R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 102

How Should We Respond to the Hyper-Grace Movement?

One of the greatest threats to the contemporary church is antinomianism. From one of our Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul reminds us that while Christians are saved by grace, we are not free to sin.

Get answers to your biblical and theological questions online as they arise at Ask.Ligonier.org.

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A Practical Help for Bible Study

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16)

After stating that the Bible is God-breathed, Paul spelled out its purpose and value. Scripture, he said, is profitable for several things, including doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

The value of the Bible lies, first of all, in the fact that it teaches sound doctrine. Though we live in a time when sound teaching is denigrated, the Bible places a high value on it. Much of the New Testament is concerned with doctrine. The teaching ministry is given to the church for building up its people. Paul said, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11–12).

The Bible is also profitable for reproof and correction, which we as Christians continually need. It is fashionable in some academic circles to exercise scholarly criticism of the Bible. In so doing, scholars place themselves above the Bible and seek to correct it. If indeed the Bible is the Word of God, nothing could be more arrogant. It is God who corrects us; we don't correct Him. We do not stand over God but under Him.

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.

When we experience the "changing of the mind" that is repentance, we are not suddenly cleansed of all wrong thinking. The renewing of our minds is a lifelong process. We can accelerate this process by focusing on those passages of Scripture that we don't like. This is part of the "instruction in righteousness" of which Paul speaks.

Finally, Paul explained the overriding purpose for Scripture study. It comes in the final clause, where the apostle wrote, "… that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." It was as if Paul was warning Timothy that if he neglected the study of God's Word, his life would be incomplete. He would be missing out on this vast resource, this treasury of truth that is the Word of God. And the same is true for us.

Looking to read more of the Bible in 2020? For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of Bible reading plans for you to choose from. Whatever it is you’re looking for in a reading plan, you should find it here.

This excerpt is from R.C. Sproul's Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow.

Five Calvinistic Answers to the Five Errors of Arminianism

In this brief clip from his teaching series A Survey of Church History, W. Robert Godfrey examines how the five points of Calvinism originated. Watch this entire message for free. 

Transcript

What the Synod of Dort produces is five Calvinistic answers to the five points of Arminianism. It’s Arminianism that summarized its concern in five points and it is a real misrepresentation of Calvinism to say that Calvinism is summarized in five points. As important as those points are, they aren’t the summary of Calvinism. There is nothing about the Trinity. There's nothing really about Providence. There's really nothing about sacraments. There's very little about the church. If you want a summary of Calvinism, you should get the Belgic Confession or the Heidelberg Catechism or the Westminster Confession of Faith. That's a summary of Calvinism in its fullness.

The Five Points are five Calvinistic answers to the five errors of Arminianism. We ought to be clear about that. We don't summarize our faith in the five points but we do say the five points are important and the Synod of Dort then produced what are known to history as the “Canons of Dort” – “Canon” from the Greek word meaning “Rules” – The Rules of Dort on the five points. And we’re all familiar, I suppose, with TULIP as a summary of the Five Points. The problem is that is not the order that Dort taught in. Dort taught ULTIP which as far as I know is not a flower. That is it dealt first with Unconditional election, then with Limited atonement, then with Total depravity, then with the Irresistibility of the Holy Spirit and then with Perseverance.

What Percentage of Our Income Should Christians Give to the Church?

Are Christians commanded to give ten percent of their income to the church? From one of our Ask Ligonier events, Burk Parsons examines the Bible's principle of generosity.

Ask your biblical and theological questions live online at Ask.Ligonier.org.

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Why Should Christians Study the Bible?

Many people believe that theological study holds little value. They say, "I don't need theology; I just need to know Jesus." Yet theology is unavoidable for every Christian. It is our attempt to understand the truth that God has revealed to us—something every Christian does. So it is not a question of whether we are going to engage in theology; it is a question of whether our theology is sound or unsound. It is important to study and learn because God has taken great pains to reveal Himself to His people. He gave us a book, one that is not meant to sit on a shelf pressing dried flowers, but to be read, searched, digested, studied, and chiefly to be understood.

An important text in the writings of the Apostle Paul is found in his second letter to Timothy: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16–17). That text should put an end to claims that we do not need doctrine or that doctrine has no value. There is profit from a careful study of the Bible. Because the Bible is inspired by almighty God, it gives us a valuable and profitable asset, and that asset is doctrine.

