they should do it, viz. by tempting them to filthy lusts: they therefore who were thus allured, must have once had 'like precious faith' with the apostles, and therefore must have been good christians. Note,

Secondly. That these persons whom they thus allured to uncleanness, had once, ovrws, truly and really,' escaped from those who lived, vλávņ, in error,' not of judgment, but of deceitful lusts; for so this, λáv, ‘error,' is expounded in this epistle by St. Peter, when he saith, beware lest being led away, Tḥ Twv abéoμwy wλávy, by the deceit of men, practising these unnatural lusts, ye fall from your own stedfastness;'d plainly supposing that even stedfast christians might thus fall. Now they who had thus escaped, were not any longer in bondage to sin, or overcome by it, verse 19, which yet, saith St. Paul, Rom. vii. 19, 23, is the state of every unregenerate person. See the note there.

f

Thirdly. The apostle adds, that 'they had escaped the pollutions which are in the world through lust, èv ènìyvwoei, by the acknowledgment of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; that is, by the acknowledgment of that truth which is after godliness,' which they who are laden with sins cannot attain to; which is the consequence of true repentance, and which recovers them, 'from the snare of Satan, who were led captive by him at his will;' and so by such an acknowledgment of Christ, as only true christians have, and which is joined with the faith of the elect.' Tit. i. 1. Moreover, by virtue of this acknowledgement, they had so far escaped the pollutions of the world through lust as to be disentangled from them, not overcome by them; as is plain from those words, "if after they have thus escaped, they be again entangled and overcome:" they also had turned to, that is, obeyed "the holy commandment delivered to them;" for otherwise they could not afterwards have turned from it. Now evident it is, that neither all, nor any of these things can truly be affirmed of hypocritical professors, who only are in outward show, but never in sincerity of heart, turned from the service of sin, or obedient to the holy commandment.

Secondly. That these men after fell away totally and finally, we learn from these words, "that they were again allured to

Chapter ii, 17.

e Titus i, 1.

f 2 Timothy iii, 7,

2 Timothy ii, 25, 26.

wantonness; again entangled and overcome by their polluting lusts; and so again in bondage to them, verse 19; that they turned from the holy commandment delivered to them to their former vomit and wallowing in the mire; and that so fatally, that it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness." VI. ARGUMENT SIXTH. All the fore-mentioned texts seem directly to assert this may be done. I proceed secondly to those scriptures which seem as plainly to assert it hath been done, and therefore may be done again. Now of this we have an instance

First. In Hymenæus and Alexander, and their associates; which St. Paul introduceth with a charge to Timothy, to hold (that is, retain) faith and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck; of whom is Hymenæus and Philetus.' Now 'to put away a good conscience, belongs to them alone who once had and ought to have retained it, and to make shipwreck of the faith,' so as to blaspheme that doctrine which they once professed, is surely to fall off from the profession of it. Lastly, the faith and that good conscience he charges Timothy to retain, is doubtless a sincere faith, and a good conscience, that unfeigned faith" and that good conscience he then had. By saying therefore that others had laid aside both these, he, in effect, declares that they were totally fallen away, which is sufficient confutation of all their arguments produced from scripture for the doctrine of perseverance; which if they prove any thing, they prove that true saints cannot fall totally, nor can it reasonably be thought that when so many do thus fall away, all of them should return by a sincere repentance.

A second instance is that of Hymenæus and Philetus, who, saith the apostle, 'have erred from the truth (ɛgì tùv dλálɛav ¿sóXnoαv, HAVE FALLEN OFF FROM THE TRUTH,) and overthrown the faith of some:" So, ɛρì nísi àsoxɛï, (1 Tim. vi. 21,) is to FALL AWAY FROM THE FAITH, and is another instance of this nature: for seeing christians believe to the salvation of their souls, (Heb. x. 39,) and the end of their faith is the salvation of their souls, (1 Peter i. 9,) they who do overthrow their faith, must

κ το, μὴ ἀπόχει γυναικὸς σοφῆς καὶ ἀγαθῆς, ' depart not from a wise and good wife, and ἀδοχεῖν ἐλπίδῳ καὶ τᾶ προσδεκθέντα, is to fall from our hopes and

expectations.' Ecum. in locum.

overthrow that in them which, had it continued, would have ended in their salvation.

