Posted on 08/09/2026 12:09:47 AM PDT by metmom
"If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2).
Loveless faith is useless faith.
In Matthew 17:19 the disciples came to Jesus wanting to know why they couldn't cast a demonic spirit from a child. Jesus responded, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you" (v. 20). He repeated the same principle in Matthew 21:21: "Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall . . . say to this mountain [the Mount of Olives], 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' [and] it shall happen."
Those passages have puzzled many people because they've never seen anyone move a mountain. But Jesus wasn't speaking literally. Moving mountains would cause all kinds of ecological problems and would be a pointless miracle. The expression "able to move mountains" was a common figure of speech in that day, meaning "to surmount great obstacles." Jesus was speaking of those who have the gift of faith—who can move the hand of God through unwavering prayer.
The gift of faith is the ability to believe that God will act according to His will, no matter the circumstances. People with that gift are prayer warriors and tend to stand as rocks when others around them are falling apart. They see God's power and purposes at work and trust Him even when others doubt.
But, says Paul, even if you have such faith, if you don't have love, you are nothing. That's a harsh rebuke, but it places the emphasis where it belongs: on our motives. The Corinthians' motives were evident in their selfish pursuit of the showy gifts.
What motivates you? Remember, without love it doesn't matter what gifts you have, how eloquent your speech is, what you know, or what you believe. Only love can validate your service to Christ.
Suggestions for Prayer
-Ask God for a greater capacity to trust Him, and the motivation to pray more fervently.
For Further Study
-Read Hebrews 11, drawing from the examples of the people of great faith mentioned there.
Studying God’s Word ping
May our King and Lord shield you and mightily bless you metmom. Grateful for your ministry here !! Thank you =:^)
Is it any easier to reconcile man adding the word “alone” into the Bible with this line:
“”If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing””
as it is with this line:
“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” James 2:14-17
hmmm...
It appears the main sticking point is the definition of ‘good deeds’, and just how MANY of them are REQUIRED.
Bible caucus - I’ve been teaching the book of Galatians for several months now to my class. What I’m most impressed with and the biggest take away is that this is the only epistle Paul devoted to one single point and beat it death from every angle. I can sum up the book of Galatians in one sentence: “Salvation is only by faith and never by works.” Yet Paul spends the entire epistle proving this in every way. He considered it that important. The most important point of faith.
Yes, it’s the main theme of Galatians.
And yet, Paul reiterates the same points in ALL his epistles. Romans especially, being another one like Galatians.
Yet only Galatians devotes the entire epistle to this one single point.
I think that's because our fallen human prideful nature wants to take some credit for everything even if it's in a small way. When we reach the point where we finally get it that our salvation has NOTHING to do with our meriting, working or deserving it and EVERYTHING to do with the wholly unmerited GRACE of God which we accept by faith alone, we can begin to glorify Jesus in whatever we do. Our entire motivation changes.
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