* Of evil omen.—Ep,
APOSTASY FROM THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL. 61
ceedingly prone to turn aside from the mystery and truth of the doctrine of the gospel, that they have done so accordingly, and that _ those which are now in the world continue to be of the same temper and inclination. And as it will appear that no evil practices are indulged unto on this supposition, so it is desirable that those who are secure in this matter, on such principles as wherewith they are satisfied, would not with too much severity reflect on them who can- not but be jealous over themselves and others. The great apostle himself makes this the principal ornament in the preparation of his triumph upon the success of his ministry, that he had “kept the faith:” 2 Tim. iv. 6-8, “I am,” saith he, “now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, Ihave finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- eous judge, shall give me at that day.” Of all that made way for that triumphant glory which he now had a prospect of, he insists on this only in particular, that he had “kept the faith;” which he did _ not do without a severe warfare and conflict: so great a matter was that in his esteem, which most suppose so common, so easy, that little diligence or watchfulness is required thereunto. And the frequent solemn charges, with pathetical exhortations, which he gives unto his son Timothy to be careful herein, manifest both the weight he laid upon it, the difficulty that was in it, and the danger of miscarriage wherewith it was attended: 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21, “ O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith.” 2 Tim. i. 13, 14, “ Hold fast the - form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” And the same apostle expressly mentions the proneness of some to relinquish the truth of the gospel; whom, therefore, he would have rebuked sharply, “that they might be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men, turning from the truth,” Tit. i. 13, 14. Neither would there be any need that some should “ear- nestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints,” J ude 3, but that others are very ready to corrupt it and turn away from it. Examples of this state and event of things among all the churches in the world, since the first planting of them in and by the doctrine of the gospel, will give more evidence unto the truth of our assertion, and a clear account of that matter of fact, whose reasons and causes we are to inquire into. And because I would confine myself unto the full declaration of the mystery of Christ, I shall not insist on the church of the Jews under the old testament. But it is known unto
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62 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF APOSTASY..
all how, from their first transgression in making the golden calf,— whereon, as God complains, they quickly, in a few days, turned out of the way,—they were continually prone unto all sorts of apostasy ; and in the issue, the generality of them fell off from the promise and covenant of Abraham by their unbelief, as the apostle declares, Rom. xi. And it is to be feared that the appearance and pretence. of some Christian churches unto better success have this only advan- tage, that their ways and practices are not recorded by the Spirit of God, as theirs were. But I shall not insist on that instance.
Of all the churches that are or ever were in the world, those — gathered and planted by the apostles themselves had the greatest advantage to know the mystery and truth of the gospel, and the most forcible reasons unto constancy and perseverance therein. Consider- ing the ability of their teachers to reveal unto them “all the coun- sel of God,” with their faithfulness in “ withholding nothing that was profitable unto them,” Acts xx. 18-21, 26, 27; their authority, as be- ing sent immediately by Jesus Christ, and their absolute infallibility in all that they delivered; a man would rationally think that there were no room, no pretence, left for any to decline in the least from the doctrine wherein they were instructed by them, nor any advantage for Satan or seducers to practise upon them. There is no doubt but most of us suppose that had we been so taught by the apostles them- selves, nothing could ever tempt us to doubt or waver, much less to relinquish any truth wherein we were so instructed. But, alas! this thought is not unlike the apprehension of the rich man in hell, who judged that if one rose from the dead to warn his brethren, they would repent and be converted unto God. But as Abraham told him, “if they would not believe Moses and the prophets, neither would they believe should one rise from the dead,” no more would we, if we be not constant and steadfast in the doctrine of the gospel as revealed in the Scripture, be so, if we had been taught it by all the apostles together. An example of this proneness to relinquish evangelical principles we have in most of the churches called and gathered by them, whose faith and practice are recorded in their writings.