Thirdly, We have reason to suspect this of many Judaizers in the church of Galatia; for as the apostle declares, that they had "received the Spirit through the hearing of faith;" that they were all made "the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus,"" and by baptism had "put on Christ," and that "because they were sons, God had sent the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying, 、 Abba, Father;"" that they once ran well: so doth he marvel that they were so soon removed from him that called them in the grace of Christ to another gospel,'? by which Christ's gospel was perverted. He enquires, "who had bewitched them that they should not obey the truth: And how it was that after they had known, or rather were known of God, they returned again to the beggarly elements of the world to which they desired to be in bondage; declaring that he was afraid of them lest he had bestowed upon them labour in vain; and that he travailed in birth with them to renew in them that faith from which they were fallen, and to form Christ" in them; that they now did not obey the truth." And seeing they now desired to be circumcised, and to be under the law, he plainly tells them that "if they were circumcised Christ should profit them nothing; that he was become of none effect to as many of them as sought for justification by the works of the law, they being fallen from grace,"" and therefore must have been formerly in a state of grace. It is therefore evident that the apostle believed that they who had begun in the Spirit might end in the flesh; that they who were made the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus, might be so charged that Christ should profit them nothing, and be of none effect to them, and that they who were once known of God, might fall from his grace and favour.'

To this head also are to be referred the predictions of the scripture concerning persons who should fall away; for being divine predictions they must come to pass, and being predictions of things which were to happen long before our times, they must be also instances of what hath come to pass. Now such are,

First. Christ's declaration that by reason of the extreme affliction of the times, in which Jerusalem was to be destroyed, many should be offended, that is, should fall off from the faith: and that "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold; but he that endures to the end shall be saved." Matt. xxiv. 12, 13. Where that Christ speaks not of a hypocritical, outward profession of affection to him, may be gathered from his styling it not pretence, but love; his supposition that it was fervent love; (for what was never hot cannot wax cold;) yea such love in which had they continued they would certainly have been saved; and yet he doth not only intimate that some would not continue in that love to the end, but plainly doth foretel that it in many would wax. cold,

Secondly. As our Lord here foretold that there should be then an apostasy of the believers of the Jewish nation, so also did St. Paul speak of the same apostasy, as a thing that was to happen before the coming of the man of sin, (2 Thess. ii. 3,) adding, that the Spirit said expressly that in the latter times, (the times then instant, verse 6,) some should depart from the faith.' Now to prevent this apostasy of the believing Jews, the epistle to the Hebrews was manifestly written. And as the excellent Dr. Barrow used to say, "that it was written against the doctrine of perseverance;" so is it certain that it containeth many cogent arguments against that doctrine, besides those three produced already from it. As will be evident,

1. From the manifold exhortations, "to hold fast their hope, which gave them ground of rejoicing. Chap. iii. 16. To hold fast their confidence stedfast the end. Verse 14. To hold fast their profession. Chap. iv. 14. To hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering. Chap. x. 93. To retain grace whereby to serve God acceptably, Chap. xii. 28. To labour to enter into the rest prepared for the people of God, lest any of them. (who believing had a present right to it, chap iv. 3, as the Jews had to enter into the land of Canaan, whilst they believed in God, and believed his servant Moses, Exod. xiv. 31,) should fall from it after the same example of unbelief," chap. iv. 11, they being excluded from entering into that land by their following unbelief. Num. xiv. 11. Chap. iii. 19.-" To shew the same diligence to

the full assurance of hope to the end, and to be followers of them who through faith and patience did inherit the promises. Chap. vi. 11, 12. To consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners, lest they be wearied, and faint in their minds; to lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, and to make straight paths for their feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way." Verses 12, 13.--Where we have four Agonistical terms, all importing fainting in our christian warfare or race, and giving over the fight as being able to hold out no longer; for κάμνειν is “ to give over the fight as being weary;' ἐκλύειν is ' to faint and be dispirited, so that we can run or fight no longer;' to have τὰς παρειμένας χεῖρας, ' hands hanging down, is to give over the combat, they stretching out their hands;' and to have, yóvara rà napaλɛλvμέva, 'knees languishing,' or paralytic knees, imports the same thing; they fighting in the Olympic games, ópbosádny, standing upright,' and 'to make straight paths,' is not to turn out of the way of christianity for fear of persecution, and by our example to teach the infirm christian so to do.' See the notes there.

2. From his frequent cautions to them who believed, to beware, "lest there should be in them an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; or lest any of them should be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Chap. iii, 12, 13. To look diligently to it lest any of them should fall from the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness should spring up among them by which many should be defiled; lest there should be among them any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one mess of pottage sold his birth-right; and, to see to it, that they did not, áлоsgép, TURN AWAY from him that spake from heaven."

3. From his promises to them that persevered, as in these words, "cast not away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward, for you have need of patience, that having done the will of God, you may inherit the promises." Chap. x. 35, 36.

4. From his declarations that they only belonged to the household of Christ, "If they hold fast their confidence and rejoicing of hope firm to the end," chap. iii. 6, and could be only made partakers of the blessings Christ had purchased for them, by "holding the beginning of their confidence stedfast to the end." Verse 14.