The Gospel Coalition

In reaction to the recent resurgence in Reformed theology among young evangelicals, some Southern Baptists have registered concern that personal evangelism may suffer a setback. Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike sometimes wonder if a strong view of God’s sovereignty can lead to active evangelistic efforts.

Will Metzger’s book, Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People (IVP), helps Christians keep evangelism front and center, and he accomplishes this task by offering doctrinally-minded Christians a training manual for witnessing in a God-centered way. Today, I will summarize the four main sections of Metzer’s book. Tomorrow, I will offer a few areas of agreement and critique.

Summary

Metzger begins by focusing on the importance of the gospel itself. Whereas some evangelistic strategies assume that the Christian already understands the gospel, Tell the Truth rightly perceives that the very message of the gospel is often neglected or even lost completely in certain methods of evangelism.

Metzger hopes readers will “recover the theological content of the gospel because only as your view of God’s active grace in salvation is changed can you find the confidence, joy, and gratitude to undergird a new evangelistic lifestyle” (15).

Integral to Metzger’s thesis is the idea that methodology flows from theology. Our theology is not only important in getting the message right, but also in how we present that message. He writes:

“A scriptural doctrine of evangelism should be the controlling element in any practice of evangelism” (19).

Because theology is so important for effective evangelism, Metzger spends a good deal of the book defining the gospel.

First, he shows that many forms of evangelism minimize the biblical content of the gospel. Too many strategies proclaim God’s love to the exclusion of his holiness and justice (39-41). He points out that gospel presentations rarely speak of the danger and reality of hell (46-7).

Next, he offers a road to recovery of the “whole” gospel.

Metzger’s gospel presentation can be categorized in five major points:

1. Evangelists must teach about God, specifically his role as Owner, Father, and Judge of humanity (51-8).
2. We must speak of “God-centered living,” which brings the Law into the picture (Love God and your neighbor) (58-62).
3. Evangelists must show how “self-centered living” separates us from God and enslaves us to sin (62-7).
4. We must proclaim Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection provide our “way back to life” (67-75).
5. Evangelists must call for the necessary response of repentance and faith (75-82).

After defining the main components of the gospel message, Metzger devotes the next section of the book to recovering a robust understanding of true conversion. Metzger believes that evangelists should not be satisfied with a partial response to the gospel. He makes a distinction between “professing” and truly “possessing” salvation.

If Christians are to rightly understand true conversion, then we must recover the biblical teaching of regeneration. We are not seeking quick conversions, but the Holy Spirit’s work in regenerating lost hearts (89).

Metzger believes that a right understanding of conversion will lead to gospel presentations that appeal to the mind, emotions, and will. Too many evangelistic methods focus on only one of these three parts of the human personality. Metzger urges us to hold them in proper balance.

The third section of the book provides a theological foundation for evangelism. Metzger puts forth a Calvinistic understanding of salvation (though he does not use the label). A proper understanding of God’s sovereignty in salvation will lead to a proper understanding of grace which, in turn, should embolden our witness for Christ.

He points out three myths that obscure the nature of free and unmerited grace: inalienable rights, human goodness, and free will (121-8). Metzger believes that worship should be the main motivation for personal evangelism. Worship as a response to grace should provide the necessary energy for sustaining our witnessing efforts (157-8).

The final section of Tell the Truth launches into the mechanics of personal witnessing. Metzger eliminates obstacles that stand in the way of evangelism (religious pluralism, lack of apologetic preparation, fear), and he challenges “ordinary Christians” to be faithful to the Great Commission through personal evangelism (159-79).

The last chapter (before the lengthy appendices) focuses on the different ways that gospel presentations can be tailored for different kinds of people (182-6).

Tomorrow, I will review the strengths and weaknesses of Tell the Truth.

This is the Tim Keller book I’ve been waiting for. Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters (Penguin, 2009) is an incisive treatment of modern-day idolatry. Building upon his address at the 2009 Gospel Coalition conference, Keller peers into the inner recesses of the heart to expose the hidden idolatries that hold us captive.

