144. Justified by faith.

After having credited our faith as righteousness, God has justified (meaning to declare righteous, to put us in a proper relationship with him, vindicate) us. Our faith is the vindication for God's declaration! He has a reason to justify his actions, whenever the enemy accuses us before him. (Revelation 12:10) That is also the reason why God wants us to continue in our faith lest he cannot justify us anymore because we have betrayed our faith. The matter displeases him! Therefore he says, "My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." (Hebrews 10:38) Having set out on this journey of faith, we are not supposed to turn back, no matter whatever the odds! The Israelites grumbled against Moses and said, "Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:3-4) The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, inspite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? ... not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it ... Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb ... and Joshua ..." (Vs 11-35) To stop living by faith would therefore amount to contempt of God and we risk forfeiting our chance to enter the Millennial kingdom of God. We cannot expect to rise with the dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16) if we died in unbelief or be Raptured with the saints if we live in unbelief. 'We live by faith, not by sight ... So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.' ( 2 Corinthians 5:7,9) We ought to 'find out what pleases the Lord.' (Ephesians 5:10) Obviously the first thing is faith! 'And without faith it is impossible to please God ...' (Hebrews 11:6) 'Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.' (Romans 5:1-2) Amen.