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The Instrumental Cause of Justification
from R.C. Sproul Oct 14, 2019 Category: Articles
The Reformation doctrine of justification is frequently summed up in the slogan sola fide, which means “by faith alone.” The phrase sola fide stands for the teaching that justification is by faith alone.
The Roman Catholic Church, historically, has also taught that justification is by faith. They say that faith...
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What Do Expiation and Propitiation Mean?
from R.C. Sproul Apr 17, 2019 Category: Articles
I'm often asked to explain the difference between propitiation and expiation. The difficulty is that even though these words are in the Bible, we don't use them as part of our day-to-day vocabulary, so we aren't sure exactly what they are communicating in Scripture. We lack reference points in relation to these words.
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What Is Discernment?
from Sinclair Ferguson May 20, 2019 Category: Articles
Discernment is like the physical senses; to some it is given in unusual measure as a special grace gift (1 Cor. 12:10), but some measure of it is essential for us all and must be constantly nourished. The Christian must take care to develop his "sixth sense" of spiritual discernment. This is why the psalmist prays, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge" (Ps. 119:66).
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What Does it Mean to Fear God?
from R.C. Sproul Jan 12, 2018 Category: Articles
We need to make some important distinctions about the biblical meaning of "fearing" God. These distinctions can be helpful, but they can also be a little dangerous. When Luther struggled with that, he made this distinction, which has since become somewhat famous: He distinguished between what he called a servile fear and a filial fear.
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What Is the Gospel?
from R.C. Sproul Feb 07, 2018 Category: Articles
There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they're preaching the gospel to you when they tell you, 'you can have a purpose to your life', or that 'you can have meaning to your life', or that 'you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.' All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don't get to the heart of the gospel.
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What Does the Word “Amen” Mean?
from R.C. Sproul Apr 05, 2019 Category: Articles
And all the people said . . . "Amen!"
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The Difference Between Ethics and Morality
from R.C. Sproul Oct 14, 2015 Category: Articles
In our vocabulary, you'll find that most people use the words, ethics and morality interchangeably, as if they were synonyms. But historically, that's not been the case.
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Who Was C.S. Lewis?
from Sinclair Ferguson Nov 22, 2013 Category: Articles
November 22, 1963, the date of President Kennedy's assassination, was also the day C.S. Lewis died. Seven years earlier he had thus described death: "The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."
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The Lamb of God
from Derek Thomas Apr 15, 2016 Category: Articles
"And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son" (Gen. 22:13). Like an old-fashioned grammar text, the Bible is a book in which many of the answers to questions posed early on are to be found in the back of the book. Take the idea that Jesus died for me. We sing Cecil Frances Alexander's words...
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What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ?
from Sinclair Ferguson Jun 24, 2019 Category: Articles
The exhortation to "abide" has been frequently misunderstood, as though it were a special, mystical, and indefinable experience. But Jesus makes clear that it actually involves a number of concrete realities.
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What Is the Unpardonable Sin?
from R.C. Sproul Jul 09, 2018 Category: Articles
I cannot tell you how many times in my teaching career very distraught Christians have come to me to ask about the unpardonable sin and whether they might have committed it. I suspect most believers have asked themselves whether they have done something unforgivable. It is not surprising that many people struggle with this issue because the precise nature of "the unpardonable sin" is difficult to discern and many theories about it have been set forth through church history.
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