The Bible is profitable also for reproof. The academic world devotes much energy to biblical criticism, sometimes called higher criticism, which is an analytical critique of Scripture. However, the biblical criticism in which we ought to engage renders us the object rather than the subject of the criticism. In other words, the Bible criticizes us. When we come to the Word of God, the Word of God exposes our sin. The biblical doctrine of man includes us, as does the biblical doctrine of sin, and we are reproved for our sinfulness when we come to the text of Scripture. We may not listen to the criticism of our peers, but we are wise to heed the criticism of God as it comes to us in sacred Scripture.

Scripture is also profitable for correction from both false living and false belief. Some time ago, at the request of a friend, I read a New York Times best seller about how to become a medium and communicate with the dead. I got about halfway through the book and had to stop reading. There was so much spiritual filth in that book, so much falsehood, that those with even a simple understanding of the law of God in the Old Testament would have been able to detect the lies. Such is the profit of correction from false teaching and false living that we can gain from Scripture.

Finally, Scripture is profitable "for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." The purpose of theology is not to tickle our intellects but to instruct us in the ways of God, so that we can grow up into maturity and fullness of obedience to Him. That is why we engage in theology.

Looking to read more of the Bible in 2020? For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of Bible reading plans for you to choose from. Whatever it is you’re looking for in a reading plan, you should find it here.

This excerpt is adpated from Everyone's a Theologian by R.C. Sproul.

$5 Friday: Law, Justification, & Romans

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as law, justification, sin, Romans, joy, predestination, John Knox, and more.

Sale runs through 12:01 a.m. — 11:59 p.m. Friday ET.

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

Your Support by December 31 Is Greatly Appreciated

This is your opportunity to stand with Ligonier Ministries in God’s mission to save the world.

Recently, we wrote to you about the honor and privilege we have as Christians to evangelize and disciple the nations. My friend and colleague, Dr. R.C. Sproul, established this ministry decades ago because he was grateful that he and other like-minded believers could play a part in God’s mission. As he often said, “God allows us to participate in the greatest work in human history, the work of redemption.”

R.C. was equally clear that God doesn’t need us to accomplish His purposes, which makes His choice to proclaim the truth of the Bible through us all the more gracious. The Lord has appointed His church to carry out this mission, but we believe He has raised up Ligonier to provide vital assistance to the church in fulfilling His mandate.

As a student and professor of church history, I have been able to look back and reflect on God’s providential use of His people to take His gospel to the nations. We remember the great men and women in church history who made key contributions to this effort, but none of these individuals did their work alone. God’s mission has always advanced when all of His people together support the work of His Great Commission. There would have been no Reformation without the people of Geneva, Wittenberg, and elsewhere supporting the work.

So it is in our day. Ligonier Ministries relies on your gifts and prayers to provide vital resources to the church for the fulfillment of Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all nations. By ending 2019 financially strong, Ligonier will be well positioned for 2020.

If you have already given to Ligonier’s year-end need, please know how grateful we are for your support. If you haven’t given, please prayerfully consider how the Lord would have you support Ligonier at this time.

Your gift of any amount by December 31 will enable us to close out the year strong, and it will support vital outreaches in 2020, such as the launch of the Reformation Study Bible in Spanish, the development of new print and video resources, an increased international presence, and other ministry opportunities. By God’s grace, you can help make it possible to begin a new decade of ministry to a world that desperately needs the gospel.

Thank you for standing with Ligonier for the sake of gospel ministry and the health of Christ’s church.

Every gift, large or small, makes ministry happen. We are thankful for friends like you who don’t count on others to give, but who step up to meet Ligonier’s needs. Your support by December 31 is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Give Now

Contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Gifts must be received by 11:30pm ET. December 31, 2019. Thank you for your support.

Sins of Omission

Here’s an excerpt from Sins of Omission, Brian Cosby's contribution to the December issue of Tabletalk:

While sins of commission are often blatant and deliberate—transgressing a known law or command—sins of omission can be subtle and sneaky. We may not even realize that we have failed to do what God commands. While I might not ever commit adultery, for example, I could easily fail to love my wife as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). In this example, committing adultery would be a sin of commission, while failing to love would be a sin of omission. When we consider and examine our own sins of omission, we should be humbled and flee any attempt to boast in self-righteousness.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines sin as “any lack of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God” (WSC 14). Put simply, a sin of omission is any lack of conformity to God’s law, or failing to do what God commands, which is as grievous as actively transgressing what He commands. James writes, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). He also explains that we must not be only hearers of the Word, but doers also (1:22). While it is certainly true that we can sin without realizing it, sins of omission are intensified by knowledge. When we know what God has commanded us in His Word and we fail to do it, then we have silenced the voice of conscience and sinned against Him.

