Dr. R.C. Sproul has become an authoritative voice in the Christian community on a wide array of topics. Best known for his impassioned emphasis on the holiness of God, Dr. Sproul has also distinguished himself as an expert on topics such as:
| |
One major facet of our work at Ligonier Ministries is helping Christians know what they believe and why they believe it. This is the work of apologetics. The task or science of Christian apologetics is primarily concerned with providing an intellectual defense of the truth claims of the faith.
– Defending Your Faith p.13
In every age the church faces the task of clarifying its truth claims from distortions against these claims. The discipline of apologetics did not die in the second century; rather, it lives on, because with each passing generation, wherever Christianity flourishes, so too do distortion, misrepresentation, overemphasis, and outright malicious deceit. The church’s opponents will continue to accuse her of doing evil (this is assumed in 1 Peter 3:16), and so the Christian apologist assumes a defensive posture in order to repel false accusations whenever they come.
– Defending Your Faith p. 16
There is no such thing as a neutral education. Every education, every curriculum has a viewpoint. That viewpoint either considers God in it or it does not. To teach children about life and the world in which they live without reference to God is to make a statement about God. It screams a statement. The message is either that there is God or that God is irrelevant. Either way the message is the same—there is no God. An irrelevant God is the same as no God at all. If God is, then He must be relevant—to His entire creation.
– Lifeviews p. 24
Whatever the intellectual content and foundation for contemporary atheism is, the fact remains that belief in God is very much a part of modern culture. Whether the foundations for theism are theoretically valid and defensible or not, the fact of theism persists.
– If There's a God, Why are There Atheists? p. 25 |
 |
| |
If faith is necessary to the atonement, then Christ’s work was indeed a mere potentiality. In itself it saves no one. It merely makes salvation possible. Theoretically we must ask the obvious question, What would have happened to the work of Christ if nobody believed in it? That had to be a theoretical possibility. In this case Christ would have died in vain. He would have been a potential Savior of all but an actual Savior of none.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 167
When I was in the homiletics class in seminary, one of my classmates had to preach on the cross. He preached on the cross as the place where Christ was the lamb slain for us. When he was finished, the professor was furious and verbally attacked the student who was still standing in the pulpit. He angrily said, ‘How dare you preach a substitutionary view of the atonement in our day and age!’ In his estimation such a view was archaic and old fashioned.
– The Unexpected Jesus pp. 88-89
If we are defective in understanding sin and the character of God, it is inevitable that we will come to the conclusion that an atonement is not necessary.
– The Unexpected Jesus p. 91
One of the distortions of the biblical doctrine of the atonement is this: God the Father is angry with man for his sin, but God the Son because of his love, patience and long-suffering acts as our mediator to calm down the Father who is angry...The truth is the oppose: ‘For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16); ‘And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world’ (1 John 4:14). The Father sent the Son; the Father gave the Son for our redemption.
– The Unexpected Jesus pp. 99-100 |
|
| |
There is a sense in which all authority in this world is derived and dependent upon the authority of God. God and God alone has intrinsic authority. That intrinsic authority is the authority given to the Bible since it is God’s Word.
– Explaining Inerrancy p. 14
For the classic Protestant, though the individual believer has the right to the private interpretation of Scripture, it is clearly acknowledged that the individual is capable of misinterpreting the Bible. He has the ability to misinterpret Scripture, but never the right to do it. That is, with the right of private interpretation the responsibility of correct interpretation is also given. We never have the right to distort the teaching of Scripture. Both [Roman Catholic and Protestant] sides agree that the individual is fallible when seeking to understand the Scripture. Historic Protestantism limits the scope of infallibility to the Scripture themselves. Church tradition and church creeds can err. Individual interpreters can err. It is the Scriptures alone that are without error.
– Scripture Alone p. 43
The Scripture objectively gives evidence that it is the Word of God. The Spirit does not prove true what gives evidence of being false but rather gives us the quiet assurance that the evidence is certain. The Spirit causes us to submit or yield to the evidence. Our yielding is a subjective act to an objective basis of evidence.
