Wesley Corpus

“I answer: 2. Sin is taken either for an act of disobedience to a law, or for the legal result of such an act; that is, the guilt, or liableness to punishment. Now, when we say, The sin of a traitor is imputed to his children, we do not mean, that the act of the father is charged upon the child; but that the guilt, or liableness to punishment, is so transferred to him, that he suffers banishment or poverty on account of it.” (Pages 432, 433,434.) “In like manner, righteousness is either particular acts of obedience to a law, or the legal result of those actions; that is, a right to the reward annexed to them. “And so when we say, The righteousness of him that has performed some eminent act of obedience is imputed to his children, we do not mean, that the particular act of the father is charged on the child, as if he had done it; but that the right to reward, which is the result of that act, is transferred to his children. “Now, if we would but thus explain every text of Scripture wherein either imputed sin, or imputed righteousness, is men tioned, (whether in express words, or in the plain meaning of them,) weshould find them all easy and intelligible.” (Page435.) “Thus we may easily understand how the obedience of Christ is imputed to all his seed; and how the disobedience of Adam is imputed to all his children.” (Page 436.) “To confirm this, I would add these three remarks:-- “1. There are several histories in Scripture, where expres sions of the same import occur. “So Gen. xxii. 16: “Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Here Abraham’s obedience, that is, the result of it, is imputed to his posterity. “So Num. xxv. 13: ‘God gave to Phinehas and his seed after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God,” and slew the criminals in Israel. This was so imputed to his children, that they also received the reward of it.” (Page 437.) “Thus the sin of Achan was so imputed to his children, that they were all stoned on account of it. (Joshua vii. 24.) In like manner, the covetousness of Gehazi was imputed to his posterity, (2 Kings v.