Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-09-24


"As By the offence Of one, judgment came up
on all men to condemnation ; eUen so 5y the
| Righteousness OF one, the free gift came upon all
men unto justification oflye" 70. Y Is.
''As in adam all die, euen so Christ shall all
be made oliue." / Cor. av. %. - f,' s.so9 81
Many similar passages all have the same
meaning. Adams transgression, and Christ S
atonement are frequently eontrastcd and COM
pared. Sin and salvation are often placed In
antithesis. From the first clause of the antthesis
is deduced the doctrine Of Original Sin, Total
DepraVity, or Universal Condemnation IF
this be admitted, the second clause must esta-
blish the doctrine of Universal Salvation: for
as with one, evea so with the other. No ono
but unlversalstn tncontends that all men: shall
actually be saved through Christ's atonement,
whether they will or not. Only such as accept
his terms can hope for His promise
Lo, no man sins, save through his own will
and choice; knowingly. just as Adam did. The
true meaning is, that. as like Adam, all men
may sia SO through Christ may all such be
saved. If the common dogma be received, that
one man damns US all without our fault or
knowledge, there is no escape from the conclu-
| sion that another man saves us all without our
| knowledge or effort. But this conclusion is
| wrong: hence the premise is false. Adam 8
| guilt Is not imputed to his descendants.
Whether the account given of Adam and his
Fall be strict statement of actual fact In every
| particular, or mere moral fable, matters not.
| The lesson taught is the same, viz: that man
| is born gualtness, but that he may become
| guilty by his own conduct Every infant is as
innocent as Adam was before his fall Each
descendant Of Adam partakes of his qualities
| and characteristics: that is, each one Of US is
| created pure and innocent with the germ of
evil h,,s Al
| the germ Of virtue, or good tendency. As in
| Adams so In each ones individual case, the
contest between this Good and this Evil Spirit
| is decided for himself alone. And each one is
| held guilty, only SO far as the evil overcomes
| the good in his particular individual case. The
choice of Good or Evil is offered to each one
for himself: and he alone is responsible for that
choice He is accountable only for his own
Actual Sin" and not for the Imputed Sin
| Of Adam. aGod will render to every man ac-
cording to his deeds - Ro II, 511. Adam 8
guilt is not transmitted any more than the guilt
Of our more immediate parents What an in
tolerabe burden of gull, would crush each one
of us, if the accumulated load of all our fore
fathers were imposed upon us Truly, then,
each child, in the language of the old divines,
were "a lamp of sin, and "worthy of God 8
| wrath |"
What fetid stream of evil, concentrated
from all the innumerable crimes of all our an
cestors, must flow through the heart of each Of
us
What an inexhaustible fountain of corrupt
must have welled and sprung up in Adam, that
he could have contaminated and poisoned all
the numberless riyulets of human life !
What monster of vice must Adam have
beenl What imps of Satan must each of us
bel
The son shall not bear the iniouity of the
father" Eek. XVIII, 20.
Certainly, physical consequences are visited
upon the children, as well as moral qualities OF
dispositions. The child of drunkard is apt
to inherit the depraved appetite of his fat b.
er.
But can any justice condemn that child for
being drunkard, unless he actually becomes
one?
The tendency to crime may be transmitted BY
Inheritance; but not the crime ITSELF or the
guilt thereof.
The sins of the fathers, and the virtues also,
De 1T remembered, are visited upon the chill
dren BY example, more than by blood Especial
ly is this fact observable in religious opinions
and forms of worship. In such matters,
early education enforced by the father, and
sanctioned, yea, sanctiaed by the mother, is
apt to make lasting impression. Hence the
I'd commandment was particularly applicable
in those times of idolatry.
1t will be observed that vice and virtue are
again here placed as correlatives. The virtues
of the parents are shown in the children even
by more extensive promise as to thousands:
while the evil influence seems to be compare
| lively limited as to the third and fourth gen.
erations.
| The stronger tendency as well as the strong
er inducement to virtue is frequently set forth.
st, Paul repeats that while, like Adam, many
will give offence, much more shall the grace Of
God, through Jesus Christ, abound unto many,
Not only declaring that many more persons in
number will receive the blessing than the curse
but also that the punishment will not be com.
mensurate with the reward.-the reward so far
exceeding.
Two conditions are necessarily precedent to
the commission of sin, or violation of God will
In every mans case:
lst. He must be con.pos mentis, of sound