Scripture Identifies Source of Sinfulness - ARGUMENT NINE

XI. ARGUMENT NINE

The scripture charges men's wickedness not upon their impotency and disability, but upon their willfulness, which therefore doubtless is the true account of the matter. It might have reasonably been expected, that if the disability we had contracted by the fall of Adam had been the true source of all that impotency that is in the sinner to hearken to all or any of the motives offered by God in the Old or the New Testament, the holy scripture should somewhere or other have given us some express declaration of it, and not have constantly ascribed this impotency to other causes acquired by, and not born: with, us; whereas I verily believe, that the whole scripture gives not one sentence, or expression, which in the true importance of it bears this sense, or which, either in terms, or by just consequence, claims, that " man is so disabled by the fall, as that he cannot be reformed by any arguments or motives offered by God for his recovery, or by the grace offered to all men in the gospel, but that they must entirely be frustrated, offered and spent in vain upon him, unless God add unto them an unfrustrable operation of the Holy Ghost."

The scripture is indeed very copious in representing the ignorance and darkness of the Heathen world, given up to gross idolatry, and lying under the dominion of the prince of darkness; declaring, that ' their foolish hearts were darkened, and that they were alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that was in them;' that through the evil habits they had contracted, the whole Heathen world ' lay in wickedness, were filled with it, and were even dead in trespasses and sins, and through the customary practice of sin were become insensible of their own vileness.

But nothing of this nature do I find charged on mankind in general, by reason of the fall of Adam. Whereas there is not anything more frequent or common throughout the whole book of scripture, than the complaints of God and all his prophets, of Christ and his apostles, of the perverseness, obstinacy, rebellion, the inconsideration, folly, and stupidity of them with whom they had to do, and only of their indisposition and disability to hearken to their counsels, and do good, by reason of those evil dispositions, customs, prejudices, hardness of heart, or blindness, which they had willfully contracted.

Now it is reasonable to conclude the fault lies chiefly there where the scripture charges it, and not where it is wholly silent in the case. Now of all these things I have already given instances sufficient; to which may be added the words of Isaiah, 'thus saith the Lord, in returning and rest shall ye be saved, and in quietness and confidence shall be your strength, and ye would not. And again, they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient to. his laws.'" And of the prophet Jeremiah, "thus saith the Lord, ask for the old paths, where is the good way? and walk therein; and they said, We will not walk therein; they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I sent to them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, but they would not hear, saith the Lord." And the prophet Hosea says, "they will not frame their doings to turn unto the Lord”. (Isaiah 30:15, 42:24, Jeremiah 6:16, 8:5, 29:19, Hosea 5:4)

Now, is it to be wondered, is it just matter of complaint, that men who were disabled, by the fall of Adam, from doing any of these things, did not perform them? Were they not rather objects of divine pity, than of wrath? And was it not worthy of the divine goodness to help their unavoidable infirmity, rather than to punish them so severely for what they could not help, and to impute that to the spirit of whoredom in them, which was the natural result of the whoredom of their mother Eve?

Moreover Christ charges the impenitency and unbelief of the Jews upon this account, saying, " Ye will not come unto me that you may have life." Now if they could not have the will, their condemnation would not be just; if indeed it had once been possible for them to be willing to come, or, supposing their will good, it had been possible for them to come without being irresistibly made to come, the fault might have been imputed to themselves; but if it were impossible for them to be willing, how should they come? Or if it were impossible for them to come if willing, to what end should they be willing?

To say, as some do, that " God's exhortations to men thus unable to return and yield obedience to him, and his promises to pardon and to save them if they will return, are very serious; because he will pardon and save them if they do these things, and only doth not do this because they will not turn unto him," — is as if I should say, " a man is serious, when he exhorts a blind or a deaf man, (who had contracted these disabilities by their own fault,) to see and hear, and promises them the highest advantages if they would do so, because he will give them these advantages if they do see and hear, and only doth not give them because they do not do so:" For if you say that " these men cannot see and hear, and therefore will not," so is it with every lapsed man according to this doctrine.

Moreover it is certain, that what I know I cannot do, if I would, I cannot rationally will to do, because I cannot rationally will in vain; if therefore God has taught the sinner that he cannot turn to him, or hearken to his exhortations to repent and believe, were he never so willing, He has also taught him that he cannot rationally will to do so, and therefore that He must be innocent in not having such a will.