The SBC Must Be Shaped by the Word, Not the World
Southern Baptists Need Leaders who Aren’t Embarrassed of the Book
We Baptists are people of the Book. But when it comes to matters of great concern in our cultural context, we too often are reticent to reference the Scriptures clearly. We have allowed our sensibilities to be shaped by the world rather than the Word. By failing to put on the full armor of God, we make ourselves weak, open to attack. It is time for Southern Baptists to nail our colors to the mast.
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000—our common statement of belief—says it well when it calls Scripture “the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.” We are told in 2 Timothy 3:17 that Scripture makes the man of God “complete, equipped for every good work.” Scripture always has the final word and remains a sufficient basis for living out a faithful Christian life. Being anchored to the truths revealed in Scripture means that we can be stable and confident in moments of cultural convulsion like we are facing now.
That’s why it is so befuddling to see many Christians—even many Baptists—acting as if we didn’t have Scripture to stand upon. While we may be happy to speak boldly about parts of Scripture that synch up with modern sensibilities, we whisper about parts of Scripture that upset our modern sensibilities. I’ve come to the unfortunate conclusion that many Baptists are reticent to use Scripture because we are embarrassed of it.
Consider a few recent examples:
Critical Theory: It’s Scripture, not secular theory, that teaches us the truth about human nature. All humans are made in the image of God, possessing intrinsic worth and dignity as well as individual moral agency (Gen.1:26-27). But we are all also fallen and sinful (Rom. 3:23). The most fundamental division among humanity, then, is not between classes or races, but between those who are who are in open rebellion to God, and those who have been reconciled to Him through Christ (Rom. 5:12, 1 Cor. 5:21). Critical Theory, and other pernicious postmodern ideologies, are inconsistent with these bedrock truths. Even worse, they destroy the unity that believers already have in Christ (Eph. 2:11-22). Sadly, recent years have shown that the SBC seems unwilling to clearly condemn these corrosive teachings, even as school districts and some Christian colleges around the country find the courage to do so. Despite my best efforts, Convention leadership has generally opposed revisiting the disastrous Resolution 9 on Critical Race Theory, passed in 2019. But given the destructive capability of all critical theories, we cannot afford to equivocate. We must continue to press the issue through resolutions and motions to ensure that CRT, intersectionality, queer theory, etc., are clearly rejected by the SBC. These unbiblical worldviews must have no home in our pulpits, in our seminaries, or on the mission field.
God’s Design for Men and Women: Scripture could not be clearer about God’s design for men and women within the Church. The BFM is similarly clear: “The office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” And yet, we see some churches within our convention acting as functional egalitarians—all while still claiming to still hold to complementarianism. Rather than seeking to submit to God’s design in a comprehensive fashion, some church leaders seem more focused on how they can downplay scriptural teaching as much as possible without denying it outright. We need to push for greater clarity in the SBC regarding how the teachings of Scripture and the BFM must be practiced in the local church context.
LGBT Affirmation: We see similar trends in approaches to the LGBT related issues and the question of “same sex attraction” (SSA) in the church. Two successive SBC Presidents have preached the same sermon about how the Bible “whispers” about sexual sin when nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Bible calls certain sexual sins “abominations” and makes clear that they are special proofs of God’s judgment on those who have rejected God (Rom. 1:18-32). We’ve seen misguided attempts to deny the fact that disordered desires are themselves sinful; all coming at a time when forces in our culture grow increasingly bold in their push for acceptance of sexual immorality of all kinds. This is not a time for flinching. Not when we see the likes of Disney pushing toxic transgender ideology on children, and even school teachers trying to influence them to make permanent, irreparable decisions. Our consciences must be formed by Scripture in these matters—both in how we speak to those in the world and those in the church. Love of our neighbors (and their children) requires that we speak out with a clear, loud, prophetic voice.
