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with them to their house, and there explained to him the way of God in a more complete and perfect manner.

And shortly after, when he intended to go over to Achaia, that he might preach the word at Corinth, and other places in that province, the brethren at Ephesus wrote to the disciples there, exhorting them to receive him with all affeetion and respect, as a person whose character well deserved it. And being arrived there, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, and was evidently serviceable in establishing and confirming those who had embraced the gospel. For he strenuously debated with the Jews, and that in the most public manner, and upon all proper occasions; making it evident, and clearly shewing by the scriptures, not only that a glorious spiritual deliverer was there foretold, but that Jesus of Nazareth, though so ungratefully treated by their rulers at Jerusalem, was, and is indeed the only true Messiah; so that the salvation of men depends upon receiving and submitting to him.

He is supposed by Locke to have been the false apostle who troubled the Corinthian church; but in this opinion we cannot concur, as he is mentioned respectfully in the epistle to Titus.

The following brief history of the evangelist Timothy is given by Dr. Macknight. Paul and Barnabas, in the course of their first apostolical journey among the Gentiles, having come to Lystra, a city of Lycaonia, in the lesser Asia, [Acts xiv. 6.] preached there some time, and converted a pious Jewish woman, named Lois, with her daughter Eunice, whose husband, it is thought, was then dead. [2 Tim. i. 5.] Soon after this, Timothy, Eunice's son, who had been brought up by his mother and grandmother in the Jewish religion, and in the knowledge of the scriptures, [2 Tim. iii. 15.] being greatly affected by the apostles' discourses, believed. From the time of his conversion, Timothy made such proficiency in the knowledge of the gospel, and was so remarkable for the sanctity of his manners, as well as for his zeal in the cause of Christ, that he attracted the esteem of all the brethren in those parts. Accordingly, when the apostle came from Antioch in Syria to Lystra the second time, they so praised Timothy, that him would Paul have to go forth with him. [Acts xvi. 2, 3.] The testimony of the brethren, however, was not the only reason of this choice. Timothy was pointed out as a fit person to be ordained an evangelist, by a revelation made either to Paul himself, or to some of the Christian prophets in Lystra. [1 Tim. i. 18.] In the mean time, Timothy, though a Jew, not having been circumcised by reason that his father was a Greek, or Gentile, it was proper he should bear that mark of his descent; because, without it, the Jews would have looked on him as a Gentile, and have despised his instructions. This, and not any opinion that circumcision was necessary to salvation, determined the apostle to propose, and Timothy to receive, the rite by which the Jews, from the earliest times, had been distinguished from the rest of mankind. Afterwards, the eldership at Lystra, the more strongly to impress Timothy with a sense of the importance of the function he had undertaken, solemnly set him apart to the office of an evangelist by the laying on of their hands, [1 Tim. iv. 14.] and by prayer. This was followed by the laying on of the apostle's hands, for the purpose of communicating to Timothy the gifts of the Holy Ghost. [2 Tim. i. 6.]

Timothy, thus prepared to be the apostle's fellow-labourer in the gospel, accompanied him and Silas when they visited the churches of Phrygia, and delivered to them the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, freeing the Gentiles from the law of Moses, as a term of salvation. Having gone through these countries, they, at length, came to Troas, where Luke joined them, as appears from the phraseology of his history. [Acts xvi. 10, 11, &c.] In Troas, a vision appeared to Paul, directing them to go into Macedonia. Loosing, therefore, from Troas, they all passed over to Neapolis,

