Galatians 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by Jesus, even we have believed in, that we might be Justified by not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be Justified.

 

Yesterday, we discussed a picture the Holy Spirit gave me. It was of an old-fashioned telephone switchboard where the operator manually made communication connections with cables. When asked, she would plug the ends of the cable into the particular receptacles and create a line of communication between the two parties. The Lord showed me that our faith is like that cable. It creates a line of communication between us and God. Without faith (the cable) we cannot communicate with God.

 

To expand on this a bit, the cable must be the correct type. Just any cable won’t do. If the telephone operator did not have the proper cable with the correct connectors on each end, the connection would not be made. And so it is with our faith. We must have proper faith in order to be connected to God.

 

What is proper faith? Faith is to trust in something. So, what are we to trust in? What must we have faith in to make our faith proper? Remember, the goal is to make a line of communication between us and God, so what does God require for us to accomplish this line of communication?

 

Faith in just anything will not do just as any cable in the hands of the telephone operator would not do. The Apostle Paul tells us of the proper faith over and over again in his writings. To the Galatians he wrote: knowing that a man is not Justified by the works of the law but by Jesus, even we have believed in, that we might be Justified by not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be Justified. (Galatians 2:16)

 

The keyword is Justified. The goal for every human being is to be Justified by God. When Justified we have made the connection with Him. This brings us right back to the same question: What must we do to be Justified?

 

Wikipedia defines it as: In Christian theology, Justification is God's righteous act of removing the condemnation, guilt, and penalty of sin, by Grace, while, at the same time, declaring the unrighteous to be righteous, through faith in Christ's Atoning Sacrifice. I must say that rarely do I agree with Wikipedia, but in this instance, I do. This definition is exactly right and the key to Justification is through faith in Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice.

 

Remember, faith is the connecting cable but not just any faith will do. Proper faith is required and that faith is faith in Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice. It is ONLY by our faith in the Cross of Christ that makes the proper connection between us and God. Everything we receive from God comes to us ONLY by faith in Christ and Him Crucified. That is the ONLY faith God accepts.

 

All other faith is of man and of no spiritual good. Sure our faith in natural things is fine and we all trust certain things to accomplish certain tasks, but when it comes to the things of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives we must have faith in Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. Nothing else will do. God accepts no other faith. He gave His Only Son to die on the Cross. In His Finished Work, we must place our faith.

 

ONLY faith in Christ Crucified will……….turn the tide

 

Connection made!         Doreen

 

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