An Exhortation to My Fellow Pastors

The dark depravity of the evil shepherds in Ezekiel 34 comes into especially sharp relief against the brilliant and beautiful light provided in the revelation of Jesus Christ as the good Shepherd. 

The Dark Depravity of the Evil Shepherds

A look into the behavior of the evil shepherds will reinforce this reality. F.B. Huey argues that ancient shepherds had three primary responsibilities, all of which may be seen negatively in the early verses of Ezekiel 34. 

First, the shepherd must "provide food, water, and a resting place for the sheep." But the shepherds of Israel were under judgment precisely because they were concerned about providing these things for themselves rather than for the sheep (v. 3). 

Second, shepherds "took care of the sick sheep, dressed their wounds, and hunted for sheep that strayed from the flock." However, the shepherds of Israel were doing the exact opposite; they were abusive toward the flock (v. 4). 

The third responsibility that the ancient shepherd had "was to protect the sheep from danger." The shepherd held a staff that could either be used to ward off a dangerous animal or that could be used to retrieve a sheep that had fallen into a crevice or otherwise become trapped in the underbrush. 

It is in our focal passage, Ezekiel 34:5-8, that we witness the Lord's verdict regarding the neglect of the shepherds to protect the sheep:

So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: "As I live," says the Lord God, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did my shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock."

The Problem of Hired Hands

Jesus Christ's description of the hired shepherds, who neglected their office at the first sign of a dangerous wolf, similarly applies to these faithless shepherds of ancient Israel. Jesus identified the "hireling" as one who does not really deserve the name of shepherd. The hireling does not care for the sheep, for he has no sense of ownership (John 10:12-13). 

The comparison is appropriate for the situation of Ezekiel. The last kings of Judah, who succeeded one another in rapid succession in the final years of the kingdom, did not really care about the flock of the Lord. They did not even search for the sheep that had been deported from the land into Babylon, much less risk their lives to redeem the flock (as Jesus would one day do). The neglect of the shepherds meant that the sheep were scattered and had become prey for the beasts of the field. 

The word פוץ (puwts), which is translated as "scattered," is used thrice in this passage. Sheep are at their most vulnerable when they are separated from one another and from their shepherd. One of the ancient shepherd's primary responsibilities was to keep the sheep together in his presence. 

When the shepherd does not tend to the sheep and gather them regularly into the fold, they will naturally "wander" (שׁגה or shagah). It is in such a state of dispersion that a flock becomes a series of individuals, who then make easy "prey" (בז or baz). In a horrifying figure of speech evocative of cannibalism, Ezekiel said that the people as sheep thereby become "food" or "meat" (אכלה or 'oklah) for the conqueror as "beast" or "wild animal" (חי or chay).

The Evil Shepherds Focus on Themselves

The issue is then raised, "Why did the shepherds allow the sheep to be scattered?" Ezekiel also provides the answer to that important question.

A shepherd's constant task in his role of protecting the flock was to "seek" (בקשׁ or baqash) and "search" (דרשׁ or darash) for the sheep, monitoring them so as to keep them from endangering themselves or to remove them from the peril of predators. When a shepherd is not monitoring the sheep in this fashion, they will easily become scattered and endangered.

Rather than being focused on tending to the flock, however, Israel's shepherds were focused on tending to themselves. "But the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed the sheep" (Ezek 34:8).

The One Shepherd

These verses from Ezekiel 34 present a very dark picture, but the passage is not without indications of hope. Repeatedly, the Lord refers in this passage to the people as "My sheep" or "My flock" (vv. 6 and 8). The kings as shepherds may act as hirelings, but there is a Shepherd who owns this flock, who has a vested and intimate interest in the welfare of his sheep. 

Israel and Judah may have had various kings who were to function as shepherds, but they also have their covenant Lord God, who is ultimately the King that they must worship (cf. Ps 98:6) and ultimately the Shepherd that will rescue them (Eek 34:11-16, 20-31). And in a rich allusion to the Messiah who would be their only shepherd, the Lord also promises through Ezekiel that, "I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them" (vv. 23-24a). 

Israel's motley crew of faithless and vanquished shepherd-kings would be replaced with a singularly faithful and victorious shepherd-king, the Christ. Note that the Lord's promise regarding the Davidic "one shepherd" (v. 23) within the overarching context of the Lord's promise to act decisively as Israel's shepherd (vv. 20-31) brings the human Messiah and the Lord God into a profound unity redolent of the New Testament's high Christology.

