Posted: Thursday, August 19, 2010 4:25 pm

The Messenger, Tuesday, August 19, 2010
A Consistent Contender
 for Biblical Christianity: Part 2
By BILLY L. MCGARITY
Special to The Messenger
The previous article served as a brief introduction to the life and early ecclesiastical career of J Gresham Machen. Last week’s article highlighted the difficulty of maintaining a body of truth, particularly Christian doctrine and practice, in light of the evolutionary nature of thought. This week, we will briefly consider the controversy Dr. Machen confronted in the early 20th century, as well as the lessons learned from his particular efforts in being the “Consistent Contender for Biblical Christianity.”
Dr. Machen eventually became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and he developed an astounding reputation as one of the leading New Testament scholars of the early 20th century. During his illustrious teaching career at Princeton Theological Seminary, Machen produced for the Christian church many beneficial works. The greatest and most enduring work, by this writer’s estimation, was his in-depth analysis of Christianity and Liberalism, published in 1923.
In “Christianity and Liberalism,” Machen explored five of the key tenets of the liberal thought and doctrine within the Christian Church. He came to the conclusion that theological Liberalism must be classified as a distinct religion separate from Christianity.
Machen proposed that Christianity was built upon the testimony of historical eyewitness accounts, and the nature of that witness was none other than objective propositional truth. These truth claims dealt with many supernatural events that must be embraced in order to retain the reality of what the Bible taught. If those propositions were denied, then Christianity did not exist. You had, instead, something altogether different.
In “Christianity and Liberalism,” Machen focused on five basic doctrinal distortions of Liberalism that sacrificed the Christian faith: (1) The doctrine of God and man; (2) The Bible; (3) Christ; (4) Salvation; and (5) The Church. Under Machen’s close, dissecting scrutiny, Liberalism was exposed as denying or distorting the core content of these critical doctrines and should thus be considered another religion.
Machen was very outspoken concerning the dangers of the Liberal movement, even though several members of his denomination had already embraced Liberalism. Eventually, this led to Machen’s defrocking and to the organization of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Westminster Theological Seminary.
Many Christian people today can identify with Machen and his dilemma. What is the Christian to do when it becomes apparent that the denomination they have faithfully supported for many years has come to the point of denying the very Gospel they are called to proclaim?  What is the Christian to do when they are tithing faithfully to a denomination that is funding various programs which are antithetical to the Word of God?  Many Christians have chosen to sit quietly and continue to send financial support to Liberal denominations that deny the Gospel through unbiblical doctrinal content and practice, while claiming that they do not support the very things that they are funding!
What has been revealed through the life of Machen is undoubtedly the most difficult struggle for the modern Christian.  We live in an era when contradiction and relativism are embraced at every turn, but faith as revealed in the Bible calls us to be consistent, salt and light, preserving a body of truth. The Christian cannot simply stick his head in the sand and deny the reality of what he chooses to support. Instead, we must strive to be, like Machen, consistent contenders for Biblical Christianity.
Editor’s note: The Rev. Billy L. McGarity is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and pastor of Grace Community Church (PCA) in Union City.