R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 120

Be Patient with Us as We Learn

Here’s an excerpt from Be Patient with Us as We Learn, Joe Holland's contribution to the October issue of Tabletalk:

Older christian, I know now that you must’ve seen the look on my face. When I was a younger Christian, I wore that look more often than I do now, a change that I can only attribute to God’s chastening grace. There are still days that find that look back on my face. But now, in my fortieth year, I’ve entered a strange stage of life, an age where some consider me old(er) and some still consider me young(ish). I now also see that same look on the faces of Christians younger than me. The look, which I’m embarrassed to put words to now, is one of resentment and dismissal. I resented you because you were older and knew some of the comforts that old age and godliness bring, yet your ways and thoughts seemed so outdated and nonsensical compared to what I thought our church needed, what I needed. I dismissed you mainly because of the divide between us, the generational gap that separated us. I dismissed you because I was simultaneously frustrated that you would not cross that divide and deeply fearful that you would cross it and begin to speak truth into my life, truth I needed to hear but didn’t want to hear. Dismissing you was just more comfortable.

I was so childish, so impetuous, so foolish. I sinned against you in not giving you the honor that was your due (Ex. 20:12; Prov. 20:29). I sinned against God in despising His gift of older saints to the church. I, in the end, robbed myself to pay my pride.

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Double Imputation: Our Sin For His Righteousness

Two things happen when we are saved: our sin is imputed to Jesus, and His righteousness is imputed to us. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul explains the great exchange of double imputation.

This Reformation Month, watch a short video every day on the history and insights of the Protestant Reformation. And don't forget that for this month only, you can request your free digital download of R.C. Sproul’s video teaching series Luther and the Reformation plus the ebook edition of The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols at ligm.in/Reformation. Offer ends October 31, 2019.

Transcript

At the heart of the gospel is a double imputation: my sin is imputed to Jesus. His righteousness is imputed to me. And in this twofold transaction, we see that God, who does not negotiate sin, who doesn't compromise His own integrity with our salvation but rather punishes sin fully and really after it has been imputed to Jesus, retains His own righteousness. And so, He is both just and the justifier, as the Apostle tells us here. So my sin goes to Jesus; His righteousness comes to me in the sight of God.

Roman Catholicism and the Battle Over Words

Roman Catholics may use words like “grace” and “faith,” but they often have very different meanings. In this brief clip, Leonardo De Chirico explains one of the main challenges coming from present-day Roman Catholicism.

This Reformation Month, watch a short video every day on the history and insights of the Protestant Reformation. And don't forget that for this month only, you can request your free digital download of R.C. Sproul’s video teaching series Luther and the Reformation plus the ebook edition of The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols at ligm.in/Reformation. Offer ends October 31, 2019.

Transcript

We have two main challenges coming from present-day Roman Catholicism: One is the battle over words. Roman Catholicism in its post-Vatican II time has tried to capture basic Evangelical Protestant language, trying to redefine it still using the same words, still using the same sounds but significantly redefining its meaning. In a very important book published in 2005, Is the Reformation Over? by Mark Noll and Nystrom, there is a recognition that if one reads the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, there is a sense in which two-thirds of the Catechism can be accepted by a Protestant—two-thirds—if you read these words prima facia "for what they mean," in terms of the readers perspective. But then the authors say, but if you look closely, and if you try to understand what these words mean, you find that wherever the Catechism speaks of Christ, it speaks of the church; wherever it speaks of grace, it speaks also of the sacraments; wherever it speaks of faith, it speaks of works; wherever it speaks of the glory of God; it speaks also of the veneration of the saints and Mary. You see the words are the same but the meaning is blurred. So that you have a sense that they are saying almost the same things but then the end result is that they are actually saying very different things.