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and from thence went to Philippi, as appears from his changing the phraseology of his history at verse 40. We may therefore suppose, that, at their departing, they committed the converted at Philippi to Luke's care. In Thessalonica, they were opposed by the unbelieving Jews, and obliged to flee to Berea, whither the Jews from Thessalonica followed them. To elude their rage, Paul, who was most obnoxious to them, departed from Berea by night to go to Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea. At Athens, Timothy came to the apostle, and gave him such an account of the afflicted state of the Thessalonian brethren, as induced him to send Timothy back to comfort them. After that, Paul preached at Athens; but with so little success, that he judged it proper to leave Athens, and go forward to Corinth, where Silas and Timothy came to him, and assisted in converting the Corinthians. And when he left Corinth, they accompanied him first to Ephesus, then to Jerusalem, and after that to Antioch in Syria. Having spent some time in Antioch, Paul set out with Timothy on his third apostolical journey, in which, after visiting all the churches of Galatia and Phrygia in the order in which they had been planted, they came to Ephesus the second time, and there abode long. In short, from the time Timothy first joined the apostle as his assistant, he never left him, except when sent by him on some special errand. And, by his affection, fidelity, and zeal, he so recommended himself to all the disciples, and acquired such authority among them, that Paul inserted his name in the inscription of several of the letters which he wrote to the churches, to shew that their doctrine was one and the

same.

Some account of the first epistle of Timothy has been given in a preceding chapter, where also it was observed, that the second epistle was written to him by Paul a little before the martyrdom of that apostle. We are not furnished with any further authentic accounts of this evangelist's history.

The second epistle to Timothy, being written by Paul to an intimate friend and companion in the work of the gospel, under the miseries of a jail, and in the near prospect of death, it is natural to think, that if the facts which he had every where preached concerning Christ had been falsehoods, and the gospel scheme of salvation which he and his brethren apostles had built thereon had been a delusion, he would, at such a time as this, have made reparation to mankind for the injury he had done them, in persuading them to believe on Jesus of Nazareth, for whose name so many had already suffered, and were likely to suffer death; and that he would have made this reparation, by acknowledging to Timothy, that the things which he had related concerning the character, miracles, and resurrection of Jesus were fables; and by ordering him to undeceive the world. Or if vanity, or regard to his own fame, or obstinacy in wickedness, or any other cause, prevented him from doing justice to the world and to truth, it might have been expected, that, in this private correspondence with so intimate a friend and associate, some expression would by accident have dropped from his pen, betraying the falsehood and wickedness of the cause they were engaged in; or that some word or circumstance would have escaped him which might have led to a discovery of the fraud.

Nothing, however, of either kind appears throughout the whole epistle. On the contrary, almost every sentence in it exhibits the most unambiguous proofs of the apostle's strong conviction of the truth of our Lord's pretensions, and of all the things he had told concerning him. For example, he begins his letter with affirming, that, by preaching the gospel, he served the God of his forefathers with a pure conscience; and says he thanked God, in his private prayers, continually for Timothy's faithfulness in preaching the gospel. Then ordered him to stir up the spiritual gift which he had conferred on him, and to be courageous in the work he was engaged in; because

