The Gospel Coalition

John R. Sampey (1863-1946)

John Sampey was Southern Seminary’s fifth president (1928-42) during the difficult years of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. Sampey served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention three times. He often contributed to the Convention’s Sunday School literature and devotional material.

Active as an evangelist, Sampey recalled one trip in particular to Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro in 1925, Sampey preached to a large group on the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. He later shared that when he “quoted the passage setting forth the substitutionary sufferings of the Servant of Jehovah, He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities,” the voice of my interpreter cracked. At the close of the service he explained that he was won to faith in Christ by the verses I quoted.”

Ellis A. Fuller (1891-1950)

Ellis Fuller became Southern Seminary’s sixth president during the World War II era and served for eight years (1942-50) before dying suddenly from a stroke. Fuller changed the nature of the Southern Seminary presidency, leading the institution into the executive model that was becoming popular in the business world. As an administrator, Fuller oversaw the acquiring and construction of several buildings.

One of Fuller’s well-known quotes was this:

“I have no difficulty believing in the existence of a personal devil. He offers me advice as to how I should conduct my life every morning before I eat breakfast.”

Roy Lee Honeycutt (1926-2004)

Dr. Roy L. Honeycutt was Southern Seminary’s eighth president (1982-93) and led the seminary through a tumultous time. During his tenure as president, Southern saw the addition of the new Honeycutt Center, which includes a new gym, coffee shop, study area, and meeting halls.

Though Dr. Honeycutt opposed the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC, he was, by all accounts, a consummate Christian gentleman who sought to forge alliances between the fracturing parties of the Convention. He is known for a commentary he wrote on II Kings.

Not everything about the seeker movement was/is bad. Jared reminds us of 5 things it got right. 

Doug Smith has an informative article that analyzes the King James Only controversy through the perspective of the Translators’ Message to the reader.

What are the prevailing views of the Millennium and the strengths and weaknesses of each?

David Field on getting grief from fellow Christians

Looking for encouragement in your ministry? Read Tim Challies’ excellent post about how the church is not a failure.

7 Reasons why the Nursery Ministry is Vital to your Church

Michael Spencer asks for conversation and gets an earful. 12 Baptist Calvinists take rural Appalachian churches. What happens?

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: My Thoughts on Heath Ledger’s Death

Edgar Young Mullins (1860-1928)

Southern Seminary’s fourth president (1899-1928) stands as one of the most important theologians in Baptist history. During his presidency, the seminary experienced dramatic growth in enrollment and faculty. It was during Mullins’ tenure as president that the seminary moved to its current location in Louisville. (Mullins’ office is now occupied by the Dean of the School of Theology – Russell Moore.)

Mullins is unique in that he is claimed as a hero by both sides of the recent Conservative-Moderate controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention. He is the theologian to first use the term “Soul Competency,” and though he was a theological conservative, he opened the door to a certain theological direction that would prove detrimental to the seminary in later years.

Mullins grounded the truth of Christianity both in human experience and in historical facts. I confess that of all Southern’s presidents, Mullins intrigues me the most. A consummate politician, an evangelical statesman, a Baptist theologian and a servant of the church – Mullins offers us both an example to follow and pitfalls to avoid. Here are two quotes from Mullins I enjoy:

“There is a certain view of God and nature and man and the world in the background of our faith. But Christianity is a historical religion, and a religion of experience. It is grounded in facts. The Christian worldview rests upon these facts.”

“In Jesus is made known to us the ultimate reality of God as a moral and spiritual being. In Jesus, God appears as righteous love. In Jesus, God comes near for our salvation. In Jesus, the grace and power of God are manifested for our redemption. In Jesus, God takes the initiative in seeking us. We are found and awakened by the gospel. But our sin binds us. We know ourselves alienated in heart and life from God. We are unable to redeem ourselves. We belong to a kingdom of evil and are held captive. We need forgiveness and reconciliation. Through his atoning work Christ brings God near in forgiving grace. We need moral and spiritual transformation. Christ supplies the motives which lead to repentance and the new life. ”In Christ” is the phrase which expresses the total meaning of the new life. He is its source, its structural law, and its goal. We are, in other words, regenerated and spiritually constituted in Jesus Christ.”

