2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And… I. THE SAFETY OF THE CHURCH IS FOUNDED ON GOD'S IMMUTABILITY. Whether the truth is regarded as an abstract existence, or as personified in the Church, it takes its stand on this attribute of the Divine Being. All ecclesiastical history is but a commentary upon the fact that "the foundation of the Lord standeth sure." The pledge of Church safety rests on Fact and Promise. Time would fail us to trace out the former. We see it in that dark vessel ploughing the waves of an ocean-sepulchre, and settling on the crest of Ararat. We see it in those weeping tribes by the river of Babylon; for though their harps are silent, the very breeze that stirs the willow echoes the voice of Israel's God! We see it in that pillar of cloud and in that pillar of light. We hear Daniel rejoicing over it in the lion's den, and the faithful Hebrews proving it in the furnace of fire, and all the countless multitudes of Christ's confessors deepen the voice of confirmation! History is our stronghold of proof. We dare the sceptic to unbolt the door of the past, and show us wherein the Divine immutability has failed. Shall we turn to Promise, to show the Church's safety? It is like turning to a sky lighted with constellations of suns, or to a world bespangled with rarest flowers, or to a land flowing with milk and honey. To record the promises were a task almost equal to transcribing the entire Bible. II. THE SEAL WITH WHICH GOD HAS ENSTAMPED THE CHURCH PARTAKES OF HIS IMMUTABILITY. There is no mistaking it. Time does not obliterate it. The "seal" cannot be successfully counterfeited in the eye of God. He knows His own. 1. This "seal" is ornamental. A monarch's star is a mere toy — give it time and it will rot. Young men, you seek after the decorative, here it is! It "shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck." 2. This "seal" is a passport to confidence. Christianity has won many compliments in its practical outworking, from those who effect to despise the evidence on which its claim to divinity is founded! 3. This "seal" is an earnest of future glory. Such is the testimony of Scripture (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22; Ephesians 4:30). III. THE SEAL INDICATES DISCRIMINATION AND APPRECIATION OF CHARACTER. "The Lord knoweth them that are His." What mean those strange words? In the wide sense of creation all men are God's — in the sense of Providence all are the pensioners of His bounty; and Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. There are standing places in the universe, from which all humanity may be regarded as the peculiar property of God. But there is an inner circle in which are found hearts differing from the majority — hearts bearing the "seal" of God-property. 1. The thought that God appreciates the Christian character, and will finally glorify it, is to the believer a source of comfort. 2. This thought, moreover, imparts a sense of security. 3. This thought, again, suggests principles of action. Fond as we may be of comfort, and anxious to be assured of security, there is something positive expected from our Divine relationship. If God knows me, the world must know me too. The Christian has a profession to maintain. IV. DISTINCTIONS IN MORAL CHARACTER MAY EXIST WITHOUT THE SEAL OF DIVINE APPRECIATION. If all men were God's in the peculiar sense of the text, there would be no special meaning in its terms. A class is referred to, in contradistinction to all other classes. There are only two sections in the domain of moral being — the good and the bad; these again being broken up into almost endless sub-divisions, shades and stages of development. To make the leading proposition clearer, take a sample of instances: — 1. Here is a man of keen religious sensibility. A tender heart is a great treasure, indeed, but let not a few tears be considered proof of penitence. 2. Here is the rigid formalist. Religion is a life, not a form: it is an actual power and not an elaborate creed. The Cross, and not the pew, is the true way to heaven. 3. A third hopes in the mercy of God. A benevolent God, he argues, will not destroy one of His own creatures. He forgets the harmony of the Divine attributes. Overlooking an outraged justice, he hopes in an insulted love. Terrible is the portion of those who bear not God's seal (Revelation 9:3, 4). V. THE CHURCH, AS A PALACE, MUST HAVE UNITY, COMPLETION, AND DESIGN. The Church is not a broken fragment or a shattered limb. It is a whole, where individual members have their part to play. The largo stones and the small ones must be side by side. The position that each shall occupy in the temple must be determined by the wise Master-builder. If one member is jealous of another's position there is an end to unity and progress. We are each dependent on the other. (J. Parker, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. |
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