the effect of that gift was not to fill those who possessed it with fear, but with courage and love, and self-government, and not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me, said he, the Lord's prisoner; but to suffer evil jointly with me for the gospel, of which I am an herald, and for which I suffer such things. Next, he expressed the highest satisfaction in suffering for Christ; because he knew he was really the Son of God, and would reward him in the end. And ordered Timothy to guard, by the power of the Holy Ghost which dwelt in him, the good doctrine concerning Christ, which had been committed to him in trust; and to be strong in the honourable office of an evangelist, which was bestowed on him; and to deliver all the particulars of the doctrine concerning Christ which he had heard from the apostle, confirmed by many witnesses, to faithful men capable of teaching that doctrine to others, that it might be continued to the end and more especially to publish and affirm every where that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, and thereby proved to be the Son of God; for preaching which facts he was himself now suffering as a malefactor, even unto bonds. But he told him it was not in the power of the enemies. of the gospel to keep it in bonds: do what they would, they could not hinder it from being preached, and believed in the world. And, with respect to himself, he assured Timothy, that he suffered imprisonment and every evil patiently and with the greatest joy for the gospel; because he knew that if he were put to death with Christ, he should also be raised from the dead with him, and reign, with him in the life to come. Whereas, any preacher of the gospel, who, from the love of ease, or the fear of death, either concealed or denied the things concerning the Lord Jesus, him will Christ deny at the day of judgment. Then charged Timothy to put the teachers at Ephesus iu mind of these things; and, in the mean time, to strive to present himself to God an approved unashamed workman in the gospel. And, being deeply impressed with a sense of the importance of the gospel doctrine to the happiness of the world, the apostle severely condemned two false teachers whom he mentioned by name, whose corrupt doctrine concerning Christ, he told Timothy, was as destructive to the souls of men as a gangrene is to their bodies. What stronger proofs can any one desire of the apostle's sincerity in the things which he preached? If he had been carrying on an imposture, would not these wicked teachers, one of whom he had enraged by delivering him to Satan for blaspheming Christ, have published the imposture to the world? In the mean time, that Timothy and others might not entertain harsh thoughts of God for permitting corrupt teachers to arise in his church, he told him, that in a church, as in a great house, there are vessels appointed to a dishonourable use; thereby insinuating, that these corrupt teachers, when driven out of the church for wicked practices, not being able to make any discoveries to the prejudice of the gospel, or of its ministers, that circumstance, though originating in the vices of these men, and dishonourable to them, was a strong proof of the truth of the gospel, and of the sincerity of its ministers in what they preached. Next, that Timothy might not follow the corrupt teachers, but strenuously oppose them, the apostle commanded him to flee youthful lusts, and to practise assiduously the duties of piety and morality; and put him in mind that the servant of the Lord must use no violent nor improper methods with those who oppose themselves, but be gentle to all men, meekly instructing the enemies of the gospel, if by any means God will give them repentance. And, that posterity might have undoubted evidence of the apostle's inspiration, he foretold the state in which the church would be in after ages, through the base practices of hypocritical teachers; but that a stop would, in due time, be put to their delusions. Then, conscious of his own faithfulness as an apostle, he appealed to Timothy's perfect knowledge of his doctrine, his manner of life, his purpose in teaching that doctrine, the virtues which

he exercised, and the persecutions which he suffered for the gospel, particularly at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra; but God delivered him out of them all; so that if Timothy shewed himself equally faithful, he might expect the like deliverances. Having further informed him that all who adhered to truth should suffer persecution, be charged him, notwithstanding, to continue in the profession of the things which he had learned of him, and been assured of, knowing from whom he had learned them, and that they were agreeable to the antient scriptures, in the knowledge and belief of which he had been educated from his childhood. Then he solemnly charged him, in the presence of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, the judge of the world, to preach all the things which he had mentioned, without considering whether the doing so was seasonable or unseasonable with respect to himself; because the church was soon to lose the benefit of the apostle's labours, the time of his departure being nearly come. This charge the apostle accompanied with a high expression of joy, on the reflection that he had fought the good fight, had finished the race, had preserved the faith, and was sure of a crown of righteousness from Christ, his Master, at the day of judgment. And, to encourage Timothy to follow his example, he informed him, that though no man appeared with him when he made his first answer, yet the Lord Jesus stood by him, and strengthened him to declare boldly the doctrine concerning the salvation of the Gentiles by faith; and that though he had no hope of deliverance at the tribunal of Cæsar, yet he knew that Ghrist would deliver him from betraying his cause, and from every evil work, and would preserve him safe to his heavenly kingdom. In which persuasion, he directed to him a doxology, which, on other occasions, he ascribed to God the Father.

These strong asseverations of the truth of those things which he had uniformly preached, these earnest charges to Timothy to preach the same things plainly to the world, these high expressions of joy in the sufferings which he had endured for preaching them, and these confident expectations which he expressed of receiving a full reward in the life to come, being the apostle's dying words to his intimate friend, conveyed in a private letter, no judge of human nature can read them without feeling a strong conviction that the apostle was thoroughly persuaded of the things which he had constantly preached without the least variation. And, seeing the most important of these were facts which he had learned from his own senses and experience, such as the appearing of Christ to him on the road to Damascus, his endowing him with supernatural powers, his revealing to him the particulars of his history and of the gospel doctrine, and his having been enabled to persuade multitudes in many countries to embrace and profess the gospel, is such a proof of the reality of these facts, and of the truth of the gospel history, as can never be shaken.

