Christianity Without Christ
by Charles Hodge (1823-1886)
In one sense of the word, Christianity is the system
of truth taught by Christ and his apostles. In this sense the question, what is
Christianity? is simply a historical one. It may be answered intelligently and
correctly by a man who does not profess to be a Christian, just as he may
answer the question, what is Brahmism? or, what is Buddhism?
In another sense, Christianity is that state
of one's mind produced by faith in the truths revealed concerning Christ. In
this sense, Christianity without Christ is an impossibility. It would be an
effect without its proximate cause. Nevertheless, there is a form of religion,
widespread and influential, which is called Christianity, in which Christ fails
to occupy the position assigned to him in the Bible.
The Bible teaches us, that the same divine
person by whom God for whom the universe was created, is the Jehovah of the Old
Testament and the Jesus of the New. And as natural religion (in the subjective
sense of the word) is that state of mind which is, or should be, produced by
the revelation of God in the works of nature, and by our relation to him as his
rational creatures; and as the religion of the devout Hebrew consisted in the
state of mind produced by the revelation of the same God, made in the law and
the prophets, and by their relation to him as their covenant God and Father; so
Christianity is that state of mind produced by the knowledge of the same God,
as manifest in the flesh, who loved us and gave himself for us, and by our
relation to him as the subjects of his redemption.
Three things follow from this: first, as the
same divine person is the Creator of heaven and Earth, the Jehovah of the Old
Testament and the Jesus of the New, there can be no inconsistency between the
religion of nature, the religion of the Hebrews, and the religion of
Christians. The one does not assume that to be true, which either of the others
assumes to be false. The only difference is that which arises from increased
knowledge of the object of worship, and the new relations which we sustain to
him. The Hebrews, in worshiping Jehovah did
not cease to worship the God of nature; and the Christian, in worshiping Christ,
does not cease to worship the God of the Hebrews.
Second, it is impossible that the higher
form of religion should be merged into a lower. It is impossble that the
religion of a Hebrew should sink into natural religion. That would imply that
he ceased to be a Hebrew, that he rejected the revelations of Moses and the
prophets, and that he renounced his allegiance to Jehovah as the God of his
fathers. In like manner, it is impossible that the religion of a Christian can
sink into that of the Old Testament, or into that of nature. That would imply
that he ceased to be a Christian; that he rejected or ignored all that the New
Testament reveals concerning God and Christ. There could be no true religion in
the mind of a Hebrew that was not determined by his relation to Jehovah as his
covenant God; and there can be no true religion in the mind of a Christian that
is not determined by his relation to Christ as God manifested in the flesh.
Third, the Christian, in worshiping Christ,
does not cease to worship the Father and the Spirit. He does not fail to
recognize and appreciate his relation to the Father, who loved the world and
gave his Son for its redemption; nor does he fail to recognize his relation to
the Holy Spirit, on whom he is absolutely dependent, and whose gracious office
it is to apply to men the redemption purchased by Christ. In worshiping Christ,
we worship the Father and the Spirit; for these three are one — one only living and true God, the same in
substance and equal in power and glory. Christ says, I am in the Father and the
Father in me. I and the Father are one. He that hath seen me, hath seen the
Father; and therefore, he that worships the Son, worships the Father. Hence, it
is written, "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father,"
but, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth
in him, and he in God." "He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath
not the Son of God, hath not life." It is to be remembered, however, that
in the mysterious constitution of the Godhead, the second person of the Trinity
is the Logos, the Word, the Revealer. It is through him that God is known. He
is the brightness of his glory, revealing what God is. We should not know that
there is a sun in the firmament, if it were not for his (apaugasma). So we
should not know that God is, or what he is, were it not for his Son. "No
man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son shall reveal
him." In having Christ, therefore, we have God; for in him dwelleth the
fullness of the Godhead.
It does not need to be proved that Jehovah
was the God of the Hebrews; the object of their worship, of their love,
gratitude, and trust. They recognized him as their absolute and rightful
sovereign, whose authority extended over their inward As well as their outward
life. On him they were dependent, .And to him they were responsible. His favor
was their life, and they could say, "Whom have we in heaven but thee, and
there is none on earth we desire beside thee."
As little does it require proof that Christ is the God of Christians. In the
New Testament all divine titles are given to him. He is called God, the true
God, the great God, God over all, Jehovah. He is declared to be almighty,
omnipresent, immutable, and eternal. He created heaven and earth; all things
visible and invisible were made by him and for him, and by him all things
consist. He upholds all things by the word of his power. This divine person
became flesh; he was found in fashion as a man, and in the form of a servant.
