Here is a high-level leader who is “in the know” within the SBC. He is telling us what we have all suspected for a very long time now. And the question is, will anyone do anything about it? There is absolutely no sign whatsoever that anyone in the SBC has the guts that it will take to grab this bull by the horns and do the necessary work to address the problems.
(Ed Dingess – Reformation Charlotte) By now it is clear to most non-SBC evangelicals that the SBC is coming unraveled at its seams. Some might say that the reasons for the SBC’s collapse are complex and numerous. However, I have to say that I don’t really think that’s the case. In the interest of fair disclosure, I am a late-comer to the SBC and a reluctant one at that. …
But, for the last four years, I have been a member in good standing in two SBC churches. The first SBC church I was in rejected Reformed theology, elder rule, and the pastor resigned as a result. I had no choice but to move on. As I observe the top-level leaders and celebrity pastor types in the SBC, it seems pretty obvious to me what the problem is. The SBC has a gospel problem and it isn’t a small one.
What do I mean? Well, first and foremost, SBC churches are mostly somewhere between semi-Pelagian and modern Arminian in their soteriology. On the semi-Pelagian side of things, SBC folks usually confess a gospel that grants man the inherent ability to make the first move toward God. The radical notion of a libertarian free-will is rampant in the clergy as well as in the churches. This false idea has extremely serious consequences.
On the other side of this spectrum, the overwhelming majority of those SBC clergies and churches who are not semi-Pelagian affirm modern Arminianism. This view of the gospel has Christ restoring what was lost in Adam at the cross so that by way of prevenient grace, original sin has lost any meaningful significance. The sting of sin has been forever removed so that all men, through universal prevenient grace, can now freely hear the gospel, evaluate and examine it, and make a decision based on their own free-will to follow Christ or not. The root of all the SBC’s problems is grounded in these very troubling and false views of the gospel.
When the president of the SBC, JD Greear preaches that homosexuality is on the same level as a child disobeying their parent, you know there is a serious flaw in the top leader’s understanding of sin. Now, if your understanding of sin is flawed, you better believe that your understanding of the gospel is going to be off as well.
Greear not only flattens out the depravity of all sin in his sermon that he preached on 1/27/19 at the Summit Church, but he also says that homosexuality is more like an affliction than a sinful choice to be repented of. He goes on to say that the Bible screams about materialism and self-righteousness while it only whispers about sexual immorality. If only he could take those words back today on the other side of the sexual abuse revelation coming out of the Houston Chronicle.
Related:
Unreformed Evangelicals: Arminianism’s Dangerous Conclusions – Ed Dingess
The Gospel of Jesus Christ – Steve Lawson and Todd Friel – YouTube video
Research: