Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 28:3 (Fall 2024)
Article: Editorial: Our Constant Need For Reformation And Revival
Author: Stephen J. Wellum

Editorial: Our Constant Need For Reformation And Revival

Stephen J. Wellum

Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he is the author of numerous essays and articles and the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd edition (Crossway, 2018) and God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Crossway, 2015); the co-editor of Progressive Covenantalism (B&H Academic, 2016); the author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior (Zondervan, 2017); the co-author of Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ (Zondervan, 2018); and the author of The Person of Christ: An Introduction (Crossway, 2021) and Systematic Theology: From Canon to Concept, vol. 1 (B&H Academic, 2024).

As one reads the New Testament (NT), one is struck by two complementary truths regarding the proclamation, defense, and the passing on of the gospel to the next generation. First, there is the sad fact at how quickly we who confess our loyalty to Scripture as God’s word and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ drift away from the truth and substitute it for another gospel. It seems that we as fallen creatures—even those who profess that God has done a work of regeneration in us and brought us to saving faith in Christ—tend to embrace error faster than we do the truth. Second, considering this sad reality, Scripture also constantly warns and exhorts us to be vigilant, to guard our hearts, and to stand for the truth of the gospel, by looking to our Lord and depending on the sanctifying, renewing, and reviving power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the church.

The first truth is evident throughout the entire NT. For example, think of the church at Galatia. Paul is astonished at how quickly this church has turned

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to another gospel, which he vociferously argues is “no gospel at all” (Gal 1:6). Unfortunately, Galatia is not an isolated occurrence. Think of Paul’s warnings to his young pastor-apprentice Timothy where he describes the “last days” as one which is characterized by those in the church who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (2 Tim 3:7). In Scripture, it is crucial to remember that these “last days” are not future days to Paul, Timothy, or us. Instead, the last days refer to the entire time between the first and second coming of Chri...