Having been born of a woman, he was made under the law, and fulfilled all
righteousness. He redeemed us from the come of the law by .being made a come
for us. He bore our sins in his own body ,on the tree. He died the just for the
unjust, to bring us unto God, and having died for our offenses, and risen again
for our .justification, has ascended to heaven, where lie is seated on the
right hand of God, all power in heaven and earth being committed to his hands,
and where he ever lives to make intercession for his people. This Christ, God
and man, in two distinct natures and one person forever, was to the writers of
the New Testament all and in all. He was; their wisdom; from him they derived
all their knowledge of divine things, and to his teaching they implicitly
submitted. He was their righteousness; renouncing all dependence on their own
righteousness, they trusted exclusively on the merit of his obedience and death
for their acceptance with God. He was their sanctification. Their spiritual
life was derived from him and sustained by him. They were in him as the branch
is in the vine, or the members in the body, so that it was not they who lived,
but Christ who lived in them. Without him they could do nothing; they could no
more bring forth the fruits of holy living separated from him than a branch can
bear fruit when separated from the vine, nor than the body can live when
separated from the head. They felt themselves to be in him in such a sense,
that what he did, they did. They died with him. They rose with him. What he is,
they become. What he has, they receive, all in their measure — that is, as much as they can hold. They are
filled with the fullness of God in Him.
This being so, it follows, of course, that Christ was to them the object of
divine worship and of all the religious affections, of adoration, of supreme
love, of trust, of submission, of devotion He was their absolute sovereign and
proprietor by the double right of creation and redemption. Love to him was the
motive, his Will the rule, his glory the end of their obedience. it It was
Christ for them to live. Living or dying, they were the Lord's. They enforced
all moral duties out of regard to him; wives were to obey their husbands,
children their parents, servants their masters, for Christ's sake. Christians
were commanded not to utter a contaminating word in a brother's ear because he
belonged to Christ; they endeavored to preserve their personal purity, because
their bodies were the members of Christ. The blessedness of heaven in their
view consisted in being with Christ, in beholding his glory, enjoying his love,
in being like him, and in being devoted to his services. It is a simple fact,
that such was the Christianity of the writers of the New Testament Their
religious life terminated on Christ, and was determined by their relation to
him. He was their God, their Saviour, their prophet, priest, and king; they
depended on his righteousness for their justification; they looked to him for
sanctification. He was their life, their way, their end. If they lived, it was
for him; if they died, it was that they might be with him. They did not attempt
to reform or to save me, on the principles of natural religion, or by a process
of moral culture. These had their place, but they are inadequate and absorbed
in a higher moral power. Paul, in writing to Titus, speaking of Christians
before their conversion, says: "They were sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful, and hating me another. But after the kindness and love of God our
Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and the
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus
Christ our Saviour, that, being justified by grace, we should be heirs
according to the promise, of eternal life." They, therefore, labored for
the reformation and salvation of men, by going everywhere preaching Christ as
the only Saviour from sin.
What Christianity was in the hearts of the
apostles, it has been in the hearts of Christians of all ages, and in all parts
of the world. Of this, every Christian has the evidence in his own experience.
Christ is to him both God and man-God manifest in the flesh; God surrounded by
the rainbow of humanity, which softens, diversifies, and beautifies his rays.
Christ he worships, trusts, loves, and obey,. Christ is his wisdom, his
righteousness, his sanctification, his redemption. Christ is ever near him, so
that he can be spoken to, appealed to, and communed with; a present help in
every time of needChrist is the Christian's portion for time and for eternity.
With Christ he has everything, and without him he has nothing.
The experience of one Christian is the experience of all. This is the
conscious bond of their union. The hymns which live through all ages, are hymns
of praise to Christ. All Protestants can join with St. Bernard, when he says:
"Jesus, the very thought of Thee, With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter
far Thy face to see, And in Thy presence rest. When once Thou visitest the
heart, Then light begins to shine, Then earthly vanities depart; Then kindles
love divine. Jesus, our only joy be Thou, As Thou our prize shalt be; Jesus, be
Thou our glory now, And through eternity." "JESUS, OUR BEING'S HOPE AND END." They can also join with
that other Bernard, who says of heaven: "The Lamb is all thy splendor, The
Crucified thy praise, His laud and benediction, His ransomed people
raise." What is true of the Christianity of the mediaeval saints, is true
of believers now. Toplady's hymn "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," finds
a response in every Christian heart, So does his hymn... "Compared with
Christ, in all besides, No comeliness I see; The one thing needful, clearest
Lord, Is to be one with Thee." "Thyself bestow; for Thee alone, I
absolutely pray." "Less than Thyself will not suffice, My comfort to
restore: More than Thyself I cannot have; And Thou canst give no more."
Cowper expresses the hopes and feelings of every believer in his hymn,
"There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins; And
sinners Plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."
