If these persons had generally grown more holy, if they had feared God more afterwards than ever they did before, if they had more aimed at the glory of God, and loved him better, when they forsook Christ and his gospel, then we might have some reason to suspect this gospel was false, and a mere mistake or imposture. But when these persons grow more unjust than before, love their neighbour less, are become more sensual, more selfish, disregard God more than they did before; I repeat it again, this is rather a ground of glory to the gospel of Christ, than of shame. Demas _hath forsaken us_, saith Paul, because he _loved this present world_; 2 Tim. iv. 10. A covetous Demas is no good argument why St. Paul should forsake Christ, or be ashamed of the gospel. And the apostle has shewn that those who have _made shipwreck of their faith_, have parted with _a good conscience_ too, and lost their virtue; 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. But there is another answer which the apostle John gives to this objection in his first epistle, chap. ii. ver. 19. _They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us._ They might make a profession of the gospel, and perhaps give a real assent to the truths and doctrines of it by the convincing influence of miracles and human reason, or perhaps they became christians merely by the force of education, because they were taught this religion from their childhood, and professed it without thought; but they never had such a powerful belief of this gospel of Christ, as to change their hearts, to renew their natures, to form their souls after the image of Christ into real holiness; and therefore like the hearers that are compared to stony ground, the seed did not sink deep into their hearts, though they might _receive the word at first with joy, but having not root in themselves; they endure but for a while, and when any temptation arises, they are offended_, and depart from the faith which they once professed; Mat. xiii. 20, 21. Thus it appears, that the gospel of Christ is never the worse in itself, nor does it deserve the less esteem in the world, notwithstanding such apostates as these, no more than seed-corn should be pronounced nought, because it does not bring forth a harvest in every soil. I have now finished the third general head of discourse which I proposed, and have shewn, whatsoever occasions of shame might be supposed to arise either from the doctrines of the gospel, or the professors of it, are unjustly charged as blemishes on the gospel; and I have given particular answers to both sorts of cavils, and defeated the accusations. One word of advice to christians shall conclude the present discourse; and that is this:—