R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 134

Announcing Our 2020 Kingsburg Conference

Disciples of Christ are no longer of the world; our desire is for a new city prepared by God. Yet we are not to abandon this world. Having been called out of the darkness, we are sent back into an unbelieving and perishing world so that people may be saved. Now is not the time to let fear of ridicule hinder this mission. We must boldly proclaim the truth.

Join us on April 24-25, 2020, for Unashamed, a two-day conference in Kingsburg, CA. W. Robert Godfrey, Steven Lawson, and John MacArthur will remind us of the power of the good news, paint a picture of gospel-shaped ministry, and help us to say along with the Apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). Register today to secure your early-bird discount.

Sessions:

The Gospel of God Regarding His Son by Steven Lawson
The Mark of Faith by W. Robert Godfrey
Encouraged by Faith by John MacArthur
Q&A with Godfrey, Lawson, and MacArthur
Gospel Obligation by Steven Lawson
The Power of God by W. Robert Godfrey
Faith from First to Last by John MacArthur

Register Now

Pursue Useful Knowledge

In this brief clip from our 2012 National Conference, W. Robert Godfrey encourages us to pursue useful knowledge. 

Transcript

John Calvin was aware of the various strains and tensions in the history of Christianity in relation to the intellect. As he says in his Institutes, one extreme amongst Christians is to think we don't need to know anything. And the other extreme is to think we know a lot more than we know.

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians 8, he quotes an old proverb: “Nothing is as arrogant as ignorance.” If you know anything, you probably know that because you’ve talked to some ignorant person who doesn’t know what you know yet claims they do. Nothing is as arrogant as ignorance—unless it’s being puffed up with knowledge.

And Calvin says, “How do we balance these things? We allow the Bible to balance them for us.” We desire to know useful knowledge—not speculating into things that we can’t comprehend, that are too high for us, and not refusing to think about what the Bible has revealed to us and encourages us to know. We desire to pursue useful knowledge, knowledge that is useful for our minds and for our wills, knowledge that will enable us to understand the wonderful depths of the truth that God has given us in His Word and encouraged us to think through, think out, and study the implications of.

God calls us to the renewing of our minds. God calls us to love Him with all our minds. God calls us to recognize that our Savior is the truth and reminds us that our Savior said to us, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

3 Types of Legalism

Have you, as a Christian, ever been accused of legalism? That word is often bandied about in the Christian subculture incorrectly. For example, some people might call John a legalist because they view him as narrow-minded. But the term legalism does not refer to narrow-mindedness. In reality, legalism manifests itself in many subtle ways.

Basically, legalism involves abstracting the law of God from its original context. Some people seem to be preoccupied in the Christian life with obeying rules and regulations, and they conceive of Christianity as being a series of do’s and don’ts, cold and deadly set of moral principles. That’s one form of legalism, where one is concerned merely with the keeping of God’s law as an end in itself.

Now, God certainly cares about our following His commandments. Yet there is more to the story that we dare not forget. God gave laws such as the Ten Commandments in the context of the covenant. First, God was gracious. He redeemed His people out of slavery in Egypt and entered into a loving, filial relationship with Israel. Only after that grace-based relationship was established did God begin to define the specific laws that are pleasing to Him. I had a professor in graduate school who said, "The essence of Christian theology is grace, and the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude." The legalist isolates the law from the God who gave the law. He is not so much seeking to obey God or honor Christ as he is to obey rules that are devoid of any personal relationship.

There's no love, joy, life, or passion. It’s a rote, mechanical form of law-keeping that we call externalism. The legalist focuses only on obeying bare rules, destroying the broader context of God’s love and redemption in which He gave His law in the first place.

To understand the second type of legalism, we must remember that the New Testament distinguishes between the letter of the law (its outward form) and the spirit of the law. The second form of legalism divorces the letter of the law from the spirit of the law. It obeys the letter but violates the spirit. There’s only a subtle distinction between this form of legalism and the one previously mentioned.

How does one keep the letter of the law but violate its spirit? Suppose a man likes to drive his car at the minimum required speed irrespective of the conditions under which he is driving. If he is on an interstate and the minimum posted speed is forty miles per hour, he drives forty miles per hour and no less. He does this even during torrential downpours, when driving at this minimum required speed actually puts other people in danger because they have had the good sense to slow down and drive twenty miles an hour so as not to skid off the road or hydroplane. The man who insists on a speed of forty miles per hour even under these conditions is driving his car to please himself alone. Although he appears to the external observer as one who is scrupulous in his civic obedience, his obedience is only external, and he doesn’t care at all about what the law is actually all about. This second kind of legalism obeys the externals while the heart is far removed from any desire to honor God, the intent of His law, or His Christ.

