CHAPTER III.
MAN'S PRESENT STATE.
The evils consequent on the disobedience of our first parents were not
confined to them personally, but have fallen on their descendants also. Adam
had been created in the image of God; but when that image had been lost by
transgression, he begat a son in his own likeness.[1] So all his descendants since have borne the image of the
earthly, fallen progenitor, and have been like him, not only in character, but
in condition. The subject will be examined further in the following sections.
SECTION I.--ACTUAL SIN.
MEN OF ALL AGES AND NATIONS, HAVE, IN THEIR ACTIONS, VIOLATED THE LAW OF GOD.[2]
The sacred volume, in describing the state of the world before the flood, says
that "the earth was filled with violence."[3]
The history of the period before the flood is very brief; yet we find, in the
beginning of it, the murder of Abel by this brother;[4] in the progress of it, the bigamy of Lamech,[5] and the murder which he confessed to his wives; and, in the
close of it, this account of the complete corruption of the earth, and the
general prevalence of violence. The flood was sent in wrath for the
transgressions of men; but its waters did not cleanse the earth from sin.
Iniquities prevailed after the flood, as they had done before; and the
condition of mankind, in all nations, was such as Paul has described in the
first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. The children of Abraham were
separated from the rest of mankind, and made a peculiar people to God; but,
notwithstanding the religious advantages which they enjoyed, their history is
little else than a record of rebellions against God; and judgments inflicted on
them for their provocations. So common is wickedness in the earth, that it is
called "the course of this world,"[6] and it is
said, "the whole world lieth in wickedness."[7]
From this universal corruption no man is exempt. "There is no man which
sinneth not."[8] All whom the Spirit of God
brings to a knowledge of themselves confess, "In many things we offend all;"[9] and they pray, "Forgive us our sins."[10] If others make no confessions of sin, and no
petitions for pardon, it is because of the blindness and hardness of their
hearts.
He who looks into the state of society around him, finds proof of man's
wickedness. Crimes abound everywhere; and the earth is filled with violence,
as it was of old. Laws restrain the crimes and violence of men; but the very
necessity of laws demonstrates the wickedness of mankind. War and oppression
make up, in great measure, the history of our race; and innumerable deeds of
wickedness, which never find a place in the historic record, are written in
God's book of remembrance, and will be brought to light in that day, when men
shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body.
The actual transgressions of men consist in doing what God has forbidden, and
in leaving undone what he has commanded. The latter are called sins of
omission; the former, sins of commission. With both these kinds of
transgression all men are more or less chargeable. They who abstain from
grosser crimes have, nevertheless, committed many sins, and omitted many
duties. But sin, in the overt act, constitutes only a very small part of man's
sinfulness, as will appear in the next section.
SECTION II.--DEPRAVITY.
ALL MEN ARE BY NATURE TOTALLY DEPRAVED.[11]
The depravity which we have to lament in mankind, respects their principles of
action as moral beings. As merely sentient beings, external objects produce on
them the proper effects; and, as rational beings, they draw conclusions in
science with correctness. The disease and debility which are the consequence
of moral evil, may impair both sense and reason; but we cannot affirm of these
powers that they are totally depraved. Moral depravity shows itself in outward
acts of transgression; but, atrocious as these often are, it is chiefly in the
heart that God beholds and hates it. "God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually."[12] In the heart it
was that God saw the great wickedness of the earth. The heart is a
metaphorical term, denoting those mental affections which are the principles or
beginnings of action. Here depravity exists at the very fountain from which
all human action flows.
The depravity of man is total. We do not mean by this that his conduct is as
bad as it could be, or that no amiable affections have a place in his heart.
The young man who addressed our Redeemer with most respectful inquiry how to
attain eternal life, appears to have been unconverted, yet he possessed so
amiable qualities that it is recorded, "Jesus, beholding him, loved him."[13] The goodness of God is great, even to the
unthankful and evil; and he has been pleased to implant natural affections in
hearts which desire not to retain him in their knowledge, and so to balance the
propensities, even where there is no holiness, that life and human society have
many enjoyments. When our first parents permitted natural desire to prevail
over the authority of God, human depravity began to flow, and what it was at
the fountain-head, it has been in all the streams that have spread through the
earth. Men seek good at their own choice, and walk in their own ways,
regardless of the authority of God. The love of God is dethroned from the
heart, and therefore the grand principle of morality is wanting, and no true
morality exists. A total absence of that by which the actions should be
controlled and directed, is total depravity. Hence the strong language of
Scripture, already quoted, is properly descriptive of human nature in its
fallen state; "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually."
