2

2

THE CALLING

W. Dickson

2 Timothy 1: 9; Hebrews 3: 1; Philippians 3: 13, 14

It may be gleaned from these scriptures, beloved brethren,

that I would like to say a word about the calling. It has

interested me very much that the apostle, whenever he wants

the beloved brethren to lift their sights up, speaks about the

calling, and I thought we might get a touch on that at this time.

I sometimes wonder if the young brethren understand what the

calling is. Is it one of those deep things in the Bible, the

calling? If I may give an illustration, I observed the other day

the honours list, the peerages and all the rest of them.

Through grace the believer is greater than all that; he is a saint

by divine calling; “called saints”. It is a wonderful dignity that

you are a saint by the calling of God. It is greater than any

honour this world could give you. No distinction this world

could confer upon you, no honour in any field, in politics,

business, sport, or anything else, can equal the fact that you

are a called saint. So the apostle lifts up the sights of the

brethren by reminding them of this precious distinction as to

their calling. So in these scriptures there is “a holy calling”, a

“heavenly calling”, and a high calling, and perhaps we could

have a simple touch in regard to all of them.

First of all the holy calling. Paul is writing to Timothy—who was

at Ephesus—and we know from the record in the Acts of the

Apostles that Ephesus was a very wicked city, an idolatrous

one. There was no sink of corruption that did not find its place

at Ephesus. In that city was young Timothy, and Paul reminds

him that he has been

called with a holy calling. If young Timothy was ever tempted,

and I suppose being a young man he would know what

temptation was, as he walked through the streets of Ephesus

among those shrines of iniquity he would say, ‘Not for me’. He