Sanctified Parents of Depraved Children
The sermon explores the problem of depravity and the transmission of sin from parents to children, highlighting the mystery of heredity.
Daniel Steele delves into the complex theological debate surrounding the transmission of sin and grace through generations, challenging the idea that a perfectly sanctified parent would have perfectly holy children. He acknowledges the mystery of heredity and how qualities not visibly present in parents can be passed down from remote ancestors, suggesting that racial depravity may have been transmitted through generations. Steele highlights the unanswered conundrums and objections to the doctrine of Christian perfection, emphasizing that despite criticisms, the truth of Wesley's teachings may still hold. Just as infinite space presents conflicting theories, the complexities of heredity and transmission of spiritual states remain a mystery that requires faith and acceptance.
Text
0UR author is not satisfied with Wesley's declaration, "Sin is entailed upon me, not by immediate generation, but by my first parent;" and he controverts Dr. Miley's statement, that "a gracious state, achieved through the supernatural generation of the Holy Spirit, is not transmissible through natural generation." He insists that "whatever nature or state we have, however it originated or was superinduced, whether by the good Spirit or the evil spirit, can be and must be transmitted."
He adds: "The only sufficient and satisfactory reason that we have been able to find, why no child is begotten or born without some degree of depravity, is that there are no parents wholly free from it." Will not perfectly sanctified parents have perfectly holy children? This was a conundrum proposed to Wesley by an opponent of Christian perfection, and quite imperfectly answered by him. The doctrine of Wesley may nevertheless be true, although an objection to it has not been answered satisfactorily.
There is no doctrine of orthodoxy against which some objection has not been made. Dr. Samuel Johnson says, that "infinite space is either a plenum (full of matter) or a vacuum; there are objections against both theories, yet one of them must be true." Heredity involves mysteries such as this: Parents, with dark complexion, jet black hair and eyes, have a child of light complexion, red hair, and blue eyes. The parents have transmitted qualities they did not possess, but which on research are found to have belonged to some remote ancestor. Thus racial depravity, may have been transmitted by parents in whom it was not then existent. How? This is a Mystery.
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction to the Problem of Depravity
- A. The controversy over the transmission of sin
- B. The role of heredity in the transmission of qualities
- II. The Nature of Sin and Depravity
- A. The origin of sin and depravity
- B. The relationship between parents and children
- III. The Mystery of Heredity
- A. The transmission of qualities through generations
- B. The role of remote ancestors in the transmission of sin
Key Quotes
“The only sufficient and satisfactory reason that we have been able to find, why no child is begotten or born without some degree of depravity, is that there are no parents wholly free from it.” — Daniel Steele
Application Points
- Parents should strive for sanctification to minimize the transmission of sin to their children.
- The mystery of heredity reminds us of the complexity of the human condition and the need for faith in God's sovereignty.
- The sermon encourages us to consider the long-term consequences of our actions and the influence we have on future generations.