Saint Augustine's doctrine on grace (3)

Abstract

With Pelagius, Augustine admitted that men imitate Adam by sinning, and just men imitate Christ by leading a good life, but this is not all. At the beginning of his treatise on the remission of sins Augustine writes that all those who through disobedience break the commandments of God imitate Adam, but we must distinguish between a bad example which influences the will of a sinner, and the state in which those born in sin find themselves. Holy men imitate Christ by acting justly, but besides imitating Christ these holy people have the grace of God working in their souls illuminating and justifying them. This grace is also given to baptised infants, who quite evidently cannot imitate anyone. Therefore as Christ, in whom we all live, besides giving grace and justification to all those who imitate Him, also gives to the faithful the mysterious grace of his Holy Spirit, a grace which he infuses mysteriously also in infants, so also Adam, in whom we all die, besides giving a bad example to all those who imitate him by willingly breaking God's commandments, also left the stain of carnal concupiscence in all who are his descendant.