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SERMON I.

THE DANGER OF FALLING AWAY.

HEBREWS VI. 4, 5, 6.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come; if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance.

THE principal difficulty in this passage of Scripture lies in the strong term impossible; it is impossible to renew again to repentance the once enlightened who fall away. Strong, however, as the expression is, we find it adopted, with one or two exceptions only, in every copy of the New Testament with which we acquainted; though, in consequence of being taken in an unqualified sense, it has given occasion to erroneous and uncharitable doctrines,

* V. Griesbach ad loc.

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such as are inconsistent with the peace and unity of the Christian Church. But if we compare other texts of Scripture with that under consideration, we shall perceive that the term impossible is not always to be taken in its most strict and literal sense. When such expressions are used as that "it is impossible that God should lie or deceive;"* that "it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin;" the term must be understood absolutely, to the full extent of its meaning, and cannot admit of any modification. Nevertheless there are occasions on which the same word is used, not to express a thing which cannot by any means be effected, but only such as cannot be effected without extreme difficulty. It is in this qualified sense that the same expression occurs in 2 Maccabees. iv. 6—

For he (Onias) saw that it was impossible that the state should continue, unless the king did look thereunto;" and xiv. 10, of the same book:-"As long as Judas liveth, it is not possible that the state should be quiet." When our Saviour asserted that "it was more possible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven;" i. e. to embrace the salvation offered by his doctrines; the disciples represented this as a

* Hebr. vi. 18.

+ Hebr. x. 4.

thing impossible: but were told in reply that "what is impossible with men, is possible with God;"* that, by the grace of God, this work, however difficult and extraordinary, might yet be accomplished. In like manner we are to understand the word impossible in the text; not as implying something absolutely and unconditionally impracticable; but only a case of extreme difficulty, in which there are in general many more chances of failure than of success. To take it in any other sense is indeed to give to the religion of Christ a stern and forbidding aspect, to represent one false step in the line of our religious duties as irrecoverable, to shut the door against repentance, and to revive a doctrine not only condemned long since by the most sober minded part of the Christian world, but also in direct opposition to an article in the Creed, which in the service of our church we are constantly in the habit of repeating.†

Many were the troubles and persecutions to which the primitive Christians were exposed for nearly three centuries; and much "need had they of patience, that, after they had done the will of God, they might receive the promise." ‡ They had trial (to adopt the

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*Matth. xix. 26.-Luke xviii. 27.

† See Pearson on the Creed, page 369, Ed. 11, folio; and Mosheim's Eccles. Hist. by Maclaire, vol. 1, p. 308.

Hebr. x. 36.

such as are inconsistent with the peace and unity of the Christian Church. But if we compare other texts of Scripture with that under consideration, we shall perceive that the term impossible is not always to be taken in its most strict and literal sense. When such expressions are used as-that "it is impossible that God should lie or deceive;"* that "it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin;" the term must be understood absolutely, to the full extent of its meaning, and cannot admit of any modification. Nevertheless there are occasions on which the same word is used, not to express a thing which cannot by any means be effected, but only such as cannot be effected without extreme difficulty. It is in this qualified sense that the same expression occurs in 2 Maccabees. iv. 6— "For he (Onias) saw that it was impossible that the state should continue, unless the king did look thereunto;" and xiv. 10, of the same book:-"As long as Judas liveth, it is not possible that the state should be quiet." When our Saviour asserted that "it was more possible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven;" i. e. to embrace the salvation offered by his doctrines; the disciples represented this as a

* Hebr. vi. 18.

+ Hebr. x. 4.

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