Will We Live or Will We Die?

This ia a great call to action by Dr.Akin.

Jun 10th, 2008 by dannyakin

In June 1985, Southern Baptists gathered in Dallas, Texas for their annual Convention. It would be the largest gathering of a Protestant denomination in history. It was a critical moment.On Monday night prior to the Convention’s two day meeting, Dr. W.A. Criswell closed out the annual Pastors Conference. The title of his address: “Whether We Live Or Die.” He knew our denomination was at a crossroads and that the decisions we would make in the coming years would chart our course and impact the health of our Convention. He was convinced that we had before us two options: one road would lead to life and usefulness for the Kingdom of God. The other would lead to decline and eventually death. I believe Southern Baptists are facing a similar scenario a little more than 20 years later. The context is different, but once again we are confronted with important issues that cannot be ignored or papered over. And, they must not be caricatured or misrepresented. We must face them squarely, honestly and most of all biblically and theologically. Only then will we discover if we can truly walk together as a unified denomination.The death of Adrian Rogers is, in my judgment, the symbolic moment that signaled a new day in terms of leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention. Things are now different. I am convinced in this new day and context we need men with a vision for what can be called “A Great Commission Resurgence.” Building on the “Conservative Resurgence,” we need a new passion and commitment to the final marching orders of the Lord Jesus.There is no question in my mind that a true and genuine Great Commission Resurgence will of necessity be wed to a strong and healthy theology. The two must go together and remain partners for life!I want to raise and attempt to answer two questions:

1) Why should we come together in a Great Commission Resurgence?

2) How can we come together in a Great Commission Resurgence? 

I. Why Should We Come Together In A Great Commission Resurgence?

1) We are in agreement as to a common Confession of Faith to guide us, The Baptist Faith and Message 2000. 

2) We are in agreement on the inerrancy, infallibility and sufficiency of the Bible. Some would say the battle for the Bible has been won and it is time to move on. I would sound a word of warning. The battle over the Word of God did not begin in 1979, it started in the Garden of Eden. The battle for biblical authority will never be completely and finally won until Christ returns in power and glory. 

3) We are in agreement on the necessity of a regenerate church. 

4) We are in agreement on the exclusivity of the gospel. 

5) We are in agreement on the sinfulness and lostness of humanity apart from Christ.  

6) We are in agreement that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation is a free gift in which human works plays no part.

7) We are in agreement that the Great Commission is a divinely mandated assignment given to the Church by the Lord Jesus and that it is a task we are to give ourselves until the end of the age. I have never met a Southern Baptist who says I am a non-Great Commission Christian. They would never say this is who they are. They just live like this is who they are. This must change at every level of personal and denominational life.

II. How Can We Come Together In A Great Commission Resurgence?     

1) We need a sound theology, not a soft theology or a straight-jacket theology. Our Confession is a solid foundation for a sound theology that avoids the pitfalls of a soft theology as well as the quicksand of a straight-jacket theology. 

2) We need to let a biblical theology drive and determine our systematic theology. I believe the safeguard that will keep us from falling into a theological trap of a sloppy or narrow system is to let a biblical theology drive, determine and dictate our systematic theology. We must have a text-driven theological system. This will enable us to avoid those theological ghettos that may espouse a nice, neat theological system, but that do so at the expense of a wholesome, well-rounded and comprehensive theology. 

3) We need a revival of authentic expository preaching that will lead us to be genuine people of the book. In the days ahead we must aggressively pursue a pulpit agenda of what I would call “engaging theological exposition.” We must wed substance and style, content and delivery. We must teach the whole counsel of Scripture book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse and word by word. Authentic exposition will also help us recapture the truth of Luke 24 that all of the Bible testifies to Christ. It will pursue its holy assignment in light of the Grand Redemptive Story of Scripture. Moralistic and self-help preaching will be set aside as weak and wholly inadequate in building healthy churches and healthy doctrine. 

4) We need the balance of a Great Commission Theology. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 the apostle Paul makes a remarkable statement: “imitate me as I imitate Christ.” I would submit to all of us that is exactly what we need to do as we join in an unbreakable and permanent union the twin disciplines of theology and missions.  I am convinced that the greatest missionary and theologian who ever lived was Jesus. I believe the greatest Christian missionary and theologian who ever lived was Paul. He was a missionary who wrote wonderful theology along the way! Here are the models for our emulation.  

5) We need to love and respect each other as brothers and sisters in Christ even though we are not in complete agreement on every point of theology. One of our problems in recent days has been semi-Arminians with an attitude and Calvinists with a chip on their shoulder. The shrill rhetoric, sloppy history and theology, and unchristian words and actions on both sides of this issue have resulted in a number of unnecessary misfortunes. Many of you have seen this up close and personal. Could it be that the real problem is a lack of love for Christ, an inadequate theology that is robust, and agendas for church life that push to the back row the reaching of the lost both at home and across the globe? Could it be that our lack of demonstrable and evidential love for one another on numerous levels has compromised and wounded our witness?

Dear brothers and sisters let us not forget that it is not by a perfect theology that the world will know we are Christians. It is by the way we love one another. We need to move from face to face confrontation to shoulder to shoulder companionship for the cause of Christ and His gospel. 

Conclusion:Wedding a healthy, well-informed and robust theology to a consuming passion for the evangelization of the nations, we must come together, as never before, to carry out the final command given by King Jesus. We may not agree on everything, but we agree on more than enough to work together for our Lord Jesus in fulfilling the Great Commission. So, will we live or will we die?  Will we come together for life or fracture apart in death? I make my choice for life. It is my hope and my prayer that you will join me.