Fifty-three years ago today, R.C. Sproul was ordained to the ministry. As a pastor and the founder of Ligonier, R.C. was best known for proclaiming, teaching, and defending the holiness of God in all its fullness, deepening our understanding of God’s holy character.
To celebrate this occasion and remember R.C.’s life and ministry, we’ve compiled some of the best of his teaching on the holiness of God through the years. Watch and share the video today.
Transcript
Jesus in the midst of the tempest is sound asleep in the back of the boat. But they [the disciples] are fearful, and they rush to the back of the boat and they grab Him and say, “Jesus, wake up. Do something!” He says, “What's the matter?” He sees the storm and He walks over and says, “Alright, peace, be still.” And the sea stops its raging and the winds become calm. What’s the response of the disciples when Jesus removes the clear and present threat of nature? Does it say they throw their sou’westers in the air and rejoice and say, “Oh, we knew you would do it”? No. The text tells us that at that moment they became very much afraid.
The biggest problem that the human race has is this: God is holy. He’s righteous. He’s just. And we’re not. And it’s because God is holy that anytime He withholds justice, He is giving grace. Listen to what the Bible tells us. The King of the universe places His indelible mark on the soul of every one of His people.
I think one of the most important things we do is to try to deepen our understanding of the character of God. Because He’s holy, and we’re not. There is only one characteristic of Almighty God that is communicated in the superlative degree from the mouths of angels, where the Bible doesn’t simply say that God is holy, or even that He is holy, holy, but that He is holy, holy, holy. That’s like saying the best of the best or the worst of the worst. The heavenly host above the throne of God, singing to each other in antiphonal response a single word repeated over and over and over again—“holy, holy, holy.”
The only reason you exist and that I exist is for Him. We must come to understand that even though we have this built-in antipathy and fear towards the Holy One, and even though we recognize that we are unholy, in Christ, ladies and gentlemen, we are welcome.
Before going home to be with the Lord, R.C. also played a role in shaping our 2019 National Conference on the theme “He Is Holy.” Don’t forget to join us next spring in Orlando, Fla., as we study our holy God and what His holiness means for our lives.
