Machum

Order of Service

• Prayer of Invocation
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: Machen, the Present Emergency, and the Enduring Answer

Scripture: Jude 3

I. The Present Emergency — Then and Now

A. J. Gresham Machen's 1935 radio addresses opened with a list of pressing crises: departure from the gold standard, unemployment, the National Recovery Administration, and FDR's Brain Trust B. Machen's point: the visible, tangible world presses on us so heavily it blinds us to what is ultimate C. The real emergency is not political or economic but spiritual — one's standing before a holy God D. Machen's conclusion: the only answer is found in "an old book" — Scripture

II. Machen's Consistent Message Across the Decades

A. 1915 Inaugural Lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary

1. Modern culture is in conflict with the Bible; the church faces a choice between compromise and faithfulness
2. Machen called the church to choose the Bible over accommodation to modernism
3. God is not a philosophical abstraction but a holy, mysterious Person who sent his Son to deliver sinners B. 1933 Statement on the church's responsibility
4. The church's responsibility in every age is the same: to testify that the world is lost in sin
5. Human history itself is but an infinitesimal island in the depths of eternity
6. The one truth: a holy, living God has revealed himself in his Word

III. The Ceaseless Struggle to Maintain the Truth

A. Machen's student Alan MacRae observed: all through church history there has been a ceaseless struggle to maintain the truth B. This struggle is not new — it appears in the pages of the New Testament itself

1. Jude 3 — Jude set aside his intended letter about "our common salvation" because it was necessary to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints"
2. Paul's letters address the same struggle in churches he planted C. The same struggle recurs in every era
3. Third and fourth centuries: the church contended for the truth of who Christ is, producing the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds
4. Sixteenth century: the gospel had been obscured by centuries of tradition; the Reformers contended for the truth, producing the Solas and the great Reformation confessions
5. Eighteenth century: the Enlightenment undermined scriptural authority
6. Early twentieth century: modernism, evolutionary thinking, and German higher criticism penetrated American seminaries — this was Machen's battle
7. Twenty-first century: the same struggle continues in new forms

IV. How the Church Guards Itself in Every Age

A. Stand on the Word of God as the sole authority — sola scriptura B. Pursue tota scriptura — preach and teach the whole Bible, book by book, verse by verse, so that no portion is neglected and every area of life falls under scriptural authority C. Train pastors well; where ministers are trained shapes the church D. Guard against consumerism and the constant demand for novelty in Christian publishing and ministry E. Heads of households must personally disciple their families; church activities must never replace the home as the primary place of instruction

1. Parents must speak Scripture in daily life, not delegate spiritual formation entirely to the church F. Know what you believe and why, and speak it clearly
2. Doctrinal clarity is jarring in a culture of vagueness, but it creates real conversation about truth
3. Beware of churches that use Reformed language without Reformed substance G. Individual Christians must examine themselves first — Matthew 7:3-5
4. Preach the gospel to yourself daily so that engagement with culture comes not from pride but from humility
5. The church is not merely on defense; grounded in preparation and the whole counsel of God, it stands on offense