The Marrow of Sacred Divinity - William Ames (1642)

1. THe Sinne that followed upon the first Fall is either Originall, or Actuall.

2. Originall Sinne, is an habituall exorbitancy, of the whole nature of man, or it is a deviation from the Law of God.

3. Because it is the corruption of the whole man: hence it is called in the holy Scriptures. The old man. Rom. 6. 6. Eph. 4. 22. Col. 3. 9. The body of Sinne. Rom. 6. 7. 24. A Law of the members. Rom. 7. 23. And the members themselves. Col. 3. 5. Flesh. John 3. 6. Rom. 7. 5. 18. 25.

4. Hence also it is that in Scripture, a homogeneall corruption is attributed not only generally to the whole man, but also to every part of it: as to the understanding, Gen. 6. 5. The imagination and thoughts only evill. Rom. 8. 5. 6. 7. They savour the things of the flesh. To the conscience. Tit. 1. 15. Their mind and conscience is defiled. To the will, Gen. 8. 21. The imagination of the heart of man is evill from his childhood. To the affections of every kind. Rom. 1. 24. To uncleannesse in the lusts of their hearts. Lastly, to the body and all the members of it. Rom. 6. 19. Your members servants to uncleannesse, and iniquity to commit iniquity.

5. This Sinne is said to be an exorbitancy, or deviation of man, because it is in man an habituall privation of that due conformity to the Law imposed on man by God, wherein he ought to walk as in his way.

6. Hence it is that that originall depravation is called in the Scriptures Sinne or that Sinne, by a certaine speciall appropriation. Rom. 6. 12. 7. 1. Rom. 7. 8. 20. The Law of Sinne. 7. 23. Sinnedwelling in us, inhering, adhering and compassing us about. Rom. 7. 17. 20. 7. 21. Heb. 12. 1.

7. This disorder in man, hath as it were two parts. One formall, and the other as it were materiall, Ier. 2. 13. My people have done two evills: they have forsaken me, &c. That they might dig to themselves Cisternes. The description of actuall Sin doth containe the picture of originall, as the daughter doth containe the picture of the mother.

8. The formall part is an aversion from good. Rom. 3. 12. There is none that doth good, no not one.

9. The materiall part is a turning and inclining to evill. Rom. 7. 23. The Law of Sin.

10. By reason of this originall depravation, it commeth to passe, that although the will of man be free in the state of Sinne, as touching all acts which it doth exercise, yet it is captive and servile, as touching the manner of doing, because it is deprived of that power whereby it should will well, and that inclination is as it were a forme whereby it commes to passe that it willeth amisse, even when that thing is good about which it is exercised inwilling. Rom. 3. 12. 7. 14. 2 Cor. 3. 5. John 8. 34. 2 Pet. 2. 19. Rom. 6. 16.