One of the beautiful things about the Southern Baptist Convention is the spirit of cooperation across churches and entities. We each bring our giftings and assignments in order to come together and obey the Great Commission in the communities where the Lord has placed us. Within our SBC family, the role of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is to be a servant to our churches and missionaries to the public square as we proclaim the good news of Jesus, advance his Kingdom, and seek the welfare of our cities.
The prevalent ideologies of our culture should point to the reality that the work and ministry of the ERLC is as important as ever. A society confused about the basics of biology and human sexuality is one that needs a clear vision for a better way. A culture so desensitized to evil that the taking of a baby’s life in the womb is accepted, even celebrated, is one that is desperate for a voice of truth. A world awash in lies about the foundation of an individual’s worth is one that is hungering for a renewed understanding of what it means to be human. And the growing segment of the population who are resistant to how religion shapes the lives of the faithful need to know that there is a Savior who is worth following.
The articles in this issue deal with the past, present, and future of the ERLC. They chronicle the history of this entity in key areas, the places where we were faithful to Scripture, and when previous generations failed to recognize the authority of Scripture on every issue. They chart the current faithful advocacy being done to uphold how God’s Word applies to four crucial categories: human dignity, marriage and family, religious liberty, and life. And they look to the challenges that currently face Southern Baptists regarding those matters in the midst of a culture increasingly unmoored from Christian foundations. The contributions of everyone involved with this issue of Light magazine will help you understand anew why the ERLC exists and how dependent we are on the Lord to help us remain faithful to the task the SBC has entrusted to this Commission.
In reading these pages, I have grown in my knowledge of and respect for the assignment given to the ERLC. But, more importantly, I have been nudged to remember that it is our sovereign God who uses imperfect people and organizations to advance his Kingdom and bend the arc of history toward that perfect day—when we won’t need to champion human dignity, marriage and family, religious liberty, or life because sin will be no more, Jesus will be King over all, his Church will be perfect, and his Word will reign supreme
