Hobbes - Leviathan.pdf

infancy, and in other places they are taught otherwise
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* Romans, 10. 17
*(2) Ibid., 10. 14, 15
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But if teaching be the cause of faith, why do not all believe It is
certain therefore that faith is the gift of God, and He giveth it to
whom He will. Nevertheless, because to them to whom He giveth it, He
giveth it by the means of teachers, the immediate cause of faith is
hearing. In a school, where many are taught, and some profit, others
profit not, the cause of learning in them that profit is the master;
yet it cannot be thence inferred that learning is not the gift of God.
All good things proceed from God; yet cannot all that have them say
they are inspired; for that implies a gift supernatural, and the
immediate hand of God; which he that pretends to, pretends to be a
prophet, and is subject to the examination of the Church.
But whether men know, or believe, or grant the Scriptures to be
the word of God, if out of such places of them as are without
obscurity I shall show what articles of faith are necessary, and
only necessary, for salvation, those men must needs know, believe,
or grant the same.
The unum necessarium, only article of faith, which the Scripture
maketh simply necessary to salvation is this, that Jesus is the
Christ. By the name of Christ is understood the King which God had
before promised by the prophets of the Old Testament to send into
the world, to reign (over the Jews and over such of other nations as
should believe in him) under Himself eternally; and to give them
that eternal life which was lost by the sin of Adam. Which, when I
have proved out of Scripture, I will further show when, and in what
sense, some other articles may be also called necessary.
For proof that the belief of this article, Jesus is the Christ, is
all the faith required to salvation, my first argument shall be from
the scope of the evangelists; which was, by the description of the
life of our Saviour, to establish that one article, Jesus is the
Christ. The sum of St. Matthew's Gospel is this, that Jesus was of the
stock of David, born of a virgin, which are the marks of the true
Christ; that the Magi came to worship him as King of the Jews; that
Herod for the same cause sought to kill him; that John the Baptist
proclaimed him; that he preached by himself and his Apostles that he
was that King; that he taught the law, not as a scribe, but as a man
of authority; that he cured diseases by his word only, and did many
other miracles, which were foretold the Christ should do; that he
was saluted King when he entered into Jerusalem; that he forewarned
them to beware of all others that should pretend to be Christ; that he
was taken, accused, and put to death for saying he was King; that
the cause of his condemnation, written on the cross, was JESUS OF
NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. All which tend to no other end than
this, that men should believe that Jesus is the Christ. Such therefore
was the scope of St. Matthew's Gospel. But the scope of all the
evangelists, as may appear by reading them, was the same. Therefore
the scope of the whole Gospel was the establishing of that only
article. And St. John expressly makes it his conclusion, "These things
are written, that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
the living God."*
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* John, 20. 31
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