January 18

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord.—Colossians 1:10.

To walk is an Hebrew phrase, often put in the Scriptures for beginning and keeping to a course of life: as to walk deceitfully, and with simplicity, in many passages of the Proverbs of Solomon; and to walk in the ways and in the statutes of God, as is frequent with David in the Psalms. So in the New Testament, to walk according to the flesh, and according to the Spirit, that is, to live and to converse. By this form of speaking, we are admonished that Christianity consists in a perpetual journey toward the celestial country, and that no one must halt by the way, but must perpetually walk and go forward. But how are we to walk?

Worthy of the Lord. What these words mean we shall readily understand, if we compare them with similar forms of speaking, which occur elsewhere in this our apostle; so Ephesians 4:1, I pray that ye walk worthy of the vocation. Philippians 1:27, he exhorts them to conduct themselves worthy of God. He walks worthy of the Lord, therefore, who so lives as becomes him who is called by the gospel to the adoption of the sons of God, and to the lively hope of the inheritance of heaven.

Here some may ask, How is it possible to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, or of God, or of the Gospel, or of our vocation; since nothing adequately corresponds to the high excellency of all these things, except perfect and immaculate righteousness and holiness, such as is not found in men who retain this body of sin?

I answer, the word worthy, in the Scriptures, does not always denote the exact proportion of equality of one thing to another, but a certain accordance or suitableness, which takes away repugnance, though it does not establish absolute merit. So Matthew 3:8, Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, that is, according with and befitting, not repugnant to the repentance which ye profess. He, therefore, walks worthy of God who flees from the baseness and folly of carnal men, who carries himself as a faithful soul, loving God and his brethren, although he often slides and sins through infirmity. For this our worthiness does not depend upon our absolute perfection, but upon the gratuitous condescension of God, who accounts, as worthy his favor, those who follow the guidance of his Spirit; and those unworthy who yield themselves slaves to the flesh and sin.

Hence is to be noted,

1. The infinite goodness and compassion of God, who accounts us children, worthy of the adoption and of the heavenly inheritance, although we are very far from perfect holiness; provided we walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, and stand not in the way of sinners, and sit not in the seat of the scornful; but delight in his law, and meditate therein continually.

2. Hence also appears the pride of those who, from this divine loving-mercy, attempt to establish the merit of human actions; as though to walk worthy of God was to merit heavenly felicity by their works. But the apostle dreamt of no such thing; only, he would have them strive after holiness, that it might thence appear they did not receive the knowledge and the grace of God in vain.