Southern Seminary Magazine (Vol 90.1) The Light of Truth: Apologetics in the 21st Century

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
news & features
the ultimate goal of
theological education
is holiness, mohler says
at spring convocation
—
By Jeff Robinson
Studying theology at the deepest
level is not an end to itself but is
ultimately a means to the learner’s
holiness, Southern Seminary President
Albert Mohler told students
and faculty Tuesday at the school’s
annual Spring Convocation.
Drawing on 1 Peter 1:13-25,
Mohler said studying the Word of
God is such a high privilege, angels
long to obtain such knowledge.
The president’s address was titled,
“Preparing Your Minds for Action:
The Means and Ends of Christian
Learning.”
“I don’t think it’s wrong to think
that there are angels that are envious
of you,” Mohler said to students
and faculty, (envious) of those who
are going to be able to dive deeply
into the truth of God’s Word, to
look deeply into the truths revealed
in Scripture, to know the doctrine
and teaching of the church deeply,
to understand the gospel more
comprehensively.
“Angels long to look into these
things. Angels—beings created for
the glory of God—have a knowledge
certainly, but the knowledge
given to us in Scripture is superior
to their knowledge.”
In 1 Peter and many other places
in Scripture, such as Leviticus
11:44, God commands his people to
be holy because he is holy. Mohler
said this is the ultimate goal for all
study of God’s Word. He noted that
theological education is merely the
means to the end of holiness, and
the two must never be confused.
“Books, classes, lectures, teachers,
schools, colleges, universities,
seminaries—even the most godly—are
simply means, not ends,” he
said. “Means to what? Means to the
preaching of the gospel and the fulfillment
of the Great Commission?
Yes. Means to the edification of the
saints and to growth in godliness?
Yes. Means for planting churches
and feeding churches? Yes. But
even those are penultimate. The
end is holiness.”
Mohler encouraged students to
prepare their minds for action, to
apply rigorous efforts to their studies,
preparing for ministry to the
glory of God.
“It’s a good word at the beginning
of an academic term,” he said.
“You can’t just lazily enter Christian
learning and expect to get learning.
You can’t lackadaisically enter the
classroom. You can’t just unenergetically
accept this as the use of
time.
“Something explosive is going to
take place. The mystery of learning
is beyond our comprehension—
how is it that God allows our mind
to comprehend his revelation? It
is, of course, the imago dei, it is his
condescension to us, his grace and
mercy to us.”
four vital truths are
foundational to human
flourishing, anderson
says in gheens lectures
—
By Travis Hearne
Important ground on our culture’s
understanding of human nature
has been lost in the last decade,
Ryan T. Anderson told the Southern
Seminary community during
the annual Gheens Lectures March
16-17.
Truths that were self-evident
summer 2022
51