In 2012 another important book written by George Weigel title Evangelical Catholicism tries not only to redefine the basic words of the gospel but also to redefine what does evangelical mean. And he says basically that Roman Catholicism is the noun carrying the doctrinal sacramental weight. Evangelical Catholicism is a way of describing a kind of spirituality. The good Roman Catholics—they pray and read their Bibles. And that is the way in which they are redefining the word evangelicalism by severing its biblical, theological, and historical roots and re-infusing, infusing of a different meaning what historically evangelicalism has always meant.

Can You Deny the Existence of Hell and Still Be a Christian?

The goodness of God demands the doctrine of hell. From one of our Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul explains that since God is good, He must punish evil.

To get real-time answers to your biblical and theological questions, just Ask.Ligonier.org.

Read the Transcript

How Can God Bring Good Out of Evil?

People tend to feel uncomfortable when reading that God from all eternity, immutably and freely, ordains whatsoever comes to pass. This means, after all, that everything that happens in this world, including the evil things that others do to us and, astonishingly enough, our own sins against others, is immutably foreordained by almighty God. If we have been eternally ordained to commit sin, why does God find fault? We may as well sin with abandon, knowing that we are being directed by the providence of God. This is the mystery of providence. Doing no violence to the will of His creatures, God achieves His purposes through His chosen means.

One view has it that, as we hurtle through space, centrifugal force, gravity, and centripetal force keep us from collapsing and falling out of existence . These forces and powers are real . Gravity exists, but its power is not inherent . Even the power of gravity rests on the primary power of God . Gravity is not an independent primary cause . The only primary cause is the one by whom all things are made and in whom all things hold together . Ultimately, what keeps us from falling off the edge of the earth is the hand of God . But He exercises His power through the real power of secondary causes, such as gravity.

In terms of human relationships, we are secondary causes, and the powers we exert are real, not illusory . We are not puppets with no volition, freedom, or power, but we have no volition, freedom, or power beyond that given to us by God. He remains sovereign over all these things, bringing His sovereign will to pass. 

When discussing God’s decrees, we speak of the concurrence of the human and divine wills. Concurrence is also called confluence. Both words mean “a flowing together.”

A biblical example of concurrence is the story of Joseph. After enduring unspeakable suffering and injustice at the hand of his brothers, Joseph wound up in solitary confinement in a foreign land. After a time, he was released from prison and elevated to the office of prime minister in the world’s most powerful empire, Egypt. Then famine came, and Joseph’s father, Jacob, sent his sons to Egypt to appeal for food. The brothers encountered Joseph but did not recognize him until he revealed his identity. Because they had mistreated him and they knew that Joseph had the power to take revenge on them, they were terrified and confessed their sins. Joseph said about their actions, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20).

In this drama, there is a concurrence between God’s intention and men’s intention. One intention is motivated by pure holiness, the other by sheer wickedness. Joseph’s brothers meant his suffering for evil, and insofar as this was their motivation, they were culpable before God. But God had ordained that through the brothers’ choices, He would bring Joseph to Egypt. Working above and through secondary causes, God would save the people of Israel. God used the work of Joseph’s brothers for redemptive purposes. That does not, however, excuse the brothers. Through the great mystery of providence, the transcendent Governor of all things brings good out of evil. Instead of overruling the wicked desires of Joseph’s brothers, God transcended them and by His power brought good out of evil.

How can God bring good out of evil? That great mystery is the most comforting promise in the New Testament: “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). This does not mean that everything that happens is good in and of itself; but due to Providence everything that happens is working toward our good. Without the concept of providence, we would miss the comfort, consolation, and joy of knowing that God stands above and beyond all things. He is not an isolated spectator who roots for us. A common view in the evangelical world today is that God is powerless to stop all these bad things: He is standing on the sidelines, hoping that the ball bounces the right way so that His eternal purposes are not thwarted. But His purposes cannot be thwarted, because He will work through even bad bounces to bring about victory.

