Jesus
This week’s chapter was on Jesus. Machen is explaining what he believed were some of the most important doctrine to know about Jesus. My focus of this chapter will be on just a few of Machem’s points: Jesus is the object of faith, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, and Liberalism tried to bypass Jesus and have a relationship without him.
First, Machen begins by talking about how Jesus was everything to Paul. He wrote, “Jesus was not for Paul merely an example for faith; He was primarily the object of faith. The religion of Paul did not consist in having faith in God like the faith which Jesus had in God; it consisted rather in having faith in Jesus.” (70, Machem) What does Machen mean by this?
When I first read this, I was confused because I didn’t think Machen was trying to say that Paul objectified Jesus and turned him into an object in any way. Instead, what Machen was referring to is how Jesus is the very center of Paul’s faith. This is congruent with Scripture; consider Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (emboldened for emphasis) That word “perfecter” is transliterated as “teleiōtēs” which means “finisher.” What does this mean? Jesus is at the very end of faith. Jesus is central to faith; he is the beginning and the end. This is crucial to understand; especially in light of Machen’s next point.
Second, Machen explains how Jesus did claim to be the Messiah. Machen writes, “Jesus most certainly did not keep His Person out of His gospel, but on the contrary presented Himself as the Saviour of men… not merely as an example for faith, but as the object of faith.” (72, Machen) What I thought was interesting was where Machen took this point. Instead of just leaving it at that, he begins to talk about how Jesus does not convey a message that makes him appealing to trust. He writes, “Jesus did not invites the confidence of men by minimizing the load which He offered to bear… There is nothing in Jesus’ teaching about the character of God which in itself can evoke trust. On the contrary the awful presentation can give rise, in the hearts of us sinners, only to despair. Trust arises only when we attend to God’s way of salvation. And that way is found in Jesus.” (72-73, Machen)
When I first read this, I wasn’t so sure I agreed with Machen. True, Jesus never minimized the load he had to bear or what he asks his followers to do. He was rather blunt occasionally. Remember those passages about hating your family but actually, it’s about loving Jesus more than anything - even your family…? (Luke 14:26)
But then I read and re-read the next paragraph. “On the contrary, he invited confidence by the presentation of His own wondrous Person. Great was the guilt of sin, but Jesus was greater still. God, according to Jesus, was a loving Father; but He was a loving Father, not of the sinful world, but of those whom He Himself had brought into His Kingdom through the Son.” (73, Machen) And this made sense to me. I think Jesus was a trustworthy guy because of who he was. He had sermons, sure, but his life was also his message. He never said, “My words are the way, the truth, and the life.” but he did say that he is. The very Person of Jesus is trustworthy.
Finally, Machen explained what Liberalism at the time was trying to do. Instead of Jesus being the object of faith, Liberal preachers had made Jesus as just an example of faith. Jesus, the greatest Christian to ever live and everyone should be like Jesus. Whoa, whoa, whoa there! Yeah, we were formed to be transformed into the likeness and character of Jesus but Jesus is the beginning and end of faith, not just a good role model. Jesus is the Messiah and savior of the world, not just a guy who did things right. Machen puts it like this, “The modern liberal tries to have faith in God like the faith which he supposes Jesus had in God; but he does not have faith in Jesus. According to modern liberalism, in other words, Jesus was the Founder of Christianity because He was the first Christian, and Christianity consists in maintenance of the religious life which Jesus instituted.” (73, Machen) This actually reminds me of Islam but I can see how some Christians may see Jesus as just a great guy who started Christianity. Jesus was sinless; fully man and fully God. And this is where our human minds can’t quite comprehend the paradoxical nature of God. Modern liberals, in particular, find themselves in a quandary. And thus is Machen’s argument.
Next week’s chapter is titled Salvation. We’ll see how Machen identifies core arguments from modern liberals in that chapter next week.
First, Machen begins by talking about how Jesus was everything to Paul. He wrote, “Jesus was not for Paul merely an example for faith; He was primarily the object of faith. The religion of Paul did not consist in having faith in God like the faith which Jesus had in God; it consisted rather in having faith in Jesus.” (70, Machem) What does Machen mean by this?
When I first read this, I was confused because I didn’t think Machen was trying to say that Paul objectified Jesus and turned him into an object in any way. Instead, what Machen was referring to is how Jesus is the very center of Paul’s faith. This is congruent with Scripture; consider Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (emboldened for emphasis) That word “perfecter” is transliterated as “teleiōtēs” which means “finisher.” What does this mean? Jesus is at the very end of faith. Jesus is central to faith; he is the beginning and the end. This is crucial to understand; especially in light of Machen’s next point.
Second, Machen explains how Jesus did claim to be the Messiah. Machen writes, “Jesus most certainly did not keep His Person out of His gospel, but on the contrary presented Himself as the Saviour of men… not merely as an example for faith, but as the object of faith.” (72, Machen) What I thought was interesting was where Machen took this point. Instead of just leaving it at that, he begins to talk about how Jesus does not convey a message that makes him appealing to trust. He writes, “Jesus did not invites the confidence of men by minimizing the load which He offered to bear… There is nothing in Jesus’ teaching about the character of God which in itself can evoke trust. On the contrary the awful presentation can give rise, in the hearts of us sinners, only to despair. Trust arises only when we attend to God’s way of salvation. And that way is found in Jesus.” (72-73, Machen)
When I first read this, I wasn’t so sure I agreed with Machen. True, Jesus never minimized the load he had to bear or what he asks his followers to do. He was rather blunt occasionally. Remember those passages about hating your family but actually, it’s about loving Jesus more than anything - even your family…? (Luke 14:26)
But then I read and re-read the next paragraph. “On the contrary, he invited confidence by the presentation of His own wondrous Person. Great was the guilt of sin, but Jesus was greater still. God, according to Jesus, was a loving Father; but He was a loving Father, not of the sinful world, but of those whom He Himself had brought into His Kingdom through the Son.” (73, Machen) And this made sense to me. I think Jesus was a trustworthy guy because of who he was. He had sermons, sure, but his life was also his message. He never said, “My words are the way, the truth, and the life.” but he did say that he is. The very Person of Jesus is trustworthy.
Finally, Machen explained what Liberalism at the time was trying to do. Instead of Jesus being the object of faith, Liberal preachers had made Jesus as just an example of faith. Jesus, the greatest Christian to ever live and everyone should be like Jesus. Whoa, whoa, whoa there! Yeah, we were formed to be transformed into the likeness and character of Jesus but Jesus is the beginning and end of faith, not just a good role model. Jesus is the Messiah and savior of the world, not just a guy who did things right. Machen puts it like this, “The modern liberal tries to have faith in God like the faith which he supposes Jesus had in God; but he does not have faith in Jesus. According to modern liberalism, in other words, Jesus was the Founder of Christianity because He was the first Christian, and Christianity consists in maintenance of the religious life which Jesus instituted.” (73, Machen) This actually reminds me of Islam but I can see how some Christians may see Jesus as just a great guy who started Christianity. Jesus was sinless; fully man and fully God. And this is where our human minds can’t quite comprehend the paradoxical nature of God. Modern liberals, in particular, find themselves in a quandary. And thus is Machen’s argument.
Next week’s chapter is titled Salvation. We’ll see how Machen identifies core arguments from modern liberals in that chapter next week.
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