– Scripture Alone p. 99 |
|
| |
When the Reformers broke with Rome and claimed the view that the Bible was to be the supreme authority of the church (Sola Scriptura), they were very careful to define basic principles of interpretation. The primary rule of hermeneutics was called “the analogy of faith.” The analogy of faith is the rule that Scripture is to interpret Scripture: Sacra Scriptura sui interpres (Sacred Scripture is its own interpreter). This means, quite simply, that no part of Scripture can be interpreted in such a way as to render it in conflict with what is clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture.
– Knowing Scripture p. 46
The term genre means simply “kind,” “sort” or “species.” Genre analysis involves the study of such things as literary forms, figures of speech and style. We do this with all kinds of literature. We distinguish between lyric poetry and legal briefs, between newspaper accounts of current events and epic poems. We distinguish between the style of historical narratives and sermons, between realistic graphic description and hyperbole. Failure to make these distinctions when dealing with the Bible can lead to a host of problems with interpretation. Literary analysis is crucial to accurate interpretation.
– Knowing Scripture p. 49
Since the erosion of confidence in biblical authority in our day, it has been fashionable to put the authority of Jesus over against the authority of the Epistles, particularly of Paul’s Epistles. People do not seem to realize that they are not setting Jesus against Paul so much as they are setting one apostle such as Matthew or John over against another. We must remember that Jesus wrote none of the New Testament, and we are dependent upon apostolic testimony for our knowledge of what he did and said.
– Knowing Scripture p. 69 |
|
| |
To get a handle on the puzzling relationship between predestination and free will, we must first define free will. That definition itself is a mater of great debate. Probably the most common definition says free will is the ability to make choices without any prior prejudice, inclination, or disposition. For the will to be free it must act from a posture of neutrality, with absolutely no bias.
On the surface this is very appealing. There are no elements of coercion, either internal or external, to be found in it. Below the surface, however, lurk two serious problems. On the one hand, if we make our choices strictly from a neutral posture, with no prior inclination, then we make choices for no reason. If we have no reason for our choices, if our choices are utterly spontaneous, then our choices have no moral significance. If a choice just happens—it just pops out, with no rhyme or reason for it—then it cannot be judged good or bad. When God evaluates our choices, he is concerned about our motives.
– Chosen by God p. 51
To say that we always choose according to our strongest inclination at the moment is to say that we always choose what we want. At every point of choice we are free and self-determined. To be self-determined is not the same thing as determinism. Determinism means that we are forced or coerced to do things by eternal forces. Eternal forces can...severely limit our opinions, but they cannot destroy choice altogether. They cannot impose delight in things we hate. When that happens, when hatred turns to delight, it is a matter of persuasions, not coercion. I cannot be forced to do what I take delight in doing already.
– Chosen by God p. 59
When someone mentions the term Calvinism, the customary response is, “Oh, you mean the doctrine of predestination?” This identification of Calvinism with predestination is as strange as it is real and widespread. Calvinism certain does hold firmly to the biblical doctrine of predestination. The Reformed view of the doctrine is central to historic Calvinism.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 139 |
|
| |
Theology is a worthy pursuit because its goal is simply for the individual to know God. But concepts, theories, and abstractions do not excite or ultimately satisfy me. I must know the God who is alive, who is real, who relates to me in my life.
– The Character of God p. 16
To say that God is self-existent simply means that there was no time when God started to exist. He has always been. He is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. Nothing caused God to come into existence. God did not make Himself. He made us. In a word, God is not a creature. He is not dependent. He is not derived. He is not fragile. Rather, God is the Creator. He is independent, self-sufficient, and secure. God, and God alone, has the power of being within Himself.
– The Character of God p. 25
Because God is a personal spirit we can have a personal relationship with Him. He can communicate with us. It is not by accident that God is most concerned with what we think, what we feel, and what we choose (how we act). Our behavior concerns Him because our behavior is of a personal nature. Because God thinks and acts in personal relationships, we have a moral standard of behavior. Because God is a moral being, we are moral beings. Because God is holy, we are called to be holy.
– The Character of God p. 53
One of the strange facts of history is the consistently good reputation Jesus of Nazareth enjoys even with unbelievers. It is fare for an unbeliever to speak unkindly of Jesus. People who are openly hostile to the church and who hold Christians in contempt are often unsparing in their praise for Jesus.
