This book is the fourth in the
series “The Swans Are Not Silent” by John Piper. He writes three
brief biographies of great men of faith who faced controversy at
critical times in the life of the church. They contended for the
truth of God’s Word not because controversy was enjoyed or for
pride and recognition by others, but because the truth of the
gospel was at stake. The three men are Athanasius (298-373),
John Owen (1616-1683), and J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937). Each
in his own way faced the controversy against Christianity and
stood his ground for the cause of the truth as revealed in
Scripture alone. They faced the battle out of love for Christ
and for His Church.
Piper gives one a taste of the
lessons to be learned from the lives of these stalwarts of the
faith: “In view of the witness of church history and Scripture
to the necessity of controversy in this imperfect world, and the
compatibility of controversy and revitalization, we will do well
to learn as much as we can from those who have walked through
controversy and blessed the church in doing so. Athanasius and
Owen and Machen have done that. The lessons they have to teach
us are many.” Piper then reminds the reader that in the learning
“let us resolve to renounce all controversy-loving pride and all
controversy-fearing cowardice. And with humility and courage
(that is, with faith in the sovereign Christ) let us heed Martin
Luther’s warning not to proclaim only what is safe while the
battle rages around what is necessary.”
Athanasius was exiled and driven
out of his office five times during the great Arian controversy
as he defended the deity of Christ. When it seemed the whole
world had abandoned orthodoxy, the phrase “Athanasius contra
Mundum” (against the world) was coined. What lessons can be
drawn from Athanasius’ life? Here are several: “Defending and
explaining doctrine is for the sake of the gospel and our
everlasting joy,” “Joyful courage is the calling of a faithful
shepherd,” and “Loving Christ includes loving true propositions
about Christ.” You will find other wonderful lessons as well in
reading the book.
Piper quotes J.I. Packer
regarding John Owen as being the greatest of all Puritan
theologians. Owen lived and served in the middle of the great
Puritan century 1560 to 1660. After his conversion the driving
force of his life became communion with God and holiness of
life. He practiced his faith in a time of great controversy and
persecution. God in his good pleasure raised up Owen to serve in
various capacities as a pastor, as Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Oxford, and a chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and his
troops in Ireland and Scotland. From 1660 until his death in
1683 he was a fugitive pastor in London. He was the great
evangelical voice for independence against the Act of Uniformity
under Charles II and the Anglican Church. During all this time
he was a prolific writer of books and articles defending the
Reformed faith even though he later in his life became persuaded
toward the congregational form of government.
The deep desire of Owen’s heart
and life before God was the mortification of sin in his life
leading to holiness of life. The other thing that was a driving
force was his communion with God through contemplation of
Christ. Piper summarizes this thought, “In the midst of all his
academic and political and ecclesiastical labors he made many
visits to his Friend, Jesus Christ.” In Owen’s own words, “When
we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for—then
shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the
assaults of men.” Piper ends his biography with these words, “We
are debtors to his mighty pen and to the passion for God’s glory
and his own holiness that drove it.”
J. Gresham Machen wrote in his
book What Is Faith, “Controversy of the right sort is good; for
out of such controversy, as Church history and Scripture alike
teach, there comes the salvation of souls.” Piper takes the
reader back to the early twentieth century to discover the third
stalwart of the faith who should be emulated for the defense of
the truth in the face of what he termed another religion, namely
Modernism. Piper recounts how Machen met Modernism face-to-face
and was shaken profoundly in his faith under the influence of
Wilhelm Herrmann at the University of Marburg. By the grace of
God Machen came through this time without losing his evangelical
faith and he came to see that the Princeton theology was firmer
ground for life and joy. His experience in Germany also gave him
a basis for teaching and preaching that there needs to be both
intellectual credibility and joyful, passionate zeal for Christ.
Machen wrote, “Preaching doctrine should not be confusing or
boring…The preacher should present to his congregation the
doctrine that the holy Scripture contains; but he should fire
the presentation of that doctrine with devotion of the heart,
and he should show how it can be made fruitful for Christian
life.”
Some lessons to be learned from
Machen’s life and teaching are: • We should be honest, open,
clear, straightforward, and guileless in our use of language. •
His experience calls us to have patience with young strugglers
who are having doubts about Christianity. • His interaction with
modernism shows the value of a God-centered vision of all
reality—a worldview and theology that is driven by the supremacy
of God in all of life. There are more to be learned, but you
really need to read the book that will inspire you to defend the
truth more courageously, to love Christ and the Church more
deeply, and to live life with more holiness.
Richard Aeschliman 06/15/06
Back
to Equip
|
July
2006 Book Review
