" Artlculi XXXIX." ^ " Peccatum originis ... est vitium et (lepravatio naturas cujuslibet hoininis ex Adamo naturaliter propa- ii;ati, qua fit ut ab original! justitia quam longissime distet ; ad malum sua natura propendeat et caro semper adversus spiritum conciipiscat, unde in unoquoque nascentium iram Dei atque dam- nationem meretur."
"Contessio Belgica." ^ " Peccatum originis est corruptio totius naturae et vitium haereditarium, quo et ipsi infantes in matris utero polluti sunt : quodque veluti noxia qu^dam radix genus omne pecoatorum in homine producit, estque tarn foedum atque execi'ab- ile coram Deo, ut ad universi generis liumani condemnationem sufficiat."
"■ Catechesis Heidelbergensis." (Pravitas humanae naturae exis- tit) " ex lapsu et inobedientia primorum parentum Adami et Evae. Hinc natura nostra ita est depravata, ut omnes in peccatis con- cijiiamur et nascamur." ^
By 7iature in these Confessions it is expressly taught, we are not to understand essence or substance (as was held by Matthias Pla- cius, and by him only at the time of the Reformation). On this point the Form of Concord says : That although original sin cor- rupts our whole nature, yet the essence or substance of the soul is one thino- and orio;inal sin is another. " Discrimen igjitur retinen- dum est inter naturam nostram, qualis a Deo creata est, hodieque conservatur, in qua peccatum originale habitat, et inter ipsum pec- catum originis, quod in natura habitat. Hsec enim duo secundum sacrse Sciipturge regulam distincte considerari, doceri et credi debent et possunt." *
" The Westminster Confession."^ "By this sin they (our first parents) fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly deffled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corru|)ted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual trans- gressions. This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated ; and althouo;h it be throuo;h Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin."
1 IX. ; Nieme3er, p. 603. 8 xv. ; Ihid. p. 370.
8 VII.; Ibid. p. 431.
4 I. 33 ; Hase, p. 645. 6 Chapter vi. §§ 2-6.
280 PART n. Cii. vni. — SIN.
Statement of the Protestant Doctrine.
From the above statements it appears that, according to the doc- trine of the Protestant churches, original sin, or corruption of nature derived from Adam, is not, (1.) A corruption of the sub- stance or essence of the souL (2.) Neither is it an essential ele- ment infused into the soul as poison is mixed with wine. The Form of Concord, for example, denies that the evil dispositions of our fallen nature are " coiiditiones, sou concreatae essentiales na- turae proprietates." Original sin is declared to be an " accidens, t. e., quod non per se subsistit, sed in aliqua substantia est, et ab ea disceriii potest." The affirmative statements on this subject are, (1.) That this corruption of nature affects the whole soul. (2.) That it consists in the loss or absence of original righteousness, and consequent entire moral depravity of our natui*e, including or manifesting itself in an aversion from all spiritual good, or from God, and an inclination to all evil. (3.) That it is truly and properly of the nature of sin, involving both guilt and [xjliution. (4.) That it retains its character as sin even in the regenerated. (5.) That it renders the soul spiritually dead, so that the natural, or unrenewed man, is entirely unable of himself to do anything good in the sight of God.
This doctrine therefore stands i pposed, —
1. To that which teaches that the race of man is uninjured by the fall of Adam.
2. To that which teaches that the evils consequent on the fall are merely physical.
3. To the doctrine which makes original sin entirely negative, consistinof in the want of original righteousness.
4. To the doctrine which admits a hereditary dejn'avity of na- ture, and makes it consist in an inclination to sin, but denies that it is itself sinful. Some of the orthodox theologians made a distinction between vitium and peccatum. Tiie latter term they wished to confine to actual sin, while the former was used to desig- nate indwelling and hereditary sinfulness. There are serious objections to this distinction : first, that vitium, as thus understood, is really sin ; it includes both guilt and pollution, and is so defined by Vitringa and others who make the distinction. Secondlv, it is opposed to established theological usage. Depravity, or inherent hereditary corruption, has always been designated peccatum, and therefore to say that it is not peccatum, but merely vitium, produces confusion and leads to error. Thirdly, it is contrary to Scripture ;