But in the last place, our Divines do deny that voluntariness is requisite to every actual sin; for there are sins of ignorance for which Sacrifices were to be offered; And David prayeth to be cleansed from secret sins, which he did not know, and if so, they must be involuntary; yea, Paul expressly calls that a sin, Rom. 7. which yet was against his will, although it may be granted, that even in these there is some kind of voluntariness; For a thing may be voluntary either in its cause, or in it self, or absolutely involuntary, but comparatively voluntary, as when we do things for fear, or there may be a mixture of voluntariness and involuntariness, which Paul seemeth to acknowledge in himself, yet still the proper notion of a sin lieth in the contrariety of it to the Law of God: Therefore John defineth sin by that, whether it be voluntary or not, he doth not take notice of. This is acknowledged by some Scholastical Writers, especially Holkot (De imputabilitate peccati) answereth this Objection fully to our purpose, where he positively affirmeth, That sin is not therefore imputable unto us, because it was in the power of the will, but as righteousness is therefore praise-worthy, because it is righteousness, so unrighteousness is therefore culpable, and damnable, because it is unrighteousness ⟨p. 40⟩(that is, if I may interpret him) because it's against a Law. Hence he proceedeth to show, That a thing is not righteous or unrighteous merely because it was in the power of the will, for the will of a child would have been made righteous by God, sine proprie motu, without any proper motion of the child's will; And then why may it not as well be sinful without any such voluntary motion in an Infant? So that he concludeth, It's as proper to original sin to be naturally contracte• or derived from another, without any proper act of the will, as it is to an actual sin, to have the will one way or other consenting to it: Even as in the state of integrity, original righteousness in Infants would have been propagated, but actual Righteousness voluntarily performed. And these things may satisfy this first Objection, yet hereafter we shall speak more to this.
But in the last place, our Divines do deny that voluntariness is requisite to every actual sinne; for there are sinnes of ignorance for which Sacrifices were to be offered; And David prayeth to be cleansed from secret sins, which he did not know, and if so, they must be involuntary; yea, Paul expresly cals that a sin, Rom. 7. which yet was against his will, although it may be granted, that even in these there is some kind of voluntarines; For a thing may be voluntary either in its cause, or in it self, or absolutely involuntary, but comparatively voluntary, as when we do things for fear, or there may be a mixture of voluntarines and involuntarines, which Paul seemeth to acknowledge in himself, yet still the proper notion of a sinne lieth in the contrariety of it to the Law of God: Therefore John defineth sinne by that, whether it be voluntary or not, he doth not take notice of. This is acknowledged by some Scholastical Writers, especially Holkot (De imputabilitate peccati) answereth this Objection fully to our purpose, where he positively affirmeth, That sinne is not therefore imputable unto us, because it was in the power of the will, but as righteousness is therefore praise-worthy, because it is righteousness, so unrighteousness is therefore culpable, and damnable, because it is unrighteousness ⟨p. 40⟩(that is, if I may interpret him) because it's against a Law. Hence he proceedeth to shew, That a thing is not righteous or vnrighteous meerly because it was in the power of the will, for the will of a child would have been made righteous by God, sine proprie motu, without any proper motion of the childs will; And then why may it not as well be sinfull without any such voluntary motion in an Infant? So that he concludeth, It's as proper to original sinne to be naturally contracte• or derived from another, without any proper act of the will, as it is to an actual sinne, to have the will one way or other consenting to it: Even as in the state of integrity, original righteousness in Infants would have been propagated, but actuall Righteousness voluntarily performed. And these things may satisfie this first Objection, yet hereafter we shall speak more to this.
