379. Deliverance and Holiness
Obadiah 1:17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
The promise is for Mount Zion, which is the Church of all believers. Upon the Church there shall be deliverance, and in the Church shall be holiness. The Church is made up of those who have escaped from their spiritual enemies. Jesus has rescued and delivered us from Sin, Death, and the power of the Devil. This deliverance was accomplished for us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Every day we live in deliverance. Though we keep on sinning, and it seems that we are still slaves of Sin, the forgiveness of sins is always available to us, and it is given freely and abundantly every day when we remember our Baptism, and every week we are reminded again when we hear the Gospel and receive the Lord’s Supper. We actually walk in deliverance from our spiritual enemies, and we go on from victory unto victory.
We are under constant attack, but we are also under constant deliverance. Deliverance is not a one-time event, but it is a repeated occurrence, just like sin is not a one-time event, but temptations and failings are repeated. Deliverance is upon us, and it is in us. We are always delivered from evil, just as we pray the Lord’s Prayer daily. That doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen to us, but we shall be delivered from the evil of them. The ultimate evil would be losing faith and stepping out from under grace. From this evil we are delivered. And we are always in need of such deliverance.
Because in the Church believers constantly receive the forgiveness of sins, and therefore there is Holiness present in the Church and in our hearts. We don’t see holiness in ourselves, or in others, but we believe the promise of God: holiness is there. We may proclaim this bold statement with conviction; “I am holy, through the blood of Jesus Christ. I am a saint.” This is not bold or presumptuous, but it is a simple confession of our faith. “Jesus is Lord,” and the Lord resides in a purified vessel, a holy place in the heart of faith. We are delivered from the negative and saved for the positive. Don’t take it for granted, but thank God with vigor.