“From the fact that other religions, including Judaism, have in them the idea of sacrifice and propitiation, it is concluded by some that it must be a false idea. Fundamentally this assumes that everything in the non-Christian religions must be wholly false. Is it not far more likely that a universal religious idea has in it an element of truth than that its universality is a mark of its falsity? Christianity purified and fulfilled all religious ideas of human beings, emptied them of their transient and superficial meanings, and revealed their true inward meaning. The atonement of Christ in a very special manner does this. In it God appears in Christ, not as a distant, implacable and angry being, requiring a satisfaction for sin which humans cannot supply. Jesus himself, as holy and loving and yearning to save humanity, provides the satisfaction.”

Related Posts:
Edgar Young Mullins: An Intimate Biography
A Man of Books and a Man of the People

One of the required books for the Sermon on the Mount J-Term I took in January is The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries: From the Early Church to John Paul II (2007, Brazos Press) - a book with contributions from a wide range of scholars. We were required to read only 150 pages of this book and were allowed to choose whatever chapters we desired. I couldn’t help myself and wound up reading the whole thing. It’s that good!

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most controversial passages of Scripture. Pastors and theologians have wrestled with its stark demands. Should we ever take an oath? Is war ever justified? How much of this Sermon should be taken literally? Is this Law or Gospel or Law & Gospel? Is the Sermon for believers or for everybody? What do the Beatitudes mean?

No other book will give you such an easily accessible guide to interpretation of the Sermon throughout church history.

Want an Eastern view of the Sermon? Check out the chapter on John Chyrsostom.

What is the purpose of the Sermon? Look at Augustine for a surprising answer.

How are we supposed to treat these demands? Which demand is for which kingdom? The kingdom of man or the kingdom of Christ? Luther had a lot to say to that.

Is the Sermon Law or Gospel? Calvin’s answer may differ from some Reformed teaching.

How did John Wesley handle the demand for perfection?

Why did Charles Spurgeon tend to allegorize? What was Spurgeon’s link to Catholic mysticism?

How could Dietrich Bonhoeffer see the Sermon as a treatise on the subversive Christian community and then involve himself in a plot to assassinate Hitler?

How counter-cultural is this Sermon? A chapter devoted to John Stott’s view will answer that question.

The Sermon on the Mount through the Centuries is a terrific resource for studying the Sermon on the Mount. Next time you work your way through Matthew 5-7, make sure you sit down with some of the greatest thinkers of the Church as you do so.

written by Trevin Wax. © 2008 Kingdom People Blog

Archibald Thomas Robertson (1863-1934)

A.T. Robertson was an influential New Testament scholar who served as a professor at Southern Seminary for almost forty years (1895-1934.)

Robertson’s books are still consulted today, particularly his Word Pictures in the New Testament and his landmark volume A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research. In all, he published forty-five books, several of which are still in print today.

Robertson helped found the Baptist World Alliance in 1900. He was an important Southern Baptist and a well-respected scholar in his day. As the son-in-law of famous preacher John Broadus (Robertson’s grave lies in the shadow of Broadus), Robertson sought to equip his students with the proper tools for good preaching. Here are some quotes of Robertson linking study of the Greek New Testament to preaching:

“The greatest proof that the Bible is inspired is that it has withstood so much bad preaching!”

“God pity the poor preacher who has to hunt for something to preach – and the people who have to listen!”

“Preaching… is the most dangerous thing in the world.”

Basil Manly, Jr. (1825-92)

Basil Manly, Jr. was one of the founders of Southern Seminary and he served as Professor of Old Testament from 1859-71 and 1879-82. (His grave lies just a few feet in front of James P. Boyce’s family gravesite.)

Manly was a firm proponent of the inspiration of the Scriptures, consistently arguing that a neglect or denial of Scripture’s truthfulness would prove detrimental to Christianity. Manly claimed that denying the inspiration of the Bible would “minister to the pride of reason, instead of to the culture of faith. It would generate perplexity instead of repose, conflict instead of submission, resistance instead of reverence.”

Every time we sing the poetic words of Southern Seminary’s “hymn,” we are expressing the heart of Basil Manly, Jr. – a gifted professor and wise administrator.

Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed,
A world in ruins needs your aid:
A world by sin destroyed and dead;
A world for which the Savior bled.

His Gospel to the lost proclaim,
Good news for all in Jesus’ Name;
Let light upon the darkness break
That sinners from their death may wake.

Morning and evening sow the seed,
God’s grace the effort shall succeed.
Seedtimes of tears have oft been found
With sheaves of joy and plenty crowned.

We meet to part, but part to meet
When earthly labors are complete,
To join in yet more blest employ,
In an eternal world of joy.

The ecumenical creeds of the Christian church never settled on one theory of Christ’s atonement. Therefore, history shows a wide variety of views on how Christ’s death on the cross accomplishes human salvation.

The Nature of the Atonement includes contributions from well-known evangelical scholars that encompass the different views of atonement theology. The first three contributors argue that their model of the atonement best explains the bulk of Scriptural testimony and best fits the other views into their own. The last contributor argues that there is no overarching view of the atonement that takes into account all the others.

• Greg Boyd presents the Christus Victor view – that the atonement was primarily about God’s defeat of the devil.
• Tom Schreiner presents the penal substitutionary view – that the atonement was primarily about Jesus absorbing the wrath of God against human sin and thus providing forgiveness and restoration by taking our punishment.
• Bruce Reichenbach presents the healing view – that Jesus took the poison and sickness of our sin and brought healing and wholeness through his death.
• Joel Green presents the kaleidoscopic view - that no one theory of the atonement is adequate and that each has its place.

For me, the chapter on the healing view was enlightening. I had missed some of the parallels between sin and sickness, and Reichenbach’s presentation helped illuminate some of the biblical texts that I had unintentionally screened out.

Boyd’s Christus Victor presentation is not nearly as compelling as other versions of this theory I have come across.

Schreiner does well in presenting the penal substitutionary model, although I’m not sure what he means by stating that this model is at the “heart” of the atonement. Just what is the “heart?” And what significance does that carry? Of course, I affirm penal substitution as an integral part of Christ’s work. I was not convinced, however, that this is the central motif of the atonement throughout all Scripture.

It is disappointing that Green’s kaleidoscopic view leaves room for all theories of the atonement except for penal substitution. Green’s view is not quite as inclusive as it first appears. Everything but penal substitution has its place.

The Nature of the Atonement is a helpful introduction to the theories of the atonement.  The contributors do an admirable job presenting and defending their views.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

Just a few short hours before American Idol went on the air with its San Diego auditions tonight, the news broke that Heath Ledger, the 28-year-old actor best known for his work in A Knight’s Tale and The Patriot was found dead of an apparent drug overdose.

How ironic that even as news coverage of Ledger’s death runs together with another batch of wanna-be singer/stars, we are still prone to miss the correlation between idolatry and despair.

Aspiring artists appear on American Idol, hoping for the limelight of Hollywood. Many of the singers have made an idol of the American Dream, worshipping the idea of success and glamor. The singers that make it big then become idols to the fans that adore them.

And yet, like all idolatries, what is sweet to the tongue is cancerous to the body. The culture chews up and spits out these young “stars.” How the famous have fallen!

How many Britney Spears-like cases do we need to see before we stop wanting to live their lives? How many young men like Heath Ledger have to die in despair in the prime of life before we will stop idolizing movie stars? Why do we continue to fall for the Evil One’s lie that fortune brings freedom, that money brings happiness, that fame brings satisfaction? 

Worldly success does not solve the problems of young men and women. It exacerbates them. The idolatries of our heart lead us further into the darkness of our souls until we are captive to our own desires.

My heart sunk when I saw the body bag carrying young Heath Ledger’s body being wheeled toward an ambulance. Heath was just two years older than me. How tragic that a life would be cut so short! But even more tragic is that countless people will continue to idolize Ledger and envy the sad, unfulfilled lives of Hollywood stars like him.

In March, we will celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – whose thirty-three years on the earth split time into B.C. and A.D. It is because of Jesus, his perfect life, death for our sins, and triumphant resurrection that we can be delivered from the grip of the idols that hold our hearts captive. 

