The Present Danger of All Persons To Apostasy From the Gospel

Chapter 12 "There is an apostasy that is irrecoverable; and of this God permits many examples in this world, to put an awe not only on the bold and presumptuous, but also on careless and negligent sinners: for whereas our apostle does twice remind the Hebrews of this severity of God against apostates, in this place {Hebrews 3:12,13} and in Hebrews 10:26,27, in the one he does it with respect to unprofitableness under the means of grace, and in the other with respect to a negligence in attending to the administration of gospel ordinances. Now, whereas any men may be overtaken with the beginning of decays and declensions from the holiness and worship of the gospel, all which have a tendency in their own nature to this irrecoverable apostasy, ought they not to be continually jealous over themselves, lest they should pass the bounds God has fixed to his patience and grace? Ought we not to be careful about every sin or omission of duty that has a tendency to this doleful issue? For this very end, that we may be warned to take heed of the beginning of apostasy, does the apostle in this place declare the end of it. It is not an easy task to stop a course in backsliding when once it is entered into.