Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: Still True to the Gospel

Although some today are using systematic theology to redefine the gospel,¹ such is not the case with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS). All the way back in 1913, B. H. Carroll, the founder and first president of the institution, affirmed that "the gospel" in 1 Corinthians 15 includes the following four facts: 1) Christ's death for our sins, 2) His burial in a tomb, 3) His resurrection on the third day, and 4) His appearances to His disciples.²

     

Now, 100 years later, the school is still preaching that old, old story of Jesus and His love (Romans 5:8). In an article titled "We Should Study Systematic Theology for the Gospel," SWBTS faculty member Thomas White writes: "1 Corinthians 15:3-5 provides a short summary of the Gospel:

1 Cor. 15:3-5, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve." ³

May I say, that's a theological insight and a biblical insight!

ENDNOTES:

¹ For an example of this see the article: "The Strange Beliefs of Stegall's System".

² Commenting on 1 Corinthians 15, B. H. Carrol says: “This chapter commences with the statement of the facts which constitute the gospel. The first fact, ‘Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.’ Three ideas are involved in that fact: 1. Christ actually died. It was not a mere trance; it was actual death. 2. It was a vicarious, substitutionary, expiatory death. ‘He died for our sins.’ 3. He died for our sins ‘according to the Scriptures’ – that the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament up to the time of his crucifixion clearly foretold his actual, substitutionary, and expiatory death. The second fact in the gospel is that he was buried – he was dead and buried – and that was according to the Scriptures. The Scriptures testified that he would be buried. The third fact is that on the third day, according to the Scriptures, he rose from the dead; and the fourth fact of the gospel is, that risen, he was visible to men, recognized by men, and identified by men.” (Carroll, An Interpretation of the English Bible [Grand Rapids: Broadman Press, 1948], 17 Vols., Vol. 13, pp. 246-247. Note: This book was originally published by the Fleming H. Revell company in 1913.)

³ Thomas White, "We Should Study Systematic Theology for the Gospel (cont.)," Theological Matters blog (April 12, 2013), italics his.