Ligonier Ministries

Why are there so many false doctrines?

The devil is desperate. His kingdom has been raided by Christ, and he delights in whatever way he can derail us. He doesn’t care how we run amok so long as we run amok. He doesn’t care whether you’re an …Read More

What are your favorite classic works throughout church history?

You could have one for every century. I only have ninety seconds, so we’ll skip a few centuries. In the early church, I love the Martyrdom of Polycarp, which is a second-century text. It gives us fresh insight into what …Read More

How does God’s sovereignty not “do violence” to the will of man, as the Westminster Confession says?

There is an element of mystery in this relationship, because Scripture teaches that God is sovereign over all things, but it also teaches that man has a will. Lots of people reason that if man has a will, then it …Read More

Can we trust the writings of the early church to have sound theology?

The early church is interesting because of its proximity to the New Testament, but this does not mean it’s always right. There is an assumption that the closer you get to the source, the more pure it is, but that’s …Read More

Does God turn His face away from Christians?

The great Aaronic blessing that God gave to the priesthood in Israel to lay upon Israel and to bless Israel was that the Lord’s face would shine upon them (Num. 6:24-26). This was an expression of the happy, blessed, and …Read More

What is the best way to describe repentance to an unbeliever?

The best way may be to use an illustration that you think of either from their life or from your own life. The Hebrew word for repentance means returning. The prodigal son is a story like that: he goes away …Read More

How would you describe the majesty of God?

The psalmist says, “God dwells in light inaccessible.” We can use any word. I remember talking to R.C. about this and he said, “You know, the word I used was ‘holiness,’ but there are a lot of words we can …Read More

What book or resource would you recommend to a new believer?

Some new believers are just not readers at all, so the most important thing is to encourage them to read the Scriptures. For that reason, you might want to find a book for them that would give them simple help. …Read More

What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit’s work and our effort in sanctification?

I think the best place to go for a one-sentence answer to that is Philippians 2:12-13, where Paul urges the Christians to work out their salvation—which is not working up their salvation, but working out the salvation that God has …Read More

What happens when unbelievers die? Are they already in hell or waiting for the final judgment?

If we look at the framework of Scripture, we would say that they are in hell now; yet there is the final judgment to come. They’re certainly not in a state of soul-sleep, not in a state of limbo, not …Read More

Why has the church lost its appreciation for the Sabbath?

I think one of the temptations of American evangelical Christianity—borne out of something fundamentally good, namely our desire to see the church revived and our desire to see the church involved in evangelism and missions—has gotten persuaded, in our time …Read More