– The Holiness of God p. 57 |
|
| |
God reveals very clearly that one of the great symptoms of our human fallenness is the idea that people have the right to do what is right in their own minds. The whole concept of the Judeo-Christian religion is that ultimate righteousness is declared, not by my personal preferences or by yours, but by God and his supreme character.
– Now, That's a Good Question! p. 511
One of the principles of Christian ethics is that we are not to manifest a judgmental spirit. If we are judgmental in our attitudes and in our spirits, we’ve already violated the Christian ethic. The Christian ethic has something to say about how we respond to other people’s sins. We are not to whitewash other people’s sins. We are called to demonstrate discernment, to be able to recognize the difference between good and evil.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! pp. 515-16
It is commonplace to hear the lament that some Christians, notably conservatives, are so rigidly bound by moralistic guidelines that everything becomes for them a matter of “black and white” with no room left for “gray” areas. Those who persist in fleeing from the great, seeking refuge in the sharply defined areas of white and black, suffer from the epitaph “brittle” or “dogmatic.” But the Christian must seek for righteousness and never be satisfied with living in the smog of perpetual grayness. He wants to know where the right way is located, where the path of righteousness lies.
– How Should I Live in this World? p. 13
The Christian life is lived by principles, principles drawn from the character of God as revealed in sacred Scripture. It is good for us to study these principles. But we fight a battle on two fronts. First, we must discern what is good, that is, we must know the right thing to do. Second, we must muster the moral courage to do the good.
– How Should I Live in this World? p. 103 |
|
| |
A worldview is simply a view of the world, a way of looking at life. It is the framework we use to make sense of things.
– Ultimate Issues p. 13
When we blow away all the smoke and pull away all the camouflage our minds have erected, it is hard—even impossible—to find something we think or do that isn’t influenced by our worldview and the particular system of philosophy we have built on our worldview foundation.
– Ultimate Issues p. 14
If we don’t struggle with the Word of God, it is only because we are so ignorant of it. Ignorance of the Scripture is pervasive in our culture. Why? The primary reason is that the subject is ignored. We ignore the Bible. We don’t want to think about God. We want to banish him from intruding, particularly when he makes a claim on our lives and impulses.
– Ultimate Issues p. 67
The dominant ism of American culture, the ism reflected in the news media, the film industry, the novel and the art world is secularism. Secularism is the umbrella that shields the various competing philosophies beneath is. Secularism has the necessary common denominator to tie together humanism, pragmatism, relativism, naturalism, pluralism, existentialism, and several other isms.
– Lifeviews p. 31-32
We have all heard the statement, “Everything is relative.” We may even say it. If we do, we are perpetrating a myth of contemporary culture. I call this a myth because is couldn’t possibly be anything else. If everything is relative to everything else, then there is no ultimate reference point. There is no basis for truth. If everything is relative then the statement, “Everything is relative,” is also relative. It cannot be trusted as a fixed truth. All statements become relative. All axioms become relative. All laws become relative. Relative to what? To other statements, which are also relative. We have infinite relatives with no ultimate reference point.
– Lifeviews p. 118 |
|
| |
From the past to the future, the sovereign and gracious God of the universe covenantally promises to redeem us and to bring us and our offspring into a covenantal relationship with Him. He promises not only that He will be our God and the God of our offspring after us, but also that we will be His people both now and forever.
– Back to Basics p. 66
Covenant theology maintains that God has organized redemptive history in terms of covenants and a promise, or, as the apostle Paul declares, “the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12). This covenant work, this “marriage bond” from Genesis to Revelation, He unifies by the promise that He is redeeming a people for Himself, a promise most gloriously expressed throughout Scripture by the formula, “I will be your God, and you will be My people.”
