Wesley Corpus

I say, every transgres sion; because every sin virtually contains all sin; for ‘whoso ever keepeth the whole law, and offendeth in one point, he is guilty of all.” Every single offence is a virtual breach of all the commands of God. There is in every particular sin, the principle of all sin; namely, the contempt of that sovereign authority which is equally stamped upon every command. When, therefore, our first parents ate the forbidden fruit, they not only violated a particular precept, but the entire law of God. They could not sin in one instance, without virtually transgressing the whole law of their creation; which being once done, their title to God’s favour and their original righteousness were both lost.” (Page 16.) “This appears, 3. From the comprehensive nature and aggravating circumstances of the first transgression. For it implied, (1.) Unbelief: Man did not dare to break the divine command till he was brought to question the truth of the divine threatening. (2.) Irreverence of God: Reverence is a mixture of love and fear; and had they continued in their first love and filial fear, they could not have broken through the sole com mand of God. (3.) Ingratitude : For what a return did they hereby make to their Creator for all his benefits 1 (4.) Pride and ambition; affecting to be ‘as gods, knowing good and evil.” (5.) Sensuality: The woman looked upon the fruit with an irregular appetite. Here the conflict between reason and sense began. To talk of such a conflict in man before he fell is to represent him as in a degree sinful and guilty even while innocent. For conflict implies opposition; and an opposition of appetite to reason is nothing else than a repugnance to the law of God. But of this our first parents were no way guilty, till their innocence was impaired; till they were led by the temptation of the devil to desire the forbidden fruit. (6) Robbery: For the fruit was none of theirs. They had no manner of right to it. Thereforetheir taking it was a flatrobbery of God; which cannot be less criminal than robbing our fellow creatures. So comprehensive was the nature, so aggravated the circumstances, of man's first transgression.” (Pages 17, 18.) “III. Hereby he incurred death of every kind; not only temporal, but also spiritual and eternal.