Ver. 22. Holiness the Supreme End of Reconciliation.
- Holiness an inward state and an outward result.—“Holy, unblameable and unreproveable.”
- Holiness alone can satisfy God.—“In His sight.”
- Holiness is the final completion of the soul.—“To present you.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE 23.
The Condition of Man’s Final Blessedness.
The ripest fruits can only be produced and gathered by careful and unremitting culture; so, the enjoyment of the final blessings of reconciliation is conditioned upon continued allegiance to the Gospel and the diligent practice of its precepts. We are taught in this verse that the ultimate presentation to God of a perfectly holy and blameless character depends upon the believer’s firm and persevering attachment to the Gospel. Observe—
I. Man’s final blessedness depends upon his unswerving continuance in the faith.—The faith is a comprehensive term; it is inclusive of all the great saving truths of the Gospel, and of man’s many-sided relation to them. There is implied:
1. A continuance in the doctrines of the faith.—What a man believes has a powerful influence in moulding his character. The truths submitted to our faith shed light upon matters of transcendent import and worth. The baffled and inquiring mind, straining with painful eagerness after light, finds its satisfaction and rest amid the soothing radiance of revealed truth. “In returning and rest shall ye be saved” (Isa. xxx. 15). Unbelief lures the soul from its restful confidence, sets it adrift amidst the cross currents of bewilderment and doubt, and exposes it to moral shipwreck and irrevocable loss. The soul’s eternal safety is ensured, not by an infatuated devotion to mere opinions about certain dogmas, but by an intelligent, firm, and constant faith in Divine verities.
2. A continuance in the profession of the faith.—The believer is a witness for the truth; and it is an imperative duty to bear testimony for Christ before the world (Rom. x. 9, 10). This is done when we unite in fellowship and service with the external Church of Christ on earth. The Church, as the representative of Christ, witnesses for Him in the life and conduct of its individual members. There is nothing binding as to the special form this witness-bearing should take in each particular case; nor is any man compelled, for the sake of profession, to wed himself to any particular branch of the Church catholic. There may be reasons that render it justifiable, and even necessary, for a man to sever himself from any given religious community and join another; but on no conceivable ground can he be liberated from the duty of an open profession of his faith in Christ; his future acceptability to God hinges on his fidelity in this duty (Matt. x. 32).
3. A continuance in the practice of the faith.—Faith supplies the motive and rule of all right conduct. The test of all preceptive enactment and profession is in the life. The Christian character is developed and perfected, not by believing or professing, but by doing the will of God. The rewards of the future will be distributed according to our deeds (Rom. ii. 6–10).
4. Continuance in the faith must be permanent.—“Grounded and settled.” The edifice, to be durable, must be well founded, that it may settle into a state of firmness and solidity; so faith, in order to survive the storms and temptations of this world, and participate in the promised good of the future, must be securely grounded and settled in the truth. In order to permanency in the faith, the truth must be—(1) Apprehended intelligently. (2) Embraced cordially. (3) Maintained courageously.