The Sure Foundation of God

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.                    (2 Timothy 2:19)

The professing church may drift into open apostasy, error may be rampant, worldliness may come in like a flood, but in spite of all, and in the midst of all, a sure foundation remains. What a relief for a Christian’s heart to apprehend this! What a resting-place for the soul amid the sea of unrest which rolls around us today! It may seem as if all the old landmarks were being rapidly removed, yet an immovable foundation may be found, and happy will be my reader’s portion if he is led to that foundation and takes his stand upon it.
Two things characterize the “foundation of God”, one of which is brought before us in the words, “The Lord knoweth them that are His”. Sovereign grace has secured its objects, and will secure them to the end, in spite of all the evil and departure from truth. They may be – and, alas! often are – hidden to human eyes, but the Lord knows them. Though He can no longer own as His the great profession which bears His name only to dishonor it, in the midst of it all He knows the chosen, called, and justified ones. We may not be able to discriminate between the wheat and the tares, or between the wise and foolish virgins. We may be deceived by the empty and Christless professor, or we may misjudge the truly converted soul, but the Lord makes no mistakes. Grace has chosen her objects, and secured them, and keeps them in spite of men or devils, and “the Lord knoweth them that are His”.
I earnestly hope that my reader has the divine assurance on the authority of the word of God, that his sins are forgiven, that he is justified by faith, has peace with God, and has received the Holy Spirit.
But the “foundation of God” has another seal – sometimes overlooked by those who rejoice in the first.
“Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”.  In a day like this the only divine path is one of unhesitating obedience to the word of God. Human reason and natural feeling may suggest innumerable arguments to defer obedience to a word like this.   Another course may seem better calculated to attain the end in view. But human expediency and policy are unknown things in the region of faith. Faith’s inquiry is, What saith the Scripture? What saith the Lord? Faith hears His voice only to obey it.

-C.A Coates