Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/d_400.lzh/D_415.TXT

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CHAP. XV.                             OF THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS.                                                              415

whose heart is not right with God nor humble before
God; and that such a man should withdraw himself
from the eommuuion of the saints and apostatise is not
to be wondered at.          (4.) God's taking no pleasure in
him that draws back does not intimate that he took
pleasure iu him before his drawing back; since it is
not said, my soul shall have no more, or no further plea-
sure in him; but, shall have no pleasure in him; which
does not necessarily suppose that he had any pl.casure
in him before; but that he should have none m him
hereafter. Besides, such who are the objects of God's
delight and pleasure arc always so; he rests in his love
towards them, and jo. ys over them with sing [ng, Zeph.
iii. 17. sec Psalm cxlix. 4. Rom. viii. 38.
l 1. To the doctrine of the saints final perseverance
is objected the passage in 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22. But
there is nothing said in those words which shew that
the persons spoken of were true believers; but the re-
verse.--(1.) The knowledge they had of the Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ was not a spiritual, experi-
mental, saving knowledge of him; for then they would
have followed ou to have known him, and to have
known more of him, and it would have issued in eter-
nal life, Hos. vi. 3. John xvii. 3. but it was only a
speculative notional knowledge of him, such as devils
and Christless persons may have.--(2.) Escaptng
the pollut[ons of the world through it, designs no other
than an external reformation of life and manners,
joined with an outward conformity to the commands
and ordinances of Christ, and an outward walk for a
time in the ways of religion, they professed a know-
ledge and liking of.    -(3.) Nor does it appear that
they ever were any other than dogs and swine; and
therefore when they apostatiscd, it was only a returning
to their former state, and they only appeared to bc
what they always were; their case seems to be the same
that is observed by Christ, Matt. xii. 43, 44, 45.
1o.. The falling away of real believers is argued, and
their perseverance objected to, from various exhor-
tations, cautions, &c. given unto them. As,--
( I ) When hc that thinks hc stands is exhorted to take
heetl lest her all, I Cor. x. 12. hut supposing a truc
believer is here meant, which yet is not clear and
certain, since it is one \~o dokwn\~, who seemeth to himself,
and others to stand; but admitting it, the exhortation
is not superfluous; since, though hc cannot finally and
totally fall away, yet inasmuch as he may so fall as
that God may bc dishonoured by it, the doctrines
ways of Christ spoken evil of, the Spirit of God
grieved, weak believers stumbled, and the hands of the
wicked strengthened, and a man's own peace and
comibrt broken; there is good reason why he should
take care of falling; for though there is no danger of
his perishing eternally; yet if hc falls to the breaking
of his bones, and wounding his own soul, it bchovcs
him to take heed lest hc fall.    (2.) When believers
arc cautioned to take heed, lest there be in them an evil
heart of unbelief in departing from. the living God,
Heb. iii. 12. it shews that believers ought to be upon
their guard against the sin of unbelief, to expose which
is the design of the words; since it is a sin which easily
besets good men, bereaves their souls of much com-
fort and God of much glory; and therefore believers

should be careful of giving way to it and encouraging
it, since it leads to a partial departure from Christ,
the living God; though God has put his fear into the
hearts of such persons, that they shall not depart
him finally and totally.--(3.) When the apostle
Peter exhorts those he wrote to, who had obtained like
precious faith with him, to beware, lest being led away
with the error of the wicked, they should fall from their
own sledfastness, 2 Pet. iii. 17. his meaning is not, as
though there was a possibility of their falling from the
precious grace of faith they had obtained; but from
some degree of the steady exercise of it; or rather
from their stealfast adherence to the doctrine of faith,
through the sleight and cunning of men who lay in
wait to deceive; who might bc able to stagger them,
though they could not finally and totally deceive them;
and therefore it became them to be upon their guard
against them.         (4.) When the apostle John exhorts,
saying, Look to yourselves, that ye lose not those things
which we have wrought, 9. Jotm v 8. hc speaks not of
what the Spirit of God had wrought in them, as if that
could be lost; nor even of what they themselves had
wrought, under the influence of divine grace; but what
we, the ministers of the gospel, had wrought, by teach-
ing and instructing them, lest their labour in the mi-
nistry among them should be in vain, they giving heed
to the doctrines of deceivers, mentioned both before
and after, v 7, 9, 10.--(5.) And when the apostle
Jude. says, Keep yourselves .in the love of God, v 21. it
is not to bc understood of the love which God has in
his heart towards his people, an interest in which can
never bc lost, and from which there is no separation;
but rather of the love ,vhich they bear to him, the fer-
your of which sometimes abates; and therefore they
should make use of all means to maintain, increase,
and inflame it, in themselves and others; keep
one another iu it, by the means directed to in the pre-
ceding verse: or it may chiefly respect, love, peace,
and concord among themselves; called the love of God,
as it is the peace of God, Col. iii. 15. which is of him,
taught by him, and hc calls unto; and so is of the
same import with Eph. iv. 3. Or, admitting that the
love of God, in the first sense, is meant; it may de-
sign exercise of faith on it, meditation upon it, a con-
stant keeping of it in view, iu order to preserve them-
selves by the love of God from Satan's temptations, the
snares of the world, and the lusts of the flesh; against
complying with which, the love of God, shown in what
he has done for his people, is a strong argument, Gcn.
xxxix. 9. and that the apostle could have no thought
of the possibility of the saints falling totally and fi-
nally, appears from what hc says of Christ with respect
to them, v 24o Now unto ]tim that is able to keep you
from falling, &c. And in like manner other cautions
and exhortations, similar to these, may be understood;
and it should be observed, that such cautions and ex-
hortations as these are used and blessed as means of
the perseverance of the saints, and are not to be im-
proved against the doctrine of it.
   Secondly, Objections are raised against the doctrine
of the saints final perseverance from the sins and fails
of persons eminent for faith and holiness; as Noah,
Lot, David, Solomon, Peter, and others. But these