Dependence upon a word of man would be slavish, but dependence upon God's word is life.
~ J. GRESHAM MACHEN
But the Book isn’t enough. The Book is meant to take us beyond itself.
Its words lead us to The Word. The Living Word.
Yet the Living Word continues to take us back to the Bible to learn even more about God. It’s a reliable cycle.
While reading Chapter 4 in Christianity and Liberalism with the Reading Classics Together group at Challies.com, the statements below from author J. Gresham Machen (1923) stood out to me.
They show a healthy perspective between the Bible and Jesus and our experience. I pray you’ll find meaning here as well.
Salvation does depend upon what happened long ago, but the event of long ago has effects that continue until today.
Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur; but it can never enable us to be Christians whether the events occurred or not.
It is a fair flower, and should be prized as a gift of God. But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies.
The Christian man finds in the Bible the very Word of God. Let it not be said that dependence upon a book is a dead or an artificial thing.
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Is the Bible alive for you?
8 comments:
Oooo! Oooooo! Oooooo! You've hit it right on again!
"But the Book isn’t enough. The Book is meant to take us beyond itself.
Its words lead us to The Word. The Living Word."
I keep a bookmark in my Bible that asks "What does this passage reveal about Jesus Christ?" It's not enough to get a great principle for the day, or a sin to avoid. It's about HIM. What does this command, this story, this incident reveal about the very heart of God. And based on that, how do I need to change to reflect His likeness in my own character?
Loved this post. Thank you so much for thought provoking, heart changing posts day after day.
That’s a great bookmark to keep in your Bible, Rebecca. I love that.
What you said reminds me of chapter 5 of that same book. Machen writes about looking to Jesus “not merely as an example for faith, but as the object of faith.”
Thanks for your encouraging words. They mean a lot to me. Your use of such words for your Lizzy is going to be an incredible gift to her!
awesome message Lisa....so true. I rarely read books twice but His...I need to read it again and again. I don't know how it does it but it just empowers me to reach for my best. Have a great day out there today....
Thank you! I have struggled lately with my Bible reading, not sure why but I have. I put it down for a bit and have been picking up and reading it, out of habit. I need to ask what does this say about Jesus - the author. Thank you.
Love this post.. It is a reliable cycle.. and what I've found in the cycle that I can read a scripture during a different phase in life and grab something totally different, something new. How many books can teach you over and over again through one verse? Just another glimpse of Him!
Thanks for sharing!
Misty
The Bible helps me to find direction.
I like that concept of a reliable cycle.
And the one about Christian experience being a fair flower until cut from its roots. I've run into people who count more heavily on their experience than the Word, which casts them farther adrift from its moorings.
Good thoughts! Thanks for sharing.
Great message, Lisa. They really do go together, the Bible and the author. Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Charlotte
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