A holy and loving God has the right to be sovereign. Men have ever stumbled at the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, chiefly because they have not understood it. They have thought it meant that God was merely a predestinating omnipotence, that he is capricious lightning, a meteor God, moving across the heavens of man’s hope in a lawless manner, smiting one and saving another, without regard to moral law. They have thought of him as sovereign omnipotence or as sovereign omniscience instead of sovereign fatherhood, as he is. If he is holy and loving, if he has character, he has a right to be sovereign. We may say indeed that men have little or no difficulty in accepting the idea of the sovereignty of God so soon as they recognize character behind sovereignty.

The Axioms of Religion

Of course, that's how I asked him to sign it...

The debates can now cease.

Just a little fun on a Wednesday.

All jokes aside, I cannot overstate how great an honor it is to study under this Southern Baptist giant.

The Gospel as Center represents the best of what the public has come to expect from Keller and Carson – intensely theological, doctrinally sound, and immensely helpful. The contributions of other notable pastors and scholars – Richard Phillips, Mike Bullmore, Andrew Davis, Reddit Andrews III, Colin Smith, Bryan Chapell, Sandy Wilson, Philip Ryken, Kevin DeYoung, Stephen Um, Tim Savage, Thabiti Anyabwile, Ligon Duncan, and Sam Storms – give even more creditability and weight to the work. For those curious on gaining doctrinal insight to the young, Reformed movement in modern Evangelicalism, one could scarcely find a better resource.

My critique has little to do with the substance of the book, but rather centers on the potential misuse thereof. The book itself has the potential to withstand the test of time as a clarion call to “make central what Jesus himself establishes as central” (21). For some time I have asked which scholars and pastors in our day will be read by the generations to follow. In my opinion, this book is a compilation of many of those authors.

The difficulties involved in gathering leaders from so many different theological traditions and uniting under a singular banner, I feel, is both under and overestimated at times. In one sense, we should be able to unite on the substance of the gospel – “the necessity of the new birth, justification by faith alone, the atonement through propitiation and the substitutionary death of Christ“(11). And yet in another sense, there are significant theological distinctions that are represented by the various denominational backgrounds, and no council or synod will erase centuries of difference and discord.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this dissonance is represented in the only dually-authored chapter in the book (apart from the opening chapter penned by Carson and Keller) – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Though the chapter sought to zero in on the aspects agreed upon between Anyabwile (a Baptist) and Duncan (a Presbyterian), the differences between these two perspectives – especially in regards to baptism (creedo or paedo) – are not minor. Students of Reformation history know to what great lengths these different interpretations have been defended – even to the point of persecution and execution. While Anyabwile and Duncan represent the unity we can come to, they also represent what I believe limits the potential use of this statement of faith.

“We are united by the conviction that what unites us – the doctrinal core components of the gospel – is far more important than what divides us… That conviction differentiates us from those who believe that there is no gospel to preach apart from the distinctions of their tradition. They do not think that their denominational distinctives are “secondary” (13).

My primary concern with The Gospel as Center, is that local churches have begun to request permission from The Gospel Coalition to adopt and use their statement of faith. The width of this convictional statement serves multiple denominations and theological traditions well, but doesn’t provide the distinctive elements that local churches require. After all, no local church can be both paedo-baptist and creedo-baptist, and no one on either side of the discussion is apathetic in regards to their position. The decision to leave both options open is virtually a necessity for The Gospel Coalition, but would be devastating for any particular local church.

With that caveat, I can fully endorse The Gospel as Center as a robust statement of faith that has the intent and ability to unite various denominations and theological traditions under the banner of Gospel Centrality. The book as a book, is full of rich theological discussion and gives an exemplar picture of modern Reformed Confessional Evangelicalism.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Crossway book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I’m looking forward to jumping back in the saddle soon!

If you live long enough, and serve faithfully enough, you will have rain-soaked seasons, and feel yourself sinking in the mud. But Graham survived. And look what God wrought.

Why Impostors Love the Church from Russell Moore

The New Testament warns us, of course, about spiritual impostors. Sometimes these “wolves” are there to introduce subtly false doctrine. But, just as often, it seems, these spiritual carnivores hold to true doctrine, at least on the surface. But they use this doctrine and service for predatory ends. The sons of Eli, for instance, use their priestly calling to co-opt the fat of the offering and to lay with the women at the altar (1 Sam. 2).Virtually every New Testament letter warns us about the same phenomenon (e.g., 2 Pet. 2; Jude).
But why, when there is so much opportunity for debauchery out there in the world around us, do such people choose the church?

Why the Southern Baptist Convention Must Exclude Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church from Bart Barber

Christ Tabernacle Misisonary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, has called sex-predator Darrell Gilyard as a pastor. The Jacksonville Baptist Association besought the church to resign its membership from the association, and apparently the church has agreed to withdraw from the JBA.