Human depravity is universal. In heathen nations, men did not delight to
retain God in their knowledge, and their very religion became filled with
abominable rites. In lands blessed with the light of revelation, men love
darkness rather than light, and give melancholy proof that they have not the
love of God in them. The rich and poor, the learned and the unlearned, the
young and the old, all give evidence that, to serve and please God, is not
their chief delight, their meat and their drink. A few, converted by divine
grace, differ from the rest of mankind, and esteem it their pleasure and honor
to obey God; but these very men testify that they are like other men. "Such
were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified, in the mane of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."[14] "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh,
dwelleth no good thing."[15]
Depravity is natural to man; it is born with him, and not acquired in the
progress of life. It is not to be ascribed to evil habit, or evil example.
Evil habits are formed by evil doing; and evil doing would not be, if there
were no evil propensity. Evil example would not everywhere exist, if human
nature were not everywhere corrupt; and the tendency to follow evil example
would not be so common, and so much to be guarded against, if it were not
natural to man. The Scriptures clearly teach this doctrine. "Behold, I was
shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."[16] The psalmist did not mean to charge his mother with
crime in these his humble confessions, but manifestly designs them to be an
acknowledgment that his depravity was in-woven in his nature, and bore date
from the very origin of his being. The Saviour taught, that which is born of
the flesh, is flesh.[17] The term flesh,
which is here opposed to spirit, signifies, as it does in other places, our
depraved nature. It traces human depravity up to our very birth.
As every individual of our race is born of depraved parents, and brings
depravity with him into the world, we are led to conceive of it as propagated
from parent to child. This accords with the representations of Scripture;
"Adam begat a son in his own likeness."[18]
It accords also with analogies to which we are familiar.
Plants and animals propagate their like; diseases are often hereditary, and
peculiarities of temper and mind by which parents were distinguished, often
appear in their children. In our proneness to find fault with God's
arrangements, we ask, why was the fallen nature of Adam propagated, rather than
the original nature which he received from the hand of God.. But we might as
well complain that the ascent from the state of sin to that of innocence, is
not as easy as the descent was found to be. Virtue fits the creatures of God
for society, and for its most beautiful exhibitions opportunity is presented in
the social relations. All these give one creature an influence over another,
according to the character of the relation between them. Even angels, who were
created independent of each other, had an influence on each other, so that the
chief apostate in the great rebellion led followers after him. When man was
created, it appeared good, in the view of Infinite Wisdom, to institute closer
social relations than subsisted among angels. From these resulted a more
extend influence than was known in angelic ranks. Now, if Adam had transmitted
his original nature, as created by God, the effect would have been the same as
if the son had been immediately created by the divine hand, and the peculiarity
designed to distinguish the human race would have been virtually abolished.
Another complaint which sometimes rises in our murmuring minds is, that pious
men do not propagate their piety, but their natural depravity. We might as
well complain that men of great scientific attainments do not transmit their
knowledge to their children as a natural inheritance. This complaint would
have even greater appearance of propriety, for their attainments are, in a
sense, their own; but whatever of holiness is found in man, is not a natural
endowment or attainment, but a special gift of divine grace.
When we have discovered that the propagation of depravity in the human race
accords the analogies found in nature, our minds seem to obtain relief; but, in
reality, the matter has not been explained. Nature is not some superior rule
to which God was compelled to conform, but it is an institution of his own, and
cannot be right in the whole, if its parts are not right. If the propagation
of human depravity is not in itself right, all the analogies of nature could
not make it so. The true benefit of tracing these analogies is, that we may
perceive all the arrangements to be from the same divine mind, and may the more
reverently bow our judgment to the decision of Infinite Wisdom, and hush our
murmurs into the more profound silence.
Our natural inquisitiveness takes occasion from this subject to indulge in
unprofitable speculations. As the depravity which is propagated belongs more
properly to the soul than to the material frame, we ask whether the soul is
propagated. Some have preferred to consider the soul as a production
immediately proceeding from the creating power of God. They suppose this to be
intended when the Scriptures say, that he formeth the spirit of man within
him.[19] They regard the body as all that is
propagated, and suppose the Creator to form a spirit within it, as he breathed
the spirit of life into the inanimate body of Adam, when he became a living
soul. They view propagation as belonging to the material part of our nature,
and consider it impossible, in the nature of things, that this should generate
an immaterial spirit. The latter argument, which is merely philosophical, has
to struggle with the fact that all animals generate something more than mere
matter, in the powers with which they are endowed, and which bear a strong
resemblance, in many respects, to the mental endowments of man. The preceding
argument, from Scripture, fails in this, that God is equally said to form the
body of the child in the womb of the mother,[20] and yet we never regard that body as a production of
immediate creation. It is true that the body of Adam was lifeless for a time;
but it was not, as lifeless, that be begat a son in his likeness. We would not
argue, from this case, that all life, whether in plants or animals, is a
production of immediate creation, and not of propagation; and it does not
appear that a more valid argument can be deduced from it, to prove the
immediate creation of every human soul. After all, what does the question
amount to? If the preservation of all things is strictly a perpetual creation,
the distinction is wholly annihilated; for the soul is, at the first moment of
its being, and at every subsequent moment throughout its whole existence, an
immediate creation. But if this view be not admitted, it is still true that
preservation is as dependent on the efficacious will of God, as creation. God
willed that the soul of Adam should propagate a son, and that this son should,
like the father, have both a soul and a body. The progeny came into being
according to the will of God. This work differs from the former, in that it is
not singular, but conforms to what we call a law of nature; but nature's laws
have no efficacy in themselves; and when we attribute the work to the
efficacious will of God, it is a mere question of classification, whether we
refer it to creation or Providence.