– Back to Basics p. 69
Every written document has a structure or format by which it is organized. Paragraphs have subjects and chapters have focal points. Reformed theology sees the primary structure of biblical revelation as that of covenant. This is the structure by which the entire history of redemption is worked out.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 99
The covenant of redemption involves the parties who work together to effect human redemption: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This covenant is rooted in eternity. God’s plan of redemption was no afterthought, designed to repair a creation run amuck.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 108
Redemption is always through grace by faith. In the Old Testament faith was directed forward to the promised future Redeemer, while in the New Testament faith is directed backward to the redemptive work of Christ, which has been accomplished in history.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 114 |
|
| |
The term election refers specifically to one aspect of divine predestination: God’s choosing of certain individuals to be saved. The term election has a positive connotation, referring to a benevolent predestination that results in the salvation of those who are elect. Election also has a negative side, called “reprobation,” which involves the predestination of those who are not elect.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 141
In the acrostic TULIP the U refers to “unconditional election.” The word unconditional distinguishes the Reformed doctrine of predestination from that of other theologies.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 142
If one agrees with the doctrine of total depravity, the T in TULIP, then the U of unconditional election follows necessarily. If one is incapable of meeting the conditions, then election must be unconditional. If the Reformation view of original sin is correct, then God would see no fallen creature choose Christ in the future. God would know from all eternity that, left to themselves, fallen creatures will not choose Christ.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 152
It is important to remember that in his decree of election, God considers the mass of mankind in their fallen sinful condition. He chooses to redeem some people from this condition and to leave the rest in that condition. He intervenes in the lives of the elect, while he does not intervene in the lives of the reprobate. One group receives mercy and the other receives justice.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 160
We conclude that the election of which the Bible speaks is unconditional. No foreseen actions of the elect cause them to be elect or provide the grounds of their election. The conditions for salvation or justification are indeed met by the believer, but they are met because God provides these conditions for them by his sovereign grace.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 161 |
|
| |
The third way the Bible speaks of the will of God is with respect to God’s will of disposition. This will describes God’s attitude. It defines what is pleasing to Him. For example, God takes no delight in the death of the wicked, yet He most surely wills or decrees the death of the wicked. God’s ultimate delight is in His own holiness and righteousness. When He judges the world, He delights in the vindication of His own righteousness and justice, yet He is not gleeful in a vindictive sense toward those who receive His judgment.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 68 |
|
| |
If the Bible has come to us through human authors...and if it is natural for human beings to err, which all confess, isn’t the Bible necessarily errant? Doesn’t it cease to be authentically human if it does not have errors? Again, if inerrancy applies properly only to the original manuscripts, called autographs, and if we do not possess these, as we do not, isn’t the argument for inerrancy meaningless? Or doesn’t it stand only by appealing to documents that do not exist and whose inerrant state cannot be verified? Why can’t inerrancy be applied to those parts of the Bible that deal with salvation and not to those parts that deal with history, science, and other “unimportant” and “nonessential” matters?
– Explaining Inerrancy p. 29
Finitude implies a necessary limitation of knowledge but not necessarily a distortion of knowledge. The trustworthy character of the biblical text should not be denied on the ground of man’s finitude.
– Explaining Inerrancy p. 33
That the case for the infallibility of Scripture rests on a premise that can only be established on the inductive basis of historical-empirical evidence should not be a problem to the Christian. It is on the historical-empirical plane that our redemption has been accomplished. The biblical witnesses are “eye” witnesses.
– Scripture Alone p. 75
The Christian’s case for infallibility rests in the reliable trustworthiness of the biblical documents which provide knowledge of the infallible Christ. The authority we give to Scripture ought to be no more and no less than that given to it by Christ. The church cannot submit to the authority of Christ without at the same time submitting to the authority of the Scripture.
– Scripture Alone p. 89 |
|
| |
Justification is central to the scriptural account of salvation, and its meaning has been much debated between Protestants and Catholics. We agree that justification is not earned by any good works or merits of our own; it is entirely God’s gift, conferred through the Father’s sheer graciousness, out of the love that he bears us in his Son, who suffered on our behalf and rose from the dead for our justification....In justification, God, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness alone, declares us to be no longer his rebellious enemies but his forgiven friends, and by virtue of his declaration it is so.
– Getting the Gospel Right p. 50-51
Sola Fide is important not merely because the church stands or falls on it. It is important because on it we stand or fall. The place where and the time when we will either stand or fall is at the judgment seat of God.
– Faith Alone p. 70
In the Reformation formula, “Justification is by faith alone,” the word by captures the idea and communicates the notion that faith, not the sacraments, is the instrumental cause of justification. Faith is the instrument by which we are linked to Christ and receive the grace of justification.
