"They Are Virgins"

Revelation 14:4

Don Fortner

By nature God's elect are as corrupt as any of Adam's offspring. There is nothing good, noble, holy, or virtuous in any believer by nature. And we, being sinners, cannot do anything virtuous before God. Yet, when viewed from heaven's vantage point, as God sees us in Christ and as we shall be eternally, every believer is a chaste virgin. Grace has made us chaste, pure, holy and undefiled in the sight of God! Christ has removed all our sins and all the consequences of sin from us. This is what God says of all believers: "They are virgins" (I Cor. 6:9-11; Hos. 2:18-20; Song 2:10; 5:1-2; 6:4,9; Ezek. 16:6-14). God's saints are compared to virgins for many reasons.

1. WE ARE BETROTHED TO CHRIST AS OUR HUSBAND BY OUR VOLUNTARY PROFESSION OF FAITH IN HIM. Just as the Lord Jesus willingly espoused himself to us in the covenant of grace, we willingly gave, and continue to give, our hearts to him in conversion. In our profession of faith by baptism we publicly avowed that we belong to Christ.

2. LIKE CHASTE VIRGINS, ALL BELIEVERS LOVE CHRIST AND CLEAVE ONLY TO HIM. With singleness of heart we love Christ, because he first loved us. And with the devotion of sincere love we adhere to Christ alone, because he holds our hearts by his grace.

3. LIKE VIRGINS ADORNED FOR THEIR WEDDING, GOD'S SAINTS ARE CLOTHED FROM HEAD TO FOOT WITH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. Our beauty and comeliness is his beauty and comeliness. Our happy attire is the garments of his salvation, that fine linen, clean and white, which Christ Jesus made for us by his life of obedience to God as our Representative and put upon us by his grace.

4. AND, LIKE VIRGINS, GOD'S ELECT ARE CHASTE AND PURE. Grace has made us so. Grace has given believers a holy heart and nature. Our doctrine is the pure doctrine of Christ, our worship is the chaste worship of Christ, our life is molded after the holy example of Christ. This is what grace has done for us! Grace takes the filthy and makes it pure. Grace takes the wretched and makes it lovely. Grace takes the defiled and makes chaste virgins.