An objection to the doctrine of natural depravity is founded on the fact, that
Jesus referred to little children, as examples for is disciples. This fact,
however, will not authorize the inference, that little children are not
depraved. The same teacher said to his disciples, "Be ye wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves."[21] As something may
exist, proper to be imitated in animals which have no moral character, and even
in serpents, notwithstanding their venom, so, something for imitation could be
pointed out in children, notwithstanding their depravity. Another objection is
drawn from the statement of Scripture, concerning children that had not done
either good or evil.[22] But the doctrine
does not affirm that all have committed overt acts of transgression. It refers
to the first spring of action in the heart; and a fountain may be corrupt,
before it has sent forth streams, as truly as afterwards. No objection, worthy
of consideration, can be drawn from Paul's statement, that the children of the
Corinthian Christians were holy;[23] for this
manifestly relates to their fitness for familiar intercourse.
Vain it will be, to receive the doctrine of human depravity into our creed, if
it is not received into our hearts. A thorough conviction of our total
depravity is necessary to humble us before God, and drive us to the fountain
opened for sin and uncleanness. No genuine Christian experience can exist,
where this is not felt and operative.
SECTION III.--CONDEMNATION.
ALL MEN ARE BORN UNDER THE JUST CONDEMNATION OF GOD.[24]
The depravity of mankind unfits them for the favor and enjoyment of God; and
that separation from him, in which the death of the soul consists, would be the
necessary result, even if no declaration to that effect were declared. The
voice of Providence loudly declares it. The pain with which our first
breath is drawn; the sickness and suffering which attend on the cradle; the
sorrows and toils of our best years; the infirmities of age; and lastly death,
which, if it does not terminate our course earlier, after threatening us at
every step, and keeping us all our life-time in bondage, finally triumphs over
us; all these proclaim, in language not to be misunderstood, that we are under
the displeasure of God. The curse of God rests on the very ground that we
tread; and his wrath is poured out on our race in the wars, famines, and
pestilence, with which the nations are often visited. The sentence is
pronounced by the voice of conscience within us, which is to us as the
voice of God; "for if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and
knoweth all things."[25] God speaks in
his holy word, proclaiming the sentence; "Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them."[26] "What things the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world become guilty before God."[27] The
view which is here presented of man's condition, relates not merely to his
transgressions, but to his natural state, Hence it is said, "And were by
nature, the children of wrath."[28]
These manifestations of God's displeasure are of early date, commencing with
the first woes of mankind. They may be traced to the first sentence pronounced
on our guilty parents, when they were expelled from Eden. Paul has explained,
that we were all included in this sentence, and this is the proper date of our
condemnation. "By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to
condemnation."[29] From that hour, the
descendants of Adam, their habitation, their employments, and their enjoyments,
have all been under the curse. Blessings have, indeed, been poured out in rich
profusion on our guilty race; but our very basket and store have been cursed,
and the cup of mercies has been mingled with bitterness. The forbearance and
long-suffering of God are manifested; but the hand of his wrath is uplifted.
The condemnation under which we are born is just. It is God's sentence; and
all his judgments are righteous. It is not unusual for those who are condemned
by human laws, to complain of their sentence; and we show our want of
reconciliation to the justice of God, by our hard thoughts of God, when we
either suffer or fear his displeasure against us.
Our rebellious hearts deny the justice of our condemnation, on the ground that
God made us, and not we ourselves. If he did not create our souls directly
with depraved propensities, he brought them into being, in circumstances which
made their depravity certain. He gave us existence at his own pleasure; and
over the circumstances of our origin we had no manner of control. It is
therefore unjust, says the carnal heart, to condemn and punish us, for the
sinful propensities which we bring with us into the world, or for the sinful
deeds which naturally and necessarily proceed from them. In this manner, we
are prone to transfer the blame of our iniquities from ourselves to our Maker.
So did Adam; "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of
the tree, and I did eat,"[30] and so do all
his descendants. Every one is probably conscious that such reasonings have at
some time had a place in his mind; and that it is difficult to exclude them
wholly. On this account, they need a full and sober examination.
A consideration which ought to silence our accusing thoughts of God, is, that
however much we may condemn him, we do not thereby acquit ourselves. If we
admit that Adam would not have eaten the forbidden fruit had not God given him
a wife; and if we even admit that God was to blame for giving him a wife who
might become his tempter: still this does not exculpate Adam. His wife was
certainly to blame for tempting him; and yet the guilt of his transgression is
not the less on that account. Every agent is responsible for himself.
