The RenewaNation Review 2019 Volume 11 Issue 3 | Page 11

plan, to revel in the unfolding story of God’s redemption,
to apply the Scripture’s worldview to our lives, and to obey
its imperatives.
Where you find a church, you find the right preaching of
the Word of God. Where you do not find the Word of God
honored, there is no church.
Indeed, Oliver Thomas wrongly asserts that once Chris-
tians liberate themselves from the authority of God’s Word,
they will then see their pews filled and the collection plate
overflowing. The exact opposite is true. Where you find
churches jettison the Word, you find empty pews. Liber-
al Protestant churches have steadily declined because they
have “liberated” themselves from a biblical worldview.
They have sacrificed the Scriptures on the altar of cultural
relevance—the results reveal dying churches and denomina-
tions. Once you abandon the Scriptures, you have no life, no
hope, no good news to offer. Your moral, therapeutic deism
is a hollow promise that offers no life.
This story underlines the importance of the conservative
recovery of the Southern Baptist Convention over the last
several decades. I knew Oliver Thomas more personally as
“Buzz.” He is a very affable and friendly attorney who served
as the general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee on
Public Affairs. Buzz Thomas had a remarkable career, espe-
cially on the issues of religious liberty. He put together the
coalition that led to the passage of the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act, which President Bill Clinton signed into
law in 1993.
The Southern Baptist Convention, however, defunded the
Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs precisely because
it did not represent the convictions of Southern Baptists on
many issues like the authority of God’s Word.
Had the conservative recovery—the reformation of the
Southern Baptist Convention—not happened, Thomas’
argument would now be made from the inside rather than
from the outside of the leadership of my own denomination.
This issue, therefore, is not personal but deeply theologi-
cal and now public, given that Oliver Thomas published his
views in USA Today.
Interestingly, Oliver Thomas made a very similar argu-
ment in another opinion piece for USA Today in 2010. He
is apparently frustrated that conservative Christians are
declining his advice.
Thomas’ article ends with a question: “What does loving
my neighbor—and my enemy—as myself look like?” It looks
like not withholding the words of eternal life. ■
90% of America’s children spend
16,000 hours of their young lives in
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Dr. Albert Mohler is a theologian and an ordained minister and serves as president of The
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books and has contribut-
ed to over 100 other published works. Visit his website at albertmohler.com.
Copyright © 2019 Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission. For
more information, visit albertmohler.com.
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