Ligonier Ministries

Do you think the state will soon require churches to perform same-sex weddings?

THOMAS: The church is not tied to the state, so the state can’t mandate what the church does, and the state cannot mandate what the church believes. If it came to a point where the state was insisting that individual …Read More

What is the difference between sin, transgression, and iniquity?

FERGUSON: Sin, transgression, and iniquity are different words in the Old Testament. Most of us are familiar with the Greek term hamartia, meaning “sin,” which conveys the idea of falling short of the mark. We are made for the glory …Read More

How do scholars estimate when each book of the Bible was written?

SPROUL: There are different methods. The main method is through external sources, by looking at what the ancient extra-biblical writers would quote. For example, if a text of Scripture was quoted by Eusebius, and you know when Eusebius lived, then …Read More

How should we respond to the hyper-grace movement?

If we’re talking about “hyper-grace” in terms of grace covering everything, there are those in that movement who are basically antinomian. That is, they believe that once we experience grace, we’re no longer under the law in any sense, even …Read More

What percentage of our income should Christians give to the church?

The Bible very plainly gives us the tithe as ten percent. I think that’s a good starting point in how we give, and the New Testament never repeals it. Paul tells us that the Lord loves a cheerful giver and …Read More

What are the essential ingredients of a true church?

SPROUL: In the sixteenth century, with the rupture of unity in the ecclesiastical situation, there was a huge debate about what makes a valid church because there was such a proliferation of different denominations and so on. The essential ingredients …Read More

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

SPROUL: One way you could look at it is to say that there is only one God—Yahweh. So, you could say that every form of pagan worship is a worship of the one true God, though a distorted, corrupted style …Read More

Did King Saul really talk to the spirit of Samuel, or was it a demonic impersonation?

The question presupposes that there are only two options—that he was talking to the real Samuel or to a demon. We don’t know the answer to that question. All we know clearly from Scripture is that what Saul was doing …Read More

How was the gospel lost prior to its rediscovery in the Reformation?

NICHOLS: It shouldn’t surprise us that, in the sixteenth century, the gospel was obscured. We see this in the first century. We see it in Paul’s churches. In his epistle to the Galatians, he’s astounded that they were entertaining a …Read More

What characteristic of Martin Luther made him effective as God’s instrument to reform the church?

SPROUL: Luther was a beggar who found where he could get bread and told everybody who would listen to him. How can a guy stand against the whole world like he did? The only way to understand that is to …Read More

Is God justified in punishing us for Adam’s sin?

It is just that we are born with a sin nature because we sinned in Adam. That’s the whole concept. Adam was the perfect representative, not just for himself but for the whole human race. Whether we understand being in …Read More

How can I avoid becoming prideful?

I recently wrote an article for Credo Magazine online and talked a little bit about my own experience in coming to understand the doctrine of salvation in Scripture. I talked about what a difficult thing it was for me, after …Read More

What is the Great Commission, and what can we gain from Ligonier’s teaching series on this subject?

PARSONS: In our study of Romans at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, I took some time to look at the mission of God in Scripture. The mission of God is something I could spend the rest of my life studying because I …Read More

Since heaven is perfect, why do we need the new heavens and new earth?

When the Bible speaks about heaven, it speaks of it in different terms. Many times when the Bible uses the term ouranos, which is a Greek word for “heaven,” it simply refers to the sky. It is also used to …Read More

How does the Holy Spirit work distinctly in the Old and New Testament?

In the Old Testament, we see different aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, one of the most important works of the Holy Spirit is the work of regeneration, by which He changes the disposition …Read More