Distributive justice, which gives to every man his due, has no other rule, and
can have no other. Human courts do not excuse culprits, because of the
corrupting influences which have led them to violate the law. The law takes
direct cognizance of the agent and his deed. This accords with the common
sense of mankind. So divine justice condemns the wicked man, and cannot do
otherwise than condemn him, however he may have become wicked, and whoever else
may be to blame for his being so. This principle we should hold fast in our
reasonings on that subject.
A difficulty in holding fast the principle just laid down, and applying it
steadily to the case, arises from the circumstance that the Judge by whom we
are condemned is also our Creator. To free our thoughts from embarrassment on
this account, let us suppose the case were otherwise. Let us imagine that,
after "the Sons of God had shouted for joy," at seeing the foundations of the
earth laid, and its finished surface covered with verdure and beauty, the Most
High was pleased to appoint one of this joyful choir to the honorable service
of populating this new world, and to confer on him creative power for this
purpose. Let us imagine that, just as this chosen agent was proceeding to
execute his commission, he conceived the thought of making himself the god of
the world he was about to people; and, for this purpose, filled it with unholy
inhabitants, willing to join him in rebellion against the Supreme Ruler. This
case, though merely imaginary, will serve to test the principle under
consideration; and the question which it presents for adjudication, is, how,
according to the rule of eternal and immutable justice, ought this world of
rebels to be treated.
Perhaps it will be said, that the agent who abused the creative power
conferred on him ought to be punished, and that the creatures that he had
brought into being ought to be annihilated. But this is not the plea which is
set up for the human race. The plea which the sons of Adam present before the
Judge of the earth, is, not that we ought to be annihilated, but that we ought
not to be condemned and punished; this new order of creatures might object to
annihilation, and think themselves as much entitled to life and impunity as we
do. They might say, that annihilation is only a scheme to get the question out
of court, and to free the Judge from difficulty; but they might insist on
right, and claim, as they were created immortal by the commission granted to
him by whom they were made, they have a right to immortality; and that this
immortality, since their depravity is natural to them, ought to be free from
all punishment. Now, the Judge might, for wise reasons, not chose to evade the
responsibility of adjudicating the case; What, then, would the righteous
sentence be? Even to annihilate them against their will, would be a
punishment; that ought not to be inflicted, if the plea not guilty, because
depravity is natural, can be sustained. The plea before on earthly judge would
not stand a moment. Who could bear that a criminal should be acquitted and
turned loose on the community, because he was born wicked, and grown up wicked,
and it was as natural for him to commit theft, murder, and all manner of
crimes, as it was to breathe? Such a plea, which the justice of men will not
admit, the justice of God will not admit. The new order of creatures must be
treated as they deserve; and Infinite Wisdom, instead of annihilating them,
must adopt some other expedient, to counteract the diabolical intentions of the
agent that created them.
The case which has been supposed is not so wholly imaginary as at first view
it may have appeared. Though it is not true that an angel of light was
commissioned to create a population for the earth, something else was done
which, for all the purposes of the present discussion, amounts to the same.
Adam and Eve, while yet in innocence, were commissioned to procreate a race of
immortals, that should people the new world. This power, Satan, ambitious of
divine honor, availed himself of to make himself the god of the world. By
temptation he gained over the first pair to his design; and so completely is
the procreating power with which they were invested, turned to his account,
that the offspring of it are called the "children of the devil."[31] So complete is his control of them, that he is called
"the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience,"[32] and they "are taken captive by him at his will;"[33] and the death which comes on them for
disobedience is attributed to his power: "That through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is the devil."[34] The imaginary case, therefore, is substantially our own;
and, if rebellion against God, subserviency to Satan, and confederacy with him
to overthrow the government of the King Eternal, cannot be justified at the
tribunal of divine justice, we are verily guilty, and justly condemned.
But our accusing thoughts of God are suppressed with difficulty. We have seen
that the whole world is guilty before him; and yet every mouth is not stopped.
We still entertain hard thoughts, and vent hard words against him; and the
thing formed says to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?[35] Of such impiety it becomes us to beware.
We should feel that our depravity is our own, however we came by it; that it
renders us wholly unfit for the society and enjoyments of the holy place where
God dwells, and for his favor, service, and communion; and that it ought to be
loathsome in our own view, and must be so in the view of the holy God. If our
own hearts condemn it, we shall be ready to admit, without complaint, that God
also condemns it. And what can we say against God in the matter? What wrong
has he done? His distributive justice does no wrong in treating the unholy
according to their character. If he has done any wrong, it must relate to the
department of public justice, which, as formerly explained, seeks the greatest
good, and is the same as universal benevolence. Now, who will say that God's
plan will not produce the greatest good? Who is wiser and better than God, to
teach him a preferable way? When Satan gained his conquest over our first
parents, God could have confined him at once in the pit, and inflicted on him
the full torment yet in store for him; and he might have annihilated the whole
race of man in the original pair. This would have terminated the difficulty by
an act of power; but who will affirm that it would have been wisest or best?
