“7. That the introduction of sin is, upon the whole, for the general good. For the wisdom and power of the Deity are displayed in carrying on designs of the greatest good; and the existence of moral evil has, undoubtedly, occasioned a more full, perfect, and glorious discovery of the infinite perfections of the divine nature, than could otherwise have been made to the view of creatures. If the extensive manifestations of the pure and holy nature of God, and his infinite aversion to sin, and all his inherent perfections, in their genuine fruits and effects, is either itself the greatest good, or necessarily contains it, it must necessarily follow that the introduction of sin is for the greatest good.
“8. That repentance is before faith in Christ. By this is not intended, that repentance is before a speculative belief of the being and perfections of God, and of the person and character of Christ; but only that true repentance is previous to a saving faith in Christ, in which the believer is united to Christ, and entitled to the benefits of his mediation and atonement. That repentance is before faith in this sense, appears from several considerations. 1. As repentance and faith respect different objects, so they are distinct exercises of the heart; and therefore one not only may, but must, be prior to the other. 2. There may be genuine repentance of sin without faith in Christ, but there cannot be true faith in Christ without repentance of sin; and since repentance is necessary in order to faith in Christ, it must necessarily be prior to faith in Christ. 3. John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, taught that repentance is before faith. John cried, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;’ intimating that true repentance was necessary in order to embrace the gospel of the kingdom. Christ commanded, ‘Repent ye, and believe the gospel.’ And Paul preached ‘repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.’
“9. That, though men became sinners by Adam, according to a divine constitution, yet they have, and are accountable for, no sins but personal; for, 1. Adam’s act, in eating the forbidden fruit, was not the act of his posterity; therefore they did not sin at the same time he did. 2. The sinfulness of that act could not be _transferred_ to them afterwards, because the sinfulness of an act can no more be transferred from one person to another than an act itself. 3. Therefore Adam’s act, in eating the forbidden fruit, was not the _cause_ but only the _occasion_, of his posterity’s being sinners. God was pleased to make a constitution, that, if Adam remained holy through his state of trial, his posterity should, in consequence, be holy also; but if he sinned, his posterity should, in consequence, be sinners likewise. Adam sinned, and now God brings his posterity into the world sinners. _By_ Adam’s sin we are become sinners, not _for_ it; his sin being only the _occasion_, not the _cause_, of our committing sins.