Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, Part 3 · Section 3
SECTION III. The Case of such as are given up of God to Sin, and of fallen Man in general, proves moral Necessity and Inability to be consistent with Blame-worthiness.
DR. Whitby asserts Freedom, not only from Coaction, but Necessity, to be essential to any Thing deserving the Name of Sin, and to an Action's being culpable: in these Words (Discourse on five Points, Edit. 3. P. …48.) If they be thus necessitated, then neither their Sins of Omission or Commission could deserve that Name; it being essential to the Nature of Sin, according to St. Austin's Definition, that it be an Action, à quo liberum est abstinere. Three Things seem plainly necessary to make an Action or Omission culpable; 1. That it be in our Power to perform or forbear it: For, as Origen, and all the Fathers say, no Man is blame-worthy for not doing what He could not do. —And elsewhere the Doctor insists, that when any do Evil of Necessity, what they do is no Vice, that they are guilty of no Fault, ‖Disc. on five Poins. P. 347.360, 361.377.are worthy of no Blame, Dispraise, ‡303: 326.329. and many other Places.or Dishonour, †3…1.but are unblameable.*304.361.
If these Things are true, in Dr. Whitby's Sense of Necessity, they will prove all such to be blameless, who are given up of God to Sin, in what they commit after they are thus given up.— That there is suc… a Thing as Men's being judicially given up to Sin, is c…rtain, if the Scripture rightly informs us; such a Thing being often there spoken of: as in Psal. lxxxi.12. So I gave them up to their own Hearts Lust, and they walked in their own Counsels. Act. vii.42. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the Host of Heaven. Rom. i.24. Wherefore, God also gave them up to Uncleanness, through the Lusts of their own Hearts, to dishonour their own Bodies between Themselves. Ver. 26. For this Cause God gave them up to vile Affections. Ver. 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate Mind, to do th…se Things that are not convenient.
'Tis needless to stand particularly to inquire, what God's giving Men up to their own Heart's Lusts signifies: It is sufficient to observe, that hereby is certainly meant God's so ordering or disposing Things, in some Respect or other, either by doing or forbearing to do, as that the Consequence should be Men's continuing in their Sins. So much as Men are given up to, so much is the Consequence of their being given up; whether that be less or more. If God don't order Things so, by Action or Permission, that Sin will be the Consequence, then the Event proves that they are not given up to that Consequence. If Good be the Consequence, instead of Evil, then God's Mercy is to be acknowledged in that Good; which Mercy must be contrary to God's Judgment in giving up to Evil. If the Event must prove that they are given up to Evil as the Consequence, then the Persons who are the Subjects of this Judgment, must be the Subjects of such an Event, and so the Event is necessary.
If not only Coaction, but all Necessity, will prove Men blameless, then Iudas was blameless, after Christ had given him over, and had already declared his certain Damnation, and that he should verily betray Him. He was guilty of no Sin in betraying his Master, on this Supposition; tho his so doing is spoken of by Christ as the most aggravated Sin, more heinous than the Sin of Pilate in crucifying Him. And the Iews in Egypt, in Ieremiah's Time, were guilty of no Sin, in their not worshipping the true God, after God had Sworn by his great Name, that his Name should be no more named in the Mouth of any Man of Judah, in all the Land of Egypt. Jer. xliv.26.
