### **INTRODUCTION: Love Is the Mark of Mature Faith**
Video Ill.: Sermon Bumper 4
Over the past few weeks, we have been exploring what it truly means to have a transformative faith—a faith that goes beyond belief and actually reshapes our lives.
In week one, we talked about how faith changes the way we respond to the world. It is easy to claim belief in God, but true faith shows up in how we treat others—how we handle frustration, conflict, and pain. We looked at how our reactions reveal the presence of Christ within us—or the absence of transformation.
In week two, we focused on how faith gives us a new purpose. We are not just here to sit in pews and attend services. God created each of us with unique gifts and a calling to serve. We learned that the church is not an event to attend; it is a mission to live.
Last week, we were challenged to remember that faith is not about having all the right answers or a flawless record. Faith is about seeking God daily, surrendering to His work in us, and walking faithfully—even when the path is unclear. Transformation does not happen in an instant, but when Christ truly lives in us, it is inevitable.
This morning, we take the next step. Faith is so much more than believing God exists, attending church each Sunday, having Bible knowledge, or living with good intentions.
Real faith is meant to lead us somewhere—and that destination is love.
Someone has once said that: “Faith is the seed, but love is the fruit.”
In his letter to the church, Peter explained how the mustard seed of faith should grow into something so much more — the faith journey that we should be traveling. Follow along as we read from 2 Peter 1:
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 4 Through these He has given us His very great an precious promises, so that through them you || may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to your goodness, knowledge; 6 and to your knowledge, self-control; and to || self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your || knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But anyone who does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that He has been cleaned from His past sins. (2 Peter 1, NIV1984)
As we discussed last week, a change must happen in our lives. But according to Peter, God has already given us everything we need to live that life.
We are called to grow—step by step—into the person God created us to be.
We start with faith. But we do not stop there. Faith is not the end of our spiritual journey.
Faith ? Goodness ? Knowledge ? Self-Control ? Perseverance ? Godliness ? Brotherly Kindness ? Love.
Faith starts the journey. But love is how we know we have reached maturity.
So this morning, the question is not just “Do I have faith?”
The question is: Is my faith growing? Is it bearing fruit? Is it becoming love?
Let us look at what this love looks like in action—and what it means for our walk with Christ.
### **1: Faith Is the Foundation, Not the Finish Line**
I think we would all agree that faith is essential to our spiritual lives. The writer of Hebrews makes that crystal clear, reminding us that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
But as essential as faith is, it is only the beginning.
Faith alone is not the end goal of the Christian life. It is the starting line.
Peter says it plainly in 2 Peter 1:5:
5 …[M]ake every effort to add to your faith…. (2 Peter 1, NIV1984)
We are not called to stand still—we are called to move. The Christian life is not passive—it is a race, a journey, a pursuit.
We are at the starting blocks of race. And when the pistol fires… we need to run.
### **Illustration: The Runner Who Never Took Off**
Imagine this: a packed stadium. The crowd is buzzing with anticipation. Runners are in position, crouched at the starting blocks of a championship race. The official raises the starting pistol and—**BANG!**—the gun fires.
But one runner just stays there.
He stands up slowly, brushes off his uniform, maybe waves to the crowd. He adjusts his shoes, glances around… but never moves forward. Meanwhile, the others are halfway down the track.
The crowd is confused. Some start yelling. Others laugh nervously. The race is well underway, but this one runner—though dressed to run, registered for the race, and standing at the line—**never takes the first step**.
Ridiculous, right?
But spiritually, that is what happens when we say we believe—but never build.
We show up. We hear the Word. We say all the right things. The “starting gun” of salvation has sounded in our lives.
But instead of growing in grace, becoming more like Christ, and moving in love… we stay still.
God did not save us so we could stand still.
Faith is not just about starting the race—it is about running it.
Peter makes it clear: if we are not growing, we are not thriving.
If we are not building on our faith, we become ineffective and unproductive in our relationship with Jesus.
