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Show 2 Tim. 2. :z.s, :z.6. til) was thee at Ephefm,when Paul wrote hisfecond Epillle to him isnodo certaine. But wherefoever he was (as bein~an Evange~ lift, he was not limited to a certaine place) doubtleffe there wan• ted not unconverted perfons,amongft whom the Members of the Church lijed. Yea, but they were not unconverted ChriftianJ • for it i1 aJ much, aJ >tnconverttd ConvertJ, &c· A'![w. It muft lye upon the Difculfers credit, whetherlufedat all fuch • phrafe or no: fu re I am, l cannot hitherto (alter much feeking ) find mine owne hand-written copy , which migh! cleare the mi!\ake, both of Greet for Ephefut, and unconverted ChriiHans for unconverted Perfom. But let it not feeme ft rangeto him, to heare tell of unconverted .Cbrillian!,or unconverted Converts. There is no contradiaionat all in the words. When the Lord {aith,that Judah turmdunto him .not with all her heart, butfained!J, (Jer. 3· 10.) W•s !be notthe~ .•n unconverted Convert? converted in !hew and profeffion , buu unconverted in heart and Troth? Let him t\len confider his own phrafe here mifapplyed, whether this be the Language of (:apa<lll, or the Language of Ajhdod. JeremieJ Language is the Language of Anathoth, not of Afhdod. F.ep!J. 2. If the Difcuffer looke at it as a true , b11t fad experi(q• of my unconverted cfla te, from unconverted Churchu, and that the uri jefiu never yet called me to come out of them, b2eauje 1 fPea~ (ifldoe fo {peake) of unconverted Chriftians Jiving amongft them. I mull be contented ftill to lie under that imputation from hi111 1 never knew that Church yet, nor ever read ofit, in which the~ was not, (or al lcaft 111;ght not ) be found, [orne unconvemd ·Chri!tian!, UI'Convened Convem. ]uda1 was found in Chrilll Family : .Ananiss and Sspphira, in the Apoftolick Primiti~ Church: Balaam and the Nicholaitam were found in Pergamur, and 'Jef•belin 'Tbyatira. Bdides I have not yet learned , (nor doe I think<!', I ever {ball) thatthe children of beleiv rng Parents borne in the Church, all of them Pagans, aP<l11o i'.Jembers of the Church: or that ing M<mbers of the Chnrch,(& fo holy)chat they are all ofthenl t ruly _converted. And if they be not alw•ye~ truly cor1vcrted, rhtn l et hrm not wonder, nor fi umble at thephrafe of nnt·or.·.erud l Cl,rifiram. But if the Difr:uffir doe fadly obferve it, that my fo>~l< bth not Jel heard the c•ll of the Lord ] eft« to come out of unconverttd' Churchu : truly I have juft caufe (not without ladnelfe and mourning ) to confider , and to -pray, that he might confider, what call of the Lord Jefus his foule hath heard to come· om, not onely out of unconverted Churches, bur converted too, yea out of all Churches? DifcullCr. Againe, f obfer'V< the bafte and light attention •f the Anfwem ·, tothe{< Scripture! (as commonly the Spirit! of GodJ children in matter/ of Gods King dome, are very Jleepy : ) for tbe{e per fans here fPok_en of were · wt•nconverted Chriftians in Creete, whom Titus aJ an Evnngelij! WaJio convert, but th£1 werefuch Oppoftw, at Timothy (to whom Paul writetb this Lttter at Ephefus) jhould not meet withall. Defender. Whether fuch words be found in the copy of my Anfwer to the Letter, I leave it to· the Difcu{{ers credit. As I faid even now, mine owne copy I canuot (alter much diligent fearch)finde: the Tran· fcript which I have found hat!i it otherwife", the unconverted [!erfons in Ephe{ur, whom 'Timothy as 'an Evangelift w•s to !eeke, to convert. But if my copy due fpeake as he reporteth: .Then, t. I doe not deny, but have jult caufe to acknowledge· rome o~ne hafte, and light attention, and fieepinelfe in the matters of C~rifts Kingdome , not onely in this·pa!fage: but fre- quently eHe in the race of my Chriftian courle of life. The DifcipleuhemfelvesChriftfound ileepy, Matth. 26. 40. how much . more may he find me ileepy? 2. The Dzfcuffirmighfhaveimputed it as well, to my haft to gratifie his earneft ddire to Anfwer hi! friends Letter, and to my confidence in his love, that for haft to fatisfie him, miftooke one place and perfon for anothe'r, and was not fo attentive to perule and examine the aopy.(ent by me to him , as I would have been; had Ifent it to an Adverfary. . 3· The cafe is all one in the matters of Chrifts 1\ingdome , w4ether I had na.med 'Timothy,or 'I'itur,Ephtjiu, or Creett: For t~e' perfons were both of them Ev.ngelilh,and theplacu of them bothfuch; as had unconv,erted perlons in them , and (like enough) unconverted Chriftians too : EphefiW had evill perfons amongll: them~ |