The New Testament Shepherd

In light of such darkness in human leaders and the truth of the One Shepherd, New Testament church leaders must be extremely careful that their hearts are focused on Christ and their actions on their flock. Church pastors should not be like the wicked Israelite king-shepherds, who were focused on ἐαυτούςποιμαίνοντες, "feeding themselves" (Jude 12). 

Sadly, there are too many cases where contemporary pastors neglect the flocks that the Lord placed in their care and pursue their own self-interests instead. The shepherd who has descended into ministry for money and not for love has become a despicable hireling. However, if a pastor discovers his heart's intentions toward God and his outward actions toward the flock have been engrossed with evil, he need not utterly despair. For the errant shepherd who has neglected his flock and heedlessly allowed them to wander morally and doctrinally, there is yet hope for repentance and restoration. [For the abusing wolf, who pretends to belong in the pastorate, although the Lord did not call him thence, know that your judgment is coming.]

The first pastor to be instituted was Peter, and in spite of his claims that he loved Christ more than any of the other disciples (Mark 14:29), he had failed. Not once nor twice but thrice Peter denied Jesus in his greatest hour of human need (Mark 14:66-72; John 18:15-18, 25-27). But in a moving redemptive moment for Peter and potentially for every shepherd since Peter, the Lord re-commissioned his fallen under-shepherd (John 21:15-17). 

It is noteworthy that the risen Christ thrice correlated Peter's love for the Lord with Peter's fulfillment of his appointed office to shepherd the flock. It is when Peter fully embraced the cross of the shepherding office Christ had given him that Peter would find his heart was truly following his Lord (John 21:18-19).

An Exhortation to My Fellow Pastors

The only way a Christian under-shepherd may avoid becoming an evil shepherd like those in judgment under Ezekiel is through a heart continually transformed by the Word of God and the Spirit of God to take the shape of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is primarily concerned for his flock's welfare and seeks them out to save them. May we, Christ's shepherds, have self-sacrificial ministries that follow the good Shepherd of the New Testament rather than the self-centered actions of the evil shepherds of Ezekiel.

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(Note: This pastoral commentary on Ezekiel 34 was originally part of a longer essay. It reflects my own dismay and disgust with certain models of ministry becoming increasingly evident and is published here with a sense of hope for a better future. May the culture change for which J.D. Greear and Keith Whitfield have expressed a longing come about sooner than later. I am thankful that Russell Moore and Philip Bethancourt of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission have sponsored the recent Caring Well Conference, which is helping to start the process toward a culture change. Finally, I am thankful that Southwestern Seminary's retired Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, F.B Huey, a man of gravity and grace mentioned above, was my professor. [The bracketed sentence above was added in 2019 to the original 2015 essay after the horrific revelations of widespread sexual abuse in the churches became known.])

Two Letters from Birmingham: Pursuing Biblical Justice

During the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, our churches' messengers did many good things. For instance, we finally began addressing the sexual abuse crisis. Much attention was also given to the indispensability of women in our churches. Again, our President, J.D. Greear, reminded us that our constant theme must be the "Gospel Above All," even as we address gospel issues created by errant anthropologies with us since our denomination's foundation.

However, one convention action that deserves more attention, but has not yet received it in the news and social commentary, concerned the struggle for biblical justice. The juxtaposition of two letters from Birmingham should help put more light on something that requires emphasis. These letters remind us of the need to take positive action in undoing the effects of evil anthropologies.

The First Letter from Birmingham

It should not be lost upon us that 56 years ago, in the hot summer of 1963, Birmingham was seized by non-violent demonstrations after the city fathers failed to stem the tide of unconscionable bombings of churches. Martin Luther King Jr. came from Atlanta to help put the spotlight on the horrific problems faced by a huge segment of the Christian population of this city. But rather than listening to King, Birmingham's authorities unwisely threw him into jail.