Worse yet, if we are not actively moving forward, Peter says we are blind and nearsighted — having forgotten what Jesus did for us at Calvary.
### **Key Thought:**
God has already given us everything we need to move forward.
But the responsibility to grow—to add to our faith—rests with us.
We do not drift into love.
We grow into it—through intentional, Spirit-led obedience.
This is not about earning salvation. This is about growing up in it.
### **Application:**
This morning, are we treating faith like a badge to wear, or a building block on which to grow?
Are we running the race… or still standing at the starting line?
If God has called us to love—and has given us everything we need to grow into that love—then the next step is ours to take.
Let us stop standing still.
Let us move forward.
Let us run the race with faith that is actively growing—and leading us toward love.
### **2: A Faith That Grows Will Always Love**
If our faith is real, it will not stop with us—it will flow through us.
Faith that transforms us must be visible in how we love others.
This is not optional. It is essential.
Paul says it with clarity and force in Galatians 5:
6 …What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (Galatians 5, NLT)
Peter does not end his list with self-control or godliness.
He ends with love.
Because love is not just another step—it is the destination.
We can have all the others—goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness—but if we do not have love, our faith is still unfinished.
Once we begin to love like Jesus, we begin to live like Jesus.
We begin to understand and live out the breadth, width, depth, and height of God’s love.
Love becomes who we are and not something we claim to have.
### **Key Thought:**
Faith is not proven by what we know—it is proven by how we love.
Do we love like Jesus?
### **Faith Without Love Is Empty**
Paul says it plainly in 1 Corinthians 13:
2 …[I]f I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. (1 Corinthians 13, NLT)
Let that sink in.
We can attend church every Sunday.
We can quote entire chapters of Scripture.
We can hold fast to sound doctrine.
But if our lives are not marked by love, our faith is hollow.
We may have beliefs, but we do not yet have transformation.
### **Faith in Action Looks Like Love in Action**
James 2 reminds us:
17 …[F]aith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2, NLT)
Faith must produce. Faith must do. And what it produces is love.
So what does faith-producing love look like?
It is forgiving someone who hurt you, even if they never apologize.
It is encouraging someone the world has forgotten.
It is listening instead of interrupting.
It is serving when you are tired or inconvenienced.
It is giving when someone else is in need—your time, your energy, your presence.
It is choosing grace instead of revenge.
It is speaking truth with compassion, not condemnation.
It is showing up when no one else does.
These are not just good deeds.
They are the natural outflow of a growing faith—the fruit that grows when love has taken root.
Love does not need a stage or a spotlight. Most often, it shows up quietly… in kitchens, coffee shops, phone calls, and hospital rooms.
### **Illustration: This Is What Love Looks Like**
This week, I saw a video that captured this perfectly.
Video Ill.: Instagram reel of the woman getting hot chocolate for hurting women – [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEN9soCSplv]
That—right there—is love in action.
No fanfare. No attention. No payoff.
Just a woman messaging a neighbor, asking for a large container of hot chocolate—not for herself, but for some ladies who were hurting. She just wanted to do something kind. Something small. Something full of love.
And that act not only blessed those women—it blessed the coffee shop owner too.
That’s what love looks like.
### **Application**
This morning are we learning about love, or are we living it?
Is our faith producing anything visible? Is it overflowing in compassion, or quietly staying internal?
Who needs the love of Christ through us this week?
**Challenge:**
Who is one person we can love intentionally today?
One act of kindness.
One text.
One visit.
One sacrifice.
Faith that grows… loves.
If our lives are not marked by love, then our faith is not finished.
Let us not just say we believe—let us show what we believe by how we love.
### **3: Love Is the Fruit of a Transformed Faith and Life**
Love is not just the result of faith—it is the reflection of God through us.
When we love, others catch a glimpse of who God is.
And when our faith matures, it stops asking, “What do I get from God?” and starts asking, “How can I give His love to someone else?”
