It is not enough for us to know that Jesus is great and good; it is not enough for us to know that He was instrumental in the creation of the world and that He is now seated on the throne of all being. These things are indeed necessary to faith, but they are not all that is necessary; if we are to trust Jesus, we must come to Him personally and individually with some need of the soul which He alone can relieve. That need of the soul from which Jesus alone can save is sin. But when I say “sin,” I do not mean merely the sins of the world or the sins of other people, but I mean your sin—your sin and mine.
J. Gresham Machen | What Is Faith? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1946), 118–19.
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Tony Phelps
Tony grew up in Rhode Island. He was educated at BA (University of Rhode Island) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He worked in the insurance industry for ten years. He planted a PCA church in Wakefield, RI where he served for eleven years. In 2015–18 he pastored Covenant Reformed Church (URCNA) in Colorado Springs. He is currently pastor of Living Hope (OPC). Tony is married to Donna and together they have three children.
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Lots of people come to faith without these concomitants, knowledge of the Lord being “instrumental in the creation of the world” and knowledge of the extent of His authority over “all being.”
This is an example of someone making something “necessary to faith,” when, I venture, what they are looking for instead might be that these things are not being denied among those with the mental capacity to understand the fact of them. Not everyone can understand those things. A good progression from theological discussion with a sinner to her conversion, is the John 4 dialogue between Jesus and the woman at the well, where Jesus indeed supplied content about worship, but it didn’t stay there.
Larry,
Machen is merely saying that there is more for the Christian to know. You’ve imputed to Machen something he isn’t saying. You’ve changed the terms of his argument. You’re asking what is necessary for one to come to faith and Machen is addressing what are the consequences for one who has come to faith. After all, asking a Christian to confess the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed is not unreasonable.
See Heidelberg 22.
“More for the Christian to know” is really good. Thanks.