The same theologians also teach that the laws of God are our guide as to what is good and evil, and that true virtue, or right action, is secured only by obeying these laws. They hold, therefore, the doctrine of common sense, that all true virtue consists in voluntary obedience to the will of God as manifested in his natural and revealed laws.
The next point of agreement is in the proposition, that God always has, and always will do what is "_for the best_"--so that it always is and will be, out of his power to do better--inasmuch as _to do better than best_, is a contradiction and absurdity. Every theologian, in one form of words or another, maintains that God always has done, and always will do, _the best he can_, so that he has no power to do better. This being so, it is the same as teaching that the past, present and future existence of sin and misery, is what is inevitable in the best system which God has power to create, so that any change in God's plans, laws, and their results, would imply an act of folly and malevolence on his part.
This does not imply that the sinful conduct of man is what is desired or intended by the Creator--nor does it imply that sin was desired or intended by God as the "necessary means to the greatest good." Instead of this, it is clear that if it had been _possible_--_i.e._, if God had the power--to create all minds with _all the knowledge and all the motives_ that would secure perfect obedience to law from all the race of Adam, there would have been more happiness. The universal obedience of all free agents to all God's laws for making happiness on the greatest possible scale, would secure perfect happiness to all, while every act of disobedience would lessen the amount. To deny this is the same as saying that less happiness is more than the most happiness, which is absurd.
The result is, that sin is not the fault of the Creator, but is the inevitable result of the commencement of finite, ignorant, inexperienced minds, and is what neither God nor man could prevent, in a perfect system of finite, free agents.
At the same time, it is the fault of all free agents who sin when they have adequate knowledge and motives. And it is only sins against _known_ law and appropriate motives which are the proper subject of penalties _in addition_ to the natural consequences of wrong doing.