Adding salt to King's wounds, a group of white Christians who sought to support his goals asked him to be more patient in the pursuit of justice. The letter King wrote in response to the white moderate Christians has since become a classic text. Filled with biblical and theological reflections on the theme of pursuing justice in the midst of an unjust society, reading it again brought me to tears. King's rebuke to the white moderates, who were generally friendly to him, was necessary. That letter grips the soul of this privileged white man. For instance, he rebukes those Christians who blithely dismiss the suffering of others:

In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sidelines and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, "Those are social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with," and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which made a strange distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred and the secular.

Many white Christians have been complicit in keeping civil rights from their fellow human beings and, even more hypocritically, from their own Christs' blood-bought Brothers and Sisters. Today, it is clear that many of us who are Southern Baptist lament the evil of racism, but there remains much to do. The evils of racism and misogyny and sexual abuse, evils which have often been downplayed even denied, must become objects of identification, rebuke, and repentance whenever they arise among us. King's letter from the Birmingham jail rightly calls predominantly white Christians to embrace their responsibility.

The Second Letter from Birmingham

Another letter from Birmingham was written this summer. However, rather than coming from a single man in the unjustly imposed confines of a jail cell, this letter came from a group of men and women who worked diligently in the self-imposed confines of Birmingham's conference center. The Resolutions Committee of the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, chaired by the highly capable Curtis Woods of Kentucky, crafted a resolution that deserves more attention than it has yet been given.

Resolution 7, entitled "On Biblical Justice," offers a timely reminder that pursuing justice remains an integral aspect of Christian responsibility in this world. Drawing upon Scripture and the Baptist Faith and Message, the resolution was adopted overwhelmingly and wholeheartedly by the messengers in 2019. While there have been advances since 1963, this letter indicates how much more work we have to do in advancing human flourishing among the precious beings who bear the divine image and live in our cities, states, nations, and world. Among the many truths brought forward in this resolution, the final whereas reminds us that biblical evangelism and biblical justice are integrally intertwined:

WHEREAS, Our witness to the truth of the gospel includes obedience to Christ demonstrated in giving our lives to evangelize the lost around the world and in becoming involved with the struggles of our neighbors as well as our believing brothers and sisters (Genesis 18:19; 1 Peter 2:11-12);

Notice another wise balance among the resolves, this time showing that the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the true pursuit of justice must be held together among Christians. In one resolve, inappropriate ideas are rejected; while in the very next resolve, Christians are reminded of our responsibility to pursue justice:

RESOLVED, That we reject solutions for social brokenness that depend upon ideas that are antithetical to the Christian faith, for they ignore the lasting transformation only found in the gospel; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in light of the urgent needs in our world, we commit to address injustices through gospel proclamation, by advocating for people who are oppressed and face wrongs against them, acting justly in our own dealings, and by insisting that spheres of society should operate according to “principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love” (The Baptist Faith and Message, Article XV);

Even as we focus on preaching the gospel and advancing truth, let us not forget that advancing biblical justice is a necessary part of our remit in this fallen world. Kudos to the men and women of the Resolutions Committee of the SBC for the fine work they have done in reminding us of so many critical truths in their fine batch of resolutions, including the continuing pursuit of biblical justice.

Thank you, Southern Baptists, for the way you addressed so many important issues this year. Among them, thank you for adopting this second Letter from Birmingham. Perhaps the great civil rights leader, himself a Baptist minister and very capable theologian, might approve of the progress we have made, but doubtless he would rightly remind us we have further to go.

New Book: Trinitarian Theology: Theological Models and Doctrinal Application

"As a Trinitarian scholar, where do you stand on this doctrine of Eternal Relations of Authority and Submission?"

In various forms, this is a question I have repeatedly faced in hallways, conference rooms, and classrooms in diverse venues. The question typically comes from academic theologians, students, and church leaders. Usually, I have to pause the conversation and first explain the way one should go about trying to provide an answer to such a question. This is why I contributed two essays to a recent publication that functions as a "three-views" book.

Our new book considers why and how one should approach the doctrine of the Trinity, particularly in relation to the doctrine of humanity. Since Scripture maintains in its very first chapter that human beings are created in the image of God, a connection is firmly established for Christian theologians. The debated issue today is how exactly should one perceive the connection between God and humanity, especially with regard to gender relations. It was a privilege to work with Matthew Emerson and Luke Stamps, as well as Bruce Ware, as well as with our editor, Keith Whitfield, who conceived the idea for this book. Each of the contributors are both Trinitarian and complementarian, but there is still great diversity between us.