What You Need to Know About the New iPad from Geek for i

Overall, the new iPad is impressive, but I don’t think it warrants upgrading from the iPad 2. If you’ve got the first generation iPad or are new to tablets, then it’s a solid investment.

Just what do we mean when we use the term “Calvinist”? Because the term is used in a variety of ways we often fail to communicate and misunderstanding occurs. Unfortunately, such misunderstanding too often leads to unnecessary division and offense

Are you paying attention to Kirk Cameron? from Denny Burk

What is instructive about this interview has been how openly vitriolic people have become to the idea of a Christian sexual ethic. It’s not just that people disagree with Cameron. No, they accuse him of engaging in “hate” speech and of being “homophobic.” I saw one public figure accuse him of being complicit in murder. The denunciations of Cameron have been relentless (see here, here). They accuse Cameron and his ilk of being intolerant. All the while, they seem to be blissfully unaware of their own malignant intolerance of Christian morality.

Children in Worship–Mom Tested Tips from Jason Helopoulos

11. Stop Worrying: Many parents are concerned about what other parents or members of the congregation think of their parenting skills or how annoyed someone else is with their child’s fidgeting during the service. DON’T! Commit as a congregation to welcome children into your services. This means that not only do our children have to adjust, but so do the adults. In reality, it is adults who have to adjust the most! Let’s just learn to have a little more tolerance on this front. If a baby is a little fussy, papers are rustling, or a few things are dropping on the floor it is o.k. As congregations, we need to willingly and joyfully join in this great privilege of welcoming our covenant children into corporate worship. And that takes some minor adjusting on our part.

The Future of Baptist Theology with a Look at its Past from James Leo Garrett Jr.

This is the first in a series of three articles by Dr. Garrett on “The Future of Baptist Theology with a Look at Its Past,” which was presented at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary at an event.

It was painful to part ways with that wonderful family who disagreed with us on baptism, and we miss them still. But our affection for them personally, our affinity with them theologically, and our emotional desire to welcome them into membership do not change the fact that Jesus gave instructions that we must obey. The separation from paedobaptists we love may be painful, but it is separation to obey Jesus. The surpassing greatness of knowing him is worth whatever it costs.

At What Age Should We Baptize? from Tim Challies

Though by definition baptists agree that a person should be baptized only after confessing faith in Jesus Christ, there are several views on how old a believer must be, or should be, before such a confession can be trusted and acted upon. The views range, on the one end, from baptizing a confessing believer no matter how young to, on the other end, not baptizing them until they are practically independent from their parents.

Fierce Tornadoes and the Fingers of God from John Piper

We do not ascribe such independent power to Mother Nature or to the devil. God alone has the last say in where and how the wind blows. If a tornado twists at 175 miles an hour and stays on the ground like a massive lawnmower for 50 miles, God gave the command.

An Apology from Limbaugh, But the Damage is Done from Denny Burk

Limbaugh’s remarks last week distracted the nation from this reality with a lowbrow personal attack. His subsequent apology was untimely and advanced the liberal narrative that this debate is about privacy and contraception. There’s no escaping the conclusion that he has set the cause back with his careless remarks, and his apology won’t fix that. We do not need cynical voices like his joining the debate on either side. America deserves better.

Those who are born in a Christian land, and who never were the subjects of gross infidelity, stand in no less need of being thus convinced that others. Nay, in some respects they need it more. Their unbelieving opposition to Christ is more subtle, refined, and out of sight, than that of open infidels: they are less apt, therefore, to suspect themselves of it: and consequently stand in greater need of the Holy Spirit to search them out, and show them to themselves. Amongst those who constantly sit under the gospel, and who remain in an unconverted state, there are few who think themselves the enemies of Christ. On the contrary, they flatter themselves that they are willing at any time to be converted, if God would but convert them: considering themselves as lying at the pool for the moving of the waters. But “when he, the Spirit of truth, cometh,” these coverings will be stripped off the face, and these refuges of lies will fail.

The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, Or, the Duty of Sinners to Believe in Jesus Christ by Andrew Fuller

A hop-toad and a lizard were watching an express train hurtling by in West Texas. Said the hop-toad: “There are fools who believe somebody made that train. Nonsense! It just happened of itself.” Said the lizard: “And there are fools who say the thing is run by a locomotive engineer. Such stupidity! It runs by itself.” A sand flea overheard the learned discussion between the two, climbed upon on corner of a railroad spike and said: “Some fools say that there is a man called a president who is at the head of the railroad. Such gross credulity! If there is a president of this railroad, I defy him to come and strike me dead!”

God ignores the whole senseless travesty with the one comment, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Nothing else is added. Nothing else is said. Nothing more in the whole BIble. The atheist believes like a fool.

An atheist never gave an intelligent answer to the vast mystery of the universe. He never gave meaning to a man’s life on earth. He denies intelligence, will and personality in creation. He only sees a blind, fortuitous concourse of atoms that created themselves, shaped themselves, and finally produced our minds and souls, without reason, without purpose, without destiny.

In Defense of the Faith by W.A. Criswell