John Gresham Machen was born on this day in 1881 to an Episcopalian father and a Presbyterian mother, who taught him the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Machen was a brilliant student and came to embrace the Reformed faith, especially after exposure to liberalism during his studies in
Machen fought many battles with modernism (the new form of liberalism) during the 1920s and ‘30s. In 1924 he gave an address at the Moody Founder’s Week Conference, in which he said,
There are three possible attitudes which you may take in the present conflict. In the first place, you may stand for Christ. That is the best. In the second place, you may stand for anti-Christian Modernism. That is next best. In the third place, you may be neutral. That is perhaps worst of all. The worst sin today is to say that you agree with the Christian faith and believe in the Bible, but then make common cause with those who deny the basic facts of Christianity. Never was it more obviously true that he that is not with Christ is against Him. (quoted by David O. Beale, In Pursuit of Purity, p. 159)
It’s interesting that Machen considered compromise worse than outright opposition to Christ. Maybe that reflects the Lord’s attitude in Revelation 3:15-16—“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (NASB).
The time in which Machen lived called for decisiveness, just like today. Unbelief challenges Christianity in every generation. When unbelief infiltrates positions of influence over God’s people, Christians are faced with the question of authority: to whom must we submit—to God or to man? This question came up in the life of J. Gresham Machen, and Machen chose to remain true to God’s Word. For this he was tried by his Presbyterian denomination and suspended from the ministry without even being allowed to speak in his own defense. This action shocked many in the religious world, even unbelievers. Machen was charged with many grievous “violations” that made it appear as if he had transgressed the Law of God. Ironic, since it was his accusers who had departed from the faith. The result of this travesty was the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936.
What can we learn from a life that was frequently characterized by, and remembered mainly for, lengthy controversy? One lesson is that those who earnestly contend for the faith are not all ignoramuses. Machen and Warfield are prime examples. To believers who mistrust scholarship I would say that ignorance is no virtue. Scholarship does not necessarily lead to religious skepticism, unbelief, or a cold orthodoxy. Like Warfield, Machen was a thorough student and scholar of the Word. But he remained true to the faith, in spite of exposure to, and engagement with, liberal teachers. Also, he used the controversy to glorify the Lord and spread the faith through the books he wrote. Some fundamentalists and other conservatives would do well to forsake anti-intellectual attitudes and to dedicate themselves to thorough study of God’s Word, theology, church history, etc. I speak as a fundamentalist myself.
Another lesson is that if we are true to Christ, conflict will come. We need not and should not go looking for it to prove we are true. Let the Lord pick your fights; don’t do it yourself. And when the fight comes, remember, you are representing Jesus Christ to lost souls and setting an example for God’s people. Fight faithfully and vigorously, yet humbly, keeping watch over your spirit.
Speaking of our spirit in times of conflict for the faith, Machen’s own spirit and motive are revealed in a telegram he sent to his colleague John Murray as Machen lay dying: “I’m so thankful for [the] active obedience of Christ. No hope without it” (Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir, p. 508). Machen was a warrior because he had to be. The Lord had given him that lot. But Machen’s focus was Christ, not himself. His goal was the glory of God, not his own glory. The substitutionary atonement of Christ saw him through life with its struggles; it would now see him across the river and into the
See Wikipedia for a good article on Machen.
Biographies of J. Gresham Machen:
- Stonehouse, Ned B. J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir. (WTS)
- Hart, D. G. Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- Nichols, Stephen J. J. Gresham Machen: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
Books by J. Gresham Machen include:
- Christianity and Liberalism. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (June 1923), 194 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- What is Faith? Banner of Truth; New Ed edition (December 1, 1996), 264 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- The Virgin Birth of Christ. James Clarke Company (November 1, 1987), 432 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- New Testament Greek for Beginners. Prentice Hall; 2 edition (October 1, 2003), 400 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- The Origin of Paul's Religion. Solid Ground Christian Books (May 29, 2006), 344 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- The New Testament: An Introduction to Its History and Literature. Banner of Truth (June 1990), 387 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- God Transcendent. Banner of Truth (December 1996) (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- The Christian View of Man. Banner of Truth (June 1, 1965), 254 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- J. Gresham Machen Selected Shorter Writings. Edited by D. G. Hart. P & R Publishing (February 2004), 590 pages. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- Christianity, Liberalism and the New Evangelicalism: Lessons from J. G. Machen by Carl R. Trueman. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- Historic Christianity: Selections from the Writings of J. G. Machen. Edited by Carl R. Trueman. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- Chrisope, Terry A. Toward a Sure Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Dilemma of Biblical Criticism. (Amazon | CBD | WTS)
- J. Gresham Machen's The Gospel and the Modern World And Other Short Writings. Edited by Stephen J. Nichols. (WTS)
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