Secondly, The opposition that is made between the righteousness of Christ and the sin of Adam, Rom. v., which is the proper seat of this doctrine, showeth that there is in our nature an inbred sinful corruption ; for the sin of Adam holds such relation unto sinners, proceeding from him by natural propagation, as the righteousness of Christ doth unto them who are bom again of him by spiritual regene- ration. But we are truly, intrinsically, and inherently sanctified by the Spirit and grace of Christ; and therefore there is no reason why, being so often in this chapter called sinners, because of this original sin, we should cast it off, as if we were concerned only by an external denomination, for the riglit institution of the comparison and its analogy quite overthrows the solitary imputation.
Thirdly, All those places of Scripture which assert the prone- ness of our nature to all evil, and the utter disability that is in us to do any good, that wretched opposition to the power of godli- ness, wherewith from the womb we are replenished, confirms the same truth. But of these places I shall have occasion to speak hereafter.
' " Imbecillitas membrorum infantiliuiu iniiocens est, uon animus;." — Aug.
72 A DISPLAY OF ARMINIANISM.
Fourthly, The flesh, in the Scripture phrase, is a quality (if I may so say) inherent in us; for that, with its concupiscence, is opposed to the Spirit and his holiness, which is certainly inherent in us. Now, the whole man by nature is flesh ; for "that which is born of the flesh is flesh," John iii. 6; — it is an inhabiting thing, a thing that "dwelleth" within us, Rom. vii. 17. In brief, this vitiosity, sinfulness, and cor- ruption of our nature is laid open, — First, By all those places which cast an aspersion of guilt, or desert of punishment, or of pollution, on nature itself; as Eph. ii. 1, 3, we are " dead in trespasses and sins," being " by nature the children of wrath, even as others," being wholly encompassed by a " sin that doth easily beset us." Secondly, By them Avhich fix this original pravity in the heart, will, mind, and under- standing, Eph. iv. 18; Rom. xii. 2; Gen. vi. 5. Thirdly, By those which positively decipher this natural depravation, 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; Rom. viii. 7 ; — or, Fourthly, That place it in the flesh, or old man, Rom. vi. 6 ; Gal. v. 1 6. So that it is not a bare imputation of another's fault, but an intrinsical adjacent corruption of our nature itself, that we call by this name of original sin. But, alas ! it seems we are too large carvers for ourselves, in that wherewith we will not be con- tented.
The Arminians deny all such imputation, as too heavy a charge for the pure, unblamable condition wherein they are brought into this world. They deny, I say, that they are guilty of Adam's sin, as sinning in him, or that his sin is any way imputed unto us; which is their second assault upon the truth of this article of faith.
^ " Adam sinned in his own proper person, and there is no reason why God should impute that sin of his unto infants," saith Borpeus. The nature of the first covenant, the right and power of God, the comparison instituted by the apostle between Adam and Christ, the divine constitution, whereby Adam was appointed to be the head, fountain, and origin of all human kind, are with him no reasons at all to persuade it. ^" For it is against equity," saith their Apology, " that one should be accounted guilty for a sin that is not his own, — that he should be reputed nocent who, in regard of his own will, is truly innocent." And here. Christian reader, behold plain Pelagian- ism obtruded on us without either welt^ or guard; men on a sudden made pure and truly innocent, notwithstanding all that natural pollu- tion and corruption the Scripture everywhere proclaims them to be
» Adamus in propria persona peccavit, et nulla est I'atio cur Dcus peccatum illud infantibus iniputet." — Bor. in Artie, xxxi.
* '< Contra ajquitatem est, ut quis reus agatur propter peccatum non suuni, ut vera nocens judicetur, qui quoad propriam suara voluntatem innocens est." — Rem. ApoL, c. vii. p. 84.
3 An old Saxon word denoting a fence or border- — En.
OF OllIGINAL SIN. 73
replenished withal. Neither is the reason they intimate of any value, that their wills assented not to it, and which a little before they plainly urge. " It is, " say they, ^ " against the nature of sin that that should be counted a sin to any by whose own proper will it was not committed : " which being all they have to say, they repeat it over and over in this case, — " It must be voluntary, or it is no sin." But I say this is of no force at all ; for, — first, St John, in his most exact definition of sin, requires not voluntariness to the nature of it, but only an obliquity, a deviation from the rule. It is an anomy, — a dis- crepancy from the law, which whether voluntary or no it skills not much ; but sure enough there is in our nature such a repugnancy to the law of God. So that, secondly, if originally we are free from a voluntary actual transgression, yet we are not from an habitual voluntary digression and exorbitancy from the law. But, thirdly, in respect of our wills, we are not thus innocent neither ; for we all sinned in Adam, as the apostle affirmeth. Now, all sin is volun- tary, say the Remonstrants, and therefore Adam's transgression was our voluntary sin also, and that in divers respects, — first, in that his voluntary act is imputed to us as ours, by reason of the cove- nant which was made with him on our behalf But because this, con- sisting in an imputation, muvst needs be extrinsical unto us, therefore, secondly, we say that Adam, being the root and head of all human kind, and we all branches from that root, all parts of that body whereof he was the head, his ivill may he said to be ours. We were then all that one man^ — we were all in him, and had no other will but his; so that though that be extrinsical unto us, considered as particular persons, yet it is intrinsical, as we are all parts of one com- mon nature. As in him we sinned, so in him we had a will of sinning. Thirdly, original sin is a defect of nature, and not of this or that partictdar person : ^ whereon Alvarez grounds this difference of actual and original sin, — that the one is always committed by the proper will of the sinner; to the other is required only the will of our first pa- rent, who was the head of human nature. Fourthly, It is hereditary, natural, and no way involuntary, or put into us against our wills. It possesseth our wills and inclines us to voluntary sins.