He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Unjust - `unrighteous:' toward one's fellow-men: opposed to "righteous," below. [Ho adikoon adikeesatpo, 'he that doeth unjustly, let him do unjustly still.']
Filthy - in one's own soul before God: opposed to "holy," consecrated to God as pure. A omits "he which is filthy, let him be filthy still;" but 'Aleph (') B support it. In the letter of the Vienne and Lyons Martyrs (in Eusebius), in the second century, it is, 'he that is lawless х anomos (G459)], let him be lawless; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous х dikaiootheetoo (G1344), "be justified"] still.' No manuscript is so old. 'Aleph (') A B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, Andreas, Cyprian, read, 'let him do righteousness' (1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:7). The punishment of sin is sin, the reward of holiness is holiness. Eternal punishment is not an arbitrary law, a necessary result from the very nature of things, as the fruit from the bud. No worse punishment can God lay on ungodly men than to give them up to themselves. The solemn lesson is, Be converted new in your short time (Revelation 22:10, end), before "I come" (Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:12), else you must remain unconverted forever. Sin in the eternal world will be left to its own consequences: holiness in germ will develop itself into perfect holiness, which is happiness.