God would have appeared disappointed and defeated. Distributive justice would
have appeared relieved rather than developed. Satan triumphed by artifice, and
God has chosen to defeat him by the counsel of his wisdom. Satan exalted
himself to dominion over the world; God chose to overcome him, not by power,
but by humiliation. Satan gained his success by means of the first Adam; God,
in the second Adam, bruised the serpent's head. Satan, by his success, gained
the power of death; God, by death, the death of Jesus Christ, has destroyed him
and his power.[36] Who will dare affirm that
God's way is not best? It becomes us to feel assured, whatever darkness may
yet remain on this subject, that God would not have given up his Son to free us
from condemnation, if that condemnation had not been just; and that he would
not have made so great a gift, so costly a sacrifice, if the scheme had not
been worthy of his infinite wisdom; or if some other, by which the sacrifice
might have been spared, would have been preferable.
When the question has been settled, and the principle established, that men
may be held responsible for their own sins, without inquiring how they became
sinners, a difficulty still remains as to the date of the condemnation under
which we all lie, and the ground of the original sentence. When the mind
becomes perplexed with subtle reasonings, it is well to keep facts steadily in
view, and to hold fast the plain testimony of inspired truth. It is expressly
said, in the unerring word, "By the offence of one judgment came upon all
men to condemnation;" and again, "The judgment was by one [offence] to
condemnation."[37] It is here clearly taught
that one judgment, one sentence, included all men, and that this judgment was
made up and the sentence pronounced on one offence of one man. With this
express teaching of Scripture facts agree. The indications of God's
displeasure against the race are not postponed until each individual has been
born into the world. Every mother is not carried back to Eden before she
brings forth a son, that he may, in his own person, receive the sentence of
condemnation, be denied access to the tree of life, driven from the garden of
delights, and doomed to sorrow, toil, and death. Whatever our reasonings may
say on the subject, it is fully ascertained to be the will of God, before an
individual is born into the world, that, when born, he shall be in the
condition in which the curse left the father of the race. The Bible, and the
voice of Nature, speak alike on this point; and if our reasonings say that he
Author of Nature and the Bible has done wrong, we should suspect that we have
erred in our inferences, or in the premises from which they are drawn. And if
it could be shown that a separate sentence is pronounced on each individual as
he comes into the world, his condition would be no better. Being depraved by
nature, we are "by nature children of wrath."[38] Wrath is still our inheritance; and if the antiquity of
the sentence which appointed it be admitted, the measure of that wrath is not
thereby increased, nor the endurance of it made earlier. As to these results,
the question is one of no importance whatever. Its relation, as exhibited in
Scripture, to the doctrine of justification by the obedience of Christ,
constitutes its chief claim to our careful consideration.
The sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," was pronounced
on Adam in the singular number; yet he appears to stand under this sentence as
the representative of his descendants, on all of whom the sentence takes
effect. So Eve was addressed in the singular number, "In sorrow shalt thou
bring forth children;" but she stood, in this sentence, as the representative
of all her daughters, on whom this penalty falls. As the natural parents, Adam
and Eve stood together as the head of the race; but there was a peculiar sense
in which that headship pertained to Adam. Though Eve was first in the
transgression, it is not said by one woman, but "by one man sin entered into
the world." The judgment was not by the two offences of the two natural
parents of the race, but by one offence of the one man; the previous
offence of the woman being left out of the account. In this headship
Adam is contrasted with Christ, being called "the figure of him that was to
come."[39] This comparison is further brought
to view in 1 Cor. xv. 45, 47, where Christ is called the second Adam; and in
verse 22, where it is said, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive." On Adam, who was first formed, the responsibility of peopling the
new world with a race of holy immortals specially rested; and, though Satan
artfully directed his first assault against the woman, his scheme would have
failed had not Adam been gained over to his interest. This divinely appointed
headship of Adam made his disobedience the turning point on which the future
condition of his posterity depended; and Paul takes occasion from this to
illustrate the dependence of believers on the obedience of the second Adam, for
justification and life.
To this view it is objected, that, according to the principles of justice, the
guilt of one man cannot be transferred to another, and no man can be justly
condemned for that of which it is impossible for him to repent. No man living
can repent of Adam's sin, and the guilt of Adam's sin cannot justly be imputed
to any other person.
What are here so confidently assumed as axioms, may well be called in
question. We must believe the Scriptures, when they say, "The Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all."[40] "He bore
our sin in his own body on the tree."[41] And
we know that men cannot repent of deeds which they have wholly forgotten, and
yet they are responsible for them. But there is a much shorter way of getting
at this question, than by a tedious examination of these assumed axioms. No
man understands that the guilt of Adam was transferred. It still remained his,
and was closely and inseparably bound about him. But every one knows that
there may be union and confederacy in crime. In commercial affairs, if twenty
men owe one hundred dollars, each may pay five dollars, and obligation of the
whole will be cancelled. But in morals, if twenty subjects confederate to
assassinate their king, each one is guilty of the whole crime, because each
one has the full intention of it. Only one of the band may plunge the dagger
to the monarch's heart; but his crime may be justly imputed to them all, though
his guilt may not be transferred to another. Now, we may inquire, whether such
union does not exist between Adam and his descendants, as justifies the
imputation of his sin to them; or, in comparing Adam and Christ as public
heads, has, in the fifth chapter of Romans, pointed out disagreements as well
as agreements. Death comes from the disobedience of the one; and life from the
obedience of the other; and in Rom. vi. 23, he teaches that there is an
importance difference as to the mode in which these results follow. Death is
wages, a thing deserved; life is a gift. The benefits of righteousness and
life, received from Christ, are by faith; and "It is of faith, that it might be
by grace."[42] The condemnation and death
which are from Adam, are not gratuitous and arbitrary, but come on us justly.
We inquire, then, whether there is such a connection between Adam and his
descendant, as renders the imputation of his sin to them, an act of justice.
1. There is a moral union between Adam and his descendants. His disobedience
unfurled the banner of rebellion, and we all rally around it. We approved the
deed of our father, and take arms in maintaining the war against heaven, which
his disobedience proclaimed. He is the chief in this conspiracy of treason,
but we are all accessories. As to the outward act, the eating of the forbidden
fruit, we did not commit it; but, regarding it as a declaration of independence
and revolt, we have made it our own, and it may be as justly set to our
account, as if we had personally committed the deed. In this view, if we
cannot, strictly speaking, repent of Adam's sin, we may most cordially
disapprove the whole revolt from God, in which our race is engaged; may most
bitterly regret that it was ever commenced; and may take guilt and shame to
ourselves in deep humiliation before God, that we have been engaged in it.
With such feelings pervading our hearts, the doctrine that Adam's sin is
imputed to us, will not be rejected as inconsistent with justice. If we
cannot, strictly speaking, repent of it, we may at least take the guilt of it
to ourselves, in a sense which perfectly accords with the feelings of true
penitence; and when the Holy Spirit has taught us to impute it to ourselves, we
shall not complain that God imputes it.
2. There is a natural union between Adam and his descendants. He is their
natural parent; and, because of this relation, they inherit a depraved nature.
Our moral union with him renders our condemnation just, from the moment we
possess separate existence, because of our personal depravity; and our natural
union with him rendered it proper, that our condemnation should be included in
the general sentence.
3. There is a federal union between Adam and his descendants. We have before
seen that a covenant, not in the common, but the Scripture sense of the term,
was made with Adam. This covenant, this arrangement or constitution of things,
made the future character and condition of his descendants dependent on his
obedience. He was, in this respect, their federal head. Some maintain that
the covenant with Adam was the covenant of nature, and that there was no
federal headship, different from the natural headship which belonged to him as
the first parent. Happily for us, a decision of this question is not
indispensable to our present discussion. The natural and moral union which we
have already considered, is a just ground for the divine sentence against the
whole race, in the person of their first parent; but a further examination of
this question may be conducive to a better understanding of the subject.
Since nature is not something different from God operating, it cannot be of
much importance to determine how much of the transaction with Adam was natural,
and how much beyond the proper province of nature. The revelation of God's
will in the garden was as much above nature, as the subsequent revelation from
Sinai; and so also was the judgment pronounced after the transgression. But
the including of children with their parents, in the penalty inflicted for the
sins of their parents, is seen in the providence of God, both in ordinary and
extraordinary dispensations. Every one knows that poverty and suffering are
brought on children by the intemperance and other crimes of their parents. The
evils of war, famine, and pestilence, judgments inflicted for the sins of men,
fall on children as well as their parents. In the deluge, and the burning of
Sodom, children were destroyed with their parents. On this point, the word of
God agrees with his providence. We are sometimes jealous for the Lord's
reputation, and are afraid to speak of his visiting the sins of parents on
their children, but we are more cautious than the Lord himself. He proclaimed
from Sinai, with his own voice, and recorded in stone with his own finger, "I,
the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."[43] And when he showed his glory to Moses, and
proclaimed his name, instead of being jealous to conceal this fact, he was
jealous rather to make it known; "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children."[44]
God's solemn declarations on this point not only explain his providence, but,
in the most impressive manner, exhibit the great responsibility of parents. To
bring an immortal into being, and to form his character for time and eternity,
is a responsibility most momentous. This responsibility devolves on men, and
it is proper they should feel it. To awaken them to a sense of it, God
addresses them in the solemn language which has been quoted.
