Christian Community

Last week we finished up our study of J. Gresham Machen’s book, Christianity

and Liberalism. This week we begin looking at Life Together by Dietrich

Bonhoeffer. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

The first chapter of this book discusses living in a Christian community. Right

off the bat this book was incredibly convicting and given me a fresh perspective

on community and the Christian life. One of the greatest and most overlooked

blessings in the the American culture is that we have Christian communities

that can meet and live together. This allows Christians to grow and encourage

one another in their walk with Christ.

In his earthly ministry, Jesus lived among his enemies and through this we learn

that we are not promised an easy life. The Kingdom of God is to be brought in

the midst of our enemies which requires us to leave the safe confines of our

community and interact with the broken world. Bonhoeffer quotes Martin Luther

saying, “...he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of

Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the

bad people but the devout people” (17-18). This way we betray the mission of Christ.

Being a part of a Christian community is a source of strength and joy for believers.

However, this comfort should replenish us to continue working towards the

Kingdom goal. We need other believers to remind us of truth and direct us to the

foot of the cross.

If we find ourselves in a situation where we are surrounded by a Christian

community we must be continually grateful for this blessing. We have been given

an opportunity for growth that many people have not been given. This leads me

to one of my favorite quotes I have ever read:

“Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things. We

prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us,

because we do not give thanks for daily gifts. We think we dare not be

satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and

love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking

forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack

the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has

given to others, and we consider this lament to be pious… if we do not give

thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed...we

hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and

riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ” (Bonhoeffer 29).”

This is only a portion of the quote (for the sake of space I had to cut it down) but I

highly recommend reading it in its entirety. When I first read this quote I was struck

with conviction and shocked by how applicable it is to my life. For so long I have

been discontent with where I am in life. I, as Bonhoeffer says, look eagerly towards

the highest good or where my life is going instead of being grateful for the blessings

I have now. I was also struck by the idea that we consider our desire for more to

be pious. But before you can be given deep knowledge and blessings you must

be a grateful steward of the things you have. You must be willing to make sacrifices

for the betterment of the Christian community and be willing to endure hardships for

the sake of the gospel.

The Church

“A solid building cannot be constructed when all the materials are faulty; a blessed

society cannot be formed out of men who are still under the curse of sin.”

- J. Gresham Machen.

What is the church?

It is more than a building, it is the people inside. The foundation of the church is the

work of Christ found in the gospel. The mission of the church is to nurture and help

believers to grow and spread the gospel to the lost world. Regular meetings of

believers gives Christians, new and old, a community of love.

In his book, Christianity and Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen says, “the Church is

the highest Christian answer to the social needs of man” (135). The church should

be a place of healing that helps bring restoration to those hurting and seeking truth.

However, the church is only as solid as those within.

Machen states in his book that one of the issues that faces the Christian church is

that we are under attack, not from the outside as we may think, but from the inside.

He argues that this is due to the fact that the faith common in the church is no longer

Christian. In some cases the very pastors of the church do not lead the congregation

to the truth of the gospel.

We see this occurring more and more as the health and wealth gospel is spread

across America. Instead of preaching the truth of salvation, pastors tell their

congregation that if they follow Jesus they will be happy and have an easy life. This

does not at all align with what we have been learning over the past few weeks. We

are not saved to be happy, we are saved from our sin which would otherwise condemn

us to life apart from God. While the health and wealth gospel claims humanity is

basically and can almost save itself, we have learned that this is false. Humanity is

condemned to life apart from God. Without some form of sacrificial mediation there is

a rift between the created and their Creator. That sacrifice came through Jesus. As

we have learned, he is the only way to eternal life with God. Despite the claims of

the health and wealth gospel, we are not remotely good enough to save ourselves.

This is why we, the church of Christ, must foster truth in our midst. Go back and

read the quote at the beginning of this post. The church is only as strong as those

that make it up. Our focus can’t be on the numbers within our church, but the true

transformation of lives. In Judges 7 we see how Gideon was able to defeat the army

of Midian with only three hundred men. The number of people within the church

doesn’t matter. Our focus can’t be on bringing large numbers of people to church,

but rather genuinely bringing people to Christ.

This is how the church can make a difference in the world. The leadership in our

churches should encourage true growth instead of leading the congregation astray.

The true gospel transforms lives. It doesn’t make life objectively better but rather

gives us a hope and a future.

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.