Less than two weeks before his death, J. Gresham Machen gave a radio address on the subject of Christ’s active obedience. This is a term that Bible scholars have used to describe Jesus’ life of perfect obedience to the law when he was on earth, and Machen was explaining the importance not just of Christ’s sacrificial death but also of his sinless life. Each of these provides a distinct benefit to us as Christians: his death being the satisfactory payment of the penalty for our sin, and his life being the positive merit of eternal life for all those who trust in him. In other words, because Jesus died for our sins we are freed from condemnation, and because he lived sinlessly we are credited with perfect righteousness that is from God. This entire subject is fascinating and important, but what caught my eye as I was reading this address was a statement concerning the importance as well as the limitations of trying to summarize the Bible’s teaching on this or any other subject. Here is what Machen said:
As I say that, I am fully conscious of the inadequacy of my words. I have tried to summarise the teaching of the Bible about the saving work of Christ; yet how cold and dry seems any mere human summary – even if it were far better than mine – in comparison with the marvellous richness and warmth of the Bible itself. It is to the Bible itself that I am going to ask you to turn with me next Sunday afternoon. Having tried to summarise the Bible’s teaching in order that we may take each part of the Bible in proper relation to other parts, I am going to ask you next Sunday to turn with me to the great texts themselves, in order that we may test our summary, and every human summary, by what God Himself has told us in His Word. Ah, when we do that, what refreshment it is to our souls! How infinitely superior is God’s Word to all human attempts to summarise its teaching! Those attempts are necessary; we could not do without them; everyone who is really true to the Bible will engage in them. But it is the very words of the Bible that touch the heart, and everything that we – or for the matter of that even the great theologians – say in summary of the Bible must be compared ever anew with the Bible itself.
In light of some recent conversations and the writing I have done about the nature of church documents such as confessions and covenants, this statement by Machen brings up a few key points that I find helpful and want to share with you. First, no man-made statement of faith can in any way rival the word of God. Machen confesses that his own words on the subject of Christ’s active obedience are “inadequate,” “cold,” and “dry” when compared to the Scriptures. No matter how well written a confession or creed may be, it is not to be equated with the life-giving word of God. Second, every man-made statement of faith must be compared to the word of God. In order to test a summary of the Bible’s teaching, we have to evaluate it in light of the clear statements of Scripture. This is the only way we can be sure that a statement made by man is an accurate reflection of God’s truth, because even the most well-intentioned works of men are prone to error, and only God fully sees and understands what is true. In light of these first two statements, we might wonder why we should bother trying to summarize the Bible’s teaching at all. If any man-made statement carries inherent risk of error, then why make such statements? But Machen answers these objections when he says that attempts to summarize biblical doctrine are “necessary,” that “we could not do without them,” and that all those who are true to God’s word “will engage in them.” Thus the third point: man-made statements of faith are necessary to remain true to the word of God.
This principle may not seem as obvious as the first two, but it is more than a mere opinion. First of all, when we set out to teach God’s word, we are forced to do more than simply read or state Bible verses; we have to teach what those verses mean and how they apply to the object of study. In other words, in order to teach or communicate God’s truth about any subject to another person, we are forced to try to summarize the various statements found in the Bible.
And Machen also suggests another reason for the necessity of man-made statements of faith when he says that we attempt to summarize the Bible’s teachings so that “we may take each part of the Bible in proper relation to other parts.” We recognize that God’s word is not merely a singular book but is a collection of writings spanning many centuries penned by numerous human authors. In order to be properly understood, then, the statements of Scripture must be compared with each other, so that the clearer statements can illuminate those which are more obscure. And while skeptics love to claim that the Bible is self-contradictory, we affirm that God’s word is true and cannot contradict itself, therefore, it is possible to harmonize the teachings of Scripture.
Writing a summary statement forces us to deal with all the teachings of the Bible on a particular subject. If we neglect to consider some verse or other, our statement will likely not harmonize all that Scripture says, and it will contradict itself and prove to be in error. So the discipline of writing statements of faith forces us to deal with all of Scripture, even those passages that are difficult to explain, and exposes our method of interpreting God’s word to criticism. In other words, we rely on the wisdom and insight of other believers to examine our statements of faith to see if we are truly taking all of God’s word into consideration and if we are rightly handling the Bible. This is why man-made statements of faith are necessary to remain true to God’s word.