While the Scriptures stir up parents to a sense of their responsibility, they
leave to children no pretext with which to cover their iniquities. Some have
said, "the Lord's ways are not equal. Our fathers have eaten sour grapes, and
the children's teeth are set on edge."[45] To
these complainers God said, "Behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the
father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall
die."[46] This is not a law repealing the
decalogue, but is to be explained in harmony with it. The sins of parents
affect both the character and the condition of their children, and for all this
they are responsible; but the condition of the children is not worse than their
character, and therefore the Lord's ways are equal, and their complaints
against him groundless.
The case of Adam differed from that of all fathers since. These may transmit
peculiar tempers and propensities, and may influence their children by
instruction and example, but they cannot bring them into the world free from
the depravity and condemnation which the transgression of Adam brings upon
them. But, though the responsibility on Adam was greater, it is still true, as
in the other cases, that his descendants are responsible for themselves, and
not one of them will suffer beyond the demerit of his personal character. Such
is the union between Adam and his descendants, that depravity and condemnation
pass from him to them, not separately, but as one inheritance. This sin, for
which they suffer, is their own as well as his, and it is imputed to them
because it belongs to them--is justly theirs.
After all the explanations that have been made, it may be that our hearts
still accuse God, and secretly say that, had we been in his stead, we should
have dealt more kindly with the human race than he has done. These accusations
of God, he hears; these most secret whispers of the heart, he fully
understands. What impiety does he see therein! That we, who know so little of
his ways, should presume to be wiser or better than he, is daring impiety; and
if nothing else will convince us that we deserve the wrath of God, let this
impiety suffice. Let us accuse no more, but lay our hands on our mouths, and
in deep silence before him, confess our guilt.
SECTION IV.--HELPLESSNESS
MEN ARE UNABLE TO SAVE THEMSELVES.[47]
The inability of men to save themselves, respects both their condemnation and
their depravity.
1. Men are unable to free themselves from condemnation.
The justice by which we are all condemned is immutable. It is an attribute in
the nature of God, who is not only the first cause of all things, but the very
standard of all perfection. When we inquire whether God's ways are right, we
have only to ask whether they correspond with his own perfections, for there is
not higher standard by which they may be tried. As the perfections of God are
immutable, the standard of right is immutable. A change in the law by which we
are condemned is therefore impossible. God has sometimes, from regard to the
peculiar circumstances of some men, given special commands to them, which have
not been obligatory on all; but the obligation to obey him, whatever his
commands may be, is universal and perpetual, and no act of disobedience can
ever by justified under his righteous government.
The sentence of condemnation has been duly pronounced. It was not a rash
decision, needing to be revised. The Omniscient Judge knew well all the facts
in the case, all the circumstances which may be pleaded in extenuation, all the
effects of his decision on us, and all the bearings of it on his own character
and government. His determination to create the world was not made with
greater deliberation, or on surer ground; and we may as soon expect him to
annihilate all the creatures that he has made, as to reverse the sentence by
which we are condemned.
The Scriptures affirm, that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified.[48] The law requires perfect and
perpetual obedience, and can be satisfied with nothing less. Law is converted
into mere advice, when its requirements are not obligatory. To claim the
privilege of violating the law, or coming short of its requirements, is to
claim, so far, exemption from its authority, and therefore from the moral
government of God. Such exemption divine justice will not allow. Its language
is, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them.[49] "What
things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God."[50] The view which is here presented of man's condition,
relates not merely to his transgressions, but to his natural state. Hence it
is said, "And were by nature the children of wrath."[51] So much has God the maintenance of his law at heart,
that he who was in the bosom of the father, and well understood all his
counsels, has with solemnity assured us; "Verily I say unto you, till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till
all be fulfilled."[52]
There is a method of rescue from condemnation; but it is not one of man's
devising or executing. To effect it requires a display of wisdom, power and
love, infinitely beyond the highest efforts of man. It is God's work,
challenging the admiration of angels, and demanding gratitude, praise, and
joyful acceptance from every human being.
2. Men are unable to free themselves from depravity.
The first element of this inability is seen in the fact that men lack the
necessary disposition. By nature we love darkness rather than light, sin
rather than holiness. To be free from depravity is to be holy, and no man can
desire holiness or perfect conformity to the law of God, who does not delight
in that law. But experience and Scripture unite in teaching us that the carnal
mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.[53] The cause of this exists in the fact, that the carnal
mind is enmity against God. Men love the ways of transgression, and desire not
the knowledge of God's ways; and therefore, they lack the disposition necessary
to free themselves from depravity, and render themselves strictly conformed to
the law of God.
