Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 10:1 (Spring 2006)
Article: The SBJT Forum: The Relevance of the Trinity
Author: Anonymous

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SBJT 10:1 (Spring 2006) p. 86

The SBJT Forum:
The Relevance of the Trinity

Editor’s Note: Readers should be aware of the forum’s format. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., D. A. Carson, Carl Trueman, Vern Sheridan Poytress, and Greg Strand have been asked specific questions to which they have provided written responses. These writers are not responding to one another. The journal’s goal for the Forum is to provide significant thinkers’ views on topics of interest without requiring lengthy articles from these heavily-committed individuals. Their answers are presented in an order that hopefully makes the forum read as much like a unified presentation as possible.

SBJT: How does the doctrine of the Trinity relate to Christian preaching?

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is widely recognized as a leader among American evangelicals. He is a theologian and an ordained minister, having served as pastor and staff minister of several Southern Baptist churches. Dr. Mohler hosts a daily live nationwide radio program on the Salem Radio Network and also writes commentaries on theological, moral, and cultural issues at www.AlbertMohler.com. He is a frequent guest on national and international news outlets and is a popular preacher, teacher, and lecturer.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.:1 Preaching is a commission—a charge. As Paul stated boldly, it is the task of the minister of the gospel to “preach the Word. .. in season and out of season” (2 Tim 4:2). A theology of preaching begins with the humble acknowledgement that preaching is not a human invention but a gracious creation of God and a central part of His revealed will for the church. Furthermore, preaching is distinctively Christian in its origin and practice. Other religions may include teaching, or even public speech and calls to prayer. However, the preaching act is sui generis, a function of the church established by Jesus Christ.

The importance of preaching is rooted in Scripture and revealed in the unfolding story of the church. The church has never been faithful when it has lacked fidelity in the pulpit. In the words of P. T. Forsyth, “With preaching Christianity stands or falls, because it is the declaration of the gospel.”

That is why the church cannot but preach lest it deny its own identity and abdicate its ordained purpose. Preaching is communication, but not mere communication. It is human speech, but much more than speech. Its ground, its goal, and its glory are all located in the sovereign will of God.

The primary Greek form of the word “preach” (kr...

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