Titus is mentioned by Eusebius as the bishop of Crete. He is not once mentioned by Luke in his book of the Acts; so that his history must consist of such particulars as are related of him in the apostle Paul's epistles, where, indeed, he is often mentioned with great respect, and of such probable conjectures as these particulars naturally suggest.

That Titus was converted by Paul, appears from his calling him his own son in the common faith. [Tit. i. 1.] Yet at what time, and in what place Paul converted him, he hath no where told us. They who think Titus was a religious proselyte before his conversion, are of opinion that he was converted at Antioch, soon after Paul and Barnabas came to that city from Tarsus, as mentioned Acts xi. 25. But others, supposing him to have been originally an idolatrous Gentile, conjecture that his conversion happened in some of the countries of the Lesser Asia, through which Paul travelled in the course of his first apostolical journey, the history of which is given Acts xiii. xiv,

What is certain, is that Titus was with Paul in Antioch before the council of Jerusalem; and that, having distinguished himself by his piety and zeal, he was one of those whom the church at Antioch sent to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders concerning the circumcision of the converted proselytes, fourteen years after Paul's own conversion, that is, in the year forty-nine. [Gal. ii. 1, 2.7] When the messengers from the church at Antioch came to Jerusalem, the apostles, elders, and brethren, assembled; and, after reasoning on that question, decreed that it was not necessary to circumcise the converted Gentiles. Nevertheless, the judaizers in Jerusalem zealously endeavoured, on that occasion, to have Titus circumcised. So the apostle insinuates Gal. ii. 3, where he saith, not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Here it is proper to remark, that the Jews called all the idolatrous Gentiles Greeks; for, in their manner of speaking, Jews and Greeks comprehended the whole of mankind. [See Rom. i. 16.] According to this interpretation of the appellation, from the apostle's calling Titus a Greek it may be inferred, that before his conversion he was an idolatrous Gentile. The same thing appears likewise, from the attempt of the judaizers to force him to be circumcised. For, after the decree of the council was passed, freeing the converted proselytes from obedience to the law of Moses, if Titus, before his conversion, had been one of that denomination, the judaizers could not, with any shew of reason, have insisted on his circumcision. Yet, as the council had determined nothing respecting the converts from among the idolatrous Gentiles, some of the zealous judaizers, who, by stealth, introduced themselves into the private meeting in which Paul explained to James, Peter, and John, the gospel which he had preached among the Gentiles, when they found out that Titus, before his conversion, was an idolater, might insist to have him circumcised, on pretence that he was not freed from circumcision by the council's decree. But this attempt to subject a Gentile convert to the law of Moses, Paul resolutely withstood, that the truth of the gospel might continue with the Gentiles. [Gal. ii. 5.]

After the council, when Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by Judas and Silas, returned to Antioch to give the brethren an account of what had happened at Jerusalem, Titus seems to have returned with them; and, from that time forth, seems to have accompanied Paul in his travels as one of his assistants. For when the apostle set out from Antioch to visit the churches which he had gathered among the Gentiles in his first apostolical journey, and to confirm them, by delivering to them the decrees of the council, Titus went with him all the way to Corinth, and laboured with him in the conversion of the inhabitants of that city. This appears from the 2 Cor. viii. 23, If any inquire concerning Titus, he is my partner and fellow-labourer in the gospel towards you. The reason is, the apostle, before he wrote to the Corinthians, having not visited them since their conversion, the fellow-labouring of Titus towards the Corinthians must have happened at the time they were converted. If this reasoning be just, it must follow, that after the council, when Paul set out from Antioch with Silas to visit the churches, Titus either went with them, or was sent away before them with the apostle's letter to the Galatians, which is supposed, by Dr. Macknight, to have been written at Antioch soon after the council. In that case, when the apostle went through Galatia with the decrees, he may have met Titus, and have taken him along with him. Or, during his eighteen months abode at Corinth, he may have sent for Titus to come and assist him at Corinth.

After the apostle had planted the gospel in Corinth, he went to Jerusalem; but whether Titus abode at Corinth, or accompanied him to Jerusalem, is not said. This, however, we know, that he came to the apostle, as many others did, during his lang residence at Ephesus, mentioned Acts xix. 10. For, by him, he sent his first epistle

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