Ligonier Ministries: The teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul

In this review, R.C. Sproul Jr. reviews one of his father's books--Knowing Scripture. Keep Reading

Not too long after so many of us were swept up in the significance of Y2K, R.C. Sproul Jr. peers back at Y1K and looks for its lessons. "As the tenth century drew to its conclusion, too many Christians saw in that grand, round number what they thought was a glimpse into the private thoughts of God. The millennium bug bit us, and we caught the fever." He warns, though, that "Disappointments along these lines, then and now, can be peculiarly damaging, as theologies are twisted and Scriptures denied in order to explain how our math turned out wrong." He reflects on the significance of numbers, even saying that "Numbers, because of their abstract nature, may be that place where our thinking grows closest to God’s. We hear in the harmony of music and we see in the dance of the heavenly spheres echoes and reflections of the beauty of not just creation but the Creator. In its place, this is right and proper. We should always marvel at His glory and power." Still, they can be dangerous and "we must always remember that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts. We must not, as Satan tempted us, see numbers as a tool for our own power and glory." Having warned of the allure of numbers and the danger they can bring us, he turns to the one number that matters most. Keep Reading

Logistics intimidate me. Had I been present at the sermon that preceded the feeding of the five thousand I wouldn’t have heard a word. My mind would have been rather occupied with that one burning question — How are we ever going to feed all these people? There I would have been failing to hear the words of life from the Bread of Life all because I was worried about where bread would come from. Keep Reading

I scanned my notes rather quickly, looking for problems. I would soon be preaching amidst a gathering throng of Kenyans. Was there an allusion somewhere in here to America culture? Were there idioms that would make no sense to these saints? Was there a hint of technical jargon connected to theological controversies that had not yet crossed the Atlantic? Truth be told, I was more nervous than I have been in a long time.  Nairobi West Presbyterian Church is neither tiny (which tends to make me more nervous than large crowds) nor massive (which tends to make some others more nervous.) The pews were, however, filled with a rather mixed crowd- most of them local, but a decent sized contingent of those who had been travelling with me from these United States. Keep Reading

One of the great blessings of my calling is that I am from time to time called to travel far and wide. Over the course of little more than a year I have travelled to teach in the United Kingdom, in Japan, and now in Africa. I come home each time encouraged to see the Spirit of God at work in places that are far to me, but near to Him. While my joy increases however, so does my concern. That is, the more aware I become of how God is at work in distant lands, the more I become aware of the need. My vision is expanded on the expanse of the kingdom, which in turn causes me to more clearly see the fields white for harvest. Keep Reading

One of my many weaknesses is that I don’t, at least in my heart, believe that missionaries have weaknesses. I see them as super-heroes. How wonderful they must be to leave the comforts of home and family to go and serve. My mind knows better, but the heart has its reasons. Missionaries, I know objectively, are not super spiritual people who do not sin. They are instead super-spiritual people whose consciousness of their own sin fuels gospel gratitude which in turn leads to sacrificial love for others. Keep Reading

It was Augustine who argued that every sin is a failure to love ordinately. Sin is the result of either loving something more than we ought or the result of loving something less than we ought. We are to love, in order. Eve, for instance, found the fruit pleasing to the eye and desirable to make one wise. Nothing wrong there. She would have had to be blind to miss it. But she loved that fruit more than she should have, and she loved the law of God less than she should have. Our temptation, because we are the children of our parents who fell into sin, is often to defend our sin on the basis that it is grounded in love. That we steal our neighbor’s reputation because we “love truth” is one form of love justifying a multitude of sins. That we steal our neighbor’s wife because we “love her” is another attempt to defend sin. To love ordinately is to love as God loves, in due measure. It is to love what we love as we ought to love it. Keep Reading

That depends. Do I have Messianic delusions? I certainly pray not, and if I do, then surely I must repent for them. Is my faith built around the biblical promise of the coming of Messiah, steeped in the wisdom of the Old Covenant? Of course. Am I part of that subsection of the Christian faith that holds it important to keep kosher, to keep Jewish feast days, who rest and worship Friday through Saturday evening? Nope, that’s not me. Keep Reading

The Protestant Reformation is called the Reformation for a good reason. It is not called the First Reformation or Reformation II, as if they happen every so often. I have never been asked, when referencing the Reformation, “Of which Reformation do you speak?” Renewals? Of course. Revivals? Who could doubt it? There has been only one Reformation, precisely because they are rather hard to come by. Those of us who long for another, then, might be wise to search out that spark that started the Reformation. Where did it all begin? Was it with Martin Luther’s stirring speech at the Diet of Worms, his firm resolve to stand on the Word of God? Perhaps. Did it start earlier, in Luther’s study, as he exegeted key texts on justification? Maybe. Did it start with his fiery speech before he dropped the papal bull announcing his excommunication into the flames? One could so argue. Keep Reading

It’s Tuesday as I write, the first Tuesday after the end of Lost. A week has passed since the bewildering end to a mold-breaking, bewildering, television event. I got lost a little late, though of late I think I don’t get Lost at all. That is, I started watching near the end of the second season. It was the first television program I watched via DVD, and with my dear wife stayed up many a late night to watch “just one more.” We waited for Season 2’s release, and watched it also on DVD. From that point however, we put ourselves on the schedule of the network. Keep Reading