R.C. Sproul > Quotes

“Be Born Again? Can I Be Sure I’m Saved? What Is Faith? What Can I Do with My Guilt? What Is the Trinity? TO BROWSE THE REST”
― R.C. Sproul, Are These the Last Days?

“To state it more simply, the study of religion is chiefly the study of a certain kind of human behavior, be it under the rubric of anthropology, sociology, or psychology. The study of theology, on the other hand, is the study of God. Religion is anthropocentric; theology is theocentric. The difference between religion and theology is ultimately the difference between God and man—hardly a small difference.”
― R.C. Sproul, What is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics

“Cristo… Señor… Rabí… Hijo del Hombre… Hijo de Dios… Hijo de David… León de Judá… la Rosa de Sarón… el Brillante Lucero de la Mañana… el Alfa y la Omega… el Logos… el Abogado… el Príncipe de Paz… el unigénito del Padre… el Cordero sin defecto…” Y”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Quién es Jesús?

“How we understand the person and character of God the Father affects every aspect of our lives. It affects far more than what we normally call the "religious" aspect of our lives. If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship. His Holy character has something to say about economics, politics, athletics, romance - everything with which we are involved.”
― R.C. Sproul

“La exaltación de Cristo no solo fue política; también fue sacerdotal. Él no solo asumió el cetro del Rey, sino también la vestimenta del Sumo Sacerdote. En su ascensión, Jesús entró al santuario así como al palacio. Jesús no solo se sienta a la derecha de Dios, sino que se arrodilla. Él ha entrado al Lugar Santísimo, el Santo de los Santos, para interceder a diario por su pueblo. Somos un pueblo cuyo Rey ora por nosotros llamándonos por nuestro nombre.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Quién es Jesús?

“Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.”
― R.C. Sproul, John

“As we consider these questions about the law, we must remember that the fundamental problem in all of creation is the problem of evil. The fundamental problem in our lives is the problem of sin, and sin and evil are both defined in light of the law. The fall of Adam and Eve was a transgression against the law of God.”
― R.C. Sproul, How Does God's Law Apply to Me?

“Pero cuando se trata del fruto del Espíritu, no es que algunos cristianos tengan el fruto de la fidelidad mientras que otros tienen amor, o que algunos tengan el fruto de la bondad y la amabilidad mientras que otros tienen paz y dominio propio. Cada cristiano debe manifestar todo el fruto del Espíritu, y mientras más crecemos en la gracia, mientras más progresamos en nuestra santificación, más bondadosos deberíamos ser, más pacientes deberíamos ser, más fieles deberíamos ser y, desde luego, más gozosos deberíamos ser.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Puedo tener gozo en mi vida?, Spanish Edition

“One might pray and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a Christian and not pray.”
― R.C. Sproul, Does Prayer Change Things?

“El abandono de la revelación divina ha llevado a nuestra cultura al caos en el terreno de la ética. Hemos perdido nuestra base del conocimiento, nuestro fundamento epistemológico para descubrir lo bueno.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Cómo debo vivir en este mundo?, Spanish Edition

“I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I know that God knows what tomorrow is going to bring. So if God promises that tomorrow will bring something, and if I trust God for tomorrow, I have faith in something I have not yet seen.”
― R.C. Sproul, What Is Faith?

“our salvation is of the Lord; it rests on the grace of God and on the work of Christ.”
― R.C. Sproul, What Is the Gospel?

“[W]e can discern principles in the patterns of worship that God revealed from heaven to His people in the Old Testament, and that those principles can and should inform the patterns our worship follows.”
― Sproul, R.C.

“In its fourth session, the Council of Trent decided that no man has the right to distort the Scriptures by private interpretation”
― R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith

“The first element of prayer should be adoration, or praise. The Psalms, which are inspired samples of godly prayer, are heavily weighted on the side of adoration. I've noticed over many years that as we grow in the discipline and in the delight of prayer, it seems that
we naturally spend more and more of our time on this first element. Second, prayer should include confession of our sin; as we remember who we are when we come into God's presence, we see that we have come short of His holiness and have need of His forgiveness. Third, when we pray, we should always give thanks, remembering the grace and mercy God has shown toward us. Fourth, prayer rightly includes supplication or petition, bringing our requests for the needs of others and ourselves to God.”
― R.C. Sproul, The Prayer of the Lord

“There is also irony here: when Christ sets us free from slavery to the flesh, he calls us to the royal liberty of slavery to him. That is why we call him Master. We acknowledge that it is from him that we get our marching orders. He is the Lord of our lives. We are not our own. We are not autonomous or independent. Unless people understand their relationship to Christ in these terms, they remain unconverted.”
― R.C. Sproul, Romans

“But Jesus indicated that the love of prestige is incompatible with the love of God.”
― R.C. Sproul, God's Love: How the Infinite God Cares for His Children

“La noción cristiana clásica más bien era que Dios es tanto la causa primaria del universo como también la causa primaria de todo lo que acontece en el universo.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Controla Dios todas Las Cosas?

