Salvation

“But according to the hope which Christ has given us, there will be final victory,

and the struggle of this world will be followed by the glories of heaven.”

- J. Gresham Machen

Salvation: Do we really need it? How to we gain it?

At the base of the Christian religion is humanity’s need of salvation. As we learned,

man is sinful. We are born into a broken world, separated from God, and unable

to be reconciled to the Father. This is why we need some means of salvation.

Humanity was created to be in relationship with God but after sin entered the

world we could no longer have this relationship. God is holy and we are not. To

be in relationship with God we must be perfect as God is perfect. However,

because we are born sinful there is nothing we can do to fix our relationship

with God. Our debt requires a sacrificial death in our place. The only acceptable

sacrifice would have to be blameless, much like the sacrificial lambs of the Old

Testament were blameless.

What are we supposed to do, then? Live eternity apart from God? Is there no

hope for mankind?

Of course there is hope! Last week we established who Jesus is; the only

begotten son of God, fully man and fully God, perfect and blameless. Jesus lived

among humanity, teaching about the kingdom of God. When the time came he

willingly died to pay the debt and bridge the gap between humanity and God.

Not only did he die, however, he rose again on the third day, defeating death

and giving us hope for the future.

Let us pause for a moment and look at salvation from the liberal point of view.

How do liberals view humanity and thus our need for salvation?

Liberalism suggests that man is not all bad. From this point of view we may be

tempted to minimize the importance of sin. Liberals “ignore the dreadful reality

of guilt, and make a mere persuasion of the human will all that is needed for

salvation” (Machen 101). They do not believe the death of Christ necessary in

salvation, but rather humanity only need to believe in how Jesus affects lives

now. However, this is not Christianity, it is mysticism.

Christianity depends on an actual historical event. The most important thing

about Jesus’ life,  crucifiction, and resurrection is that it happened. This

historical event is of the utmost importance for us today. “Salvation...was not

merely through Christ, but it was only through Christ” (Machen 104). This is

the only way we can be saved.

Belief in Christ is our only means of salvation. This salvation gives us hope

for the future. Christians are not promised a good life. In fact, Jesus says in

John 16:33, “...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have

overcome the world.” Even though we face trials of various kinds we know

that God has already won the final victory. Jesus’ resurrection conquered

death and evil. Satan no longer has victory over the world. Jesus gave us a

way to have a relationship with the Father again.  Even in the darkness and

trials we face in the world we can have future hope of eternity with our Father.

Who is Jesus?

We’ve learned that in the Christian worldview there is a huge distance between

sinful man and our holy God. Although God is relational he cannot enter into a

relationship with use because of our fallen nature. We, being sinful, can’t make

ourselves less sinful. The Bible- the inspired Word of God to humanity- reveals

the way we can have a relationship with God.

The answer? In two words: Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the second member of the Trinity: God the Son. He was born of

the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and was raised from

the dead on the third day. This combination of perfect life, willing death, and

resurrection provided the way for sinful humans to have a relationship with God.   

Jesus is our example for life, service, and faith. Look at his life. While Jesus was

working in his earthly ministry he had faith in God the Father. However, he is not

only our example of faith, but the primary object of faith. In his book, Christianity

and Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen points out that Christ could no more be a

Christian than God could be a religious being. “God is the object of all religion,

He is absolutely necessary to all religion; but He Himself is the only being in the

universe who can never in His own nature be religious” (78). It is the same way

with Christ. Christianity is based on faith in the saving work and life of Jesus

Christ. The Christian faith is directed towards Christ, he could not have such

religious faith in himself.

How can he be an example of faith but not a Christian?

We must remember that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. As a human he

must have faith in God the Father. In Machen’s words, “Jesus had a religion;

without it His humanity would indeed have been incomplete…” but it is not a

religion we can experience (79). His was the religion of complete sonship. In

contrast our sonship is gained through faith in Christ. This sonship is what

shows his nature as fully God.

Many liberal preachers are willing to say Jesus is God, however, their definition

of God is completely different than the Christian definition. In their minds, God

denotes the object of man’s desires. It is unification and peace rather than the

Creator God. If confused on the liberal view of God you can refer back to my

post God and Man. Because their view of God is incorrect, their view of Jesus

is also wrong.

Faith in the true Jesus is what changes lives. He gives sinful man hope of a

future with our Father. Without faith like and in Jesus we have no chance of

encountering God. Jesus provides the way for broken man to be free of their

sin. In him alone is hope for all mankind.

The Word of God

“All the ideas of Christianity might be discovered in some other religion, yet there

would be in that other religion on Christianity. For Christianity depends, not upon

a complex of ideas, but upon the narration of an event.” - J. Gresham Machen

What is the Bible?

On a very basic level, it is the foundational document of the Christian religion. The

Bible is what conveys the values, truths, an overall message of Christianity to the

people. In the Christian worldview the Bible conveys messages from God to man.

It reveals the very nature of God and of man, and directly shows our need of a

savior. The Bible also shows us the means for salvation.

The entirety of the Old Testament looks forward to the coming of Jesus and the

New Testament finds its purpose in His work. Christians believe then that salvation

is not a discovery of a personal transformation but something that happened. This

is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions.

Salvation depends on how an event that happened many years ago from interacts

with us today. This event that happened years ago is tested through Christian

experience. However, while this experience is important, it is not the only thing that

matters.

Liberalism maintains that all we need is a current and personal experience of Jesus.

If we have the feeling of his presence we don’t need the message of his saving work

because we have him. However, this is not Christian. True Christian experience

depends on the aforementioned event of salvation.

Not only does the Bible show the need, purpose, and means of salvation, the Bible

provides believers with the truths of God. Christians believe the Bible is the inspired

word of God, not from human lips but from His spirit. Because of that, “the account

itself is true, the writers have been so preserved from error, despite a full maintenance

of their habits of thought and expression...the resulting Book is the ‘infallible rule of

faith and practice” (Macgen 62).

Many liberals do not believe the Bible is inspired from the Spirit. Though they have

rejected the Bible as the inspired Word of God, they still believe they are Christian

because they rely on Jesus. However, you cannot believe in Jesus and what he says

without believing the Bible. Jesus in his earthly ministry could not tell us all that we

need to know about God and salvation. Liberals then have to pick and choose what to

believe of the words Jesus from the words of the Bible.

At first glance Liberalism and Christianity may seem to be similar. Both claim Jesus as

the only source of salvation and have similar values, however, they are completely

different worldviews. The foundation of Christianity is in the truth of the Bible and

anything straying from this is an entirely different religion. We must hold fast to the

truth of the inspired Word of God, study it, and help bring light to a darkening

generation.

God and Man

“...if religion consists merely in feeling the presence of God, it is devoid of any

moral quality whatever. Pure feeling, if there be such a thing, is non-moral.”

- J. Gresham Machen

The foundation of all religions lies in the answer of two questions: “Who is man?”

and “Who is God?” These questions show an individual’s worldview.

Let’s begin with discussing the first question. Who is man?

The liberal worldview suggests maybe humans are not entirely bad and are able

to overcome evil. Essentially, liberalism has lost sight of sin. If we forget our own

sins we can become fixated on the large sins of others. We can be tempted then

to ignore ‘small’ sins and focus our attention on more serious sins. This is a

dangerous temptation, however, because Satan uses both ‘big’ and ‘small’ sins to

draw us away from Christ.

Christianity begins with the realization that man is sinful and unable to save himself.

Beginning with Adam, every human to live has been born imperfect and lost. The

problem is that our sin keeps us from realizing that we need help. There is no part of

human nature that is good enough to solve the evil in the world.

This brings us to the second question. Who is God?

Christianity believes in the real existence of a personal God. He is the creator of and

completely separate from the world. He is holy and relational. Because he is holy he

cannot be in the presence of sin but because he is relational he desires to know us.

How then can a holy God had a relationship with sinful men? Until the problem of our

sin is atoned for, he can’t.

We will return to this point in a moment. First let’s look at the liberal view of God.

In the liberal view, the distinction between God and the world breaks down. We are a

piece of the life happening all around us and therefore “God...is not a person distinct

from ourselves; on the contrary our life is a part of His” (Machen 54). Modern liberalism

says we do not need to know God but only feel his presence. Essentially we must

become part of the goodness around us. This view of religion completely negates its

moral value and bases it in emotion.

There is no relationship in liberalism, but Christianity begs to be part of something bigger.

However, if we believe that God is relational and holy but man is sinful, how can we

have a relationship with God?

The answer is simple: Jesus. The second member of the Trinity, born of the Virgin Mary.

He was “God from God, light from light, true God from true God” (Nicene Creed). He

lived the perfect life, was crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day. He became

sin so that we might have a relationship with God the Father.

As I said in the beginning of this post, answering the questions “Who is God?” and

Who is man?” shows the pillars of the religion. In this case we see“Paganism is

optimistic with regard to unaided human nature, whereas Christianity is the religion

of the broken heart” (Machen 56). Broken heart does not mean it is without hope,

but rather that we must acknowledge our brokenness and ask for help. When we

realize our sin and need of a savior we can be reconciled to relationship with God.

Doctrine and Liberalism

“Christ died- that is history; ‘Christ died for our sins’- that is doctrine. Without these two
elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluble union, there is no Christianity.”
- J. Gresham Machen

How important is doctrine to the Christian faith?

Isn’t it enough to believe in the moral teachings of Jesus?

Liberalism rejects the truths found in the doctrine of Christianity. They are skeptical of
the claim that there is only one truth and believe instead that some truth can be found
through human experience. If truth is from human experience then all creeds of belief
must be true. However,“if all creeds are equally true, then since they are contradictory
to one another, they are all equally false, or at least equally uncertain” (Machen 17).
Not everything claimed as truth can be true.

What is different about Christianity?

Many have claimed that Christianity is a way of life, and while this is true there is so
much more. Christianity is based in a historical phenomenon that swept the ancient
world. The doctrine of Christianity is based in an actual event. Most people who claim
to be Christians will believe this fact.

In looking at the ancient church we see many examples of lives that were changed by
Christianity. For example, Paul, who once sought out and killed Christians, became one
of the most influential evangelists of the ancient world. We see in his letters that he was
dedicated to the objective truth of the gospel. In Rome, he found pastors who were
preaching truth with the wrong intention. He rejoiced because even though the way the
preaching was carrying on was wrong, the truth was being spread. However, in Galatia,
many false believers spread lies about Christianity. Paul did not tolerate this because the
content of the message was false.

Through his ministry we see that “Christianity for Paul was not only a life but also a
doctrine and logically the doctrine came first” (20).  The differences between the Gospel
Paul preached and the message of the false teachers was so vast it created two different
religions. One was based in works and one in salvation. The false teachers told the people
that if they believed and worked hard to please God they would be saved. Paul taught that
if they believed in Christ’s grace they would be saved and once saved they would be
changed in a way that gave them the desire to do good works.

Paul’s message (ultimately the message of the gospel) shows that works are not enough.

This is the message proclaimed by Christ in his earthly ministry. We cannot separate out the
morals Christ teaches from his saving work. The purpose of the morals he taught was to show
us our dire need for a savior. Christ didn’t preach ethics, but of the coming Kingdom of God,
salvation, and grace. The only change from Christ’s message to the disciples message is
Jesus proclaimed what was coming and the disciples proclaimed what Christ had done.

Nothing about the gospel appeals to the abilities and will of man. Instead the gospel is a
narrative of salvation.

We have not even reached the outward righteousness of the hypocrites in the New Testament,
how are we supposed to fulfill the moral requirements to enter the kingdom of Heaven?

With all this in mind, the answer is no. You cannot separate Jesus’ moral teachings from the
doctrine of Christianity.

Interacting With Culture

“In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight.” - J. Gresham Machen

Welcome to the first post in a new series about culture and the Christian life. Each of
these posts will be based on a chapter from J. Gresham Machen’s book Christianity
and Liberalism. With that said, let’s begin!

Let’s start by defining the idea of culture. I have interacted with quite a few people who
consider culture to be something outside of the Christian world. In the church we hear
much about how we should confront and interact with the culture, but this view ignores
one crucial point. We are not separated from culture.

Culture is “the the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that
depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding
generations” (Merriam-Webster). It manifests itself in our beliefs, actions,
presuppositions, prejudices, values, and art. Even Christians are affected by the culture
around them. We are not immune to the views of the world around us and it is important
we realize that. Much more harm comes from Christians believing they are not influenced
by the world around us. It becomes a piece of our life whether we realize it or not. It is
only after we realize that we are influenced by culture that we can take steps to right the
wrongs we see and help influence the culture for good.

The modern world is marked by drastic and distinct physical improvements. The world we
live in today is in some respects safer and more productive than ever before. However,
there have been some dangerous losses in the spiritual realm. This loss translates into
the growth of liberalism and materialism in our culture.

This is the culture that Christians must struggle against. It all comes back to the idea of
being in the world but not of it. We must recognize what parts of culture have become a
part of us and work hard to ensure our Christian culture is what the world sees in us.

Look back for a moment at the quote at the beginning of the post. The things we disagree
about within and without the church are the very things worth discussing. As Christians
we must be able to hold conversations about “hot topics” with grace and truth. No good
has ever come from two people loudly fighting over issues.

This is especially true when we discuss issues in the culture with non believers. We
cannot expect non believers to behave as believers do. They do not have the same moral
standards or convictions so how could they behave the same? We can’t become angry
that they disagree with our beliefs. Instead we must approach those who are part of the
liberal culture with kindness and listening ears.  

As we begin this series on culture and liberalism I encourage you to listen with opening
ears and a wary heart. So many members of our culture (yes, remember, our culture not
the culture) are hurting and do not feel heard. Listen and engage in intelligent
conversations. Be sure that you do not “let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29).