Keller’s book stands out among other books on idolatry because of the way he goes beyond superficial expressions of idolatry to the root issues of the heart. Our hearts are idol-making factories that make good gifts from God ultimate in our lives, thereby replacing God in our affections. He writes:

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” (xvii)

How can you identify these insidious idols? How can you tell if you are worshipping a counterfeit God? Keller says:

“A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” (xviii)

Counterfeit Gods includes the obvious idols of money, sex and power. But Keller spends time treating idols that most Christians would fail to discern: doctrinal accuracy, religious communities, political activism, and even traditional family values.

Keller not only exposes our dependence upon these idols; he exposes the failure of idols to bring lasting satisfcation. All idols ultimately disappoint us. All idols ultimately enslave us. The results of idolatry are ironic:

“…When human beings try to become more than human being, to be as gods, they fall to become lower than human beings.” (121)

Over and over again, as I made my way through this book, I found myself nodding my head in agreement at Keller’s analysis. But my desire to “amen” the thoughts in this book could only come after multiple prayers of “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Counterfeit Gods convicted me of hidden idolatries in my own life.

Just when you think you have gotten rid of the idols in your life, Keller brings up additional places where idolatries lurk, places you would have never thought to look. The church is one such place. He writes:

“Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to the position of a false god….their trust in the rightness of their views makes them feel superior.” (131)

Churches sometimes turn spiritual gifts and ministry success into a counterfeit god:

“Making an idol out of doctrinal accuracy, ministry success, or moral rectitude leads to constant internal conflict, arrogance and self-righteousness, and oppression of those whose views differ.” (132)

No wonder we so often fail in our Great Commission efforts. Sometimes, the results we label “success” are the very idols eating away at our hearts.

Counterfeit Gods is a terrific book that leads the reader to desperation and then to the cross. This book would lead to despair if not for Keller’s constant drawing us back to the gospel – what Christ has accomplished for us idolaters.

The good news is that there is good news. The counterfeit gods are mere parodies of the one true God who has come to conquer our idols and restore us to himself.

What happens when you are sharing the gospel with someone who asks, “Won’t a good moral life get me to heaven?” How do you respond?

Most evangelicals would immediately say “no.” But I disagree.

My first response is to say, “Yes, a good moral life will get you to heaven.” But then I ask the person to define “good.” Most of the time, people will respond by pointing to good deeds on behalf of others or their sincerity of heart. That is when we need to explain God’s definition of “goodness” and “morality.”

When Jesus asked the rich young ruler what he thought about the standard of God’s righteousness, the ruler responded by listing off several commandments. Then, Jesus pointed out the flaw in his goodness. He exposed the sin that was hiding behind a mask of self-righteousness.

In the same way, we must turn our attention to God’s definition of goodness. We can do this in a number of ways. Perhaps the best way is by going to the Ten Commandments. As we enumerate the Ten Commandments, the Law should begin to shine light on the holiness of God and on the sinfulness of our condition.

We can back up our presentation of the Law by speaking of the Apostle Paul’s diagnosis of human fallenness. There is none good, no not one. There are none who seek God.

At this point, the goal is to help the lost person see that he/she is not leading a “good moral life” according to God’s definition of good. Once we see that all of us have fallen short of God’s standard of good, we arrive at the law-court scene, where God the just judge must pass sentence on sinful humanity, as part of his overarching purpose to restore his broken world.

Now, the good news of the gospel can be declared. We explain how Jesus Christ offered up his life in order to pay the price for our sinfulness, and how to receive his righteous and good standing before God as our very own.

The reason why it might be helpful to answer “yes” to the initial question about a good moral life is so you can prepare the way for the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to be part of the solution.

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me in any place of service,
rank me with any type of people;
Put me to work,
put me to suffering.
Let me be useful for you
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you
or brought low by you.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to your pleasure and for your use.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

- John Wesley, adapted

J.I. Packer is one of my spiritual heroes. His book, Knowing God, is considered one the most influential evangelical books of the past century.

