Wesley Corpus

Here you see the Jews, who never had the gospel, are said to put it away.” How ! Are you sure they “never had what they are here said to put away?” Not so: What they put away, it is undeniable, they had, till they put it away; namely, “the word of God spoken” by Paul and Barnabas. This instance, therefore, makes full against you. It proves just the reverse of what you cited it for. But you object further: “Men may have a good con science, in some sense, without true faith.” I grant it, in a restrained, limited sense; but not a good conscience, simply and absolutely speaking. But such is that of which the Apostle here speaks, and which he exhorts Timothy to “hold fast.” Unless you apprehend that the holding it fast likewise “rather supposes he never had it.” “But the faith here mentioned means only the doctrine of faith.” I want better proof of this. It remains, then, one who has the faith which produces a good conscience may yet finally fall. 71. Thirdly. Those who are grafted into the good olive tree, the spiritual, invisible Church, may nevertheless finally fall. For thus saith the Apostle: “Some of the branches are broken off, and thou art grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree. Be not high-minded, but fear: If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he spare not thee. Behold the good ness and severity of God! On them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: Otherwise thou shalt be cut off.” (Rom. xi. 17, &c.) We may observe here, (1.) The persons spoken to were actually ingrafted into the olive-tree. (2.) This olive-tree is not barely the outward, visible Church, but the invisible, consisting of holy believers. So the text: “If the first fruit be holy, the lump is holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches.” And “because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith.” (3.) Those holy believers were still liable to be cut off from the invisible Church, into which they were then grafted. (4.) Here is not the least intimation of their being ever grafted in again.