Chapter 40: On the human's obligation to death
CHAPTER FORTY. On the humans obligation to death.
Thus far concerning the permission of sin: the human's obligation to death is his penal condition, into which by the just judgment of God offended by that fall he has been reduced, so that he is liable to eternal curse. From chapter 37, aphorism 2, it is plain that after the dogma of the permission of sin there is place for the doctrine of the fallen humans obligation to death or the undergoing of punishment, of which Genesis 2:17 speaks.
This obligation presupposes partly Gods offense from sin, which has before it Gods prohibition and the denunciation of punishment if the human should not obey Gods law. From offense there is born in God the affection of avenging, by which God seeks to assign to the sinner for the evil of fault the evil of punishment. And from the affection of vengeance and from guilt or obligation to punishment follows the punishment itself, whose equity is from guilt, but whose infliction is from the affection of vengeance or the wrath and rigor of justice, which is joined with Gods truth in keeping the threat — unless it is tempered by new grace, by which eternal curse is turned into eternal blessing joined with temporary chastisement.
Latin
CAPUT QUADRAGESIMUM, De obligatione hominis ad mortem. HAec de permissione peccati: OBLIGATIO hominis ad mortem est eius poenalis conditio, in quam Dei lapso illius offensi iusto iudicio redactus est, ut maledictioni aeternae sit obnoxius. Ex capitis 37 aph. 2 patet, post dogma de permissione peccati locum esse doctrinae de obligatione hominis lapsi ad mortem seu poenae subitionem, de qua Gen. 2:17. Supponit autem haec obligatio partim offensionem Dei ex peccato, quod ante se habet Dei prohibitionem ac poenae denunciationem, siquidem homo legi Dei non obediret. Ex offensione nascitur in Deo affectus vindicandi, quo videlicet Deus appetit peccatori pro malo culpae tribuere malum poenae. Ex vindictae vero affectu et reatu seu obligatione ad poenam sequitur ipsa poena, cuius aequitas ex reatu, inflictio vero ex affectu vindictae seu ira et rigore iustitiae, quae coniungitur cum veritate Dei in servanda comminatione, nisi temperetur nova gratia, qua maledictio aeterna vertatur in benedictionem aeternam coniunctam cum castigatione temporaria.