Dr. Packer has also been a firm defender of traditional Christianity in the midst of the shifting tides of religion in the 21st century. His disagreement with the Anglican Church of Canada’s redefinitions of human sexuality led to events in which he, a world-class scholar already in his 80′s, was suspended and threatened by the denomination to have his ministerial credentials revoked.

I admire Dr. Packer for the consistency of his witness and the unfading passion he has for the church today. I am most grateful for his endorsement of Holy Subversion:

“How should God’s American people put the lordship of Jesus Christ on display in their lives? Trevin Wax’s searching answer is biblical, basic, businesslike and blunt.”

- J.I. Packer,
Professor of Theology, Regent College,
author of Knowing God

Here are links to my summaries of all the lectures at the Union University conference: Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism. Special thanks to David Dockery and Tim Ellsworth for the invitation to live-blog this event.

1. Ed Stetzer: “Denominationalism – Is There a Future?”
2. Jim Patterson: “Reflections on 400 Years of Baptist Movement”
3. Hal Poe: “The Gospel and Its Meaning”
4. Timothy George: “The Faith, My Faith, The Church’s Faith”
5. Duane Litfin: “The Future of American Evangelicalism”
6. Ray Van Neste: “Pastoral Ministry in SBC Life”
7. Robert Smith: “The Church’s One Foundation”
8. Mark DeVine: “Emergent or Emerging”
9. Danny Akin: “The Future of the SBC”
10. Michael Lindsay: “Denominationalism in a Changing America”
11. Jerry Tidwell: “Missions and Evangelism”
12. David Dockery: “So Many Denominations…”
13. Panel Discussion
14. Nathan Finn: “Passing On the Faith”
15. Albert Mohler: “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism”

SESSION 15

SPEAKER: R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Seminary

TITLE: Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism (Audio here)

THE GIST: In 1989, Southern Baptists were looking for a future and determined that the future must be in conversation with American evangelicalism. Dr. Mohler’s imperative was that we recognize our evangelical identity in a time of Baptist controversy. Today, made the case that we should recapture our Baptist identity in a time of evangelical waywardness.

BRIEF OUTLINE:

An Overview of the Current State of the SBC

• Generational distinctions
• Death of cultural Christianity
• Decline in our numbers

A Word to the Younger Generation

• You are a hinge generation.
• You are a generation of social transformation
• You are a generation of global responsibility
• You are a generation of spiritual confusion
• You are a generation of institutional disinterest

A Plea to Younger Southern Baptists

• Give yourself to Christ.
• Give yourself to the local church.
• Give yourself to cooperation with other churches.
• Go deep (in devotion, missions, fellowship, doctrine, ecclesiology).

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

The identity question once loomed large over Southern Baptists. Every generation must ask those questions.

The media only knows “liberals,” “evangelicals” and “everybody else.” Southern Baptists are not “everybody else;” nor are we “liberals.” So… like it or not, we are “evangelicals.”

Baptists have come to understand it is best to be both “centered-set” and “boundary-set” regarding our doctrines.

The Southern Baptist Convention is currently experiencing the death of cultural Christianity.

A new slogan will not save us.

Many people who will hear the gospel preached by this generation will not respond with rejection, but simply a shrug.

Do not be a Southern Baptist because your grandmother is. Give yourself to the SBC because you will see, as you are faithful first to your local church, that this really can be a denomination that is transformed by a Great Commission passion for the glory of God.

I’m not imploring you to leave the SBC, but to save it.

SESSION 14

SPEAKER: Nathan Finn, Assistant Professor of Church History and Baptist Studies at Southeastern Seminary

TITLE: Southern Baptists and Evangelicals: Passing On the Faith to the Next Generation (Audio here)

THE GIST: As both member and observer of the next generation, Finn sees the challenges inherent in cultivating a strong sense of both evangelical convictions and denominational identity among some of my peers. Finn revisited the relationship between Southern Baptists and evangelicals and then considered what it means to pass on the faith to the next generation.

