Synthetic Faith V. Saving Faith
Enamored by a Reinhold Niebuhr lecture, Sixties radical William Sloan Coffin enrolled in Union Theological Seminary. He later reminisced about his brief excursion into theological education, wisecracking that he committed himself in seminary to “as much of God as [he] believed in.”
In John 2:23-25, we’re told that Christ refused to “commit Himself” to “many [who] believed in His name.” What a curious passage of Scripture. Why did Christ refuse to commit Himself to these believers? According to John, it was “because He knew all men” and “what was in a man.” Obviously, something was deficient in these believers’ faith. Theirs was a synthetic faith rather than a saving faith.
Although William Sloan Coffin may have once committed himself to “as much of God as [he] believed in,” Christ never committed Himself to Coffin. Christ only commits Himself to and accompanies those who believe in Him and accept Him just as He is (Mark 4:36). Anything short of total faith and commitment elicits no response from Christ at all!
Don Walton
|
