God’s Sovereignty And The Spread Of The Gospel -- By: David M. Doran

Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 09:1 (Fall 2004)
Article: God’s Sovereignty And The Spread Of The Gospel
Author: David M. Doran


God’s Sovereignty And The
Spread Of The Gospel

David M. Doran1

Dr. Rolland McCune has greatly influenced the lives of hundreds of men who passed through the halls of both Central Baptist Theological Seminary (1967 to 1981) and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary (1981 to the present). I count it a great blessing from the Lord to have received my seminary training under Dr. McCune’s instruction here at DBTS. Likewise, it has been a tremendous privilege to serve along side of him in the administration of this seminary. He has been uniquely used of the Lord in my life and in this seminary. His devotion to Christ, diligent service, and unbending dedication to the truth of the Word have been a powerful influence on my life and ministry.

Over the years, one particular element of Dr. McCune’s teaching has served both to ignite the hearts of his students and to trigger opposition from those who disagree with it (and have usually never heard it firsthand!). It would be impossible to come away from Dr. McCune’s courses on systematic theology, dispensationalism, apologetics, or new evangelicalism without a greater sense of God’s glory and a greater recognition of the need for God-centeredness in all things. A critical component of this God-centeredness is a thorough commitment to God’s sovereignty. It was under Dr. McCune’s teaching that I came to embrace gladly the majestic vision of God presented in Romans 11:36, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”2

Yet there seem to be many who fear the concept of God’s sovereignty over all things. Contemporary evangelicalism finds itself deeply divided over this issue and how to respond to those who react to the historic conception of God’s sovereignty by radically redefining His attributes. While fundamentalism has so far been preserved from this

theological aberration, there does appear to be growing tension about this subject.3 At the bare minimum, the popularity and influence of books such as Dave Hunt’s What Love Is This?4 indicate that strong feelings abound within evangelicalism and fundamentalism.

The relationship between God’s sovereignty and the tasks of evangelism and missions is often the central point of tension. Although there is ample evidence from church history that belief in God’s sovereign control, even over the bestowal of salvation, provided the kindling for the Great Awakening and the...

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