led captive by concupiscence, which, as a root envenomed with poison, infecteth all that is in man, and doth incline, draw on, and drive men to things carnal, forbidden, and contrary to God, to the end that he may greedily pursue them, put all his delight in them, and content himself with them. Moreover there is in us no power or ability to do any good: for we are slow, sluggish, and heavy to goodness; but lively, quick, and ready enough to any evil or naughtiness. And, that I may at last conclude, and briefly express the whole force and signification of our hereditary depravation and corruption; I say, that this depravation of our nature is nothing else but the blotting of God’s image in us. There was in our out father Adam before his fall the very image and likeness of God; which image, as the apostle expoundeth it, was a conformity and participation of God’s wisdom, justice, holiness, truth, integrity, innocency, immortality, and eternal felicity. Therefore what else can the blotting or wiping out of this image be but original sin; that is, the hatred of God, the ignorance of God, foolishness, distrustfulness, desperation, selflove, unrighteousness, uncleanness, lying, hypocrisy, vanity, corruption, violent injury, wickedness, mortality, and eternal infelicity? This corrupt image and likeness is by propagation derived into us all, according to that saying in the fifth of Genesis: “Adam begat a son in his own similitude and likeness,” Therefore as our father Adam was himself corrupted, depraved, and full of calamities, so hath he begotten us his sons corrupt, depraved, and full of miseries!: so that all we which do descend of his unpure seed are born infected with the contagious poison of sin. For of a rotten root do spring as rotten branches, which in like manner put over their rottenness into the little twigs that shoot out and grow upon them. sin And this evil verily, this corruption and this sin, although “it lie hid in infants, and by reason of their tender age doth not break forth into any deed-doing, yet notwithstanding it is a sin; and such a sin verily as maketh them endangered unto God’s wrath, and separateth them from the fellowship of God. For with the most holy God, who “is a consuming fire,” no man can abide but he that is unspotted and clean from the filthiness of sins. And Paul saith: All have sinned,
[1 corrupt—miseries, the translator’s addition
and are destitute, or have need, of the glory of God.” This glory of God is the very image of God: whereof because they are destitute, they being corrupted with original sin are worthily excluded from the fellowship of God. To this place doth belong the whole treatise of concupiscence in the fourth sermon of this third Decade: where I taught you, that bare concupiscence, which is not yet burst forth to the deed-doing, is a sin; and that too such a sin as maketh all men subject to the curse of God. For it is written: Cursed be every one which abideth not in all things that are written in the book of this law.” Therefore the first effect of original sin is this, that it bringeth wrath, death, and damnation upon very infants, and so consequently upon all mankind: whereof, that it may the more firmly be settled in every man’s mind without all scruple of doubting, I will by some store of testimonies out of the scripture make manifest proof unto you, not by repeating those places again which I have already cited in this sermon, and in the fourth sermon of this third Decade.
The Lord in the gospel saith to Nicodemus: “Verily, Isay unto thee, unless a man be born from above? he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And again3: Unless a man be born of water and of the Holy Ghost%, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In these words are comprehended two things worthy to be remembered, and very consonant to our present argument. First, none enter into the kingdom of heaven but those that be regenerate from above by the Holy Ghost: therefore our first birth tendeth to death, and not to life; for in our first nativity we are born to death. The latter is, “That which is born of flesh is flesh:” therefore in our first nativity we are all born flesh. But touching the disposition of the flesh and the force thereof, the apostle saith: “The fleshly mind is enmity against God: for it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can be.” Therefore that fleshly birth engendereth us, not the friends and sons, but the enemies, of God; and so consequently doth make us endangered to the wrath of God.
[2 So margin of Auth. Ver.] [3 Amen dico tibi, Lat. omitted; Verily, I say unto thee.] [6 et spiritu, Lat.] [5 e ceelo, Lat.)]
Paul in his second chapter to the Ephesians saith: “We were by nature the sons of wrath, even as other.” In which words he pronounceth that all men are damned. For all those that are damned, or are worthy of eternal death, and all such with whom God hath good cause to be offended, he calleth the sons of wrath, after the proper phrase of the Hebrew speech. For the wrath of God doth signify the punishment which is by the just judgment of God laid upon us men. And he is called the child of death, which is adjudged or appointed to be killed. So is also the son of perdition, &e. Now mark, that he calleth us all the sons of wrath, that is, the subjects of pain and damnation, even by nature, in birth, from our mother’s womb. But whatsoever is naturally in all men, that is original: therefore original sin maketh us the sons of wrath; that is, we are all for our original corruption made subject to death and utter damnation. This place of Paul for the proof of this argument is worthy to be remembered.
The same apostle in the first to the Colossians saith: “God hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Now if we be translated into the kingdom of the Son of God, then were we once in the kingdom of the devil. And to this place belong very many testimonies of the same apostle in the fifth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans: “By one man’s sin many are dead.” Again; “By one that sinned came death; for judgment came by one unto condemnation.” Again; “For the sin of one death reigned by the means of one.” And again; “By the sin of one sin came upon all men? unto condemnation.” Finally, original sin is by David and Paul expressly called sin: therefore death is due to original sin; for the reward of sin is death.” sin We do therefore conclude, that infants do bring dampation with them into this world even from their mothers’ wombs; because they bring with them a corrupt nature: and therefore they perish not by any others’, but by their own, fault and naughtiness. For although St Augustine doth 1 in one place seem to call this sin Peccatum alienum, that is, anothers sin, (that thereby he may shew how it is by
[1 valde est insignis, Lat.] h [2 propagatum est malum, Lat. and Erasmus.]]
propagation derived from other into us,) yet doth he confess that it is in very deed and truly proper to all and every several one of us. And although it be so, that for lack of age in a new-born babe this disease hath not already brought forth the fruit of his iniquity; yet notwithstanding the very whole nature of the babe is nothing but filthy corruption, and a certain seed of sin and wickedness, which cannot choose but be abominable unto the Lord: for God doth hate all manner of uncleanness.
With this agreeth that sentence of Paul, where he saith: