The Gospel & Evangelism - Baptist Center for Theology and ...

1 FALL 2014 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 The Gospel & Evangelism2014 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDBart Barber, Baptist Church of Farmersville, TXRex Butler, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Nathan Finn, Baptist Theological SeminaryEric Hankins, First Baptist Church, Oxford, MSMalcolm Yarnell, Southwestern Baptist Theological SeminaryEditor-in-Chief Charles S. Kelley, Executive Editor Steve W. Lemke, Editor & BCTM Director Adam Harwood, Managing Editor Suzanne Davis Research Assistant Patrick Cochran Book Review Editors Archie England, Dennis Phelps, 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 exists to provide theological and ministerial resources to enrich and energize ministry in Baptist churches.

2 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 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 BCTM(800) 662-8701, ext. 8074 Visit the Baptist Center web site for submission 2014 Vol. 11, No. 2 The Baptist Center for Theology and MinistryNew Orleans Baptist Theological SeminaryTABLE OF CONTENTSE ditorial introduction 1 Adam Harwood and Preston NixWhat is the Gospel ? 2 Blake NewsomIs the Gospel for All People or Only Some People?

3 16 Adam HarwoodDoes Regeneration Precede Faith? 34 David L. AllenWhat Were the Early SBC Leaders View of Salvation?:A View from the Mountains 53 Emir CanerMinistry Evangelism 68 Timothy W. MimsSpiritual Warfare and Evangelism 73 Gary DennisBook Reviews 80 Journal for Baptist Theology and MinistryVol. 11, No. 2 2014 Adam Harwood, 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 Nix, 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 IntroductionThis issue of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry is comprised of six articles and thirteen book reviews, all of which are dedicated to the twin topics of the Gospel or Evangelism .

4 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.

5 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 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 2 Blake Newsom, Blake Newsom is Dean of Chapel, Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching, and Director of Mentoring for Pastoral Ministries at New Orleans Baptist Theological is the Gospel ?

6 introduction What is the Gospel ? The question seemed simple enough, so without hesitation I responded 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 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.

7 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, 1 Scripture quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible unless otherwise noted. The format-ting of these verses follows the English 3I was somewhat surprised to have the answer to my first question so passionately challenged by a member of the search team.

8 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 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 , my uncomfortable conversation in a pastor search committee interview is symptomatic of a more widespread issue within evangelical Christianity.

9 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 .

10 We will begin by addressing some common misconceptions concerning the nature and content of the Gospel . Three Misconceptions about the GospelAs 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 GospelFirst, formal Evangelism presentations are not the Gospel .