Chapter 12.—The Fourth Calumny,—That the Saints of the Old Testament are Said to Be Not Free from Sins.

“They say,” says he, “that the saints in the Old Testament were not without sins,—that is that they were not free from crimes even by amendment, but they were seized by death in their guilt.” Nay, I say that either before the law, or in the time of the Old Testament, they were freed from sins,—not by their own power, because “cursed is every one that hath put his hope in man,”26    Jer. xvii. 5. and without any doubt those are under this curse whom also the sacred Psalm notifies, “who trust in their own strength;”27    Ps. xlix. 6. nor by the old covenant which gendereth to bondage,28    Gal. iv. 24. although it was divinely given by the grace of a sure dispensation; nor by that law itself, holy and just and good as it was, where it is written, “Thou shalt not covet,”29    Ex. xx. 7. since it was not given as being able to give life, but it was added for the sake of transgression until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; but I say that they were freed by the blood of the Redeemer Himself, who is the one Mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus.30    1 Tim. ii. 5. But those enemies of the grace of God, which is given to small and great through Jesus Christ our Lord, say that the men of God of old were of a perfect righteousness, lest they should be supposed to have needed the incarnation, the passion, and resurrection of Christ, by belief in whom they were saved.

CAPUT VII.

12. Quarta calumnia, Sanctos veteris Testamenti non a peccatis liberos dici. «Dicunt,» inquit, «sanctos in vetere Testamento non caruisse peccatis, id est, nec per emendationem a criminibus fuisse liberos, sed in reatu a morte fuisse deprehensos.» Imo dicimus vel ante Legem vel tempore veteris 0556 Testamenti a peccatis fuisse liberatos, non virtute propria; quia maledictus omnis qui spem suam ponit in homine (Jerem. XVII, 5); et in hoc sine dubio maledicto sunt, quos etiam Psalmus divinus notat, Qui confidunt in virtute sua (Psal. XLVIII, 7): nec vetere Testamento, quod in servitutem generat (Galat. IV, 24), quamvis certae dispensationis gratia divinitus datum sit: nec ipsa lege sancta et justa et bona (Rom. VII, 12), ubi scriptum est, Non concupisces (Exod. XX, 17); quoniam non est data quae posset vivificare, sed praevaricationis gratia posita est, donec veniret semen cui promissum est (Galat. III, 21, 19): sed liberatos esse per sanguinem ipsius redemptoris, qui est unus mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus (I Tim. II, 5). Isti autem inimici gratiae Dei, quae data est pusillis et magnis per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, ideo dicunt antiquos homines Dei perfectae fuisse justitiae, ne Christi incarnatione, passione, resurrectione, cujus fide salvi facti sunt, credantur eguisse.