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

25 years of faithful service
year, graduations of those classes
recurring after (approximately) every
three years, and even children
of former students showing up in
class, the degree of impact made
by this historic shift in theological
commitment overwhelms my
mind with gratitude and awe.
Schreiner. I think the most gratifying
thing is seeing our students
going out as faithful pastors, missionaries,
staff members, educators,
counselors, worship leaders, etc.
Now, with a broader and more mature perspective I can
better understand the remarkable grace that God has shed
on Southern. Our graduates are glorifying Christ and serving
his churches by preaching, pastoring, teaching, ministering,
evangelizing, and discipling all over the world.
Nettles. Though the reality of what happened never
ceased to be a point of gratitude and praise, and even
some degree of astonishment at how thoroughly the
threshing floor was cleansed, given the dynamics of close
to two decades at that time, I anticipated with hope the
kind of comprehensive strength and substance that became
a mark of theological education at SBTS. Part of my
understanding of history is based on 2 Timothy 1:10-12
where Paul expresses his confidence that God himself is
committed eternally to protect the deposit of truth that
he has revealed about the covenanted redemptive work
of his Son. Of course, like warnings to the churches in
Revelation, God could sovereignly remove the lampstand
from its place due to a history of unfaithfulness,
but the text teaches that until the day of Christ, he will
not allow the testimony to the work of his Son lose its authoritative
form of sound words, its power, its clarity, or
its success. It seemed, that having begun the good work,
God would continue it for his glory, the honor of his Son,
the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, and the faithful
and thorough equipping of his appointed ministers of
the gospel. That I expect such to happen in sovereignly
selected pockets throughout the world does not diminish
the impact of God’s grace in doing that eternally conceived
work of protection and restoration right here. The
existential experience of seeing new classes come in every
Since you began here in
1997, it seems we’ve had a
revolution, or perhaps many
revolutions, in our culture,
most of which have impacted
the church. So, would you give different advice to
our graduates going out into ministry today than
you would’ve back then?
York. The tools of war may change through the years,
but not the essential character of war. That’s true of spiritual
warfare as well. Satan may use different weapons, but
the battle is still won through the atoning work of Christ.
I have seen certain cultural challenges arise that I never
anticipated or imagined, but I do not consider our difficulties
greater than those the apostle Paul faced. So whatever
new battle fronts Satan might establish, the gospel
of Jesus Christ is still the way the war is won. I am more
committed than ever to teaching our students to believe
in the power of the gospel and to proclaim it faithfully as
the only hope for a world wrapped in lostness.
Nettles. Cultures have no absolutes, apart from pervasive
fallenness and rebellion against God, to govern
the changes that introduce new affections and “orthodoxies”
into each generation. The biblical revelation has
stood against the world in every generation and the call
of the prophet always is to repent and return. The biblical
standard of truth in its explanation of the gospel never
wavers and its confrontation with the lies of the world
always is the same.
I would encourage every student to know Scripture so
thoroughly, its leading themes in their integration with
gospel themes so profoundly, the specific words and verses
that constitute the doctrinal ideas so accurately, the
history of doctrinal departures and recoveries with such
understanding, that error will become obvious upon
62 the southern baptist theological seminary