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own, as much the index of their hearts as though it had been their own hand which had plucked the forbidden fruit. His public act, standing thus in the place of an external act of theirs, became the ground of their public condemnation, (whatever the sentence included,) in the same sense in which the outward act is in any case the ground of condemnation. In no case is it the ground otherwise than as being, or as supposed to be, the index of the heart. And Adam's posterity would not have been condemned for his act had not their hearts been as completely indicated by it as they could have been by any act of their own. Of course every evil denounced against them for his sin, (whether temporal or eternal,) proves that they partake of his depravity.

(4.) The derivation of sin from Adam is supported by other passages of Scripture. Of these however I shall mention but two. "Adam-begot a son in his own likeness, after his image.' Was

it

necessary after mankind had seen animals propagate their kinds for twerty-five hundred years, for Moses to inform the world that Adam begot a son with a body shaped like his own? In the other passage the original righteousness and the subsequent sins of man are spoken of as the righteousness and sins of the species, as if the whole race lost their original holiness in Adam: "Lo this only have I found, that God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions."*

Thus I have shown in the first part of the argument, that depravity is derived from Adam. I am now to show you,

II. That this depravity is total.

(1.) Adam himself sunk into total depravity as soon as he had broken the covenant. That the wages of sin involved abandonment to unmixed de

* Gen. v. 3. Eccl. vii. 29.

pravity, I suppose will not be denied. One thing is certain, from that moment he could receive no favor but by grace; for grace is favor to the ill-deserving. No divine influence could from that moment work holiness in his heart without being an operation of grace, or favor to the ill-deserving. If such an influence was necessary to make him holy, he must have remained utterly destitute of holiness till it was given him by grace. Every man then who believes that God is the source of holiness in any other sense than by creating rational beings and leaving them to themselves, must believe that the fallen Adam was totally depraved till restored by the dispensation of grace.

(2.) Adam transmitted to his posterity the nature which he possessed immediately after the fall, not the nature which he received by grace. The moment he broke covenant by one offence, he had done all that he could do to fix the character and fate of his offspring.* He was their federal head in his fall but not in his reascent. He left them

there, to be raised, not by him, but by Christ. The idea that he became restored and propagated that restored nature to his seed, is making him the federal head in the restoration of the world,-is putting him exactly in the place of the Second Adam.But the experience of a hundred generations evinces that grace is not hereditary.

It is apparent then that the posterity of Adam, viewed as existing immediately after the fall, were totally depraved: and if any or all of them were ever to be restored to the lowest degree of holiness, it was to be accomplished by Christ under the dispensation of grace. Let us then inquire,

(3.) Whether the race were so restored by Christ at the time of the first promise in Eden, that they come into the world in successive generations oth

*Rom v. 12-21.

erwise than totally depraved.* To this question I

answer,

[1.] That there is not a particle of evidence that the posterity of Adam were at all affected by his sin, except what is contained in those declarations and facts which apply to them exclusively after they come into existence. Cast your eye over the texts on which all our knowledge of the connexion between Adam and his posterity depends, and you will find them uniformly referring to a posterity in actual existence and no other. The notion that greater evils were antecedently denounced against that posterity by law than they actually find at their entrance on existence, (bating the chance for restoration arising from the dispensation of grace,) is a fancy_unsupported by a single hint in all the Bible.

[2] This opinion has arisen from two mistakes:

First, from the idea that infants are born pure.This has been shown to be an error; but if it were not, it would not justify the notion of an antecedent restoration. If infants are born pure, as they can draw no pollution from Adam afterwards, they never derive any depravity from him. Those texts then which relate to Adam's posterity must not be understood to import that an existing posterity are tainted by his fall. But no other posterity are referred to in any text in the Bible. We are left then without a particle of proof that the posterity of Adam fell with him in any sense. But if they did not fall they could not be restored. Thus take away the depravity of infants and you find no occasion for this

*It has been said that mankind would have been left by the fall in as deplorable a condition as the author represents, had not a Saviour been provided; but by this provision their lapsed powers have been restored and they have come into the world in every generation with minds resembling a sheet of white paper-without a stain, but susceptible indifferently of good and bad impressions. As a species, according to this hypothesis, they both fell and were restored before any posterity existed. This idea of an antecedent restoration is what the author has endeavored to meet.

*

antecedent restoration; admit their depravity and it is manifest they are not restored.

Secondly, this opinion has arisen from the idea that the lapsed powers of man needed to be repaired to fit him for a state of probation. Lapsed powers repaired! What powers had lapsed? Not the natural powers. Who will prove that Satan himself has not as vigorous an understanding as he had in heaven? Will and affections he also has, and is a complete moral agent, and is blamed and punished for sins committed since his fall,-for seducing our first parents and for all his enterprises against Christ and his Church. Nothing is necessary to turn that apostate into an angel of light but a new heart. And what powers had men lost that needed to be restored? They still possessed understanding, will, and affections. They still were complete moral agents, with full ability to perform their whole duty if rightly disposed. All that had befallen them was, their hearts were inclined to evil. But how could this be remedied except by making them holy? And was it absolutely necessary to make them holy before putting them on probation? The very object of the probation was to decide whether they would be holy. For this trial what powers could they want but enough to render them moral agents? These they had; what more was it possible for them to possess?

The fancy of an antecedent restoration being thus removed, we are thrown back to the conclusion that men are born into the world as they were left by the fall of Adam, in a state of total depravity.

III. In this state they continued till by a second creation or birth they are united to the second Adam and become partakers of his holiness.

In this position two ideas are contained; viz. that the new creation or birth first unites them to Christ,

and that till this union they remain destitute of holiness. Both of these positions are sustained as well by analogy as Scripture.

As men are united in depravity and condemnation to the first Adam by the first birth or creation, analogy requires that they should be united in holiness and justification to the second Adam by nothing less than a second creation or birth. As they do not share in the depravity of the first Adam till they are born or created, analogy requires that they should not share in the holiness of the second Adam till they are created or born again. As they do not share in the depravity of the first Adam earlier than they partake of his condemnation, (whatever that condemnation implies,) analogy requires that they should not partake of the holiness of the second Adam till that union to him by which they become completely justified. In a word, analogy requires the new creation or birth should be that great revolution by which mankind become first united to Christ in holiness, and completely united to him in justification.

What is thus suggested by analogy is abundantly confirmed by Scripture. That teaches us that men are first united to Christ by the new creation: "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature;" (then there is no union to Christ before the new creation:) "We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works;" (then there is no new creation earlier than a union to Christ.) That teaches us that until the new creation and union to Christ the old nature remains entire, and that a nature altogether new is at that time imparted: "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are past away, behold ALL things are become new. They that are Christ's, [and if the assertion has any meaning, none but they,] have crucified the flesh." By flesh is meant all that man is morally by the first birth: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."

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