Every Christian can join with Newton in
saying, "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds, In a believer's cars; It
soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his team. It makes the
wounded spirit whole, And calms the troubled breast; 'Tis manna to the hungry
soul, And to the weary rest." "He is a rock, a shield, a hiding-place,
a never-failing treasury." "Jesus, my Shepherd, Husband, Friend, My
Prophet, Priest, and King, My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, Accept the praise
I bring." "When I see Thee as Thou art, I'll praise Thee as I
ought." In like manner, Keble makes Christ everything to the believer.
"Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear, It is not night, if Thou be
near." "Abide with me from morn to eve, For without Thee, I cannot.
live; Abide with me when night is nigh; For without Thee, I dare not die."
"Come near to bless-us when we wake, Ere through the world our way we
take; Till, in the ocean of Thy love, We lose ourselves in heaven above."
Wesley's hymn, "Jesus, lover of my soul," is on the lips of every
English- speaking Christian. All look up to him as a guide, as their refuge,
their trust, their only source of strength, as their all, more than a1l — as the source of spiritual and eternal life.
In another hymn he says: "I thirst, I pine, I die to prove, The wonders of
redeeming love, The love of Christ to me. Thy only love do I require; Nothing
on earth beneath desire, Nothing in heaven above. Let earth, and heaven, and
all things go, Give me Thy only love to know, Give me Thy only love."
Again, "Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, My dear Redeemer's praise, The
glories of my God and 'King, The triumphs of his grace," etc., etc. So Dr,
Watts, "Dearest of all the names above, My Jesus and my God."
"Till God in human flesh I see, My thoughts no comfort find."
"But, if Immanuel's face appear, My hope, my joy begins."
"Jesus, my God, Thy blood alone, Has power sufficient to atone; Thy blood
can make me white as snow; No Jewish type could cleanse me so." 'To the
dear fountain of Thy blood, Incarnate God I fly, There let me wash my guilty
soul From sins of deepest dye." "A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fail, Be Thou my strength and righteousness, My Jesus and my
all." Volumes might be filled with such proofs of what Christianity is in
the hearts of Christians. It will be observed, it is not mainly Christ as a
teacher, as an example, nor even as the expiator of our sins — it is not mainly what He has done that is
rendered thus prominent; but what He is. He is God clothed in our nature, ever
with 'us, ever in us — our life, our
present joy, our everlasting portion; the one to whom we owe everything, from
whom we derive everything, who loves us with a love that is peculiar, exclusive
(that is, such a, he entertains for no other class of beings), and unspeakable.
In painful contrast with the Christianity
of the Bible and of the church, there is a kind of religion, very prevalent and
very influential, calling itself Christianity, which may be properly designated
Christianity without Christ. It might be all that it is, though Christ had
never appeared, or, at least, al. though our relation to him were entirely
different from what it really is.
The lowest form of this kind of religion
is that which assumes Christ to be a mere man, or, at most, merely a creature.
Then, of course, He cannot be an object of adoration, of supreme love, of
trust, and of devotion. The difference is absolute between the inward religious
state of those who regard Christ as a creature, and that of those who regard
him as God. If the one be true religion, the other is impiety.
It The second form of this religion admits
of higher views of the person of Christ, but it reduces Christianity to.
benevolence. And by benevolence is often meant nothing more than philanthropy.
The gospel is made to consist in the inculcation of the command, Love your
neighbor as yourself. All who approximately do this are called Christians.
Hence it is mid, that if all records concerning Christ should be blotted out of
existence, his religion could be evolved out of our own nature.
And hence, too, an
avowed atheist is told, that if he sits up all night with a sick child, he is a
Christian, whatever he may think. A popular poem
— popular because of the sentiment which it teaches — represents the recording angel as placing at
the head of those who love God, the name of the man who could only say;
"Write me as one who loves my fellow-men." The love of our fellow-men
is thus made the highest form of religion. This is below even natural religion.
It ignores God as well as Christ. Yet this is the doctrine which we find,
variously sugared over and combined, in poetry, in novels, in magazines, and
even in religious journals.
The doctrine which makes benevolence, the
desire or purpose to promote the happiness not of our fellow-men merely, but of
being in general, or all beings, logically, and often actually, results
essentially in the same thing. All religion, all moral excellence consists in
benevolence, Our only obligation is so to act as to promote the greatest good.
This is the motive and the end of obedience. According to the New Testament,
the motive to obedience is the love of Christ, the rule of obedience is the
will of Christ, and its end the glory of Christ. Every Christian is benevolent;
but his benevolence does not make him a Christian; his Christianity makes him
benevolent. Throughout all ages the men who have labored most and suffered most
for the good of others, have been Christians — men animated
and controlled by Christ's love to them, and by their love to Christ. It is
evident that the spiritual life — the inward religious state — of the man to whom it is Christ to live, is very different from that
of the man who lives for the happiness of the universe. A man might thus live
if there were no Christ.
