R.C. Sproul > Quotes

“It has been said many times that there is a fine line between genius and insanity and that some people move back and forth across it. Perhaps that was the problem Luther had.”
― R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

“Our church buildings and our church services should be marked by visible beauty, so that we might be reminded of the glory and beauty of God.”
― Sproul, R.C.

“¿Cómo es posible mantenerse gozoso todo el tiempo? Pablo nos da la clave: «Regocijaos en el Señor siempre» (énfasis añadido). La clave del gozo cristiano es su fuente, la cual es el Señor. Si Cristo está en mí y yo en Él, esa relación no es una experiencia esporádica. El cristiano está siempre en el Señor y el Señor está siempre en el cristiano, y eso siempre será motivo de gozo. Aun si el cristiano no puede regocijarse en sus circunstancias, si se encuentra en medio de dolor, angustia o tristeza, aun así, puede regocijarse en Cristo. Nos regocijamos en el Señor y, puesto que Él nunca nos deja ni nos desampara, podemos regocijarnos siempre.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Puedo tener gozo en mi vida?, Spanish Edition

“It is necessary for fire, but alone it does not guarantee the result of fire.”
― R.C. Sproul, What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?

“confines of the institutional church there are people who are true believers, but there are also unbelievers inside the visible, institutional church. They’re in the church, but they’re not in Christ because they’ve made a false profession of faith. Jesus said of some of His contemporaries, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matt. 15:8). Jesus recognized that there were people within Israel who were not true believers. Paul said something similar: “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6). These Jews went through the rituals and were part of the visible community. They were participating in all of the activities, but they were still aliens and strangers to the things of God. In the New Testament, the metaphor that Jesus uses with respect”
― R.C. Sproul, What Is the Church?

“People often ask, ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ and I say, ‘that’s only happened once and He volunteered.”
― R.C. Sproul

“I hear people say, "Doctrine divides." Of course doctrine divides, but it also unites. It unites the ones who love God's truth and are willing to worship Him according to that truth.”
― R.C. Sproul, Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow

“Virtually all of the errors that plague the church and her doctrine relate to one of two errors: either an underestimation of the greatness of God or an overestimation of the greatness of man.”
― R.C. Sproul, What Is Predestination?

“shows”
― R.C. Sproul, What Do Jesus' Parables Mean?

“On the cross Jesus was in the reality of hell. He was totally bereft of the grace and the presence of God, utterly separated from all blessedness of the Father. He became a curse for us so that we someday will be able to see the face of God. So that the light of His countenance might fall upon us, God turned His back on His Son. No wonder Christ screamed. He screamed from the depth of His soul. How long did He have to endure it? We don’t know, but a second of it would have been of infinite value.”
― R.C. Sproul, Saved from What?

“This yields a practical help for Bible study: read the Bible with a red pen in hand. I suggest that you put a question mark in the margin beside every passage that you find unclear or hard to understand. Likewise, put an X beside every passage that offends you or makes you uncomfortable. Afterward, you can focus on the areas you struggle with, especially the texts marked with an X. This can be a guide to holiness, as the Xs show us quickly where our thinking is out of line with the mind of Christ. If I don't like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don't understand it. If so, studying it again may help. If, in fact, I do understand the passage and still don't like it, this is not an
indication there is something wrong with the Bible. It's an indication that something is wrong with me, something that needs to change. Often, before we can get something right, we need to first discover what we're doing wrong.”
― R.C. Sproul, Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow

“When God justifies His people, He does not do it by a unilateral act of forgiveness, because to do so without propitiation, without satisfaction, without atonement would be a complete violation of His justice. God will not wink at sin. He simply will not pass over it without exacting a punishment for it.”
― R.C. Sproul, The Work of Christ: What the Events of Jesus' Life Mean for You

“La razón exacta por la que oramos es la soberanía de Dios, porque creemos que está dentro del poder de Dios ordenar las cosas conforme a su propósito. Eso es precisamente la soberanía: ordenar las cosas conforme al propósito de Dios. Así que entonces, ¿la oración hace que Dios cambie de parecer? No. ¿La oración cambia las cosas? Sí, por supuesto.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Puede la oración cambiar las cosas?

