I write these things
to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you
have eternal life (1 John 5:13, ESV).
Bible, doctrine, and the person of Christ are all central tenants
in a proper understanding of salvation. Salvation for the human soul is the
difference between death and life, and darkness and light. Paul writes in Ephesians,
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7, ESV). Because
of Christ, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love
the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14, ESV).
The truth of Christianity is that Christ died as a propitiation
for the sins of mankind. It is through the cross and only the cross that one
can receive salvation. However, in modern society, the centrality of the cross
is missing in a liberal society and even in modern Christianity. Machen states
this: “If the Cross is to be restored to its rightful place in Christian life, we
shall have to penetrate far beneath the modern theories to Him who loved us and
gave Himself for us” (Machen 101).
Machen presents the idea that the cross is offensive to the
world. Therefore, culture attempts to minimize the severity of the cross. Machen
states this: “The offense of the Cross is done away, but so is the glory and
the power” (Machen 105). Those in liberal circles fail to even present the
doctrine of the cross. They say that salvation is given to all and can be found
through anything. The world and liberalism have turned the precious doctrine of
the cross into something cheap, unimportant, and fickle, and as Machen points
out, this has not only corrupted the doctrine of the cross, but it has made a
mockery of the glory of God.
This mockery of the cross and the doctrine of salvation is
to be expected from the world. However, a far greater tragedy is the fact that
the church is falling prey to bowing to the whims of the world in regard to the
offensive of the cross. The church needs to regain a holy and devoted view of
the cross in order to present an effective message of the gospel.
In conclusion, the cross is not just a doctrine to be
respected or a path to follow to gain eternal life. The cross is so much more
than that. The cross is the emblem on which the perfect man, Jesus, died and
gave his very life so that we could be brought from death to life. This realization
should cause us to pray: “Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to thee! E’en though
it be a cross that raiseth me” (Machen 107). Our devotion to God does not need
to flow out of fear of judgment or a rule of law. On the contrary, our commitment
to Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the cross flows out of a life that has been
bought by the very high price of Christ’s life, and it grows in us a love and a
longing to be near the cross and near the character and perfection of Jesus
Christ.
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