Abortion: Scripture is clear than the unborn baby is a human person. As such, we are grateful for the prospect that the unjust regime of Roe v. Wade is about to end. After its demise states will be tasked with implementing just legislation to protect the unborn, and the SBC will have a voice to help shape these new laws. Last summer, the SBC messengers spoke clearly by passing the strongest pro-life resolution in our history. In it we affirmed that biblical justice requires the equal protection of the unborn. That’s why it was so shocking to see, just last month, the ERLC put its name on a letter that helped to sink a bill in Louisiana that would have done just that. If we say that we believe an unborn baby is a human person deserving all the rights and protections of a born person, as we did as messengers in 2021, we cannot have rogue entities condemning laws that take that proposition seriously.
It’s Time for the SBC to be Culturally Uncompromising. I could go on. But those four examples are sufficient to show how the SBC, often at a leadership level, has a “biblical embarrassment” problem. We are embarrassed of the teachings of the Scripture. Brothers and sisters, it should not be this way. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and will not return void. But if we muzzle ourselves out of a misplaced desire to placate the culture, how we can expect the Word to have that effect? The SBC doesn’t need the platform or entity leaders to act as PR professionals, trying to manage tough aspects of God’s word. Instead, we should all follow in the footsteps of the faithful pastors and members in the pews who aim to act in obedience as heralds of our King—boldly proclaiming His message to a dying world. And if elected as your next president, that’s exactly how I plan to lead.
Tom Ascol is the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church and President of Founders Ministries and the Institute of Public Theology. He is a candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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Divisive Diversity Rhetoric: How Some Christians Misunderstand What Really Matters in the Church and in Heaven
This article originally appeared at Standing For Freedom.
Ferguson marked a turning point in the evangelical world on discussions about race and the Church — and not in a good way.
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was lethally shot by a white policeman, Darren Wilson, in an act of self-defense. Officer Wilson was found justified in his actions in every follow-on investigation, including one undertaken by President Obama’s Department of Justice, then led by Attorney General Eric Holder. CBS News reported that “Federal officials concluded there was no evidence to disprove Wilson’s testimony that he feared for his safety.”
Furthermore, the official DOJ investigation concluded,“…nor was there reliable evidence that Michael Brown had his hands up when he was shot.”
It was almost a year later, and the false narrative of “Hands up, don’t shoot” had already turned into a nationwide rallying cry, but even the progressive Washington Post columnist, Jonathan Capehart, ultimately conceded this fact.
Writing in response to the DOJ investigations that cleared Officer Wilson, Capehart admitted that the reports “forced me to deal with two uncomfortable truths: Brown never surrendered with his hands up, and Wilson was justified in shooting Brown.”
That’s right: “Hands up, don’t shoot” was a lie. Always has been. I wonder how many Christians realize that?
Sadly, the obvious answer is “not nearly enough.” Because as we look back over the last eight years, it’s clear now that the lies of Ferguson served to kindle the raging, destructive fires of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Far more than the death of Trayvon Martin, it was the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson that birthed the current (though fading) “racial reconciliation” craze that swept across American Christianity, smuggling in all kinds of unbiblical beliefs and practices.
This was a movement that completely suckered many evangelical leaders and pastors (Voddie Baucham being a notable exception)—a triumph of pathos over logos—who happily repeated the slogan, put #BLM in their bios, marched in the rallies, and began to chastise their white congregants for not being committed enough to this ill-defined and extra-biblical notion of “racial reconciliation.”
How many pulpits were filled with pastors who lamented another instance of “racial tragedy” the Sunday after Ferguson, even though no evidence existed to support such a claim? Those prayers were lies; those pastors should repent.
The way that so many evangelicals fell hook, line, and sinker for the “Ferguson narrative” is all the more appalling when you consider that the official BLM organization is committed to disrupting “the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure,” as well as being a “queer‐affirming network.” While they claim they exist for the sake of racial justice, The Heritage Foundation explains that “a closer look reveals BLM to be a revolutionary movement, rooted in Marxism, that wants to dismantle Western society.”
Has BLM made life better for black Americans? Of course not. Their movement is arguably to blame for disastrous policing shortages in major cities, like Chicago, where homicides, violent crime, and gang activity have hit levels not seen in decades, while arrests are at record-breaking lows. And the founders of BLM are under investigation for potentially misusing millions in donations for personal benefit.
