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]:
- What is the beginning of a Christian believer’s conversion?
- Machen wrote that the beginning of conversion is consciousness of sin
- Who was J. Gresham Machen?
- He was a respected conservative New Testament scholar and Presbyterian, active in the 1920s and 1930s; he is well known for his work in the fundamentalist – modernist controversy, regarding the inerrancy of scripture and the existence of the supernatural
- He founded the Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929; and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936 (because Christians who held historical Christian doctrines were being increasingly marginalized by mainstream denominations)
- He wrote Christianity and Liberalism; What is Faith; and The Christian view of Man
- What was consciousness of sin to Machen?
- It was NOT, an awareness of sin in the world; or an intellectual acceptance that we are sinners
- It was conviction of the whole mind and heart; a profound understanding of one’s own lost condition; and illumination of one’s own deadened consciousness
- Why did he believe that consciousness of sin is a prerequisite for faith?
- Without the consciousness of sin, the entire gospel would seem to be an idle tale
- Consciousness of sin is a necessary foundation for faith; it is necessary for accepting God’s wrath and punishment. The doctrines of God’s wrath and hell were not popular in Machen’s time either
- Liberals minimized God’s wrath and hell and believed there was no great gulf between God and mankind
- It is only possible to come to the above position if one has no consciousness of his own sin; modern man has lost the sense of guilt and the fear of hell that historical Christians possessed
- If one has a [biblical] understanding of his own sin, then he also realizes his need for a Savior, Christ (he expounds on that with an illustration)
- [If you read the quotation from Ezekiel 36, below, you will see most of these things in God’s statements about what He will do when He brings the new covenant]
- Some of the effects of no consciousness of sin: 1) repentance is cheap when sin is rationalized; one who has little or no understanding of his sin; 2) such a one would tend to be legalistic, believing his own efforts could right himself with God, therefore, believing he would not need much grace; 3) if sin were a small thing and there was no supernatural hell, then the church rightly ought to focus on the social gospel [but that is not the case]; 4) this last effect of an absence of the consciousness of sin is that society would collapse: disregard for God’s law is followed by disregard for man’s laws
- …”this is an age in which the disintegration of society is preceding on a gigantic scale; look about you and what do you see. Everywhere, the throwing off of restraint, the abandonment of standards, the return to barbarism.” 1936, from the Christian View of Man, ch. 16
- How do we inspire in others a consciousness of their own sin? 1) proclaim the law, preaching the gospel with a goal of convicting people of their sin; 2) Not just preachers and evangelicals, but the rank and file of Christianity should be able to witness Christ’s gospel in such a way; 3), however, it is only the Holy Spirit who can save anyone from God’s wrath against sin [it is right for believers to see they are as helpless to save others as they were to save themselves, but to seek the Holy Spirit’s help via prayer with that end in mind]
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:
***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/