– Faith Alone p. 75
Justification may be defined as that act by which unjust sinners are made right in the sight of a just and holy God. The supreme need of unjust persons is righteousness. It is this lack of righteousness that is supplied by Christ on behalf of the believing sinner. Justification by faith alone means justification by the righteousness or merit of Christ alone, not by our goodness or good deeds.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 188 |
|
| |
I would say Western civilization is up for grabs. There is not one dominant philosophy, theology, or religion that has produced a consensus like we had in the Middle Ages, with the Judeo-Christian faith dominating the people’s understanding of their world. Now, with people in great masses turning away from the Judeo-Christian understanding of man and the world, there have been all kinds of philosophical schools fighting with each other to try to fill the void.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 174-175
How shall we respond to existentialism? One thing for which I’m grateful is that existentialism produces tremendously fertile ground for the preaching of Christianity because Christianity is so optimistic. We believe that human existence is meaningful and that is ultimately meaningful because Christ has defined the significance of our existence. So, the answer to how we should respond to existentialism is simply counter it with the hope of the gospel.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 178
Christians often object to God’s being compared at all to abstract philosophical views. The God of the Bible has so little in common with the gods of philosophy that some think any comparison is out of order. If Christians reject my approach for this reason, then I must remind them of one simple fact about God has he is revealed in Scripture: he is incomprehensible. That does not mean he is completely unknowable; rather, it simply means that we can never have a complete or exhaustive knowledge of who God is.
– Defending Your Faith p. 138
Philosophy forces us to think foundationally. By foundational I mean first principles or basic truths. Most ideas that shape our lives are accepted (at least initially) somewhat uncritically. We do not create a world or environment from scratch and then live in it. Rather we step into a world and culture that already exists, and we learn to interact with it.
– The Consequences of Ideas p. 9 |
|
| |
What predestination means, in its most elementary form, is that our final destination, heaven or hell, is decided by God not only before we get there, but before we are even born. It teaches that our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God. Another way of saying it is this: From all eternity, before we ever live, God decided to save some members of the human race and to let the rest of the human race parish. God made a choice—he chose some individuals to be saved unto everlasting blessedness in heaven and others he chose to pass over, to allow them to follow the consequences of their sins into eternal torment in hell.
– Chosen by God p. 22
In most discussions about predestination, there is great concern about protecting the dignity and freedom of man. But we must also observe the crucial importance of the sovereignty of God. Though God is not a creature, he is personal, with supreme dignity and supreme freedom. We are aware of the ticklish problems surrounding the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human freedom. We must also be aware of the close relationship between God’s sovereignty and God’s freedom. The freedom of a sovereign is always greater than the freedom of his subjects.
– Chosen by God p. 23-24
There are great variances among the churches in terms of how to understand predestination, but every church historically has had to hammer out and forge some doctrine of predestination because the Bible speaks of it. So there is a certain sense in which from all eternity God has chosen his people for salvation.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 109
The agent of predestination is God. In his sovereignty he predestinates. Human beings are the object of his predestination. In short, predestination refers to God’s sovereign plan for human beings, decreed by him in eternity. We must add, however, that the concept of predestination includes more than the future destiny of humans. It also includes whatever comes to pass in time and space.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 141 |
|
| |
We believe that God created the universe and gave the power of secondary causality to things and people within it so that we actually can do things by our own volition, through our decisions, our minds, our wills and activities. but at every single point of our actions and of the secondary causes that are at work, God remains sovereign. There are times he works through secondary causes to bring about his will, and there are times he works without those secondary causes.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 12
If we understand the providence of God and love the God of providence, we are able to worship Him with the sacrifice of praise He inherently deserves when things occur that bring pain, sorrow, and affliction into our lives. This understanding of providence is vital to all who would worship God. It is a worship of faith that is rooted in trust.
– The Invisible Hand p. 11
Providence is not merely a synonym for foreknowledge. Rather, the concept of providence is multifaceted and includes a wide range of divine activities.
– The Invisible Hand p. 16
The word providence refers to God’s provision for His people. We use the word provisions to refer to things we acquire for future needs and exigencies.
