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The Consciousness of Sin in the works of J. Gresham Machen

The following brief video is from the YouTube site: Reformed Gringo. He has a dozen videos about J. Gresham Machen (he provided a brief bio in the initial moments of this video).

This video shares some of Machen’s views on sin which I believe to be important for Christians to know about, as they will never hear such biblical doctrine in the current church (except by a very few preachers such as Dr. John MacArthur).

Narrative from Reformed Gringo on this video:

“J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937), a leading Reformed theologian, argued in many of his works that the “consciousness of sin” was foundational to Christianity. This video explores why Machen considered it so important.

Works quoted: Christianity and Liberalism (1923) What Is Faith? (1925) The Christian View of Man (1937)”

The following bulleted points are highlights of the video below [emboldening, and bracketed statements are mine]:

 

 

Reformed Gringo’s video page, link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR7_Dyb4MF736NZnxWlfXg/videos

EZEKIEL 36 QUOTATION [The emboldened words speak about God’s almighty deeds and mankind’s helplessness regarding fixing himself, stopping sinning and idolatry, how God views sin, how individual Israelites came to view sin via God’s work in them…]:

36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.

31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS:

***The Sinner’s Prayer post contains a 5 stage process developed by Jonathan Edwards as he was analyzing counterfeit conversions after the great awakening of 1740; Edwards stages show the 5 stages in the ‘struggle of faith,’ these support Machen’s thoughts about the consciousness of sin being a fundamental of the Christian life. To see the Sinner’s prayer post, click the following link:

https://sheeplywolves.com/the-sinners-prayer-if-that-is-how-you-were-born-again-then-please-read-this-post-to-understand-the-dangers-that-threaten-your-soul/

***The following post in this blog is about basics of the Christian walk that fit perfectly with Edwards 5 stages and Machen’s thoughts; the posts share insights from Edwards own walk: journal writing, contents of his journal writing, showing an emphasis on necessary things; more; click following link which is to the first of 3 posts that provide glimpses into Edwards spiritual life; each post varies on how material is presented:

https://sheeplywolves.com/jonathan-edwards-a-glimpse-into-his-spiritual-journey/

 

 

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