WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) — Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and Judson College celebrated the graduation of 261 students, representing a total of 13 countries at commencement ceremonies Dec. 13.
“I’m excited about what the future holds as the Lord sends you — for many of you, around the globe, for others, across North America,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin. “But wherever he sends you, you go with our prayers and our blessings, and we believe that God is going to work through you mightily for His great glory.”
In his commencement address, Akin exposited 2 Corinthians 8:9, a verse which, he explained, encapsulates both the glory of the incarnation and the work of God’s grace in believers’ lives. Akin called it “the grace of giving.”
This grace that God gives, he explained, is not something that is uncertain or insecure. It is a reality that believers know with confidence; it is a certainty in which God’s people can rest if they trust only in the work of Christ.
Akin then presented the question, “What did Jesus do to show us grace?”
Akin noted that the answer is shown clearly in the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ: “That though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV).
“Let me conclude and challenge this group of students,” Akin said. “Because of His amazing grace — which truly is a sweet sound — we give. It’s just a natural response to who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.”
It is through this grace, found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, that believers are compelled to give, not just their resources, but their lives.
“Therefore, graduates of December 2024, we will go where others will not go,” Akin exhorted them. “We will do what others will not do. We will serve where others will not serve, and we will give what others will not give. Why? Because of the amazing grace of God.”
“Because of his grace, we give our lives to Him. Because of His grace, we go on behalf of our king. My dear brothers and sisters, this is the grace of giving,” Akin concluded. “May you give and give and give until he takes you home.”
During the ceremony the Southeastern community took a moment to honor the life of Thomas Broom III, a doctoral student at Southeastern whom the Lord called home earlier this fall. Southeastern posthumously awarded Thomas a Master of Theology, which was presented to his wife, Erica.
