Two Honest Baptist Preachers And Baptist Doctrine
My hat is off to two Baptist preachers.
The first honest man is Robert Shank, a Southern Baptist preacher, who wrote a book entitled, "Life in the Son," against the Bible sanctioning the popular doctrine of "once saved, always saved theory," "eternal (unconditional) security." He shows that apostasy is an actual peril for every Christian, and that the believer's security in Christ is not unconditional and the warning passages circumvented by the theological hypothesis.
The second is A. Z. Dover, who does not believe in the eternal security and was barred from his job last month by the Arkansas Supreme Court, despite the fact that the majority of his congregation supports him. The court ruled in favor of a minority faction in the Trask-wood Missionary Baptist Church near Little Rock. It said Dovers should be enjoined from the pulpit for preaching that which violates "a cardinal doctrine" of Baptist faith. Dovers has asserted that a Christian believer can lose his salvation.
These events are not only a refreshing sight because they change to what we have taught for years, but also that God's word is true and there are sectarian preachers who respect its authority and have the honesty and courage to preach it in spite of opposition and adversity.
— Nederland, Texas