The title of the text is Trinitarian Theology: Theological Models and Doctrinal Application. Immediately below is my concluding paragraph. However, if you want to know how this claim was argued, and you really should want to know that, then you will need to read both of my essays first. These two chapters may be helpful to theologians in other ways, too, since they focus on theological method, divine attributes, and theological anthropology. From an historical perspective, the two pieces interact with the Ecumenical Creeds as well as with more recent theologians, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Stanley Grenz, and Scott Swain, among others.

Of course, you will definitely want to read the contributions from the other writers to this volume so that you might see things in different ways. Finally, review again the biblical passages under consideration, pray for the Spirit to guide you in your interpretation, and come to your own conclusion. But, since you asked a definitive question, here is my definitive answer:

Based on the above scriptural exposition of divine perfection, buttressed by these creeds, I can only conclude that there is no “eternal relation of authority and submission” between the Father and the Son if that claim requires us to diminish in any way the fully and eternally perfect possession of authority and power by the perfect Son and the perfect Spirit as well as the perfect Father. While my theology of perfection and the creeds’ theology of power may not convince, because admittedly all creaturely theologies lack perfection, the One God the Lord remains nevertheless simply, eternally, and immutably perfect.

The book is currently available for electronic purchase through Amazon Kindle and Wordsearch Bible. The publisher, B&H Academic, will have print copies available in the new year, for which the other authors and I are grateful.

While we are speaking of Trinity, gender, and theological method, please check out the excellent new book by one of my brilliant PhD supervisees and a revered colleague at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Hongyi Yang. Her work is A Development, Not a Departure: The Lacunae in the Debate of the Doctrine of the Trinity and Gender Roles and has been widely and properly lauded as a major contribution to the debate. I find it particularly delightful that it was a Chinese woman, converted from atheism to faith in Christ, whom God used to bring together a gaggle of male Christian theologians in order to demonstrate kindly yet soundly where the holes in their arguments reside.

On Reaffirming the Full Dignity of Every Human Being

The last three or four weeks have been among the most emotional and intense in my adult life. However, I have also felt an incredible peace and leadership from the Holy Spirit. One of the first actions I prayerfully undertook was to ask Keith Whitfield to help me co-author a resolution asking Southern Baptists to reaffirm their existing theological anthropology. We both believe strongly that a lack of recent emphasis upon this doctrine is where so many of the problems afflicting contemporary evangelicals arise. Keith and I understand very well that passing a resolution on the key doctrine of 2018 is not an end but a beginning. I also want to thank Jason Duesing and the Resolutions Committee for passing it substantially verbatim to the Southern Baptist Convention. Finally, thank you, Southern Baptists, for reaffirming this key theological claim. May God lead us to study Scripture's teaching about Christ, the perfect Image, and about the human beings made in his image more carefully and enact it more perfectly. The text of the approved resolution follows:


ON REAFFIRMING THE FULL DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING

WHEREAS, In the beginning, the Triune God chose to create humanity in His image and according to His likeness, such that “God created man in His own image; He created Him in the image of God; He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:26–27); and

WHEREAS, God judged His creation of humanity to be very good indeed (Genesis 1:31), crowned humanity with honor and glory, making them rulers over the works of His hands (Psalm 8:5–6), and put eternity in all human hearts so we might seek after Him (Ecclesiastes 3:11); and

WHEREAS, God’s precious likeness and image was passed down from Adam to his posterity, the human race, through generations (Genesis 5:3); and

WHEREAS, God sent His own perfect image, Jesus Christ, into the world (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3), intending through the sufferings of Christ (Hebrews 2:10) for human beings to become conformed, renewed, and transformed into the same image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:9–10); and

WHEREAS, God intends to bless human beings to “bear the image of the man of heaven,” Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49; cf. 1 John 3:2), and “wants everyone to be saved” through hearing and believing His gospel (1 Timothy 2:4; cf. Ezekiel 18:23; Matthew 23:37; 2 Peter 3:9); and

WHEREAS, Significant challenges threaten the dignity and worthiness of human beings who do not possess power or advantage, including but not limited to the heinous murder of the unborn child in the womb, the enforced withdrawal of life-sustaining medical care from the ill or infirm, the prejudices and discriminations of racism and ethnocentrism, various abuses of other human persons, the denigration of opposing political groups, and persecutions of religious minorities; and

