Ligonier Ministries The teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul

Properly conceived as grounded in God's own kingship, the Great Commission begins before humanity's fall away from communion with God. On the sixth day, man was commissioned by God to fill and subdue the earth, and to rule over the creatures (Gen. 1:27). Accordingly, one might justly define the Great Commission as "ruling and subduing" the earth and its creatures—an understanding we will need to unpack. Keep Reading

The point for us is to regard God's "means of grace" as precious and vital. The preaching of the Word, baptism, the Lord's Supper, godly fellowship, these are "ordinary" means, to be sure, often despised and displaced in the life of the church—but make no mistake, they are utterly irreplaceable: these are the means God has provided for us to progress; these are the means by which God gives us more and more of Christ. Keep Reading

The Book of Leviticus is the heart and center of the Pentateuch. The theological heart of Leviticus—and, therefore, also of the Five Books of Moses—is the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). Keep Reading

Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century doctor of the church who penned the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded," opens his devotional classic On Loving God with the following words: "You wish for me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason why He is to be loved. As for how He is to be loved, there is to be no limit to that love."  Keep Reading

Throughout his magnificent corpus of plays, William Shakespeare explored several themes, continually developing them through the dynamic possibilities of drama. He would create characters and then explore their interrelationships by pressing them into different trials and settings. Some of these recurring themes include the nature of man, liberty, judgment, the political project, mercy and forgiveness, and love. We will consider "the greatest of these" by taking a brief look at King Lear, hoping to demonstrate that Shakespeare's understanding of love is a refreshingly Christian understanding. Keep Reading

When the apostle Peter preached his sermon during the feast of Pentecost, some three thousand souls were saved and added to the church. It is amazing to consider, however, that most of those pilgrims had likely already arrived at Jerusalem to witness the historical crucifixion of Christ during Passover. None had understood the significance of the cross through their eyes. But when the gospel was explained and proclaimed through the Spirit of the resurrected Christ, this same audience was cut to the heart, repentant, converted—the gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation. Keep Reading

Recently, Dr. John V. Fesko, academic dean and professor of systematic and historical theology for Westminster Seminary, CA, was here in central Florida teaching a week-long intensive course on the Doctrine of Justification for Ligonier Academy's Doctor of Ministry program. During the week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Fesko in the studio to discuss this doctrine "upon which the church stands or falls." Keep Reading

Reformation Bible College is pleased to announce our latest faculty hire: Dr. Aaron C. Denlinger. Aaron will join our faculty as Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, starting in August 2013. Keep Reading