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The Gospel & Evangelism

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The Gospel & Evangelism FALL 2014 • VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 The Gospel & Evangelism Fall 2014 • Vol. 11, No. 2 The Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Editor-in-Chief 2014 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Charles S. Kelley, Th.D. Bart Barber, Ph.D. Executive Editor First Baptist Church of Farmersville, TX Steve W. Lemke, Ph.D. Rex Butler, Ph.D. Editor & BCTM Director New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Adam Harwood, Ph.D. Managing Editor Nathan Finn, Ph.D. Suzanne Davis Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Research Assistant Eric Hankins, Ph.D. Patrick Cochran First Baptist Church, Oxford, MS Book Review Editors Archie England, Ph.D. Malcolm Yarnell, Ph.D. Dennis Phelps, Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry is a research institute of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary is located at 3939 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70126. BCTM exists to provide theological and ministerial resources to enrich and energize ministry in Baptist churches. Our goal is to bring together professor and practitioner to produce and apply these resources to Baptist life, polity, and ministry. The mission of the BCTM is to develop, preserve, and communicate the distinctive theological identity of Baptists. The Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry is published semiannually by the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry. Copyright ©2014 The Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. All Rights Reserved. CONTACT BCTM (800) 662-8701, ext. 8074 [email protected] www.baptistcenter.com SUBMISSIONS Visit the Baptist Center web site for submission guidelines. TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Introduction 1 Adam Harwood and Preston Nix What is the Gospel? 2 Blake Newsom Is the Gospel for All People or Only Some People? 16 Adam Harwood Does Regeneration Precede Faith? 34 David L. Allen What Were the Early SBC Leaders’ View of Salvation?: A View from the Mountains 53 Emir Caner Ministry Evangelism 68 Timothy W. Mims Spiritual Warfare and Evangelism 73 Gary Dennis Book Reviews 80 Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry Vol. 11, No. 2 © 2014 Editorial Introduction Adam Harwood, Ph.D. Adam Harwood is Associate Professor of Theology, occupying the McFarland Chair of Theology; Director of the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry; Editor,Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. & Preston Nix, Ph.D. Preston Nix is Professor of Evangelism and Evangelistic Preaching, occupying the Roland Q. Leavell Chair of Evangelism; Director of the Leavell Center for Evangelism and Church Health; Chairman of the Pastoral Ministries Division at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. his issue of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry is comprised of six articles and thirteen Tbook reviews, all of which are dedicated to the twin topics of the gospel or evangelism. In the first article, Blake Newsom, Dean of Chapel and Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching at NOBTS, dispels misconceptions then identifies the message of the gospel in the person and work of Christ. In the second article, Adam Harwood, Associate Professor of Theology at NOBTS, suggests that the answer to the question of whether the gospel is for all people or only some people depends on whether one affirms that God loves all or only some people salvificially, whether Christ died for all or only some people, and whether God desires to save all or only some people. In the third article, David Allen, Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Preaching at SWBTS, provides a comprehensive biblical-theological case against the view that regeneration precedes faith. In the fourth article, Emir Caner, President and Professor of History and Christian Studies at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia, surveys the historical landscape to clarify the soteriological and evangelistic perspectives of early Southern Baptists. In the fifth article, Timothy W. Mims, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Winona, Mississippi, advocates for and describes a model of ministry called ministry evangelism. In the sixth article, Gary Dennis, Pastor of Old Zion Hill Baptist Church in Independence, Louisiana, explores the reality of spiritual warfare when believers share the message of the gospel. The articles by Mims and Dennis draw upon their doctoral work at NOBTS in the area of evangelism. The six articles are followed by thirteen reviews, all written by NOBTS faculty or Ph.D. students. It is our desire that these articles and reviews will strengthen your understanding of the message of the gospel of Christ and motivate you to be a faithful witness for Jesus Christ. JBTM 2 What is the Gospel? Blake Newsom, Ph.D. Blake Newsom is Dean of Chapel, Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching, and Director of Mentoring for Pastoral Ministries at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Introduction hat is the gospel?” The question seemed simple enough, so without hesitation I “Wresponded in a relatively straightforward and unguarded manner by quoting 1 Cor 15:1–5, Now, brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you— unless you believed to no purpose. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.1 I followed up the quotation by highlighting the central message located within those verses: the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, for the sins of the world. After answering, I looked up, surveyed the pastor search committee that had lobbed the softball of a question (or so I thought), felt confident about my response to their opening question, and nonverbally communicated, “Next question, please.” “That’s not the gospel!” To say that I was stunned to hear those words rifling in response from one of the pastor search committee members would be a dramatic understatement. My bewilderment derived from two sources. First, to my knowledge, search committees do not typically start arguments with prospective staff members, though differing views might exist. So, 1Scripture quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible unless otherwise noted. The format- ting of these verses follows the English translation. JBTM Blake Newsom 3 I was somewhat surprised to have the answer to my first question so passionately challenged by a member of the search team. Second, and most alarming, was the reason for the glaring indictment leveled at me. I do not think that I am above having one of my statements challenged. But in this instance, I could not understand the reason for such a protest. Because I had completed two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from a respected seminary, having my understanding of the gospel challenged was a bit confusing. Did I not understand the gospel? Was I confused as to the most basic and fundamental of Christian teachings? My mind raced to understand how I could have answered incorrectly. To complicate matters further, the demurring committee member proceeded to enlighten me with the correct definition of the gospel. As the minutes and points of his explanation ticked away, I rehashed my original answer to determine the source of our disagreement over such a critical matter. Interestingly, my uncomfortable conversation in a pastor search committee interview is symptomatic of a more widespread issue within evangelical Christianity. We are having conversations and disagreements as to the message and content of the gospel, and these divergent views seem to be leading to contentious discussions about the foundation of our belief system. Far worse, confusion on the message and content of the gospel will cause significant issues among our churches, including creating ministers and congregations who are apathetic toward evangelism. Numerous voices have engaged recently in discussing this crucial doctrine. This article is my attempt to contribute to the discussion. I am not joining the conversation because I think I can articulate a better, deeper, or more unifying position than has been put forward. Rather, I am engaging simply to highlight a different approach. My intention in this article is to present a simple approach to understanding the core content of the gospel. We will begin by addressing some common misconceptions concerning the nature and content of the gospel. Three Misconceptions about the Gospel As a seminary professor, I have been exposed to several trendy views on the gospel from written and oral sources, some of which seem to be inadequate views that come with some serious problems. In identifying these views, my goal is not to stoke the fires of contentiousness, but to highlight some errant ideas about the gospel. To be clear, the views critiqued are all located within the realm of the broad, Christian tradition. My aim is to spotlight views of the gospel that are insufficient and problematic. I will begin by stating my response to three inadequate views. Formal Evangelism Presentations are not the Gospel First, formal evangelism presentations are not the gospel. In recent decades, a number of excellent (and some lower-quality) resources have been published for the purpose of helping believers present the gospel so that the lost might be saved. I am grateful for formal evangelism presentations because they encourage, inspire, and instruct people in evangelism, a practice that JBTM Blake Newsom 4 is lacking among the vast majority of believers. We should applaud efforts to motivate and mobilize believers to engage in evangelism, and I have used and taught several formal evangelism presentations. Most of the methods that have been published through the years are based on and organized around the Scripture, and God has saved countless individuals through formal evangelism presentations.
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