BRIEF OUTLINE:

Southern Baptists and Evangelicals

• Evangelicals have defined evangelicalism in four ways. (Theological categories / Political activism / Common affinity – parachurch / Common piety)
• Southern Baptists defining evangelicalism (Southern Baptists have disagreed on a definition of evangelical)

Three ways to think about the relationship between Southern Baptists and evangelicals

1. Southern Baptists as evangelicals. (Trends among evangelicals shape us.)
2. Southern Baptists against evangelicals. (Our commitment to the local church keeps us from finding our primary identity in parachurch organizations.)
3. Southern Baptists among evangelicals (Participating in the wider world of evangelicals)

Passing on the Faith

• Catechesis: Passing on our Convictions (through preaching, discipleship programs, life-on-life mentoring, theological education, and parenting)
• Narrative: Passing on our Stories (missions, heroes)

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

Whenever we think of passing on the faith to the next generation, we better understand that many of them will not identify with some of our evangelical and Southern Baptist experiences because many of those experiences have been informed by our predominantly white, North American, and Southern context.

While we can and should cooperate with other evangelicals in a variety of worthy endeavors, such cooperation must not come at the expense of an ecclesiological downgrade that would transform us into something other than Baptists.

We must also seek to inculcate a Christian way of reading Christian Scripture, which would include reading the whole Bible as one grand narrative spanning two testaments with one Main Character, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Southern Baptists and evangelicals must also pass on what I call a “gospel instinct,” which I believe will help us to be very hesitant about aberrant doctrines that seem to undermine faithful gospel proclamation.

Authentic conversion must include repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ and must never be collapsed into repeat-after-me’s, walking an aisle, raising a hand, attending a class, or yes, even being baptized. Salvation by sincerity is not the same thing as salvation by grace through faith, and jumping through hoops will never justify anyone.

I wonder if Lottie Moon herself would be greeted with the same adulations that some Republican politicians have received at recent Convention meetings.

Baptists as a general rule have tended to assume the Trinity rather than offer robust articulations of Trinitarian theology.

Even young people who appreciate the Convention aren’t necessarily excited about it.

We must not pass on our penchant for confusing bricks, budgets, baptisms, and bottoms with the blessing of the Almighty.

Have you ever heard the old camping adage that you should leave the campsite in better shape than you found it? Southern Baptists should pass on a faith to the next generation that is even stronger than the one we have now.

SESSION 13

PANEL DISCUSSION: Greg Thornbury (moderator), Danny Sinquefield, Paul Kim, George Guthrie, Doug Baker, Buddy Gray, Roland Porter

Questions

#1. Why are the networks outmaneuvering denominations?

Sinquefield: Younger pastors are learning from these networks.

#2. How can we network globally within denominational structures?

Guthrie: Gathering around a common cause allows us to be broadly evangelical in the essentials.

Kim: We need to focus on global church planting.

#3. What is the future of vocational evangelists and traditional revivals in our churches?

Gray: At our church, we have rarely used vocational evangelists. We train our people to think missionally and be evangelistic.

Sinquefield: Evangelists are a biblical gift to the body of Christ. But we pray for revival that is not merely structural or programmed.

Baker: I recently encountered a 28-year-old Muslim who sought to convert me. He said he had never had a conversation with a Christian, though he was only a block away from one of the largest churches in America. Some of the older methods will not work with people from other religions.

#4. Why are our churches not more multi-racial?

Porter: It has to do with the signals we send, whether welcoming or distancing.

#5. Our generation is seeking roots and heritage, but denominations have a negative connotation. How can our generation carry out the future of denominations and their benefits?

Gray: We have to figure out exactly what the vision is that we want the young people to follow. It is important for current leaders to sharpen the focus of who we are. We cooperate together in missions and theological education.

Thornbury: Denominational loyalty is not a starting point. It is a destination. We have to disciple people first in local churches. We’re concerned about movements and denominations when the Apostle Paul speaks of the church as the pillar of truth.

Guthrie: I see your generation rallying to a counter-cultural approach to life, compelled by a biblical vision for life. We must help people live in the Word, which leads them to live accordingly.

Kim: It is up to the pastor’s leadership. What I do, what I teach, what I believe, they learn.

