Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

To give some answer then to those pretended reasons. To the first we confess that nothing can be toto genere Necessary, and yet sinful: neither is original sin in that sort necessary to the nature in it self, though to the nature in persons proceeding from Adam it be necessary. For Adam had free will, and we in him, to have kept that original righteousness in which we were created, and what was to him sinful, was to us likewise, because we all were one in him. We are then to distinguish of natural and necessary, for it is either primitive and created, or consequent, and contracted necessity; the former would indeed void sin because God doth never first make things impossible, and then command them; but the latter growing out of mans own will originally, must not therefore nullify the Law of God, because it disableth the power of man, for that were to make man the Lord of the Law.

To give some answer then to those pretended reasons. To the first wee confesse that nothing can bee toto genere Necessarie, and yet sinfull: neither is originall sinne in that sort necessary to the nature in it selfe, though to the nature in persons proceeding from Adam it be necessarie. For Adam had free will, and wee in him, to have kept that originall righteousnesse in which wee were created, and what was to him sinfull, was to us likewise, because wee all were one in him. Wee are then to distingvish of naturall and necessarie, for it is either primitive and created, or consequent, and contracted necessity; the former would indeed void sin because God doth never first make things impossible, and then command them; but the latter growing out of mans owne will originally, must not therefore nullifie the Law of God, because it disableth the power of man, for that were to make man the Lord of the Law.

To the second three things are to be answered. First, The sinfulness of a thing is grounded on its disproportion to the Law of God, not to the will of man. Now Gods Law sets bounds, and moderates the operations of all other powers and parts, as well as of the will. And therefore the Apostle complains of his sinful concupiscence, even when his will was in a readiness to desire the good, and refuse the evil. Ro. 7. 18. Secondly, no evil lust riseth or stirreth,