Paul says in the second chapter of 2 Timothy remains firm: it is that the Lord
CHAPTER 1: The Calling and Preparation of the Twelve
Paul says in the second chapter of 2 Timothy remains firm: it is that the Lord knows those who are his, and everyone who names the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity. This is God's sure seal, declaring that his people remain safely in his keeping. And let us also remember what our Lord Jesus Christ promises in the tenth chapter of John, namely that of all that he has received from God his Father, nothing will perish.
Because he will take good care of it, even until the last day. That is the first point.
Yet when we see such falls, we must be warned to examine ourselves diligently. For when Paul speaks of the Jews, he says that let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. This is how we must be warned to remain humble and modest, when we see that those who seemed much nearer to God than we are, nevertheless come to be alienated from the church. So we must think, Alas! how much sooner would this happen to us unless we were miraculously preserved by the grace of our God? So this is what we still have to remember. Now on this point let us also learn that those who are raised in honor should not be proud: but they should think that their fall will be far more ruinous than if they had remained in a low and small condition. For when a man only falls at ground level (as they say) well, he will be able to get up again: but if a man is on a roof, or he is at a very high window, and he falls from there, there is no more remedy. So when God has given us this grace to draw near to him and to be set apart from the common rank, to place us there as upon a platform, in order to be seen from afar: let us note that if we stumble from there, it will be much worse for us, than if we had been people of low estate and little public notice. So this is still what we have to observe. For in fact, when it is said that Judas was in the company of our Lord Jesus Christ: and not only that, but that he was an apostle (which was still much more) and yet that he was called a devil, what shall we say here? Nevertheless, let us learn not to despise what belongs to God because of human vices. For if we wanted to base our judgment on the person of Judas, what would it be? The office of apostle would not only be mocked today, but we would detest it when we say that a devil was an apostle: and what would follow from that? Because we would like to murmur against what is shown to us here. But, whatever it may be, let us know that although men are the most guilty in the world, their guilt must not detract from what God has instituted and approved. For example: When we see magistrates and officers of justice who will be perverse and malignant, who will want to pervert and overthrow all order, people corrupt in character and