The Imperative Is Grounding the Imperative

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The imperative is grounded in the indicative. And without the indicative, there is no one. So I could talk about the indicative in terms of creation. There's a creational indicative. He made us and made us to be sons of God. That was his first son that he made to rule the earth and cultivate it. Then from that indicative, from what God has done with and for Adam and Eve, comes the imperative, be fruitful and multiply and cultivate the garden. In the same way now in the state of redemption, it is precisely because I have been ransomed from my wicked forefathers we are called to be holy as he is holy.

What’s in a name?

In the past, when Christians talked about Jesus, it was safe to assume we were talking about the son of God become man who conquered death to save the lost. You know, the person the Bible’s about.

But with the rise of liberal theology in the 19th and 20th centuries, that meaning began to change. At least for some people. Christ, liberal theologians said, might be better understood as an idea, a metaphor, or a good example, rather than the sinless supernatural savior who accomplished our redemption in the first century.

This was J. Gresham Machen’s line in the sand in 1923. If we don’t worship the same Christ, Machen said, we don’t have the same religion.

Politics. Technology. Identity. Power. Science. Everything seems to be changing. So why not faith?

Visit christianityandliberalism.com for more on the book, audiobook, and show.

Music: “Line in the Sand (C&L)” by Timothy Brindle Produced by Nobody Special Wrath and Grace Records Music Licensing Codes: G80CW5LAONGBUAXB BYDTC3Y8K96ACYJ2