The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 299

SIN an

evil substance,

ness

;

NOT A MERE NEGATION but a being intended

who abandoned himself

for,

259

and endued with holiwhich he entangled

to unholiness, in

himself hopelessly, becoming absolutely unholy. The doctrine of Satan opposes the false notion that sin has entity. The idea that sin is a power, in the sense of a faculty exercised by an independent being,

So

far

is

we

inconsistent with Scripture, heartily agree with Dr. Bohl, and acknowledge that

he has maintained the old and

tried conviction of believers,

and the

positive confession of the Church.

But from

this he infers that, before

and

after the fall,

Adam

re-

this difference only, that after the fall he

mained the same, with

which he had walked hitherto. as his powers and being were concerned, he remained the And this we do not accept. It would make man like a lamp

lost the splendor of righteousness in

So

far

same.

brightly burning but soon extinguished,

when

it

became a dark

body. Or like a fireplace radiant with the glow and heat of fire Or like a piece of iron magthis moment, cold and dark the next. netized by the electric current, which gives it power to attract; but the current withdrawn it ceases to be a magnet. When the light was blown out, the lamp remained uninjured. When the fire And when the elecdied, the hearth remained what it was before. still. was iron tric fluid left the iron, it And so says Dr. Bohl regarding man. As the current passes through the iron and magnetizes it, so did the divine righteousness pass through Adam and make him holy. As the lamp shines when lighted by the spark, so did Adam shine when touched by the spark And as the hearth is aglow with the fire, so was of righteousness. Adam radiant with the righteousness created in him. But now sin comes in. That is, the lamp goes out, the hearth becomes cold, the magnet is mere iron again. And man stands robbed of his But for the rest he remained splendor, dark and unable to attract. what he was. Dr. Bohl says distinctly that man remained the

same before and

after the

fall.

we do not agree. As a sinner he was still man, undoubtedly, but man as the fathers confessed at Dordt (3d and 4th, Head of Doctrine, art. xvi.) " That man by the fall did not cease to

And

with this

:

be a creature endowed with understanding and will, nor did sin, which pervaded the whole race of mankind, deprive him of the hu-

man

nature, but brought

Dr. Bohl's statement,

"

upon him depravity and

Wenn

spiritual death."

wir die Creatur aus jenem Stande

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen