J. Gresham Machen is probably more important to modern Christianity than people realize. Apart from the fact that he's not a well-known name like Calvin, or Luther, or more contemporaries like Tim Keller or John Piper, his book "Christianity and Liberalism" is one of those prophetic books that seems to become more relevant as time progresses. Despite its relatively small size, it represents a "tour de force" against the ongoing influence of the mainline liberal churches.
The fundamental fault of the modern Church is that she is busily engaged in an absolutely impossible task--she is busily engaged in calling the righteous to repentance. Modern preachers are trying to bring men into the Church without requiring them to relinquish their pride; they are trying to help men avoid the conviction of sin. The preacher gets up into the pulpit, opens the Bible, and addresses the congregation somewhat as follows: "You people are very good," he says; "you respond to every appeal that looks toward the welfare of the community. Now we have in the Bible--especially in the life of Jesus--something so good that we believe it is good enough even for you good people." Such is modern preaching. It is heard every Sunday in thousands of pulpits. But it is entirely futile. Even our Lord did not call the righteous to repentance, and probably we shall be no more successful than He.
J. Gresham Machen - Chapter 2
In Chapter 2 Machen points out that the modern liberal preacher has a very different conception of God and man than that which is found in Scripture. What Machen has effectively done here is set you up for a proper understanding of the Law and Gospel. God reveals himself most specifically through the written word, and while our conception of God may be in part experiential, our experience isn't what has the last word on who we know God to be. In other words, experience is enough to grasp that there is a God, and that he is even a good and personal God. But experience alone cannot dictate our understanding of who God is. He has revealed himself to us through Scripture as well.
And we cannot have a proper understanding of ourselves apart from an understanding of God. One has to follow the other. Therefore, if our conception of God is contrary to that which is found in Scripture, so our view of man be inaccurate. We will inevitably make ourselves look better than we are.
Our understanding of who God is and who we are are summed up in Doctrinal terms. In other words, we need good Doctrine.
The word doctrine these days often conjures up feelings of old, boring, dry, "dead orthodoxy." The phrase "dead orthodoxy" is, in my opinion, a contradiction in terms and more of a perception than anything possibly true. But where "doctrine" is dismissed it is invariably replaced with a heap of exhortations which are powerless to save and burdensome to those who try to obey.
Hence the conclusion of Machen. A wrong view of God (ignorance of Biblical doctrine) leads to a view of man that presupposed the inherent goodness of man, which then reduces the task of the preacher to calling his congregation to mere good deeds. It does not create a repentant heart, and certainly doesn't lead to holiness.
Most importantly, it removes the Gospel, which has the power to save...
The fundamental fault of the modern Church is that she is busily engaged in an absolutely impossible task--she is busily engaged in calling the righteous to repentance. Modern preachers are trying to bring men into the Church without requiring them to relinquish their pride; they are trying to help men avoid the conviction of sin. The preacher gets up into the pulpit, opens the Bible, and addresses the congregation somewhat as follows: "You people are very good," he says; "you respond to every appeal that looks toward the welfare of the community. Now we have in the Bible--especially in the life of Jesus--something so good that we believe it is good enough even for you good people." Such is modern preaching. It is heard every Sunday in thousands of pulpits. But it is entirely futile. Even our Lord did not call the righteous to repentance, and probably we shall be no more successful than He.
J. Gresham Machen - Chapter 2
In Chapter 2 Machen points out that the modern liberal preacher has a very different conception of God and man than that which is found in Scripture. What Machen has effectively done here is set you up for a proper understanding of the Law and Gospel. God reveals himself most specifically through the written word, and while our conception of God may be in part experiential, our experience isn't what has the last word on who we know God to be. In other words, experience is enough to grasp that there is a God, and that he is even a good and personal God. But experience alone cannot dictate our understanding of who God is. He has revealed himself to us through Scripture as well.
And we cannot have a proper understanding of ourselves apart from an understanding of God. One has to follow the other. Therefore, if our conception of God is contrary to that which is found in Scripture, so our view of man be inaccurate. We will inevitably make ourselves look better than we are.
Our understanding of who God is and who we are are summed up in Doctrinal terms. In other words, we need good Doctrine.
The word doctrine these days often conjures up feelings of old, boring, dry, "dead orthodoxy." The phrase "dead orthodoxy" is, in my opinion, a contradiction in terms and more of a perception than anything possibly true. But where "doctrine" is dismissed it is invariably replaced with a heap of exhortations which are powerless to save and burdensome to those who try to obey.
Hence the conclusion of Machen. A wrong view of God (ignorance of Biblical doctrine) leads to a view of man that presupposed the inherent goodness of man, which then reduces the task of the preacher to calling his congregation to mere good deeds. It does not create a repentant heart, and certainly doesn't lead to holiness.
Most importantly, it removes the Gospel, which has the power to save...
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