Another element which renders the inability complete, is, that if men had the
disposition, they have not the power. Men have the power to perform such
external acts as the law of God requires of them. If they were wholly disposed
to perform such acts, and failed through mere physical inability, that
inability would be a valid excuse. God accepteth according to what a man
hath.[54] We are commanded not to forsake the
assembling of ourselves together; but the man who is fastened to his bed by
palsy is not required to meet in the house of God. Depravity does not consist
in external acts, but belongs to the heart; and the affections of the heart are
not subject to volition, as the motions of the limbs are. Hence the Apostle
says, "Ye cannot do the things that ye would."[55] Every converted man knows the meaning of this language.
The current of depraved affections in our hearts, which has been flowing in the
wrong direction from the beginning of our being, and gathering strength by the
power of habit, does not stop at our bidding. A volition cannot stop it with
as much ease as when it moves a finger. If any man thinks he has the power to
be holy at will, let him try it, and he will find his mistake.
The inability last described, which is usually called moral, must be
distinguished carefully from that physical inability which excuses outward
acts. Physical inability would prevent the action, even if the whole heart
were bent on performing it. It excuses the failure to act; but it will not
excuse a corrupt or a divided heart. The paralytic may be excused for not
attending at the house of God; but he is not excused for preferring to be
absent, or for possessing no longing for the courts of the Lord. The moral
inability of men consists in having either a divided heart, or a heart fully
set in them to do evil. The former every converted man laments, and blames
himself for; and the latter is descriptive of unconverted or natural men. This
includes the lack, both of disposition and power, and renders the inability
complete. This inability is not an excuse for the depravity, but is the
depravity itself, in its full influence over all the powers of the soul.
The Scripture representations of men's inability are exceedingly strong. They
are said to be without strength,[56]
captives,[57] in bondage,[58] asleep,[59] dead,[60] &c. The act by which they are delivered
from the natural state, is called regeneration, quickening or giving life,
renewing, resurrection, translation, creation; and it is directly ascribed to
the power of God, the power that called light out of darkness, and raised up
Christ from the dead.
Our views concerning our character and condition by nature are wholly
incorrect, if we imagine that a little work, which we can effect at pleasure,
will set all right. Thousands postpone the concerns of the soul from this vain
imagination. A true sense of our inability would drive us to him who is able
to save.
[1] Gen. v. 3.
[2] Rom. iii. 9--19; 1 John v. 19; Eph. ii. 2,
3.
[3] Gen. vi. 11.
[4] Gen. iv. 8.
[5] Gen. iv. 19--23.
[6] Eph. ii.2.
[7] 1 John v. 19.
[8] 2 Ch. vi. 36.
[9] James iii. 2.
[10] Luke xi. 4.
[11] Gen. vi. 5; viii. 21; Ps. xiv. 2, 3; li.
5; Rom. i. 21--25; iii. 9--23; vi. 17, viii. 5, 6, 7, 8; Eph. ii. 1; 1 John v.
19.
[12] Gen. vi. 5.
[13] Mark x. 21.
[14] 1 Cor. vi. 11.
[15] Rom. vii. 18.
[16] Ps. li. 5
[17] John iii. 6.
[18] Gen. v. 3.
[19] Zech. xii. 1.
[20] Job xxxi. 15; Is. xliv. 2.
[21] Matt. x. 16.
[22] Rom. ix. 11.
[23] 1 Cor. vii. 14.
[24] Ps. vii. 11; Mark xvi. 16; John iii. 36;
Rom. i. 18. ii. 5, 6; iii. 19; v. 12--21.
[25] 1 John iii. 20.
[26] Gal. iii. 10.
[27] Rom. iii. 19.
[28] Eph. ii. 3.
[29] Rom. v. 18.
[30] Gen. iii.12.
[31] 1 John iii. 10; John viii. 44.
[32] Eph. ii. 2.
[33] 2 Tim. ii. 26.
[34] Heb. ii. 14.
[35] Rom. ix. 20.
[36] Heb. ii. 14.
[37] Rom. v. 16, 18.
[38] Eph. ii. 3.
[39] Rom. v. 14.
[40] Is. liii. 6.
[41] 1 Pet. ii. 24.
[42] Rom. iv. 16.
[43] Ex. xx. 5.
[44] Ex. xxxiv. 7.
[45] Ez. xviii. 2.
[46] Ezek. xviii. 4.
[47] Jer. xiii. 23; John iii. 3; vi. 44; Rom.
iii. 19, 20; viii. 7,8; Gal. iii. 10; Heb. x. 4; xii. 14.
[48] Rom. iii. 20.
[49] Gal. iii. 10.
[50] Rom. iii. 19.
[51] Eph. ii. 3.
[52] Matt. v. 18.
[53] Rom. viii. 7.
[54] 2 Cor. viii. 12.
[55] Gal. v. 17.
[56] Rom. v. 6.
[57] 2 Tim. ii. 26.
[58] 2 Pet. ii. 19; Rom vi. 16, 17.
[59] 1 Thes. v. 6.
[60] Eph. v. 14; Col. ii. 13.
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