The obligations of the Christian calling.
"Walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called."
I. THE NATURE OF THIS CALLING. It is the Christian vocation. We are called out of darkness into God's marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), into the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6), into the fellowship of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9); unto holiness (1 Thessalonians 2:7); unto glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3); unto peace (1 Corinthians 7:15), not only with God, but with our consciences and with one another (Acts 24:16; Ephesians 4:2). This calling is a high calling, a holy calling, a heavenly calling. We may well, therefore, walk worthy of it.
II. THE WALK IN HARMONY WITH OUR CALLING. It is emphatically "to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing" (Colossians 1:10); "to walk worthy of God who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12); to have a conversation becoming the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). In human society, men are often kept from unworthy courses by a feeling of honor, as gentlemen; how much more ought Christians to cherish a sense of honor as disciples of the Savior and joint-heirs with him of the kingdom of heaven! The feeling of family honor is often a powerful guard against mean or ungenerous actions. It is a profound disgrace to find the descendant of an ancient and noble family forswear all its best traditions. As members of the household of God, as brethren of Jesus Christ himself, shall we disgrace this sublime relationship? We cannot afford to bring shame upon our profession (Hebrews 6:6), to lose the comfort of our calling (Psalms 19:11), or to lose its end (Hebrews 12:14). Let us not, therefore, affront our calling by inconsistencies, but walk in a way that will fully harmonize with its nature, glory, and end. It is all the more necessary to do so as the true walk of a saint tends so powerfully to promote the unity of the Church.—T.C.