Dr. Whitby (Disc. on five Points. P. 302, 303) denies, that Men, in this World, are ever so given up by God to Sin, that their Wills should be necessarily determined to Evil; tho' He owns, that hereby it may become exceeding difficult for Men to do Good, having a strong Bent, and powerful Inclination to what is Evil.—But if we should allow the Case to be just as he represents, the Judgment of giving up to Sin will no better agree with his Notions of that Liberty, which is essential to Praise or Blame, than if we should suppose it to render the avoiding of Sin impossible. For if an Impossibility of avoiding Sin wholly excuses a Man; then, for the same Reason, it's being difficult to avoid it excuses Him in Part; and this just in Proportion to the Degree of Difficulty.— If the Influence of moral Impossibility or Inability be the same, to excuse Persons in not doing, or not avoiding any Thing, as that of natural Inability, (which is supposed) then undoubtedly, in like Manner, moral Difficulty has the same Influence to excuse with natural Difficulty. But all allow, that natural Impossibility wholly excuses, and also that natural Difficulty excuses in Part, and makes the Act or Omission less blameable, in Proportion to the Difficulty. All natural Difficulty, according to the plainest Dictates of the Light of Nature, excuses in some Degree, so that the Neglect is not so blameable, as if there had been no Difficulty in the Case: and so the greater the Difficulty is, still the more excusable, in Proportion to the Increase of the Difficulty. And as natural Impossibility wholly excuses and excludes all Blame, so the nearer the Difficulty approaches to Impossibility, still the nearer a Person is to Blamelesness, in Proportion to that Approach. And if the Case of moral Impossibility or Necessity, be just the same with natural Necessity or Co-action, as to Influence to excuse a Neglect, then also, for the same Reason, the Case of natural Difficulty don't differ in Influence, to excuse a Neglect, from moral Difficulty, arising from a strong Bias or Bent to Evil, such as Dr. Whitby owns in the Case of those that are given up to their own Hearts Lusts. So that the Fault of such Persons must be lessen'd, in Proportion to the Difficulty, and Approach to Impossibility. If ten Degrees of moral Difficulty make the Action quite impossible, and so wholly ex…use, then if there be nine Degrees of Difficulty, the Person is in great Part excused, and is nine Degrees in ten, less blame-worthy, than if there had been no Difficulty at all; and he has but one Degree of Blame-worthiness. The Reason is plain, on Arminian Principles; viz. because as Difficulty, by antecedent Bent and Bias on the Will, is increased, Liberty of Indifference, and Self-determination in the Will, is diminished: so much Hindrance and Impediment is there, in the Way of the Will's acting freely, by meer Self-determination. And if ten Degrees of such Hindrance take away all such Liberty, then nine Degrees take away nine Parts in ten, and leave but one Degree of Liberty. And therefore there is but one Degree of Blameableness, …teris paribus, in the Neglect; the Man being no further blameable in what He does, or neglects, than he has Liberty in that Affair: For Blame or Praise (say they) arises wholly from a good Use or Abuse of Liberty.
From all which it follows, that a strong Bent and Bias one Way, and Difficulty of going the contrary, never causes a Person to be at all more exposed to Sin, or any Thing blameable: Because as the Difficulty is increased, so much the less is required and expected. Tho' in one Respect, Exposedness to Sin or Fault is increased, viz. by an Increase of Exposedness to the evil Action or Omission; yet it is diminished in another Respect, to ballance it; namely, as the Sinfulness or Blameableness of the Action or Omission is diminished in the same Proportion. So that, on the whole, the Affair, as to Exposedness to Guilt or Blame, is left just as it was.
To illustrate this, let us suppose a Scale of a Balance to be intelligent, and a free Agent, and indued with a self-moving Power, by Virtue of which it could act and produce Effects to a certain Degree; ex. gr. to move it self up or down with a Force equal to a Weight of ten Pounds; and that it might therefore be required of it, in ordinary Circumstances, to mov… it self down with that Force; for which it has Power and … Liberty, and therefore would be blame-worthy if it fail'd of it. But then let us suppose a Weight of ten Pounds to be put in the opposite Scale, which in Force entirely counter-balances it's self-moving Power, and so renders it impossible for it to move down at all; and therefore wholly excuses it from any such Motion. But if we suppose there to be only nine Pounds in the opposite Scale, this renders it's Motion not impossible, but yet more difficult; so that it can now only move down with the Force of one Pound: But however, this is all that is required of it under these Circumstances; it is wholly excused from nine Parts of its Motion: And if the Scale, under these Circumstances, neglects to move, and remains at Rest, all that it will be blamed for, will be it's Neglect of that one tenth Part of it's Motion; which it had as much Liberty and Advantage for, as in usual Circumstances, it has for the greater Motion, which in such a Case would be required. So that this new Difficulty, don't at all increase its Exposedness to any Thing blame-worthy.
And thus the very Supposition of Difficulty in the Way of a Man's Duty, or Proclivity to Sin, thro' a being given up to Hardness of Heart, or indeed by any other Means whatsoever, is an Inconsistence, according to Dr. Whitby's Notions of Liberty, Vertue and Vice, Blame and Praise. The avoiding Sin and Blame, and the doing what is vertuous and Praise-worthy, must be always equally easy.
Dr. Whitby's Notions of Liberty, Obligation, Vertue, Sin, &c. lead Him into another great Inconsistence. He abundantly insists, that Necessity is inconsistent with the Nature of Sin or Fault. He says in the foremention'd Treatise, P. 14. Who can blame a Person for doing what he could not help? and P. 15. It being sensibly unjust, to punish any Man for doing that which it was never in his Power to avoid. And in P. 341. to confirm his Opinion, he quotes one of the Fathers, saying, Why doth God command, if Man hath not Free-will and Power to obey? And again in the same and the next Page, Who will not cry out, that it is Folly to command him, that hath not Liberty to do what is commanded; and that it is unjust to condemn Him, that has it not in his Power to do what is required? And in P. 373. He cites another saying, A Law is given to Him that can turn to both Parts; i. e. obey or transgress it: But no Law can be against Him who is bound by Nature.
And yet the same Dr. Whitby asserts, that fallen Man is not able to perform perfect Obedience. In P. 165. He has these Words, The Nature of Adam had Power to continue innocent, and without Sin; whereas it is certain, our Nature never had so. But if we han't Power to continue innocent and without Sin, then Sin is consistent with Necessity, and we may be sinful in that which we have not Power to avoid; and those Things can't be true, which He asserts elsewhere, namely, That if we be necessitated, neither Sins of Omission nor Commission, would deserve that Name. (P. 348.) If we have it not in our Power to be innocent, then we have it not in our Power to be blameless: and if so, we are under a Necessity of being blame-worthy. And how does this consist with what he so often asserts, that Necessity is inconsistent with Blame or Praise? If we have it not in our Power to perform perfect Obedience to all the Commands of God, then we are under a Necessity of breaking some Commands, in some Degree; having no Power to perform so much as is commanded. And if so, why does he cry out of the Unreasonableness and Folly of commanding beyond what Men have Power to do?
And Arminians in general are very inconsistent with themselves in what they say of the Inability of fallen Man in this Respect. They strenuously maintain, that it would be unjust in God, to require any thing of us beyond our present Power and Ability to perform; and also hold, that we are now unable to perform perfect Obedience, and that Christ died to satisfy for the Imperfections of our Obedience, and has made Way that our imperfect Obedience might be accepted instead of perfect: Wherein they seem insensibly to run themselves into the grossest Inconsistence. For, (as I have observed elsewhere) They hold that God in Mercy to Mankind has abolished that rigorous Constitution or Law, that they were under originally; and instead of it, has introduced a more mild Constitution, and put us under a new Law, which requires no more than imperfect sincere Obedience, in Compliance with our poor infirm impotent Circumstances since the Fall.
Now, how can these Things be made consistent? I would ask what Law these Imperfections of our Obedience are a Breach of? If they are a Breach of no Law that we were ever under, then they are not Sins. And if they be not Sins, what Need of Christ's dying to satisfy for them? But if they are Sins, and the Breach of some Law, what Law is it? They can't be a Breach of their new Law; for that requires no other than imperfect Obedience, or Obedience with Imperfections: And therefore to have Obedience attended with Imperfections, is no Breach of it; for 'tis as much as it requires. And they can't be a Breach of their old Law; for that, they say, is entirely abolished, and we never were under it.— They say, it would not be just in God to require of us perfect Obedience, because it would not be just to require more than we can perform, or to punish us for failing of it. And therefore, by their own Scheme, the Imperfections of our Obedience don't deserve to be punished. What need therefore of Christ's dying, to satisfy for them? What need of his Suffering, to satisfy for that which is no Fault, and in it's own Nature deserves no suffering? What need of Christ's dying, to purchase, that our imperfect Obedience should be accepted, when according to their Scheme, it would be unjust in it self, that any other Obedience than imperfect should be required? What need of Christ's dying to make Way for God's accepting such an Obedience, as it would be unjust in Him not to accept? Is there any Need of Christ's dying, to prevail with God not to do unrighteously?— If it be said, that Christ died to satisfy that old Law for us, that so we might not be under it, but that there might be Room for our being under a more mild Law; still I would inquire, what Need of Christ's dying that we might not be under a Law, which (by their Principles) it would be in it self unjust that we should be under, whether Christ had died or no, because in our present State we are not able to keep it?
So the Arminians are inconsistent with themselves, not only in what they say of the Need of Christ's Satisfaction to attone for those Imperfections which we cannot avoid, … also in what they say of the Grace of God, granted to enable Men to perform the sincere Obedience of the new Law. I grant (says Dr. Stebbing *Trea… of the Operations of the Spirit. 2 Edit. P. 112, 113.) indeed, that by Reason of original Sin, we are utterly disabled for the Performance of the Condition, without new Grace from God. But I say then, that He gives such Grace to all of us, by which the Performance of the Condition is truly possible: And upon this Ground he may, and doth most righteously require it. If Dr. Stebbing intends to speak properly, by Grace he must mean, that Assistance which is of Grace, or of free Favour and Kindness. But yet in the same Place he speaks of it as very unreasonable, unjust and cruel, for God to require that, as the Condition of Pardon, that is become impossible by original Sin. If it be so, what Grace is there in giving Assistance and Ability to perform the Condition of Pardon? Or why is that called by the Name of Grace, that is an absolute Debt, which God is bound to bestow, and which it would be unjust and cruel in Him to with-hold, seeing he requires that, as the Condition of Pardon, which we cannot perform without it?