“The Bible teaches that justification is by faith alone, yet ultimately there is only one way anybody is ever saved in the presence of God, and that is through works. The question is not whether we are going to be saved through works; the question is whose works. We are saved through the works of the One who alone fulfilled the terms of the covenant of works. That is why it is not just the death of Christ that redeems us, but it is also the life of Christ.”
― R.C. Sproul, Romans: An Expositional Commentary

“Ultimately, we believe the Bible to be inerrant because it comes from God Himself. It is unthinkable to contemplate that God might be capable of error. Therefore, His Word cannot possibly contain errors. This is our faith-we can trust the Bible because we can trust God.
-R. C.”
― R.C. Sproul, Can I Trust The Bible?

“This acrostic (which we shall examine more closely in part 2) stands for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints.”
― R.C. Sproul, What is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics

“when people argue over whether adultery, theft, and murder are wrong, they know in their hearts that such things are wrong. They are simply trying to quell their own consciences in order to live according to their passions.”
― R.C. Sproul, How Does God's Law Apply to Me?

“Bumper stickers in this world may demand, “Impeach Nixon,” but only a fool asks for the impeachment of God.”
― R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

“to the New Testament, we find that the concepts of monotheism that are so firmly established in the Old Testament are not only assumed, they are repeated again and again. Let me mention a couple of examples. Acts 17 records the apostle Paul’s address to the philosophers at the Areopagus in the ancient Greek city of Athens. We read: “So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god” ’ ” (vv. 22–23a). When Paul came to Athens, he noticed that the city was given over to idolatry. He passed by numerous temples and saw religious activity everywhere. He even noticed, as if the Greeks were afraid they might leave one deity out, that they had an altar with this inscription: “To the unknown god.” As he saw all this, his spirit was”
― R.C. Sproul, What Is The Trinity?

“ordained”
― R.C. Sproul, Who Is Jesus?

“Jesus suffered for us. Yet we are called to participate in His suffering. Though He was uniquely the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, there is still an application of this vocation for us. We are given both the duty and the privilege to participate in the suffering of Christ.”
― R.C. Sproul, Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in The Christian Life

“We pray to glorify God, but we also pray in order to receive the benefits of prayer from His hand. Prayer is for our benefit, even in light of the fact that God knows the end from the beginning. It is our privilege to bring the whole of our finite existence into the glory of His infinite presence.”
― R.C. Sproul, Does Prayer Change Things?

“That attribution of greatness and goodness to God can be summed up as “He is holy,” because holiness incorporates both greatness and goodness.”
― R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith

“So then, why does one person believe and another person doesn’t? Pelagius would say it’s because man has options: to embrace Christ or not to embrace Him; to obey God or not. It is within the power of a human being to obey God at every turn without any assistance from God’s grace. But Augustine would say man is dead in his sins. He has no desire for Christ, and the only way he will ever choose Christ is if God softens his stone-cold, recalcitrant heart and puts in him a desire for Christ.”
― R.C. Sproul, Are People Basically Good?

“Contrario a estas declaraciones está la enseñanza clara y bíblica de la Confesión de Fe de Westminster: A los que Dios llama de una manera eficaz, también justifica gratuitamente, no infundiendo justicia en ellos sino perdonándolos sus pecados, y contando y aceptando sus personas como justas; no por algo obrado en ellos o hecho por ellos, sino solamente por causa de Cristo; no por imputarles la fe misma, ni el acto de creer, ni alguna otra obediencia evangélica como su justicia, sino imputándoles la obediencia y satisfacción de Cristo y ellos por la fe, le reciben y descansan en él y en su justicia. Esta fe no la tienen de ellos mismos. Es un don de Dios. (II.1) La fe, que así recibe a Cristo y descansa en Él y en su justicia, es el único instrumento de justificación; aunque no está sola en la persona justificada, sino que siempre va acompañada por todas las otras gracias salvadoras, y no es fe muerta, sino que obra por amor. (II.2) Con frecuencia le digo a mis alumnos seminaristas que la doctrina de la justificación por la fe solamente no es tan difícil de entender. No se requiere un Doctorado en Teología. Aun así, es una de las verdades bíblicas más difíciles de inyectar en los corazones humanos. Es difícil para nosotros el entender que no hay nada que podamos hacer para alcanzar, merecer o añadir al mérito de Cristo, y que cuando estamos delante del juicio de Dios, llegamos sin nada en nuestras manos. Debemos simplemente anclarnos en la cruz de Cristo y poner nuestra confianza en Él solamente. Cualquier iglesia que enseñe algo diferente a esta verdad fundamental se ha apartado del evangelio.”
― R.C. Sproul, ¿Estamos juntos en verdad?