Gospel Pride, the book of Romans Some good reasons to label the NT {New Testament} book of Romans "Gospel Pride"-- 1. It is obvious from the human authorship side of the Apostle Paul, by his introduction in Romans 1:16,17 in the words of "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ...", especially when you read Acts and Galatians to see what all Paul went through to spread his Gospel Pride, that while reluctant as even many are today to use the forbidden word of "Pride" in any positive manner, that Paul was really ready to set forth the whole panorama of the full Gospel of Christ, and the One Salvation under the preferred title of Ephesians 1:5 of "one baptism". It is an amazing facet of superficial Christians how quickly they will speak of pride in children, in school, in church, and nation; yet balk when Pride is used in the same phrase as Gospel to summarize the book of Romans. Is it because they do not have an equal amount of Pride in the Gospel, do not show it, or don't want to admit the lack in their Gospel Pride. The reality is that there are so many aspects of God's salvation plan covered in the book of Romans, that many titles have been suitable. Our Bible teacher and department head of Bible at Ouachita Baptist, Dr. Wolber, entitled it "The Righteousness of God"; our teacher of Romans at SWBTS, J.W. MacGorman has a commentary on Romans on Amazon.com entitled "Everyman's Gospel", however I think the book with the seminary course was something more about the Message of Romans, or simply "The Gospel according to Romans". {I read the book, but primarily spent hours in the reading and outlining the book of Romans itself, the first of many outlines during years of teaching and preaching Romans at over 16 interim pastorates.} The famous Dr Barnhouse calls his commentaries on Romans, "Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking he Epistle to the Romans as a Point of Departure". 2. Gospel Pride helps to counter THE LIE of Romans 1:25, the lie according to that verse being the opposite of truth. What is the truth about God, His character, and His desires and plans for humanity, the book of Romans is the place to answer this large quest. "...who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 1:25) NOTE: While weird fundamentalists will be tempted to run with this word "lie", taking this single verse of Bible and going every where preaching, as is their custom, it is better to be patient, allowing this whole Gospel Pride study of God's Word in the book of Romans to explain in total context the word "lie". Expectations! I hope so, "the lie" as contrasted to just lies of which there are many, is a big word and requires the big answer of exegesis of the book of Romans. There is something wrong with the editors of the BBF controlled LifeWay publishers, who object to the title of "Gospel Pride" as not being BBF politically correct. For short, let us call it BBFpc. {Just one place the new BBFpc controlled SBC has given priority to denominational custom and tradition over Bible!} 3. The prayerful reading of the Book of Romans with guidance from the Holy Spirit, while practicing good ASPI exegesis, and a willingness to do what is read will generate such a unique pride in what is jumping out of because of the lively and dynamic nature of the Word of God, as to be called Gospel Pride. It according to McLendon Day in the "Wonder of the Word" will be like a Chinese translator when working on the book of Romans said, "The One that wrote this Book made me, because it tells things about myself that only My Creator would know." 4. There is another reason the BBFpc {in other writings from SunGrist_Bible it has been called fc for fundamentalistic correct} objects to the title of Gospel Pride. Such an approach with main chapters like "readiness", "confidence", "courage" and "loyalty", makes the study too practical, down-to-earth, and relevant to the Christian Way of Life and Living as well as the best of Baptist Distinctives. They just want professionals of the denomination to be able to understand. 5. Fundamentalists in their efforts to reach numbers from the world, especially youth, have accepted such community values of doctrines, although they are customs and traditions of the world: indifference toward God's teachings on marriage, competition like in the world which is selfishness, acceptance of the "pride of life" as Christian as thought it were not a lust like the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, and primarily always wrapped in each new generation around other itching ears teachings--at least words--the selling out on the Gospel of Wealth and the corolary of life; and music without understanding and a distinct sound as admonished in I Corinthians 14, and which is as bad or worse than speaking in unknown tongues that can not be understood. Please go to the webpage of "Baptist Distinctives and Fundamentalists versus the Book of Romans", to read more on the Romans series and as a progress chart as sessions are added. NOTE: Bible Baptists fundamentalists departed from historic Baptist Distinctives as the Scofield Reference Bible became so influential in the small backwoods churches of the Bible belt, and then as Scofield's disciple Chalmers, his chosen successor at Scofield Memorial Church {originally the First Congregationalists Church of Dallas} and first President of Dallas Theological Seminary} performed the theological work with extensive writing and teaching even as R.A. Torrey had done for Dwight L. Moody. What a pandora's box of Christian fables got their headquarters and place of BBF evangelism based on the SRB notes and Chalmers influence and commentaries with such Christian fables as the secret rapture, millenniumism, and dispensationalism; also spreading the worse of Congregationalism and Presbyterianism* {not to knock their significant good contributions to the spread of Christianity} that in turn lead BBFers starting at the 1980 SBC to eliminate soul competency and the priesthood of believers from not only the Convention statement of faith but also from practice among Baptist. While a good Bible argument could be made that the priesthood of believers and individual soul competency is taught more in other places of the Bible such as in Hebrews, Romans does provide the foundation. * Congregationalism and Presbyterianism has the influence of minimizing not only individual responsibility to God but a lack of confidence in the individual Christian's ability to find and know the truth, or to just plan read the Bible for himself. |