calls you.”

Paul is urging them to consider the source. If this teaching is not from God — we know where it comes from, don’t we?

From the Father of Lies.

Relying on your own effort may sound flattering. It may even feel empowering. But here’s the truth:

If the enemy can’t make you bad, He’ll try to make you good.

If he can’t drag you into obvious immorality, He’ll lure you into respectable self-reliance.

Both will pull you away from faith. But the second is far more dangerous —

Because the person trapped in immorality usually knows they’re far from God. But the person trapped in religious performance thinks they’re close.

Now verse 9.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

Think about how leaven works. It spreads. A tiny amount works its way through an entire batch of dough. You can’t contain it. You can’t keep it in one corner.

Imagine how these false teachers may have sold this to the Galatians:

“We’re not asking for much. Just add this one small practice to your faith. It’s not a big deal.”

But Paul says it is… Because you cannot add a tiny bit of performance to grace without grace becoming completely corrupted. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

And think about how quietly this works in our lives today. False teaching rarely announces itself. It doesn’t show up as obvious heresy. It may even sound partially true.

“I know I’m saved by grace — but I’d better keep up my end of the deal.”

“I know God forgave me — but I should probably try to make it up to Him.”

“I know I’m accepted in Christ — but I need to prove I’m really serious.”

Every one of those “buts” is leaven.

And leaven doesn’t walk through the front door and say, “I’m here to ruin your gospel.”

It slips in quietly through the back. And if you don’t catch it, it will work its way through your entire faith — until grace is just a word you sing about on Sunday but no longer live in Monday through Saturday.

Now look with me at verse 11.

Apparently someone was claiming that Paul himself still preached circumcision. Paul’s response is logical and devastating: “How could I? I’m still being persecuted — because the cross is still offensive.”

Paul could have made the persecution stop. All he had to do was add a little performance to his gospel — a little leaven — and the offense would disappear. But he wouldn’t do it.

Because he would rather be persecuted for an offensive gospel, than be comfortable with a powerless one!

And here’s why the cross is so offensive…

The cross tells us that we were so far off — so lost — so helpless — that our absolute best efforts are hopeless to save us. We can’t even help!

The cross says we were so broken that the only solution was for the perfect Son of God to shed His blood and die in our place.

But — tell someone they can contribute —

“Yes, faith — plus a little of your effort” — and in an instant, the offense disappears. The cross becomes respectable. Comfortable. — And utterly powerless.

Here’s a simple test. If your gospel never offends anyone — never makes anyone uncomfortable — you may have quietly removed the scandal of the cross. And a cross without offense is a cross without power.

Now — as high as the stakes are, look with me at verse 10 to see where Paul’s confidence lies.

“I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.”

There’s good news and bad news here. Let’s start with the bad.

Paul is confident that whoever is trying to derail their faith will bear the penalty — they will face divine judgment. — “Whoever he is” —

His credentials, His reputation, and His influence will not be enough to spare him.

Hear Jesus on this in Matthew 18:6-7

Matthew 18:6–7 ESV

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

This is a warning to anyone in a position of influence.

Pastors. Teachers. Small group leaders. Parents.

If you’re adding performance requirements to the gospel — even subtly, even with good intentions — you are tampering with the only thing that counts. And God takes that seriously.

Now the good news.

Paul is confident that the Galatians will come around. But notice the ground of his confidence — It’s not in them.

Not in their track record. Not in their strength. Not in their wisdom.

Paul’s confidence is in the Lord!

It’s the confidence of Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s confidence is rooted in the faithfulness of a God who will never let go of His people.

So if you’re sitting here today feeling convicted — feeling the weight of some leaven you’ve let in — hear this:

It’s not too late. The God who called you is the God who keeps you. And He finishes what He starts.

But hear this too: guard your faith fiercely. Not because your faith is fragile — God is the one who sustains it.

Guard it because your faith in Christ is everything. When you guard your faith, you protect your ability to love. And you protect the very thing that makes your life count for anything.

Conclusion/Response (Gospel & Repent/Believe)

Church — this Tuesday, the country will vote. And by Wednesday morning, one side will celebrate and the other side will despair. And both sides will be convinced that this is what mattered most.

But long after the ballots are counted and the ads stop running and the yard signs come down — and the text messages finally — mercifully — stop!

The question Paul asks will still be the one that matters most:

What counts in your life before God?

Not your performance. Not your political party. Not your spiritual résumé. Not your best week or your worst week.

The only thing that counts is faith in Christ —

Faith that frees you from the exhausting cycle of performing for a God whose approval you already have…

And faith that fuels the one thing your heart was made for — genuine love for God and for others.

So don’t let anyone take that from you. Don’t let the leaven in. Don’t trade the freedom of the gospel for the slavery of performance — no matter how respectable that slavery looks.

Fix your eyes on Christ. He is enough. He has always been enough. And He always will be.

Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father thank you that our standing before you does not depend on our performance but on the perfect performance of Christ. Forgive us for the leaven we’ve let in that would compromise this. Free us from feeling like we need to perform for You to accept us. Fuel us with a faith that drives us to genuinely love You and others. And make us steadfast and fierce as we guard the only thing that counts — faith working through love! We ask all this in Jesus’ name — Amen.

Closing Song: The Solid Rock

Closing Words:

What a perfect song to close with today. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” — That’s it. That’s the only thing that counts.

Final Gospel Appeal:

If you’re here today and you’ve realized for the first time that you’ve been standing on your own performance instead of Christ’s. The invitation is still open for you to decide once and for all to step off your own record and stand on Christ’s. If you’d like help doing this, there will be some people up front after the service who would love to help you do this.

Next Steps:

For those of you who have trusted Christ — let me encourage you: don’t just sit on what you heard today. Take a step.

If you haven’t been baptized — that’s your next step. Baptism is how you publicly declare that your hope is built on Christ and nothing else.

If you’re not in a small group — get in one. That’s where faith gets fueled and where love for others gets practiced in real life.

If you’ve been attending but haven’t become a member — let’s talk about that.

And if you’re looking for a place to serve — please let us know. We’d love to help you find a place to use your gifts to bless others.

Missional Charge:

And as you walk out of here today into a week that’s going to be loud — election noise, work pressure, school pressure, and everything else — remember: you carry with you the most important message anyone will hear this week.

The gospel — The good news that there is a God who loves sinners enough to give His Son for them.

Someone in your life needs to hear that this week. Be the one who tells them.

Benediction: Jude 24–25

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Church You Are Sent!