Another form of religion in which Christ fails to occupy his proper
position, is that which assumes God to be merely a moral governor, of infinite
power and benevolence. Being infinitely benevolent, he desires the well being
of his kingdom. To forgive sin without some suitable manifestation of his
disapprobation of sin, would be inconsistent with a wise benevolence. Christ
makes that manifestation in his sufferings and death. Then he retires;
henceforth we have nothing to do with him; we have to deal with God on the
principles of natural religion; we must submit to his authority, obey his
commandments, and expect to be rewarded, not merely according to, but for, our
works. Christ merits nothing for us, we are not to look to him for
sanctification, or any other blessing. All he has done, or does, is to make it
consistent with the benevolence of God to forgive sin. Forgiveness of sin,
therefore, is the only benefit which God bestows on us on account of Christ.
This theory changes everything. Men me
rebellious subjects. It is now consistent in God to forgive them. He calls on
them to submit, to lay down their arms, then he is free to deal with them as
though they had never sinned. They must merit, not forgiveness — for that is granted on account of what Christ has done — but the reward promised to obedience; justification is simply pardon.
Conversion is that change which takes place in a man when he ceases to be
selfish, and becomes benevolent; ceases making his own happiness the end of his
life, and determines to seek the happiness of the universe. The essence of
faith is love, i.e., benevolence. It is hard to see, according to this theory,
in what sense Christ is our prophet, priest, and king; how He is our wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; what is meant by our being in
him as the branch is in the vine; or, what our Lord meant when He said,
"without me, ye can do nothing;" what was in Paul's mind when he
said, it is Christ for me to live, "it is not I that live, but Christ
liveth in me," and so on to the end. This is a different kind of religion
from that which we find in the Bible and in the experience of the church. As
the religion (in the subjective sense of the word) is different, so is the
preaching different, and so are the modes of dealing with sinners, and of
promoting reformation among men. Some go so far as to hold, that there can be
morality without religion; men are exhorted to be moral bemuse it is right,
because it will promote their own welfare, and make them respected and useful.
They we to become morally good by a process of moral culture, by suppressing evil
feelings and cherishing such as are good ones, by abstaining from what is wrong
and doing what is right.
Others take the higher ground of theism, or of natural religion, and bring
in considerations drawn from our relation to God as an infinitely perfect
being, our creator and preserver and father, who has rightful authority over
us, who has prescribed the rule of duty, and who rewards the righteous and
punishes the wicked.
All this is true and good in its place.
But it is like persuading the blind to see and the deaf to hew. This is not the
gospel. Christ is the only Saviour from sin, the only source of holiness, or of
spiritual life. The first step in salvation from sin is our reconciliation to
God. The reconciliation is effected by the expiation made by the death of
Christ (Rom. 5:10). It is his blood, and his blood alone, that cleanses from
sin. As long as men arc under the law, they bring forth fruit unto death; it is
only when freed from the law, freed from its inexorable demand of perfect
obedience and from its awful penalty, that they bring forth fruit unto God
(Rom. 7:4-6). Christ delivered us from the law as demanding perfect obedience,
by being made under the law, and fulfilling all righteousness for us; and he
redeems us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us — dying the just for the unjust, and bearing our sins in his own body on
the tree. Being thus reconciled unto God by his death, we are saved by his
life. He sends the Holy Spirit to impart to us spiritual life, and transforms
us more and more into his own image. The Spirit reveals to us the glory of
Christ and his infinite love. He makes us feel not only that we owe everything
to him, but that he himself is everything to us — our
present joy and our everlasting portion — our all in
all. Thus every other motive to obedience is absorbed and sublimated into love
to Christ and zeal for his glory. His people become like him, and as he went
about doing good, so do they. All this of course, is folly to the Greek. God,
however, has determined by the foolishness of preaching to save them who
believe. Pulmonary consumption is more destructive of human life than the
plague. So Christianity without Christ, in all its forms, the phthisis of the
church, is more to be dreaded than skepticism, whether scientific or
philosophical. The only remedy is preaching Christ, as did the apostles.
Two important facts are to be home in mind. First, the inward religious life
of men, as well as their character. and conduct, am determined by their
doctrinal opinions. Even the Edinburgh Review, years ago, said, "The
character of an age is determined by the theology of that age." Therefore,
any system of doctrine which assigns to Christ a lower position than that which
he occupies in the New Testament, must, in a like degree, lower the standard of
Christianity — that is, the religious
life of those calling themselves Christians. Second, nevertheless, it is
equally true that men are more governed by their practical than by their
speculative convictions. The idealist does not feel and act on his belief that
the external world has no real existence. In like manner, the religious life of
men is often determined more by the plain teaching of the Scriptures and by the
common faith of the church than by their theological theories. Hence, men have
often more of Christ in their religion than in their theology. It is, however,
of the last importance to remember, that sound doctrine is, under God, our only
security for true religion and pure morals. If we forsake the truth, God
forsakes us.