An awful Truth indeed. But then the Apoftle evidently fpeaks, not of Adam's one Sin, but of the perfonal Sin in which the Romans had lived. Ver. 19.

19. As ye have yielded your members fervants to uncleannefs, and to iniquity, &c. Ver. 20. For when ye were the fervants, or Slaves, of fin, &c. Ver. 21. What fruit bad ye then in those things whereof ye are now afhamed? For the end of thofe things is death.---Ver. 23. For the wages of all fin is death. He is clearly fpeaking of the finful Lufts and Courses in which they had lived; which he fheweth, according to the Nature and true Demerit of all Sin, had a Tendency to Death. But what is this to Adam's Sin, or its Effects upon us?

Mat. xxv. 41, 46. Then shall be fay also unto them on the left hand, Depart from meye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and bis angels. Ver.46. And these fhall go away into everlafting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

AND thefe fhall go away into everlafting punishment: But for what Caufe? For Adam's one Sin? No. Moft plainly and infallibly, not for the Sin of Adam; but for their own perfonal Iniquity, which JESUS, the holy, and faithful Witnefs, exprefsly fpecified, ver. 42,43, I, in the Perfons of my Servants, was an bungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and

ye

ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: fick and in prifon, and ye vifited me not, &c. Not for the Sin of Adam, but manifeftly for their want of Benevolence, Love and Compaffion to their Fellow-Creatures, are they condemned. Behold the Force of Prejudice, and the great Evil of blind Refignation to Schemes! Is it poffible any one can mistake this Scripture? Is there any apparent Difficulty in it? and yet it ftands here applied to a Purpofe quite different from its plain and obvious Senfe. In vain hath JESUS brought the Doctrine of Life from Heaven, and lodged it in his Word, if Men through Careleffnefs, or fomething worse, will thus wreft and pervert what he hath taught. For thus the Scriptures are rendered useless to at least the Generality, and a dark Veil is drawn over those Principles which fhould be their Purity, Stedfaftnefs and Joy; and by palpable Mifreprefentations the Bible becometh unintelligible, and, in effect, is taken out of their Hands. I hope, my Friend, you have all along obferved the Difference between the Truth and Error; but here the Darkness and the Day appear in their Extremes. The glorious LORD of Life teacheth in the Texts above quoted, that Want of Love, Compaffion and Benevolence toward our Fellow-Creatures will exclude us from the Kingdom of Heaven, and subjec us to severe Punishment from GOD, who is Love. A Truth perfectly Divine and Ratio

nal,

nal, exactly fitting our Circumftances, and very powerful to promote univerfal Love, and Beneficence in our prefent State, and to qualify us for Exaltation and Enjoyment in a better World. But lo! Men, met together in folemn Affembly to fettle religious Truths, have pointed out thefe Texts to prove, that CHRIST will or may juftly, condemn us to all Tortures of Body and Mind in Hell-fire without Intermiffion to all Eternity, only for one Sin committed Thousands of Years before we had a Being, without taking into the Account any of our own perfonal Iniquities. This is perfectly aftonishing! Surely the heavenly Rule of our Faith fhall not always be thus trampled upon.

ANOTHER pretended Proof is,

Jude 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner giving themfelves over to fornication, and going after strange flef, are fet forth for an example, Juffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

THEY fuffered the vengeance of eternal Fire, as thofe Cities were deftroyed with Fire and Brimstone from Heaven, beyond the Poffibility of being ever rebuilt or inhabited. And wherefore did they fuffer this Vengeance? For Adam's Sin? No: For then it might have been inflicted with equal Fitness upon any other, even the most virtuous City. Not for Adam's Sin did they fuffer this Vengeance;

but

but for their own worfe than beaftly Wickednefs; their Fornication and Sodomy, mentioned in the Text as the only Cause of their Deftruction.

❝ture.

་

REFLECTIONS.

"THE whole of this Propofition, excepting temporal Evils, and Mortality (which yet are no Punishment upon us for Adam's Sin) certainly hath no Foundation in ScripI have no Inclination to expose it "in all its frightful Confequences. How highly injurious it is to Divine Juftice any one may fee. But give me leave to "commiferate the mistaken Many, with "whom such Points as these pass for Articles "of the Chriftian Faith. Their Eyes are "covered with a thick Cloud of Error, and "the All-perfect Goodness of God, which "fhould be their Joy, and Life, is thereby "intercepted from their View; or appeareth

cr

quite deformed: and they fit aftonished in "the gloomy Cave of SUPERSTITION, haunted with causeless Fear, Terror and Defpair, and refounding with the horrible "Murmur of Blafphemy."

THE two remaining Propofitions in the Catechifm, which I have already mentioned and transcribed, declare and specify what are the Punishments of Sin in this World, and that M

which

which is to come, and there are Texts annexed to the several Parts by way of Proof. But you may eafily fee they are all mifapply'd as to Adam's Sin, and its Effect upon us, (except Gen. iii, 17. which fpeaks of the Curfe upon the Ground, &c.) the feveral Inftances of Punishment evidently relating to perfonal Wickedness, which in the feveral Texts is diftinctly mentioned; and therefore I shall refer them to your own Perufal.

THUS We are got at last to the End of this Part of our Inquiry, in which I am conscious I have acted uprightly and impartially. I do not know that I have concealed, diminished, magnified, wrefted, or perverted any thing; but, to the beft of my Judgment, have given you the true and full Sense of every Text, fo far as it relates to the present Concern, without any artful Colourings, as honeftly and plainly as I can. And those are the principal Texts alledged to explain and fupport the common Doctrine of Original Sin. But I cannot fee that we have advanced one Step further than where we were at the Conclufion of the firft Part; namely, that the Confequences of Adam's firft Tranfgreffion upon us are Labour, Sorrow, and Mortality; and, for ought that appears, fo far, and no farther, our Faith upon this Article of Religion fhould extend.

BUT