N06399:685
The great Christian doctrine of original sin defended
The great Christian doctrine of original sin defended; evidences of it's [sic] truth produced, and arguments to the contrary answered. Containing, in particular, a reply to the objections and arguings of Dr. John Taylor, in his book, entitled, "The Scripture-doctrine of original sin proposed to free and candid examination, &c. / By the late Reverend and learned Jonathan Edwards, president of the College of New-Jersey. ; [Thirteen lines of quotations]The great Christian doctrine of original sin defended; evidences of it's [sic] truth produced, and arguments to the contrary answered. Containing, in particular, a reply to the objections and arguings of Dr. John Taylor, in his book, intitled, "The Scripture-doctrine of original sin proposed to free and candid examination, &c. / By the late Reverend and learned Jonathan Edwards, president of the College of New-Jersey. ; [Thirteen lines of quotations]
printed by S. Kneeland, 1758
The great Christian Doctrine of ORIGINAL SIN defended. › Part 4 › Chapter 3
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
If any Man, notwithstanding these Things, shall say, That for his own Part, if the Affair had been proposed to him, he should have chosen to have his eternal Interest trusted in his own Hands: 'Tis sufficient to answer, that no Man's vain Opinion of himself, as more fit to be trusted than others, alters the true Nature and Tendency of Things, as they demonstrably are in themselves.—Nor is it a just Objection. That this Constitution has in Event proved for the Hurt of Mankind. For it don't follow, that no Advantage was given for a happy Event, in such an Establishment, because it was not such as to make it utterly impossible there should be any other Event.
3. The Goodness of God in such a Constitution with Adam appears in this; That if there had been no sovereign gracious Establishment at all, but God had proceeded only on the Foot of mere Justice, and had gone no further than this required, he might have demanded of Adam and all his Posterity, that they should perform perfect perpetual Obedience, without ever failing in the least Instance, on Pain of eternal Death; and might have made this Demand without the Promise of any positive Reward for their Obedience. For perfect Obedience is a Debt, that every one owes to his Creator; and therefore ⟨p. 337⟩[…] what his Creator was not obliged to pay him for. None is obliged to pay his Debtor, only for discharging his just Debt.—But such was evidently the Constitution with Adam, that an eternal happy Life was to be the Consequence of his persevering Fidelity, to all such as were included within that Constitution (of which the Tree of Life was a Sign) as well as eternal Death to be the Consequence of his Disobedience.—I come now to consider the
3. The Goodness of God in such a Constitution with Adam appears in this; That if there had been no sovereign gracious Establishment at all, but God had proceeded only on the Foot of meer Justice, and had gone no further than this required, he might have demanded of Adam and all his Posterity, that they should perform perfect perpetual Obedience, without ever failing in the least Instance, on Pain of eternal Death; and might have made this Demand without the Promise of any positive Reward for their Obedience. For perfect Obedience is a Debt, that every one owes to his Creator; and therefore