Why retread this ground now? Because this history is an indispensable background for the continuing conversations about the role, purpose, and priority of diversity in the Church — and in Heaven.
Given that the conversation about “systemic racism” in America and in the Church is largely built on lies like Ferguson, it’s not surprising that the resulting — and continuing — conversation is confused and unbiblical.
This was on clear display this past week when megachurch pastor Rick Warren sent a tweet that concluded with this rather remarkable claim: “If diversity scares you, you’ll hate heaven.”
It was one of those comments that made me stop and go, “Beg pardon?”
The entirety of his statement read: “In Heaven, YOU will be a minority! Get used to it. Most Christ-followers in the world don’t look like you, think like you, or vote like you. They’re saved by grace thru faith, Jesus-lovers from every era of time & place. If diversity scares you, you’ll hate heaven. Rev. 5:9.”In Heaven, YOU will be a minority!Get used to it.Most Christ-followers in the world don’t look like you, think like you, or vote like you. They’re saved by grace thru faith, Jesus-lovers from every era of time & place
If diversity scares you, you’ll hate heaven.Rev. 5:9
— Rick Warren (@RickWarren) July 22, 2022While it’s not clear what this comment was prompted by, it’s a good example of what I am calling “divisive diversity rhetoric” and a great example of how Revelation 5 is often misused.
The first way this is divisive is that implies that we know who will be a “minority” in Heaven. No one, to my knowledge, has any reliable data on the demographic composition of the Celestial City. God saves who He will. Yes, in Revelation 5:9 we are told that Jesus Christ “purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” — but we aren’t given a percentile-based breakdown of this redeemed gathering. God saves according to grace, not according to race.
Second, I do know this: No one in Heaven is going to care about things like “being a minority” or a “majority.” Those are manmade terms and concepts, the “things of earth” that “will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” The hope of Heaven isn’t that it’s going to be a super diverse gathering, just the kind to make all the closet racist Christians squirm. No, the hope of Heaven is that we will all experience perfect, unceasing fellowship with our Triune Creator God.
Christians aren’t going to be gathered around the throne of God, glancing around at each other and trying to size up apparent ethnic allotments. Rather, we will all, in unified spirit and wonder, behold our God face-to-face. We will be worshipping Him with our glorified bodies, free from sin, sickness, and death, and praising Him for His goodness, love, and majesty forever.
No one in Heaven is going to care about things like “being a minority” or a “majority.” Those are manmade terms and concepts, the “things of earth” that “will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
The hope and focus of Heaven actually isn’t Revelation 5:9, its Revelation 21:3-4:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’”
Third, and finally, here is another fatal flaw with Warren’s comments and this broader way of thinking — as informed by lies like Ferguson. This misstep gets at the shoddy philosophical foundations of the statement, the overall lack of coherent logic, and the theological mistake.
It’s as simple as this: Hell is a very diverse place, too.
This isn’t just a throwaway point; it’s crucially important. Along with tweets like Warren’s, I hear people say all the time, “I want my church to reflect Heaven more by being more diverse.” Okay, well, Hell is also diverse. In fact, Hell might be the most diverse place in existence. Consider the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14:
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
The hard reality is that Hell is every person’s default destination. This is because we are all born sinners, inheriting guilt from the shared father of all humankind, regardless of your race, the first man — Adam.
In Adam, all fall. All Europeans. All Asians. All Africans. Everybody.
Your race plays no part in your damnation — your sin does that. And your race plays no part in your salvation — your repentance and trust in Jesus Christ and belief in the Gospel does that.
So, I guess, if “diversity scares you” then you’re not going to like Hell either. See how silly that sounds?
It’s that point right there that exposes the biblical bankruptcy of Warren’s admonition. Diversity isn’t the point of Heaven. Nor is it the point of Hell. The pressing question of our final resting place is whether you are spending it with God as a member of His family in eternal joy, or whether you are suffering under God’s just judgment for your sin in eternal damnation. I guarantee that in both end-states no one cares one bit about “diversity.”
I’m not the first to make this observation. Mark Dever, the senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, has said something very similar. In fact, given the fact that I’ve listened to more sermons from Mark Dever than from any other preacher out there, I probably picked it up from him in the first place.
Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Mark said: “Diversity is very common in Hell. Diversity is not a uniquely Christian trait. Unity in diversity is what is unique to Christians — the unity we have in the Spirit.”
Mark is correct. For Christians, it’s the unity in the Spirit that counts—and that’s what will count in Heaven as well.
I want to make a qualification to Dever’s addition. Even non-Christians can have “unity in diversity” when they unite around shared affections, such as love for nation. Unity in diversity is not, in fact, an exclusive or unique Christian trait. But unity in Christ — now that’s uniquely Christian.
Let’s turn off the detour and get back onto the main path. What do we conclude? Hell is diverse. Heaven is diverse. Okay, then, that’s settled.
But what about here on earth? I’ve seen pastors argue that a more diverse church equals a more holy church. It’s funny, though, how such standards are never applied to Kenyan churches. Or I’ve heard it said that if a church is more diverse on earth, it looks more like Heaven. I’ve dealt with this already, but consider, again, the logical implications were such a statement true. It would mean that a faithful, Gospel-preaching church located in a 99 percent black community, say somewhere in Baltimore, that is almost entirely made up of black congregants, doesn’t look much like Heaven. Does that mean it looks more like Hell? Of course not!
We must point out once more (even as our pointing finger is getting sore) that it’s never the black churches, Hispanic churches, or Korean churches that these people have in mind when they lob these bombs. It’s just the majority white church in rural Ohio caught between their “look more like Heaven” crosshairs. But with a little bit of reason, we can see that either way, it’s truly a meaningless metric.
Because it’s not the diversity that makes a diverse church “look like Heaven.” It’s how the members of any local church treat each other (and non-Christians) that counts. For example, if you were to just physically survey a multi-ethnic congregation, in a snapshot, what does that picture tell you about how this diverse body loves one another, sacrificially gives and serves each other, pushes each other on to love Jesus more, and helps each other repent of sin? Nothing. You might have the most diverse church in the world, but if that church is defined by division, slander, quarrels, and hate, it doesn’t look like Heaven at all.
In our age of postmodern multiculturalism, we have lost sight of the basics, of ground truths, and we have imported sloppy thinking into the Church. This might sound shocking, but it’s true: There is nothing intrinsically valuable about diversity.
What matters are the beliefs and values that draw diverse people to them. In this case, those beliefs are in Christ and the Gospel.
When all the redeemed stand around the throne of God in perfect worship, it won’t be race that matters, but grace. Our culture is obsessed with a skin-deep diversity that demands cognitive conformity. But the Church should reject such petty, small-minded paradigms and demand that we unite in truth and the great things of God — on earth and in Heaven.
What matters is being humble, respectful, and willing to learn from others of different races and backgrounds, all while seeking and prioritizing objective and transcendent truth together. What matters is if a church on earth is “speaking the truth in love” and, by doing so, growing “to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 3:15-16).
Our culture is obsessed with a skin-deep diversity that demands cognitive conformity. The Church should reject such petty, small-minded paradigms. We, of course, want (and demand) unity on the confessional matters of orthodox Christian faith. But we don’t seek manufactured diversity — by no means. Rather we aim, per James 2:1-13, to “show no partiality.” Every local church, no matter where they are located, should tear down any barriers to entry built on sinful human partiality. Beyond that, they must preach the Gospel, love their neighbors, and trust God with both the growth, and the composition, of their local gathering.
Hectoring faithful Christians about being a minority in Heaven isn’t helpful, it’s divisive. Telling mono-ethnic churches in mono-ethnic settings that they aren’t as holy as the multicultural church in downtown Manhattan isn’t loving, it’s divisive. This is “divisive diversity rhetoric,” and it needs to end.
Yes, God is gathering a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language. What a great reason for rejoicing! The Gospel will go to the ends of the earth. Christ the conquering King guarantees it. But it’s God who is doing this, not mankind. Revelation 5:9 isn’t an imperative for local churches here on earth to reflect such a diverse gathering here and now or be found unfaithful. Far from it. It is a glorious indicative, a statement about what God Himself is doing and will do by the power of His Spirit and the preaching of His Gospel. Christians misstep when we mistake indicatives for imperatives. In those missteps, we can needlessly divide the Church.
Instead, Christians should strive to hold fast to the truth, both about what happens in our world, like in Ferguson, and what can be found in the pages of the Bible, like in Revelation.
Let’s get back to the truth. And by doing so, leave behind the last decade of divisive diversity rhetoric, grounded in unbiblical and illogical conceptions of what Heaven will look like. Our churches here on earth will be better—and more heavenly—for it.Tweet Share
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The Law of Love
Life is all about relationships. A significant part of what it means for us to be created in the image of God is to be relational. God Himself is a relational being. Not only does He relate personally to us as His image-bearers, He also has enjoyed perfect relational harmony as Father, Son, and Spirit from all eternity.
Our greatest joys and sorrows come because of relationships. In order for us to live as we ought, we must have our relationships properly ordered. This means that we must relate to the right things in the right way. God has not left us to figure out on our own how to do this. He has spoken very simply and clearly about the essence and priority of all human relationships. Jesus explained it when answering a question from a lawyer.
“Which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matt. 22:36). The question seems innocent enough until we consider its background and context. The Jewish leaders had plotted against Jesus and were trying to “entangle him in his talk” (v. 15). After turning the tables on them when they asked Him about taxes, exposing their ignorance of Scripture and God’s power concerning the resurrection, He entertained this question about the law.
Rabbis had lengthy debates over this question. They had divided the Mosaic Law into 613 commands — 248 positive ones and 365 negative ones. Their arguments focused on which ones are great and heavy versus those that are small and light.
In order for us to live as we ought, we must have our relationships properly ordered.
Jesus dismissed all of those niggling debates by giving a comprehensive answer that both satisfied the inquisitor and revealed God’s overarching will for those who bear His image. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt: 22:37–40).
Jesus’ answer gives the point and purpose of the whole law. He summarizes our complete responsibility in terms of relationships, specifically, our relationships to God and to people. The essence of all our relationships, He says, is love.
The first priority of love is God Himself. We are to love God comprehensively and supremely. Heart, soul, and mind are each qualified by “all,” indicating that we are obligated to love God with every part of every faculty that we possess.
What does such love look like? Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So obedience is closely connected to loving the Lord, but it is not enough to say that they are the same thing. Love is more than an act of the will. It includes that, but it first arises in the affections.
John makes this connection in 1 John 5:3 where he writes, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” Loving God involves keeping His commandments — not as a burden but as a delight. More than a dozen times this attitude of delighting in God’s law is expressed in Psalm 119.
Augustine described the love that we are to have for God as “the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for His own sake, and the enjoyment of one’s self and of one’s neighbor for the sake of God.” To love God is to enjoy Him above everything and everyone else and out of that joy to live in glad obedience to His will.
But Jesus does not stop there. He goes on to teach us that, after loving God supremely, our next greatest responsibility is to love people sincerely. Contrary to what some teach about this, Jesus is not commanding self-love. Nor should His words be taken to imply that we cannot love others until we learn to love ourselves.
To love God is to enjoy Him above everything and everyone else and out of that joy to live in glad obedience to His will.
Jesus assumes that we already do love ourselves. Paul explicitly makes this point by noting that “no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Eph. 5:29). This kind of natural self-love is manifested by the choices that we make to serve our own interests. No matter how destructive such choices are, they are expressions of self-love.
Once we understand the inevitability of self-love, Jesus’ command that we love others as much as we love ourselves becomes incredibly broad. The health, comfort, companionship, and benefits that I desire for myself I am also to desire for my neighbors.
This means that while I must never love people — even my closest relations — more than God, I must love them as much as I love myself.
All of this, of course, shows how completely dependent we are on the grace of Jesus Christ. We cannot love God supremely or people sincerely apart from His love first reaching us through the power of the Gospel. Only as we are so loved will we be set free to love in return.Follow Tom Ascol:
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