June 1925
TH E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
249
The_§e£arateness of the Church, or “Savorless Salt” By J , Gresham Machen A Sermon P reached in th e Chapel of P rinceton Theological Seminary on Sunday, March 8, 1925
M att. S itS i “ Ye are th e s a lt of th e e a rth : b u t if th e s a lt have lo st b t “ VOUKr’t 'r hT With sha11 !t be ^ l ‘ed ? it is th en cefo rth good for nothing, b u t to be c a s t out, and to be trodden u n d er foot of m en.” H g |lN these words our Lord established a t the very | | j beginning the distinctness and separateness of the § || Church. If the sharp distinction is ever broken down between the Church and the world, then the power of th e Church is gone. The Church then becomes like sa lt th a t has lost its savor, and is fit only to be cast out and to bei trodden under foot of men. This is a g reat principle, and th ere never has been a tim e in all the centuries of Christian history when it has not had to be taken to h eart. The really serious attack upon Chris tian ity has not been the attack carried on by fire and sword, by th e th re a t of bonds or death, bu t the more subtle attack th a t has been masked by friendly words; no t th e attack from w ithout bu t from w ithin. The enemy has done his deadliest work when he has come w ith words of love and compromise and peace. And how p ersisten t th e attack has been! Never in th e centuries of the Church’s life has it been altog ether relaxed; always there has been th e deadly chemical process, by which, if it had been unchecked, th e precious sa lt would have been merged w ith th e insipidity of th e world, and would have been thenceforth good for nothing bu t to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. In Christ’s Day The process began a t the very beginning, in th e days when our Lord still walked th e Galilean hills. There were many in those days who heard Him gladly: He enjoyed a t first the. favor of the people. But in th a t favor He saw a deadly peril; He would have nothing of a half-discipleship th a t m eant the m erging of th e company of His disciples w ith th e world. How ruthlessly He checked a sentim ental enthusiasm ! “Let the dead bury th e ir dead,” He told the en thu siast who came eagerly to Him bu t was not w illing a t once to forsake all. “One th ing thou lackest,” He said to the rich young ru ler, and the young man w ent sorrow ful away. T ruly Jesus did not make it easy to be a follower of Him. He th a t is not w ith me,” He said, “is against me.” “ If any man come to me, and hate not his fath er, and mother, and wife and children . . . , he cannot be my disciple.” How serious a th ing it was in those days to stand for Christ! And it was a serious th ing not only in th e sphere of con duct bu t also in the sphere of thought. There could be no g reater m istake th a n to suppose th a t a man in those days could th ink as he liked” and still be a follower of Jesus. On th e contrary th e offence lay ju st as much in th e sphere of doctrine as in the sphere of life. There were “hard say ings,” then as now, to be accepted by the disciples of Jesus, as well as hard commands. “ I am th e bread which came down from heaven,” said Jesus. I t was indeed a hard say
ing. No wonder the Jews m urm ured at Him. “ Is not this Jesus,” they said, “ the son of Joseph, whose fath e r and m other we know? how is it then th a t he saith, I came down from heaven.” “How can th is man give us his flesh to e a t? ” Jesus did not make the th ing easy for these mur- murers. “Then Jesus said unto them , Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat th e flesh of th e Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life, in you.” A t th a t many even of His disciples were offended. “This is a hard say ing,” they said; “who can .h ear it? ” And so they left Him. “F rom th a t tim e many of his disciples went back and walked no more w ith him .” Many of them went back__ bu t not all. “Then said Jesus unto th e twelve, W ill ye also go away? Then Simon P eter answered him , Lord, to whom shall we go? thou h ast the words of etern al life.” Thus was the precious salt preserved. Then came th e gathering clouds, and finally th e Cross. In the hou r of H is agony they all le ft H im and fled; appar ently th e movement th a t He had in itiated was hopelessly dead. But such was not th e will of God. The disciples were sifted, bu t th ere was still something left. P ete r was f o r i given; th e disciples saw the risen Lord; th e sa lt was still preserved. In th e E arly Church One hundred and tw enty persons were gathered in Je ru salem. It was not a large company; bu t salt, if it tru ly have its savor, can perm eate th e whole lump. The Spirit came in accordance w ith our L o rd ’s promise, and P ete r preached the first sermon in the Christian Church. It was hardly a concessive sermon. “Him being delivered by the deter m inate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain .” How unkind P eter was! But by th a t merciful unkindness they were pricked in th eir hearts, and th ree thousand souls were saved. So th ere stood th e first Christian Church in th e m idst of a hostile world. A t first sight it m ight have seemed to be a mere Jew ish sect; the disciples continued to attend the temple services and to lead the life of Jews. But in reality th a t little company was as separate as if it had been sh u t off by desert wastes or the wide reaches of th e sea; an invisible barrier, to be crossed only by the wonder of the new birth, separated the disciples of Jesus from the surrounding world. “Of the rest,” we are told, “ du rst no man join him self to them .” “And fear came upon every soul.” So it will always be. When the disciples of Jesu s are really faithful to th e ir Lord, they inspire fear; even when Christians are despised and persecuted and harried, they have sometimes made th e ir persecutors secretly afraid. But afte r those persecutions, th ere came in th e early Church a tim e of peace— deadly, menacing, deceptive peace, a peace more dangerous by far th an th e b itterest war. Many
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker