profess to seek. That this is the sad effect of their labours, the Apostle does not scruple to affirm : he even declares, that the persons so deceived by them are brought into a worse condition than they were in previous to their first acquaintance with the Gospel salvation.
In this statement of the Apostle we have,
I. A case supposed —
The case which he supposes is simply this ; That a man may have attained the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so as to see that salvation is by him alone, even by his blood which he shed for our fallen race, and his righteousness which he wrought out for their acceptance with God. Fur- ther, he supposes that a man may have experienced a considerable efficacy from this knowledge, so as to have been sanctified, in some degree, by means of it, and delivered from the pollutions of a sinful world. Thus he may practically and experimentally " have known the way of righteousness, and yet be again so entangled with the world as to be overcome by it ;" and be so overcome by it as " to turn away finally and for ever from the holy commandment delivered unto him."
Now this case may well be supposed —
[Consider how extremely weak our nature is; how incapable we are of doing any thing that is good, or of resisting any thing that is evil, any farther than as we are strengthened by the grace of God. As it is of God alone in the first instance that we are enabled " either to will or to do" what is rightb; so is it by the continued operation of his grace alone that we can hold on in the right way: " without Christ" continually assisting us, " we can do nothing0."
Consider also to what innumerable temptations we are ex- posed. There is not any thing, however innocent in itself, which may not prove to us an occasion of sin. Our food, our raiment, our connexions in life, may all be inordinately loved, or in some way be employed to ensnare our souls. Wherever we go, and whatever we do, we are exposed to temptations of different kinds ; nor can any man living tell what a single hour
b Phil. ii. 13. c John xv. 5.