WHEREAS, Article III of The Baptist Faith and Message clearly affirms that human dignity is an inviolable status, stating, “The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love”; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Dallas, Texas, June 12–13, 2018, reaffirm the sacredness and full dignity and worthiness of respect and Christian love for every single human being, without any reservation whatsoever; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every unborn child and denounce every act of abortion except to save the mother’s physical life; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being, whether or not any political, legal, or medical authority considers a human being possessive of “viable” life regardless of cognitive or physical disability, and denounce every act that would wrongly limit the life of any human at any stage or state of life; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being of whatever ethnicity and denounce every form and practice of racism and ethnocentrism; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being, whether male or female, young or old, weak or strong, and denounce any and every form of abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, or psychological; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being of whatever political or legal status or party and denounce rhetoric that diminishes the humanity of anyone; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being of whatever religion or creed and denounce any unjust violation of the first freedom of religious liberty; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we affirm that the full dignity of every human being can never be removed, diminished, or modified by any human decision or action whatsoever; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we affirm the full dignity of every human being and commit to model God’s saving love by sharing the eternal hope found in the gospel, to call all people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19–20; 2 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Peter 3:14–17), and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39; Romans 12:10, 15; Philippians 2:4–7).

Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Dallas, Texas, June 2018

Resolving the Uncertainty at the Crossroads: The 2018 Southern Baptist Convention

During the past few months, it has become apparent that while Southern Baptists say we want biblical truth to drive our efforts, we are somewhat conflicted amongst ourselves as to how that looks. Southern Baptists have arrived at a crossroads, and the future for our common work as a Christian people is uncertain.

Some of us pine primarily for a revival in that aspect of our piety characterized by evangelism; others among us argue for a renewal in that aspect of our piety characterized by justice. These two tendencies coalesce for a third and ultimately decisive middle group in a desire for expressing well the Lord’s commands to engage in both gospel witness and gospel practice. (I personally believe our choices are, providentially, not as much in conflict as the political conversation suggests, but more anon.)

Nevertheless, as with civil voting patterns in the United States, the middle group may feel forced to choose between one way or the other, for we have created a unitary power structure that funnels authority through the office of a single leader. The wisdom, or lack thereof, of the American proclivity, through both its civil and religious political democracies, to grant overarching power to one officer demonstrates itself once again in a polarized people. As a result, we sense intense heat even as we hope to see great light moving into our annual gathering.

For several weeks now, I have been encouraged by a number of good people to declare my views publicly on critical matters facing Southern Baptists as we head to Dallas. Yet the Lord has not released me to address matters that reach their cruces in judgments regarding particular persons. Friends would have me address persons, but God has laid on me the necessity of addressing principles.

I have chosen, therefore, not to focus upon persons for the sake of principles, but upon principles for the sake of persons. Perhaps God will allow us to see that these principles can, true in themselves and truly utilized, help us discern and deliver God’s will regarding the persons around us. Today’s relevant theological principles themselves preeminently concern us as human persons.

There are two principles which currently require our attention, at least as far as I can see. The first principle concerns our divine authority; the second, our divine imagery. Perhaps both will garner our people’s hearty affirmation.

Our Divine Authority

Evangelicals, including Southern Baptists, know that God has chosen to reveal himself in his Word. But while we emphasized the Word of God as Scripture in the late twentieth century, we appear to have drifted from that concern in recent decades. At one time, the dependability and trustworthiness of the Bible compelled both our dialectics and our rhetoric. Alas, however, biblical inerrancy may have become less a principle and more a talisman.

Like passersby glibly burnishing the shiny toe of David Hume’s bronze statue on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, have we begun to treat Scripture’s dependability as something of an obligatory if largely meaningless charm? The language of inspiration and infallibility is no longer used as much in our speech, and sadly its deep meaning seems increasingly lost to our cognition. We say we believe in God’s Word, and most of us even refer to it in our sermons. But are we really allowing Scripture its proper formative role in our thought, speech, and practice?