– The Invisible Hand p. 16
It is the watching over us that goes to the heart of divine providence. God’s fatherly care of His creatures that the word providence encompasses. This means God is involved in human affairs. He is not like Aristotle’s god, the Unmoved Mover, who remains aloof and totally uninvolved with human history.
– The Invisible Hand p. 17-18
The distinction between first (primary) causes and second (secondary) causes is rooted in the philosophical climate of the seventeenth century, the time when the Westminster Confession was composed. The philosophers of this era were concerned with the implications evoked by the Copernican revolution and the dawning of a new age of science. Confidence in Providence was beginning to crumble in light of new discoveries of natural law. A burning question focused on how God was related to the realm of nature.
– The Invisible Hand p. 100
In a universe governed by God there are no chance events. Indeed, there is no such thing as chance. Chance does not exist. It is merely a word we use to describe mathematical possibilities. But chance itself has no power because it has no being. Chance is not an entity that can influence reality. Chance is not a thing. It is nothing.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 62 |
|
| |
When we speak of Reformed theology, we will view it from [a] historical perspective. We begin our study by asserting that Reformed Theology is first and foremost a theology. As a theology it has confessional, reflective, and behavioral aspects.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 20
Reformed theology is first and foremost theocentric rather than anthropocentric. That is, it is God-centered rather than man-centered. This God-centeredness by no means denigrates the value of human beings. On the contrary it establishes their value. Reformed Theology has often been characterized as having a low view of mankind due to its insistence on humanity’s fallenness and radical corruption.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 25
Reformed theology maintains a high view of the worth and dignity of human beings. It differs radically at this point from all forms of humanism in that humanism assigns an intrinsic dignity to man, while Reformed theology sees the dignity of man as being extrinsic.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 25
Reformed theology indeed insists that a real measure of freedom has been assigned to man by the Creator. But that freedom is not absolute and man is not autonomous. Our freedom is always and everywhere limited by God’s sovereignty. God is free and we are free. But God is more free than we are. When our freedom bumps up against God’s sovereignty, our freedom must yield.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 27
Reformed theology is not only systematic but also catholic, sharing in common with other communions that are part of historic Christianity. The sixteenth-century Reformers were not interested in creating a new religion. They were interested, not in innovation, but in renovation. They were reformers, not revolutionaries.
– What is Reformed Theology? p. 28 |
|
| |
We come to the Lord’s Table in a spirit of careful preparation and repentance in order to experience a renewed sense of the healing and forgiveness that comes to us. flowing out of the Cross and out of Christ’s intercession for us in heaven.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 358
A sacrament became defined as a visible sign by which God offers His promise of grace in an outward form. Outward signs seal and confirm the covenant promises of God. The sacraments consist of some visible element such as water, bread, or wine; a definite activity ordained by God in association with the sign; and a redeeming benefit given to the believer.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 223
The sacraments are real means of grace that convey the promises of God. Their power does not reside in the elements themselves, but in God, whose signs they are. Nor does their power depend upon the character or the faith of those who administer them, but on the integrity of God.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 223
The sacraments are nonverbal forms of communication. They were never intended to stand alone without reference to the Word of God. Sacraments confirm the Word of God so that the administrating of the sacraments and the preaching of the Word go together
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith pp. 223-24
Salvation is not through the sacraments. Salvation is by faith in Christ. Yet where faith is present the sacraments are not ignored or neglected. They are a vital part of the worship of God and the nurture of the Christian life.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 224
Though sacraments involve the use of outward forms, they are not to be despised as empty formalism or ritualism. Though they can be corrupted into empty rituals, they are not to be rejected. They are indeed rituals, but they are God-ordained rituals and therefore to be joyfully and solemnly partaken of.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 224 |
|
| |
If God is not sovereign, then God is not God. If there is any element of the universe that is outside of his authority, then he no longer is God over all. In other words, sovereignty belongs to deity. Sovereignty is a natural attribute of the Creator. God owns what he makes, and he rules what he owns.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 26
God is sovereign. God has more authority to do whatsoever he pleases. I have the power and ability and the freedom to do those things that I can do, but my freedom can never override the power or the authority of God. My freedom is always limited by the higher freedom of God. What is a contradiction is God’s sovereignty and human autonomy. Autonomy means that man can do whatever he wants without being worried about judgment from on high. Obviously those two are incompatible, and we do not believe that man is autonomous. We say that he is free, but his freedom is within limits, and those limits are defined by the sovereignty of God.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 27
A Christian cannot believe that he is a cosmic accident and at the same time believe in the sovereign God and the creator God. To be a Christian is to affirm not only Christ the Redeemer but God the Creator.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 99
When we speak of divine sovereignty we are speaking about God’s authority and about God’ power. As sovereign, God is the supreme authority of heaven and earth. All other authority is lesser authority. Any other authority that exists in the universe is derived from and dependent upon God’s authority. All other forms of authority exist either by God’s command or by God’s permission.
