Chriftians, which these profelytes of the gate converted to chriftianity took, was agreeable to the prophecy of Ifaiah'. But, notwithftanding their taking this new name at the first, yet afterwards the appellation of "bre"thren" is given them by the church of Jerufalem, on a full confideration of their cafe. And it is highly probable there were no Jewifh converts in this church, not only from this confideration, that they never seem to have been troubled with the question about the neceffity of circumcifion by any among themselves, but were perfectly at quiet till the Jewish false brethren from Jerufalem. came among them. And as we do not read of any Jewish converts in this church, so we never read of any idolatrous Gentiles converted here; either before Barnabas and Saul were fent on this work of converting the Gentiles, when to be fure no idolatrous Gentiles had been convertede, nor after their return to this church from that work. Nor indeed do we then hear of their converting any: but only of their abiding long time with the difciples," inftructing them that were already difciples or chriftians more fully in the doctrines of Chrift f. 66 ⚫ Ifaiah lxv. 15. d Ver. 1. c Acts xv. 23. Ibid. xiv. 27. See Effay III. And And indeed this church feems to me, to have been at firft defigned by God, in his providence, and continued all along, as a church made up of profelytes of the gate, to prepare Paul and Barnabas for preaching to the idolatrous Gentiles, as well as the Jewish chriftians for receiving the news of whole churches being made up of fuch as had been idolatrous Gentiles (which was very furprizing, if not shocking, to many of them at first, and especially to understand that they were to receive them in the Lord); and to be in fome fort, if I may fo exprefs it, the mother church of the idolatrous Gentiles, as Jerufalem was of the Jews: for, as the apoftles and apoftolick men were fent from the church of Jerufalem to convert Jews, Samaritans, and profelytes of the gate, to which afterwards they return to give an account of their fuccefs; fo were the apostles Barnabas and Saul fent on their firft peregrination by the church of Antioch, to convert the idolatrous Gentiles to the faith ; and return thither at the end of it, and "re"hearse all that God had done with them ". So likewife Paul and Silas are sent out by the fame church, on Paul's fecond peregrinationi (and perhaps Barnabas and Mark too *). And at the end of this fecond peregrination, they "went to Antioch, and spent fome time h Ibid, xiv. 26, 27. * Ver. 39. Acts xiii. 2, 3, 5. T 3 "there," 66 there," not barely to stay with their chriftian friends, but in all likelihood to rehearse what God had done with them in this second peregrination; as they had done in the first. From hence Paul likewife departs on his third peregrination"; and in all probability recommended by the church to the grace of God, as in the two former. And as it is highly probable that, after Paul's first imprifonment at Rome, he came to Jerufalem "; fo it is very probable he might from thence go to Antioch, as he did every other time he went up to Jerufalem after commencing an apoftle; and might from thence probably fet out on that fifth peregrination, which, as we gather from other places of scripture, he went upon; though St. Luke does not carry the hiftory of St. Paul fo far. And if these were the defigns of Providence in fettling this church, as a church of devout Gentiles converted to chriftianity, Antioch must be allowed to be a city extremely well fuited to that defign; it being a city of Syria, a country that was thought by the Jews to be a fort of middle nature, between the, holiness which they afcribed to Palestine, and the pollution of other countries; and being, like the profelytes of the gate, neither altogether holy nor pro As xviii. 22, 23. m Ibid. See the Abstract, fane; fane; and confequently a region fit for a great church of the profelytes of the gate converted to the faith. From all these confiderations, it appears that the church at Antioch was a church composed of profelytes of the gate; and that therefore the question and decree must relate to profelytes of the gate who were become chriftians. II. This accounts for the rife of the queftion. For it does not feem probable that any of the Jews fhould firft of all pretend, that idolatrous Gentiles, out of Palestine, and that never dwelt or fojourned in it, though converted to christianity, fhould be bound by Mofes's law, who never thought it extended beyond the Jews (that is, Jews born, or fuch as would become Jews), or fuch as would live or fojourn in Palestine, and were entitled to certain privileges when they lived or fojourned there. On which account we do not find the zealots among the Jewish chriftians concerned at all at what Paul had taught the Gentiles; but only at what they thought he had taught "the Jews that were among the Gentiles." But, confidering the notions they then had, it might easily come into their heads, that the profelytes of the gate, who were never admitted to live or fo P See Reland's Sacred Antiquities of the Hebrews. 「 ୮ journ in Palestine without fubmitting to fome of the laws of Mofes, nor to a full communion with the church of the Jews without fubmitting to all thofe laws, fhould not be admitted to a full communion with the chrif tian church, and themselves as a part of it, but on the fame terms. This ran in all their heads, on Peter's first converting Cornelius and his family. For Luke tells us, they faid to Peter, "thou wenteft in unto men "uncircumcifed," that is, profelytes of the gate. And notwithstanding Peter had fatisfied them all for the prefent, yet this notion was apt to recur among fome of them. And though perhaps they might carry this matter farther, and make this afterwards a queftion about the idolatrous Gentiles, in the fecond inftance; yet it is not likely that they made it one about them in the firft. Error, like vice, grows and is fruitful. A less error, like a fmaller fault, will lead men into greater. But people do not ufually at once run into the greatest vices or abfurdities. And indeed I have fome doubt, whether the zealots ever infifted on the neceffity of the ido latrous Gentiles obferving the laws of Mofes, as they did in relation to the profelytes of the gate. I rather believe, they endeavoured by artifices from falfe philofophy, and by an addrefs to their fears and fenfual pleasures, to entice and draw them into a compliance with |