I can’t help but mourn tonight – not because I was a great fan of Heath Ledger, but because I have such a burden for twenty-somethings like him who (without the fame and fortune) are living out their days from drink to drink, pleasure to pleasure, distraction to distraction – without the hope of eternal life or the purpose that comes from being a citizen of God’s Kingdom.

Blessed are those who mourn.

Blessed are the ones who take part in the suffering around them.

Blessed are those who run with arms wide open to the places of deepest pain in our world.

Blessed are those who grieve with the grieving.

Blessed are those who are not calloused at the pain we see through the flickering images on our television sets.

Blessed are those whose hearts beat faster and whose tears flow more freely whenever our thoughts go to the coming Kingdom and the Resurrected King.

Yes, we will be comforted. For we know that our labor is not in vain.

written by Trevin Wax © 2008  Kingdom People blog 

John A. Broadus (1827-95)

John A. Broadus served as one of the founders of Southern Seminary and he became Southern’s second president (1889-95) upon the death of his good friend and colleague James P. Boyce. Broadus’ resting place is just a few feet to the left of Boyce’s grave.

You might notice the odd looking cross-grave just behind Broadus’ tombstone. That cross covers the grave of famous Greek scholar A.T. Robertson who married John Broadus’ daughter. Robertson so admired his father-in-law that he asked to be buried “in his shadow,” believing that he could never attain the same level of devotion to Christ as Broadus.

Broadus was best-known for his preaching. He was an expositor who labored over the Greek or Hebrew texts before delivering passionate sermons. He worked for twenty years on his famous Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, but Broadus’ most popular work was his preaching handbook, The Preaching and Delivery of Sermons. Even today, students will find a wealth of helpful information in Broadus’ books.

Charles Spurgeon named John Broadus “the greatest of living preachers.” Preaching was Broadus’ passion, and his words on preaching have become his legacy. Broadus wrote:

“In every age of Christianity, since John the Baptist drew crowds into the desert, there has been no great religious movement, no restoration of Scripture truth, and reanimation of genuine piety, without new power in preaching, both as cause and as effect.”

Broadus sets a good example for Southern Baptists. He was a passionate evangelist who baptized the famous Southern Baptist missionary Lottie Moon. When offered a hefty salary by J.D. Rockefeller to pastor a church in New York, Broadus turned him down. He knew what God had called him to do. Money wouldn’t change his mind.

I leave you with two more quotes from Broadus, the first regarding the importance of doctrinal content in our preaching and teaching. The second is my personal favorite from Broadus – a maxim I hope to live up to with every sermon I preach.

“Brethren, we must preach the doctrines; we must emphasize the doctrines; we must go back to the doctrines. I fear that the new generation does not know the doctrines as our fathers knew them.”

“Be willing to let the Scripture mean what it wants to mean.”

Much of what plagues Romania is corruption in every aspect of life.

People all talk as if they are against corruption, but they do things unintentionally that feed the corrupt mindset that exists. It was always amazing to me to see how people condemned the corruption in government and how they condemned all that was going on in others, but often didn’t see the corruption of their own actions.

The little old village lady who needs to see a doctor goes to the hospital, and when she meets the receptionist, she gives her a bottle of coke and a candy bar, to bribe the receptionist to do her job. Then she gets back to the doctor and must give him something too, on top of the standard price for the services offered. The little old lady doesn’t mean to do anything wrong. This is what she knows. It’s the way she’s always been brought up. To get something done and accomplished, you have to give someone a perk. There’s no other way to get “justice.”

And there’s where the problem lies. Even in obtaining “justice,” corruption takes place, which makes true justice all the more elusive.

It is difficult to live with this mentality, and often difficult to function in Romania without it. So I am not judging the Romanians for taking part in these actions. It is a society that in many ways could not currently function without it.

Romania will only grow in the future if the younger generations learn how to do business with integrity and purity of motives. I’m afraid those generations might still be far off.

I met one man in a train compartment, someone close to my age, who told me point blank that he cheats people that come to his store. When I asked him how he could live with that on his conscience, he said, “Hey, if you don’t cheat people, you can’t survive. I know some other guy is cheating me, so I’ll cheat the next guy, and he’ll cheat the guy after that.” It’s not hard to understand how quickly corruption spreads.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2008 Kingdom People blog