The Apostle says, " From such turn away." To explain this, I will shew,
1. In what sense we are not to turn away from such characters —
[We are not to turn away from them in contempt. That were highly unbecoming us ; who, if we differ at all, owe the whole of that difference to the distinguishing grace of God. And it would be most offensive to God, who cannot endure such hateful pride. If we say to any man, " Stand ofi'; I am holier than thou ;" God will regard us as •' a smoke in his
nose, a fire that burnetii all the day^" Nor are we
to turn away in indifference, as though we cared not what be- came of them. We should rather mourn over them, as PauP ; and weep over them, as our Lord did over the murderous
Jerusalem Nor should we turn away from them in
despair ; for God is able to save them ; and he will hear prayer in their behalf ]
2. In what sense we are to turn away from them — [We are not, on any account, to make them our com- panions. We should in this respect turn away from them, for their sake, for our own sake, for the Church's sake, and for the world's sake. If we associate with them, we shall make them think well of themselves ; when, by a becoming departure from them, we may bring them to a measure of self-diffidence
and compunction If we associate with them, we shall
be in danger of drinking into their spirit, and of learning their ways. We shall have our zeal and ardour damped by them ; who, instead of rising with us, would soon bring us down to
a level with themselves By associating with them,
also, we should lead our weaker brethren to conceive that
there is no evil in their ways And we should justify
the world in all their censures of religion, when, for the sake of some ungodly professors, they decry all serious religion, and represent all the servants of God as hypocrites ]
Address —
1. Those who have not even the form of arod-
&'
liness —
[It is a lamentable truth, that the greater part of nominal Christians live altogether " without God in the world." Had they been born Pagans or Mahomedans, they would not, as far as Jehovah is concerned, have differed in any essential particular. Now then, I ask, if they who have a form of
^ Isai. Ixv. 5. ^ Rom. ix. 1, 2,