“Nineteenth-century liberal theology sought to reduce Christianity to a naturalized religion, stripped of everything supernatural. The Christian message was reduced to matters of ethics and values; the gospel was recast as a kind of humanitarianism that attempts to alleviate pain and suffering in this world. Everything supernatural in Scripture was denied, including the deity of Christ. His substitutionary atonement, resurrection, and ascension were all rejected. Modern theology took hold of churches and educational institutions.”
― R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith

“Se ha dicho que si uno quiere descubrir lo que una persona realmente cree, debería analizar su chequera. Como dijo Jesús: “Porque donde ustedes tengan su tesoro, allí también estará su corazón” (Lucas 12:34). Así que si quieres saber dónde está tu corazón, revisa tu tesoro. ¿Invertimos en el reino de Dios o en nuestros propios reinos? La persona que vive por fe vive para agradar a Dios, no a los hombres. Enoc fue apartado porque en su vida había una ardiente pasión por agradar a Dios. Eso es lo que hace una persona de fe.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Qué es la fe?

“The true power, the power that will change your life, is the power, the dunamis, of God the Holy Spirit, and God promises to attend the preaching of His Word with that power. Preaching has no power unless God the Holy Spirit takes His Word and penetrates hearts with it. That's where the power is if you believe the Word of God.”
― R.C. Sproul, John

“When the New Testament calls wives to be in subjection to their husbands, there is no hint of female inferiority. That notion is neither explicitly stated or implied. When the idea is wrenched out of Scripture, it is done so by twisted minds. What is called for is a division of labor in the economy of marriage. The role of leadership is assigned to the man and not to the woman.”
― R.C. Sproul

“ascension, not even the crucifixion or the resurrection. It is dangerous business to assign relative values to the episodes of Christ's life and ministry, but if we underestimate the significance of the ascension, we sail in perilous waters.
What could be more important than the cross? Without it we have no atonement, no redemption. Paul resolved to preach”
― R.C. Sproul, Who Is Jesus?

“Ligonier Ministries, an international multimedia ministry based in Lake Mary, Florida. He also serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching”
― R.C. Sproul, Who Is Jesus?

“God works all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will. There is a difference between according to His will and willy-nilly. Willy-nilly has no purpose or principle and is chaotic or irrational. God’s will, on the other hand, is immutable because it is eternal and is based on His most wise and righteous counsel. What would cause God to change His plan?”
― R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith

“To say the Bible is the Word of God that errs is clearly to indulge in impious doublespeak. If it is the Word of God, it does not err. If it errs, it is not the Word of God. Surely we can have a word about God that errs, but we cannot have a word from God that errs.”
― R.C. Sproul, What is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics

“The Battle for the Bible. In that little book, Lindsell addressed what had become a huge matter of controversy-the truthfulness and reliability of the Scriptures. In the face of myriad arguments against the inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy of the Bible, Lindsell took a stand and declared that the Bible remains trustworthy.
It was this same desire to stand”
― R.C. Sproul, Can I Trust The Bible?

“Por lo tanto, la pregunta obvia es, ¿qué estarás haciendo cuando él venga? ¿Encontrará que has sido fiel, no casual u ocasionalmente, sino todo el tiempo? Cristo nos ha comprado para él, y nos ha dado una tarea que realizar, ya sea que podamos verlo a él físicamente o no. Esperamos que cuando él venga nos encuentre fieles.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Estamos en los últimos días?

“of”
― R.C. Sproul, What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

“The symbol not only points beyond itself, but is itself part of the reality, so that the symbol escalates the intensity of the sign to another level.”
― R.C. Sproul, How Then Shall We Worship?: Biblical Principles to Guide Us Today

“The Spirit’s internal testimony does not give the believer private, esoteric knowledge or information that is unavailable to anyone else.”
― R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith

“The governing authorities are understood to be ordained by God. We are not permitted to obey only those authorities that we consider to be legitimate. It is a de facto matter, not a do ejur matter. God certainly does not endorse everything civil magistrates do, but He does give them certain rights and requires our obedience to them. No government rules autonomously. All civil authorities must, and ultimately will, answer to God. We have the responsibility of obeying even corrupt governments except under certain conditions. Civil obedience is required repeatedly by the Word of God. The principle that governs our right and responsibility to disobey civil authority is this: we must obey those in authority over us unless they command us to do what God forbids or forbid us to do what God commands.
Biblically,”
― R.C. Sproul, How Should I Live In This World?

“The ascension of Jesus was the supreme political event of world history. He ascended not so much”
― R.C. Sproul, Who Is Jesus?

“Critique”
― R.C. Sproul, Does God Exist?

“Christians get excited about the return of Jesus. Oh, happy day! Yes, it is a happy day for the saved, but for the unsaved the return of Jesus is the worst of all conceivable calamities.”
― R.C. Sproul, Saved from What?