The ultimate mark of mature faith… is love.
It is easy to say we are loving people. It is easy to agree that love is important.
But the real question is: Are we doing love?
Being President Versus Doing President
Source: Steve Sample, The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002), pp. 159-160
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2006/june/7062606.html
Copied from Preaching Today
The late Steve Sample, former president of the University of Southern California, wrote:
In the spring of 1970, when I was 29, I learned I had won a fellowship from the American Council on Education, which would allow me to serve an administrative internship with Purdue University President Fred Hovde for the 1970–71 academic year. I was elated by the opportunity. Despite having only recently been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of electrical engineering at Purdue, I was already leaning toward a career in administration….
Soon after the award was announced, I happened to bump into a colleague, Vern Newhouse, who was a highly respected senior member of the electrical engineering faculty. "So, Sample," Newhouse said, "I see you've won some sort of administrative fellowship in the president's office."
"Yes, that's true," I said.
"And you'll be learning how to become an administrator?"
"I suppose so."
"And then you'll probably want to be president of a university somewhere down the road?"
"Well, I don't know. I guess I've thought about it now and then," I said, somewhat disingenuously.
He smiled and said: "Personally, I've never had any ambition whatsoever to be an administrator. I am totally inept at managing things…. But I've been a careful observer of ambitious men all my life. And here, for what it's worth, is what I've learned: many men want to be president, but very few want to do president." And with that he wished me well and walked away.
That statement stuck with Sample—and it should stick with us too.
Many people want to be loving.
But far fewer are willing to do love.
It is one thing to say, “I want to be a loving person.”
It is another thing entirely to show up, to sacrifice, to serve, and to love someone who is difficult.
Peter says the evidence of our maturity is not just our beliefs—it is our behavior.
Jesus told His disciples:
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 13, NLT)
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that faith without love is nothing.
Paul said in Galatians 5 that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
The goal for our lives is not just right theology, perfect rituals and routines or even well intentioned action — the goal for our lives is to live with Christlike love in action.
### **Application**:
This morning, we must ask ourselves:
Are we content to wear the label of faith?
Are we growing toward love or just circling in routine?
Are we committed to living the life of faith—especially through how we love?
Let us not just admire the idea of love.
Let us do love—through our words, our actions, and our sacrifices.
That is when faith becomes mature. That is when our faith produces fruit, evidence of the faith we claim to have.
That is when transformation is complete.
### **CONCLUSION: Climbing Toward Love**
This morning, Peter reminds us: if we possess these qualities—faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love—and if we are growing in them, our lives will be effective and fruitful.
But without them, we are spiritually nearsighted. We forget what God has done for us. We lose sight of God’s grace that saved us.
So today, take that first step—or your next one.
Jump off the starting block in the race of faith.
Climb the staircase of transformation.
Do not settle for a shallow, stagnant faith.
Keep growing—until love defines who we are.
In Luke 10, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus calls us to love our neighbors—our neighbors include our actual neighbors, our families, our friends, our coworkers, even the strangers we encounter.
If we are not actively loving — if we are not serving others — if we are not reaching our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ — then let us be honest, we are not truly living our faith.
A faith that does not love is not mature. It is weak. It is a faith that has forgotten its First Love.
### **Challenge:**
So this morning we must ask ourselves: Where am I in this journey of faith?
Are we stuck at the starting line?
Are we stalled somewhere on the staircase?
Do we need to grow in knowledge? In self-control? In perseverance? In godliness? In kindness?
Or do we need to pursue love?
Into what step is God calling us to grow?
The ultimate goal is that we grow into the fullness of God’s love — to know, understand, and share the width, length, height, and depth of God’s love with this world.
How can we let love lead us this week?
Whom do we need to love—intentionally, sacrificially, and with Christ-like compassion?
May our faith not stop at belief.
May it grow—until it looks like love.
And may that love be the mark of our maturity, the evidence of our transformed faith, and the legacy we leave behind.
