“The present time is not for ease or pleasure, but for earnest and prayerful work. A terrible crisis unquestionably has arisen in the Church. In the ministry of evangelical churches are to be found hosts of those who reject the gospel of Christ. By the equivocal use of traditional phrases, by the representation of differences of opinion as though they were only differences about the interpretation of the Bible, entrance into the Church was secured for those who are hostile to the very foundations of the faith!
And now there are some indications that the fiction of conformity to the past is to be thrown off, and the real meaning of what has been taking place is to be allowed to appear. The Church, it is now apparently supposed, has almost been educated up to the point where the shackles of the Bible can openly be cast away and the doctrine of the Cross of Christ can be relegated to the limbo of discarded subtleties.”
"There are congregations that are really gathered around the table of the crucified Lord; there are pastors that are pastors indeed. But such congregations in many cities, are difficult to find. Weary with the conflicts of the world, one goes into the church to seek refreshment for the soul. And what does one find? Too often, one finds only the turmoil of the world. The preacher comes forward, not with the authority of God’s Word permeating his message, not with human wisdom pushed far into the background by the glory of the Cross, but with human opinions about the social problems of the hour or easy solutions of the vast problem of sin. Such is the sermon and this the warfare of the world has entered even into the house of God. And sad indeed is the heart of the man who has come seeking peace.”
(These words were written 90 years ago – in 1921! By J. Gresham Machen, the founder of Westminster Theological Seminary; Christianity and Liberalism.)
And now there are some indications that the fiction of conformity to the past is to be thrown off, and the real meaning of what has been taking place is to be allowed to appear. The Church, it is now apparently supposed, has almost been educated up to the point where the shackles of the Bible can openly be cast away and the doctrine of the Cross of Christ can be relegated to the limbo of discarded subtleties.”
"There are congregations that are really gathered around the table of the crucified Lord; there are pastors that are pastors indeed. But such congregations in many cities, are difficult to find. Weary with the conflicts of the world, one goes into the church to seek refreshment for the soul. And what does one find? Too often, one finds only the turmoil of the world. The preacher comes forward, not with the authority of God’s Word permeating his message, not with human wisdom pushed far into the background by the glory of the Cross, but with human opinions about the social problems of the hour or easy solutions of the vast problem of sin. Such is the sermon and this the warfare of the world has entered even into the house of God. And sad indeed is the heart of the man who has come seeking peace.”
(These words were written 90 years ago – in 1921! By J. Gresham Machen, the founder of Westminster Theological Seminary; Christianity and Liberalism.)
