Articles by Paul

In two weeks Southern Baptists will gather in Houston, TX for our annual meeting. This resolution will be submitted for consideration. I think it is a helpful resolution. It brings clarity about how Southern Baptist view the evangelical and Mormon confusion that surfaced during this past political season that brought confusion. There are parts of the resolution I  would like to have seen speak with more clarity but it is helpful. I would have liked the resolution to identify Mormonism with the classification of cult, but the North American Mission Board makes this clear in the comparison examination of the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Resolution: On the Mormon Church – Mormonism is Not Evangelical (by Dwight McKissic and Tim Rogers)

WHEREAS, Historically, Southern Baptists have embraced Christian brotherhood and cooperation with other evangelicals and

WHEREAS, We have witnessed in recent years the portrayal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as Christian and termed an evangelical group and

WHEREAS, We have witnessed in recent years an increased call of denominations as barriers to be overcome on the road to unity and

WHEREAS, our convention along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a long history of affirming the sanctity of life and

WHEREAS, The Word of God, the Bible, is the complete, trustworthy, and inerrant written record of God’s revelation of Himself to man (John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21) and

WHEREAS, The Bible reveals God as the only true, eternal Creator and self-sufficient, self-existent Sovereign of the universe, one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6-8) and

WHEREAS, Jesus Christ is the unique and eternal Son of God, the incarnate Word, who was with God and was God, and was supernaturally conceived of the Holy Spirit, without sexual relations, born of the virgin Mary (John 1:1-18; Isaiah 7:14-16; 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-21) and

WHEREAS, True Biblical unity can only be realized in the bond of truth, and never at the expense of Biblical truth; Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Southern Baptist Convention meeting, June 11-13, 2013, in Houston, Texas, urges the Boards and Agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention to maintain the historic position of Southern Baptists as they cooperate with various other groups in appropriate evangelistic enterprises, and on issues of justice, morality, and religious liberty both at home and abroad; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That such efforts not commit Southern Baptists to any organizational or long-term relationship which would risk possible compromise of historic distinctives or the unique witness of Southern Baptists to the world; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That Southern Baptists affirm the finality, sufficiency, and exclusivity of the Christian Gospel and of biblical revelation as the sole source of saving truth, “For there is no other name under heaven given among man by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; Any group that denies the sufficiency and exclusivity of the Christian Gospel and of biblical revelation as the sole source of saving truth, while cooperating with on issues of morality, social justice, and religious liberty, will not be a group Southern Baptists cooperate with on evangelistic endeavors, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; We call on all Southern Baptists to cooperate with all groups on issues of morality, social justice, and religious liberty while maintaining the understanding that the term “evangelical” is reserved only for those who affirm the exclusivity of salvation alone, by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, according to the scriptures alone;

AND BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED; Any group that adds to the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the eternal son of God, or denies the work of the Holy Trinity, is not considered Christian, or part of an evangelical belief system.

(HT: www.sbcvoices.com; Dave Miller)