it—
[It is not sufficient that men " run well for a season ;'" they must " endure to the end, if ever they would be saved." To what purpose are we in Christ, if we do not stand fast in him? Our departure from him only makes "our hist end worse than our beginning." And is not this a fearful con- sideration to all of us? When St. Paul saw reason to stand in doubt respecting his Galatian converts, " he travailed in birth with them, as it were, a second time, till he should have clear evidence that Christ was tmly formed in them." And whoever reflects upon the value of a soul (in comparison of which the whole world is lighter than the mere dust upon a balance), must have continual sorrow and heaviness in his spirit, when he sees any moved away from the hope of the Gospel, and " forsaking the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that can hold no water."]
3. Because the great ends of the ministry are
answered by it —
[When any persons turn, either in faith or practice, from the holy commandment delivered to them, " all the labour we have bestowed upon them is in vain :" it is even worse than in
s Matt. v. 16.
vain, because it will bring upon them a more aggravated con- demnation. What a reflection is this for those who have spent their strength, and perhaps jeoparded their very lives for the salvation of their fellow-creatures ! Can we wonder that the declension of those who have professed our holy religion, should be as a dagger in the hearts of those who have watched and laboured for their souls ; and that the lives of faithful ministers should be bound up, as it were, in the stability of their people ? The beloved Disciple could say, " he had no greater joy than that his children walked in truth:" and, no doubt, his greatest grief was, as that of every faithful minister must be, to see any of them departing from it.]
We shall conclude our subject with a few words,
1 . Of grateful acknowledgment —
[It would not always be proper to commend people to their face : yet on some occasions the Apostle judged it expe- dient to do soh. We rejoice therefore in bearing testi- mony to the steadfastness which you have maintained during our afflictive separation from you ; and we can truly say with the Apostle, that " in all our affliction we have been greatly comforted by your faith1." "We thank God for all the joy wherewith we joy before him on your account ;" and we pray, that " what he has thus begun in you, he may carry on and perfect until the day of Christ."]
2. Of affectionate warning —
[Never let it be forgotten, that we must first be in Christ, before we can stand fast in him. If apostates are in an awful condition, so also are they who have never embraced the Gospel of Christ. We must flee to Christ, as our only refuge from the wrath of God ; and must seek to be found in him, not having our own righteousness, but that which is of God through faith in him.
Let the saints too remember (what the text strongly inti- mates), that they are in continual danger of falling. They have a subtle enemy, whose devices have ruined thousands, even of those who once appeared eminently holy. " Let him there- fore that think eth he standeth, take heed lest he fall."]
3. Of joyful encouragement —
[It is not in yourselves, but in the Lord, that you are to stand fast : and while you are placing all your dependence on
h 1 Thess. i. 2, 3. and 2 Thess. i. 3, 4.
1 Verse before the text. This was after almost a whole year's in- termission of the author's labours as a minister. But any other occa- sion, such as heresies or contentions resisted by them, may be referred to.