other particular church, illustrate the truths believed and professed in that particular church. Sabellianism, Arianism, Socinianism, and Unitarianism, all illustrate the truth of Trinitarianism. Arminianism illustrates the truth of Calvinism. Every errour that opposes any essential doctrine of the gospel, illustrates that essential doctrine of the gospel which it opposes. It is now easy to see, why God should choose, that errours, delusions, and heresies should always be not only in the world, but in the church. He always has employed, and will continue to employ them, as means to distinguish truth from errour, and to cause errour to appear more criminal and dangerous, but truth more amiable and important.

2. God chooses that there should be heresies in the church that true believers may be distinguished from false professors. This the apostle gives as a reason why there must be heresies in the church. "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." We know, that there were true and false professors in the church of Corinth. The true professors believed, and loved and professed the great and fundamental doctrines of the gospel, which Paul preached and inculcated; but the false professors, who were carnal, and had itching ears, followed false teachers, and heartily embraced and propagated gross and fatal errours. The apostle asks in the 15th chapter of this epistle, "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of. the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God, that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in

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Christ are perished." Such a great and fatal heresy, as the denial of the resurrection of the dead, had sprung in the great and flourishing church of Corinth, which Paul had planted and Apollos had watered. And it was necessary, that this heresy should be in this church, that those who were approved might be made manifest among them. It was certainly calculated to produce this good effect. There can be no doubt but that the sincere and approved professors disbelieved and rejected this heresy, while the insincere believed and propagated it to their own ruin, and the ruin of others. Heresy has always had the same tendency to distinguish true believers from false professors. It had this effect in the Jewish church. In the days of Rehoboam, it distinguished the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, from the ten tribes of Israel, who embraced the fatal errours of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. It had this effect till the coming of Christ, when it distinguished the Scribes and Pharisees from the few Israelites indeed. It had this effect in all the primitive churches, and distinguished true believers from Sabellians, Arians, Pelagians, and other hereticks. Heresy still serves to distinguish true believers from false professors in the christian church in every part of the world. God has chosen, that the present flood of errours, de lusions and heresies should spread and prevail in the heathen and christian world, that true churches might be made manifest, and the true professors in them should be distinguished from false professors, who imbibe and propagate great and fatal heresies. heterodox every where, are a foil to the orthodox, and exhibit their characters in a beautiful and amiable light. Unitarians are a foil to Trinitarians, and Arminians are a foil to Calvinists. They are now distinguishing true professors from the false professors, who are following the great and dangerous errours that they are so zealously propagating. And if they succeed in their proselyting scheme, there will soon be a wide and visible distinction between heterodox and orthodox churches in this land, and as visible a distinction

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errours, delusions, and rid and in the christian ve a fair opportunity of ne way to death. Truth is the way to death. It is that God prepares men ugh the medium of errour, estruction. Accordingly, it d to exhibit both truth and

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the other, that they may be be damned. He gave a fair generations of mankind, to hear ing of Enoch, or to follow their je gave a fair opportunity to the Parst entered into Canaan, to emJoses, or to embrace the fatal erand benighted heathens. Hear shua made to them. "Now, thereand serve him in sincerity and in ar the gods which your fathers servde of the flood, and in Egypt; and

And if it seem evil unto you to oose ye this day whom ye will serve, which your fathers served, that were her side of the flood, or the gods of the whose lands ye dwell, but as for me and we will serve the Lord." The same oppor Choosing truth or errour; life or death God all, to whom he has sent the gospel. And er me light of the gospel. have now a fair op

portunity to embrace truth, or errour; that is, to believe and love the great and essential doctrines of the gospel, or believe and love destructive delusions and fatal heresies. Those who believe and cordially embrace the gospel, believe and love the great truths, which make them wise unto salvation. But to those who disbelieve and reject the great and essential doctrines of the gospel, God sends a strong delusion, that they may believe a lie, that they may be damned. For this great, glorious, and awful purpose of saving and destroying the souls of men, God chooses, that there should be fatal errours and heresies in the world and in the church. God compels no man to embrace truth, and no man to embrace errour. He gives every one opportunity to embrace the one, or the other. This places mankind in this erroneous world, in a most important and critical situation. They have life and death set before them, and they are commanded to choose life, and the way that leads to it. If it be important, that truth and errour should be distinguished; or that true believers should be distinguished from false professors; or that mankind should have a fair opportunity of choosing the way of life, rather than the way of death; then God has great and good rea sons, for choosing that there should be strong delusions and fatal heresies in the church and in the world from age to age.

IMPROVEMENT.A

1. If heresies consist in those errours which are opposite to, and subversive of the great and essential doctrines of the gospel; then we have reason to think, that they have had a long and extensive spread in the world. Ever since the gospel was first preached to mankind, the great majority of the human race, who have had an opportunity to hear the great and essential truths contained in it, have been disposed to reject it, and have sought out many other ways of salvation. Though the seed of Abraham were numerous as

the stars of heaven; yet amidst the greatest light they enjoyed, they were perpetually apostatizing from God, and falling into the grossest idolatries and delusions of the heathen nations. Though Christ has afforded the best means of instruction and edification to his churches; yet there has always been great and destructive heresies among them. Indeed, there have been as great errours and delusions among professed christians, as among heathens. And considering the religious privileges and advantages, which nominal christians have enjoyed, they have discovered a greater love to errour, and a greater stupidity in embracing gross and fatal heresies, than the most ignorant and stupid heathens have done. The god of this world has reigned universally and triumphantly among all the heathen nations, and seduced them into the most absurd and fatal heresies and delusions. And he has been very successful in blinding the minds and corrupting the hearts of nominal christians, and leading them to reject the plainest and most important truths of the gospel. Heresy, which consists in fundamental and fatal errours, has done more, than any other secondary cause whatever to destroy the souls of men. Heresy has blinded the minds of more than half mankind, respecting the being, perfections, designs, and government of God. Heresy has blinded the minds of the great majority of those, who have lived under the gospel, respecting their own sinful and perishing condition, and the way of salvation through the atonement of Christ, and the special operations of the holy spirit. The way of the world is still as darkness, they know not at what they stumble. They are stupidly and insensibly pursuing the path that leads to darkness, disappointment, and everlasting despair. Though light shines, yet it shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not. For wise and holy reasons, God has chosen that the great deceiver should lead all the heathen world into idolatry, and a great part of the christian world into heresy, and cause