Recognizing the importance of the doctrine that compelled and legitimized the Conservative Resurgence in the first place, Dr. Owen Strachan of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary worked with me to craft a resolution for consideration by the Committee on Resolutions. Dr. Strachan, Associate Professor of Christian Theology and Director of the Center for Public Theology at our Southern Baptist seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, is a rising young theologian with an impressive record of addressing critical issues in speech and in text. It was a privilege to work with him for a second year in a row. (Last year, we worked together to affirm Penal Substitutionary Atonement.)

My personal hope in submitting our Resolution Affirming the Inerrancy of Holy Scripture is that by returning to our first principle regarding the authority of divine revelation, we might again know the leadership of the Lord in our common effort as a denomination. Psalm 111 reminds us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "All who follow his instructions have good insight."

I believe we will see the way forward to real unity and proper action only through serious Bible study and passionate Bible proclamation. Without constant referral to the divine basis of our authority, we will perish. We absolutely must restate the importance of biblical inerrancy.

Our Divine Imagery

The second resolution summarizes a doctrine with profound implications for a multitude of practical issues. It undergirds today's most popular news headlines and dominates our social media discussions. What dogma lies at the center of our concerns with the problems of abortion, euthanasia, racism and ethnocentrism, sexual abuse, political demonization, and religious persecution?

The biblical doctrine of humanity orients the nexus of these critical ethical issues. The real sickness we have concerns a misunderstanding of who we are as human beings; our ethical crises are symptoms of a more fundamental problem. Humanity is under sustained demonic assault, and the social traumas originating from that warfare demand a faithful witness from God's people concerning God's highest-placed creature. The created dignity of human beings is a doctrine which Southern Baptists have long affirmed, but we have too often overlooked it during other discussions.

Recognizing the church's responsibility to address the anthropological deficiency of this day and age drove recent discussions between Dr. Keith S. Whitfield and me. Dr. Whitfield, who is Associate Professor of Theology, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Vice President for Academic Administration at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, has a gentle heart and a keen mind. I believe we would do well to wear his winsome words. Dr. Whitfield and I previously collaborated in a book on theological method, but we now try our hand at collaborating in a resolution on anthropology.

My personal hope in submitting our Resolution Reaffirming the Full Dignity of Every Human Being is that by reminding ourselves of God's creative and redemptive gifts of identity to humanity, we might help reverse the horrible denigrations of humanity occurring in so many areas of contemporary life. Especially vulnerable in our culture are those persons who lack sufficient political or economic power to require recognition of themselves as worthy of life and liberty. There are two major theological parts to our resolution:

First, as Christians, we believe it imperative to affirm the sacredness, the full dignity, and the worthiness of love which belong to every human creature as a special gift from the Creator. Our dignity as human beings derives not from other human beings. Too many human institutions arrogate to themselves an authority to pronounce decisions about things regarding which they were never given authority to define. Because our dignity as human beings derives from the Creator of all human life, every human life belongs to God alone. Human powers must submit to this universal anthropological truth or find themselves damned for their despicable actions at the final judgment.

Second, as Christians, we also recognize that being created in the divine image is not the end of the story. After we were created in the divine image, humanity abused his image through sin and suffered debilitating damage. To solve this problem is why the Perfect Image of God became a human being, and through the Spirit's gift of faith, the human being's image can be renewed unto conformity with Christ. Thus, we call people not only to respect the full dignity of all human persons, but also to have their own dignity renewed unto perfection by the perfect Word of God.

True humanity comes as a result of creation and of redemption. Both stages of the human condition must be reaffirmed by those who believe in the truth of God's Word as the basis for our teaching today. On the one hand, without recognition of humanity's universal created dignity, we face the specter of continually repeating the horrors of our world's past denigrations of precious children, women, and men. On the other hand, without recognition of humanity's universal need for a renewal of that dignity, we face the specter of God's righteous final judgment upon us for our sins. The biblical doctrine of the image of God puts evangelism and justice in correlation rather than in conflict.

In Conclusion

My purpose in submitting these two resolutions is to call us back to God's Word as the basis for our approach to reality and to call us to see every human person's proper place of dignity within this reality. May God use my brothers' excellent labors upon these resolutions for his glory.

(We trust the collegial wisdom of the Resolutions Committee to bring forward in the proper form the common messages the Lord would have Southern Baptists speak regarding the critical issues of our day. Thus we will not repeat our proposed resolutions verbatim online. Nor do we presume the committee will see exactly what we see in speaking about these great truths. So we pray.)