Of Original or Birth Sin

Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.

IX. Of Original or Birth-Sin.

Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk;) but it is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God’s wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek, φρονημα σαρκος, (which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire, of the flesh), is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized; yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin.

Here we have some significant differences that might require some study. The deletions are marked in bold in the Episcopal version. First, for Wesley, it is only the corruption of the Nature of every man and not also the fault. It is possible that this was taken out because it forms part of the Roman Catholic Confiteor prayer of confession, I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault (Confiteor).

The Methodist (and Episcopal) Prayer of Confession begins Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone. This prayer is still one of the prayers of confession used in Holy Eucharist in the Episcopal church. The problem with skipping out fault is that it suggests that we are driven to sin by our corrupt nature and it is not the result of a choice we make. We have a corrupt nature, inherited from Adam. That is original sin. But we can choose to obey our corrupt nature or not.

Much of the rest of the Article that has been deleted reflects the harshness of Calvinist doctrine and preaching of the time. It implies that the condemnation deserved for sin is forgiven but that it is not possible to overcome the lust of the flesh in this life, as this infection of nature doth remain. What could regeneration possibly mean if there is not a new heart that inclines itself to God? Yet, the fact that we confess our sins during every communion service suggests that we do not believe we can live in sinless perfection. We are always in a battle against the lust of the flesh. Possibly, Wesley thought that inclined to evil was sufficient to make the point.