– Chosen by God p. 24 |
|
| |
Now how do we go about doing this? How does a Christian grow in grace and in devotion, love, appreciation, and obedience to the things of God? In theology we speak of the means of grace: prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, fellowship with other Christians, worship in the assemblies of the saints. These are the kinds of things that help us get our priorities straightened out.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 223
To be a disciple of Jesus means to be a learner in the school of Christ. That doesn’t mean simply heaping up intellectual data or head knowledge, so to speak, but coming to an understanding of what it is that pleases God and what it is that pleases Christ. It means learning how to imitate him in our different ways of walking before him.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 225
Being a Christian is not an acquired skill or discipline like diving or ice-skating. It is a living, vital relationship with the God of the universe, a relationship that begins when a person becomes a new creation in Him and receives Jesus as Lord by faith.
– Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow p. 6
If I don’t like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don’t understand it. If so, studying it again may help. If, in fact, I do understand the passage and still don’t like it, this is not an indication there is something wrong with the Bible. It’s an indication that something is wrong with me that needs to change. Often, before we can get it right in any endeavor, we need to first discover what we’re doing wrong. – Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow p. 15
The Christian faith never sees our goal as becoming God or as losing our individual identity by being swallowed up in God. The goal of spiritual growth is not the kind of union with God that destroys our personalities. Instead, it is a special spiritual union in which rich communion takes place.
– Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow p. 30 |
|
| |
The historic formulation of the Trinity is that God is one in essence and three in person. Though the formula is mysterious and even paradoxical, it is in no way contradictory. The unity of the Godhead is affirmed in terms of essence or being, while the diversity of the Godhead is expressed in terms of person.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 35
The term person does not mean a distinction in essence but a different subsistence in the Godhead. A subsistence in the Godhead is a real difference but not an essential difference in the sense of a difference in being. Each person subsists or exists “under” the pure essence of deity. Subsistence is a difference within the scope of being, not a separate being or essence. All persons in the Godhead have all the attributes of deity.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 35
The doctrine of the Trinity does not fully explain the mysterious character of God. Rather, it sets the boundaries outside of which we must not step. It defines the limits of our finite reflection. It demands that we be faithful to the biblical revelation that in one sense God is one and in a different sense He is three.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 36 |
|
| |
Yet the final goal of every Christian is to be allowed to see what was denied to Moses. We want to see Him face-to-face. We want to bask in the radiant glory of His divine countenance.
– The Holiness of God p. 22
It is the duty and privilege of every Christian to be united to the church of Christ. It is our solemn responsibility not to neglect the gathering together of the saints in corporate worship, to be under the nurture and discipline of the church; and to be actively involved as witnesses in the mission of the church.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 218
I think that two of the most important factors in the church experience are (1) the worship itself becomes an event whereby people are brought into the presence of the living God and (2) the church recognizes that people need fellowship and they need to be relating to other people in the context of the church.
– Essential Truths of the Christian Faith p. 331
In the Scriptures I see people of all varieties of personality and background responding to God. And they respond in many different ways: tears, fear, flight, mourning, weeping, laughing, dancing, singing. All these different passions and emotions are provoked by the presence of God. But there is one thing I never find in the Bible when a person comes into the presence of the living God: He is never bored. If our worship services are boring, then I’m afraid that somehow we are failing to communicate the awesome, majestic presence of God.
– Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 352
Why is honor due God? God is intrinsically honorable. He is worthy of our praise and of our adoration. If God is praiseworthy, then it is our obligation to praise him. – Now, That’s a Good Question! p. 355 |
|
All quotes © R.C. Sproul.
|
|
|