Sinquefield: There is a wave of pressure in your generation that is convictional and courageous, looking for ways to express the faith, share the gospel, and leave the comfortable to do so.

#6. If you were a member of the GCR Task Force, what would be your number one priority?

Baker: Keep the church of Christ central and the gospel at the forefront. Filter all things through that.

Kim: Suggest that Southern Baptists need to double and triple our number of churches.

Sinquefield: Do not waste the opportunity to reclaim our great gospel heritage. Move through layers of structure that need to be redesigned, so that we really understand what the Great Commission is all about and how it can be fulfilled effectively.

Guthrie: Push to the level of dealing with biblical essentials. The conversation must take place at this level.

#7. Regarding something like expository preaching, how do you decide what is primary, secondary, and tertiary?

Dockery (joining the panel): Expository preaching should not be a test case for a primary or even secondary issue. It is vitally important, but we would not want to raise it to that level.

#8. Is there an actual Great Awakening in the Boston area now?

Kim: There are very liberal churches in the Boston area. They do not reach the universities. It is hard to give a firm answer. Probably not, but prayer groups are very active.

#9. What do you say to young men deciding whether to go SBC or Acts 29 when planting a church?

Thornbury: Are you a Southern Baptist? If yes, then go to a Southern Baptist seminary. We don’t need to go outside our family in order to reach the nations for Christ.

Sinquefield: We need to better fund church plants. State conventions and churches should be ready to partner with planters.

SESSION 12

SPEAKER: David Dockery, president of Union University

TITLE: “So Many Denominations: The Rise and Decline of Denominationalism… and the Shaping of a Global Evangelicalism” (Audio here)

THE GIST: Dr. Dockery gave a brief history of the rise of denominations, the rise of evangelicalism, and then applied insights to the future of the movement. He advocated partnerships with other Christians while remaining faithful to our particular denominational distinctives.

BRIEF OUTLINE:

A History of Denominationalism

• Early Church (Councils, East & West split)
• Reformation (Denominationalism rooted in dissent of Reformers)
• 1600′s (Expanding denominational differences)
• 1700′s (Awakenings)
• 1800′s (Revivalism and Restorationism)
• 1900′s (Holy Spirit and Sign gifts)

How do we make sense of denominational distinctives?

• Theological differences (Calvinist, Arminian)
• Church polity (congregational, episcopalian, presbyterian)
• Liturgical practices (Lord’s Supper, baptism)
• Sociological perspective (groups are renewal sects)

The Birth of American Evangelicalism

• The changes of the early 20th century led to the rise of liberalism.
• Fundamentalists (some scholarly, others reactionary) rose to challenge the onslaught of liberalism.
• Evangelicals affirmed theological orthodoxy that was not anti-intellectual, other-worldly, or separatist.
• The rise of evangelicalism led to new affinity groups and networks, working around denominational structures.
• Evangelicals participate in “grass-roots ecumenism,” but have not articulated a strong theology of the church.
• In a pluralistic context, denominations rival one another. Geography plays a part.
• Most mainline denominations have lost their way theologically.

Denominationalism and Evangelicalism: Questions about the Future

• Denominations that thrive will maintain firm convictions, while cooperating with other networks.
• We need to think globally, to see what God is doing all around the world. Worldwide Christians live in a context more closely identified with apostolic Christianity.
• Our struggles are not against one another, but against the Enemy of unbelief. Our struggles cause us to lose the mission focus of the church.

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

The history of Christianity is best understood as a chain of memory, and we need to connect those chains.

Denominationalism as we know it is primarily an American phenomenon made possible by our freedom. But this development has resulted more in the Americanization of Christianity than the Christianization of America.

Fundamentalists were unable to discern the difference between those who denied the deity of Christ and those who engaged in card-playing.

The shift towards Transdenominational networks is the biggest change since the Reformation.

Most churches are found in rural areas while most people live in urban and suburban areas.

Denominations must have convictions and cooperation, boundaries and bridges, structure and the work of the Spirit.

I’m calling for Gospel commonalities that are more important and that supersede our denominational distinctions.

Let’s move from handwringing to hopefulness.