God does not direct injustice toward His people. In fact, every tragedy becomes a blessing. There are no ultimate blessings for unbelievers, however, because every blessing they receive for which they remain ungrateful only redounds to their greater guilt. In the final judgment, every blessing unbelievers have received at the hands of a benevolent God becomes the foundation of their curse. So for believers, there are no tragedies, and for unbelievers, there are ultimately no blessings. 

This excerpt is adapted from Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul. In Truths We Confess, now thoroughly revised and available in a single, accessible volume, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. Order the hardcover book today.

Justification by Faith Alone: Martin Luther and Romans 1:17

In Romans 1:17, we read that “The righteous shall live by faith.” In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul describes the moment of awakening Martin Luther had as he read this passage.

This Reformation Month, watch a short video every day on the history and insights of the Protestant Reformation. And don't forget that for this month only, you can request your free digital download of R.C. Sproul’s video teaching series Luther and the Reformation plus the ebook edition of The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols at ligm.in/Reformation. Offer ends October 31, 2019.

Transcript

He says, "Here in it," in the gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'the just shall live by faith.'" A verse taken from the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament that is cited three times in the New Testament. As Luther would stop short and say, "What does this mean, that there's this righteousness that is by faith, and from faith to faith? What does it mean that the righteous shall live by faith?" Which again as I said was the thematic verse for the whole exposition of the gospel that Paul sets forth here in the book of Romans. And so, the lights came on for Luther. And he began to understand that what Paul was speaking of here was a righteousness that God in His grace was making available to those who would receive it passively, not those who would achieve it actively, but that would receive it by faith, and by which a person could be reconciled to a holy and righteous God.

Now there was a linguistic trick that was going on here too. And it was this, that the Latin word for justification that was used at this time in church history was—and it's the word from which we get the English word justification—the Latin word justificare. And it came from the Roman judicial system. And the term justificare is made up of the word justus, which is justice or righteousness, and the verb, the infinitive facare, which means to make. And so, the Latin fathers understood the doctrine of justification is what happens when God, through the sacraments of the church and elsewhere, make unrighteous people righteous.

But Luther was looking now at the Greek word that was in the New Testament, not the Latin word. The word dikaios, dikaiosune, which didn't mean to make righteous, but rather to regard as righteous, to count as righteous, to declare as righteous. And this was the moment of awakening for Luther. He said, "You mean, here Paul is not talking about the righteousness by which God Himself is righteous, but a righteousness that God gives freely by His grace to people who don't have righteousness of their own."

And so Luther said, "Woa, you mean the righteousness by which I will be saved, is not mine?" It's what he called a justitia alienum, an alien righteousness; a righteousness that belongs properly to somebody else. It's a righteousness that is extra nos, outside of us. Namely, the righteousness of Christ. And Luther said, "When I discovered that, I was born again of the Holy Ghost. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I walked through."

Will You Pray for Awakening? Download Your Free Prayer Guide

We live in a world that needs awakening. Millions of people do not know Jesus Christ. The church itself needs renewed zeal for the truth, for spiritual growth, and for missions. Scripture reveals how this awakening comes about: by a powerful movement of the Spirit of God. It also tells us that when just two men—Paul and Silas—prayed, the earth itself shook (Acts 16:25–26). So we are dedicating the entire year of 2019 to pray for awakening, and we hope you will, too.

To help as many people as possible, we produced this free prayer guide. Download it today at PrayForAwakening.com, find it in the PrayerMate app, or order the prayer booklet in packs of ten to share with your loved ones.

To use the guide, find the prayer that corresponds to the current week. Each week of the month focuses on a different group to pray for, starting with you and your family and expanding to the world and the global church. You can also share your desire to #PrayForAwakening on social media.