I want to suggest three ways we commit sins of omission—in our thoughts/desires, words, and deeds—and provide a gospel remedy. First, we commit sins of omission when we lack conformity to God’s law in our thoughts and desires—when we do not set our minds on things above (Col. 3:2) or when we fail to love God with all our hearts and minds (Luke 10:27). We are commanded to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) and to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). But how often are we doers of these commands? When we fail to honor God with our thoughts and desires, we commit sins of omission.

Continue reading Sins of Omission, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3-month trial.

For a limited time, the new TabletalkMagazine.com allows everyone to browse and read the growing library of back issues, including this month’s issue.

Bible Reading Plans for 2020

Many Christians take the beginning of a new year to evaluate their Bible reading habits and then change or begin a Bible reading plan.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of Bible reading plans for you to choose from. Maybe in 2020 you will read more of the Bible each day. Perhaps you’ll slow down your reading and instead spend more time considering what you read. Whatever it is you’re looking for in a reading plan, you should find it below:

5 Day Bible Reading Program

Read through the Bible in a year with readings five days a week.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

52 Week Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in a year with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan

Read through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday. Weekends are set aside for reflection and other reading. Especially beneficial if you’re new to a daily discipline of Bible reading.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

A Bible Reading Chart

Read through the Bible at your own pace. Use this minimalistic yet beautifully designed chart to track your reading throughout the year.

Duration: Flexible | Download: PDF

Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in the order the events occurred chronologically.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings beginning in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

ESV Daily Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings taken from four lists: Psalms and wisdom literature, Pentateuch and history of Israel, Chronicles and prophets, and Gospels and epistles.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Every Word in the Bible

Read through the Bible one chapter at a time. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments.

Duration: Three years | Download: PDF

Historical Bible Reading Plan

The Old Testament readings are similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament readings are an attempt to follow the order in which the books were authored.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

An In Depth Study of Matthew

A year-long study in the Gospel of Matthew from Tabletalk magazine and R.C. Sproul.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

Bible In A Year

This plan takes you through the entire Bible with two readings each day: one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System

Reading ten chapters a day, in the course of a year you’ll read the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters four to five times, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the Old Testament history and prophetic books about one and a half times.

Duration: Ongoing | Download: PDF

Robert Murray M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once.

Duration: One or two years | Download: Website

Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan

Read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Tabletalk Bible Reading Plan

Two readings each day, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

The Legacy Reading Plan

This plan does not have set readings for each day. Instead, it has set books for each month and a set number of Proverbs and Psalms for each week. It aims to give you more flexibility while grounding you in specific books of the Bible.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

Read the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs four times.

Duration: Two years | Download: PDF

Have you struggled to read through the entire Bible? R.C. Sproul's basic overview of the Bible may help you.

In addition to your daily Bible reading, consider reading Tabletalk magazine for daily Bible studies to help you understand the Bible and apply it to daily living. Sign up for a free 3-month trial.

Why the God-Man?

The incarnation means more than just Jesus in a manger. In this brief clip, Sinclair Ferguson describes just how overwhelming the incarnation is.

Transcript

You see here’s our problem. We are not amazed by the question, why the God-Man? We assume, of course, He would come. The gospel begins to amaze us when we learn who it is who has come. It’s staggering to the intellect. Indeed, I think one can say, if your intellect has never been staggered by the reality of the incarnation, you don’t know what incarnation means. It doesn’t mean Jesus was a little baby. It means the eternal, infinite, divine One, worshipped by Cherubim and Seraphim, Creator of all things, sustainer of all things, infinite in His being, wisdom, power, majesty, glory, who at a word could dissolve the world that had sinned against Him was willing to come into this world and assume our flesh in order to become our Savior. It’s overwhelming. That’s the great thing about the gospel, isn’t it? It’s never done overwhelming you – wave upon wave upon wave of worship and adoration, that God the Son should come for the likes of me, and not just because it’s the likes of me, because it’s the One who is without parallel in infinite majesty who has done this.