OCTOBER PRAYER FOCUS:

Week 1: Pray that you and your family will offer yourselves to God as living sacrifices, wholly committed to His will. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom. 12:1)
Week 2: Pray that you will be willing to speak God’s Word to the people in your life and that God will supply opportunities to do so. “You shall teach [God’s commandments] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deut. 6:7)
Week 3: Pray that God will bring the leaders of your city and your nation to faith in Christ. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” (Prov. 21:1)
Week 4: Pray that the church around the world, especially in countries where it is severely persecuted, will faithfully declare the glory and works of God. “Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” (1 Chron. 16:23–24)

We hope this prayer guide encourages you this year and in future years. Join us in praying fervently for a mighty movement of God’s Spirit today, thankful that He has graciously promised to hear us, and confident that He will answer our prayers according to His will.

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Let the Word Do Its Work

Martin Luther simply preached and taught God's Word—and it spread like wildfire. In this brief clip, Steven Lawson explains the power of the Word for reformation.

This Reformation Month, watch a short video every day on the history and insights of the Protestant Reformation. And don't forget that for this month only, you can request your free digital download of R.C. Sproul’s video teaching series Luther and the Reformation plus the ebook edition of The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols at ligm.in/Reformation. Offer ends October 31, 2019.

Transcript

As the Reformation began to break, Luther was approached: "Explain what is taking place here in Europe?" "Explain the Reformation?" Luther gave this famous answer: "I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word. Otherwise, I did nothing. And then I slept. And the Word so greatly weakened the Papacy that never a prince and never an emperor inflicted such damage upon it. I did nothing. The Word did it all." We're not looking for gospel gimmicks in these days. We're not looking trendy little techniques. We're looking for men, and women, and churches, and seminaries, and ministries, and denominations who will stand up with the Word of God—teach it, preach it, write it, sing it, counsel it, lift it up, let it out, and let it fly. And let the Word do its work.

2019 London Conference Media Now Available

You can now stream all of the messages from last week’s London Conference for free on Ligonier.org, the Ligonier app, and YouTube.

SESSIONS

The Light of Christ by Mark Johnston
Not One Jot or Tittle by Alistair Begg
The Truth Shall Set You Free by Albert Mohler
My Yoke Is Easy by Sinclair Ferguson
Take Up Your Cross by Michael Reeves
Make Disciples by Burk Parsons
Panel Discussion: The Church in the United Kingdom with Sinclair Ferguson, Mez McConnell, Paul Levy, Michael Reeves, and Jeremy Walker

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Forerunners of the Reformation

In this brief clip from his teaching series A Survey of Church History, W. Robert Godfrey examines whether there were forerunners to the Protestant Reformation. Watch this entire message for free.

Transcript

We know that in the 16th century God raised up Martin Luther to begin a profound and amazing biblical reformation of this church. But the reformers, themselves, looked back on the Middle Ages and asked the question: “What prepared for our work? Who anticipated something of our work? Who were forerunner's of the Reformation?” And they looked back to a number of individuals probably most importantly to John Wycliffe who was once called the Morning Star of the Reformation. The sky was still dark but there was one bright star shining in the Middle Ages preparing for the coming of the Reformation. Since the Reformation, there been some who've attacked the idea of forerunners and it is an interesting and at least controversial sort of category.

There weren't any theologians in the Middle Ages that completely shared the reformation point of view before the Reformation came. So are they really forerunners? There weren’t any who were calling for a complete change in the life of the church. So were there really forerunners? Some historians have said “Was the Reformation really inevitable from a human point of view? Might the Reformation not have happened? Might the Reformation have been stamped out? What does it mean to talk about a forerunner? But however controversial that concept is, I think it is still a useful one. I think we want to say as Protestants, I certainly want to say as Protestant, we are not a bunch of latter day Christians. That is, we don't believe the church died out and had to be resurrected by the reformers. We believe that Christ fulfilled his promise that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. What we see in the Middle Ages is indeed a time of growing superstition, of growing confusion, of a clouding of the gospel. But I don't believe the gospel was ever stamped out. And when I think about forerunners of the Reformation, what I'm particularly thinking about is those who continue to bear a witness to a much more biblical Augustinian, grace-oriented understanding of the gospel.