This second type of legalism can be illustrated by the Pharisees who confronted Jesus over healing on the Sabbath day (Matt. 12:9–14). They were concerned only with the letter of the law and avoiding anything that might look like work to them. These teachers missed the spirit of the law, which was directed against ordinary labor that is not required to maintain life and not against efforts to heal the sick.

The third type of legalism adds our own rules to God's law and treats them as divine. It is the most common and deadly form of legalism. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees at this very point, saying, "You teach human traditions as if they were the word of God." We have no right to heap up restrictions on people where He has no stated restriction.

Each church has a right to set its own policies in certain areas. For example, the Bible says nothing about soft drinks in the church's fellowship hall, but a church has every right to regulate such things. But when we use these human policies to bind the conscience in an ultimate way and make such policies determinative of one’s salvation, we venture dangerously into territory that is God’s alone.

Many people think that the essence of Christianity is following the right rules, even rules that are extrabiblical. For example, the Bible doesn't say that we can’t play cards or have a glass of wine with dinner. We can't make these matters the external test of authentic Christianity. That would be a deadly violation of the gospel because it would substitute human tradition for the real fruits of the Spirit. We come perilously close to blasphemy by misrepresenting Christ in this way. Where God has given liberty, we should never enslave people with man-made rules. We must be careful to fight this form of legalism.

The gospel calls men to repentance, holiness, and godliness. Because of this, the world finds the gospel offensive. But woe to us if we add unnecessarily to that offense by distorting the true nature of Christianity by combining it with legalism. Because Christianity is concerned with morality, righteousness, and ethics, we can easily make that subtle move from a passionate concern for godly morality into legalism if we are not careful.

This excerpt is taken from How Can I Develop a Christian Conscience? by R.C. Sproul. Download more free ebooks in the Crucial Questions series here.

Faithfulness in the Little Things Where We Are Called

Here’s an excerpt from Faithfulness in the Little Things Where We Are Called, David Mathis’ contribution to the July issue of Tabletalk:

Henry had a derelict father who distracted himself with fishing and hunting. Lazy and irresponsible, he sent young Henry off to boarding school, left him to be taken in by the headmaster, and came to sign his letters “Uncle” instead of “Father.” And yet for Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847), who would grow up to become a good pastor and celebrated poet, the gospel of Christ redeemed what it means to have a Father, labor under His warm smile, call on Him as “Abba,” and long to see Him face-to-face. Such steadying gladness inspired Lyte to write “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken,” a poem so Godward and soul-stirring it was put to music for corporate singing. And despite his troubled beginnings, when Lyte himself came to die, his final recorded words were “Peace! Joy!”

Continue reading Faithfulness in the Little Things Where We Are Called, 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.

What Is a Good Source for Learning Bible Study Methodology?

How should we study the Bible? Is there a particular method we should use? From one of our live Ask Ligonier events, W. Robert Godfrey explains what’s at the heart of our Bible study.

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

Read the Transcript

Bearing One Another’s Burdens

The troubles of this world are manifold and relentless. It’s not easy to stay so focused on heaven that we remain unperturbed by the afflictions of earthly life. We’re commanded, of course, to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2), but even the most committed believer will testify that earthly trials sometimes obscure the heavenly perspective.

We worry. We grieve. We stumble. We strain under the toil of our daily labors. We feel the guilt of our fallen condition. Meanwhile, we are assaulted with adversities of various kinds. Those are just a few of the many worldly burdens that frequently keep our thoughts from rising to heaven.

And yet we are commanded repeatedly to “seek the things that are above” (Col. 3:1). We are instructed to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” (2 Cor. 4:18). We must not allow the burdens of this life to divert our hearts from heaven.

How is that possible? When the load weighs us down and the troubles become too much for one person to bear, pie-in-the-sky sentiments can sound very hollow.

But that is precisely why the church is so important. It is our duty as believers to help bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). When someone staggers, we help steady the load. If he is straining, we help bear the burden. And if he stumbles, we lift him up. Helping fellow believers carry the weight of their worldly troubles is one of the chief practical duties that ought to consume every Christian.

Of course, that concept is contrary to the drift of our culture, with secular society’s tendency to foster self-absorption. Our generation has developed an unhealthy obsession with entertainment; we are daily assaulted with a plethora of trivial diversions; and we tend to interact with one another in sound-bites or through faceless media. We live in crowded cities and over-populated neighborhoods; yet most individuals are more isolated than ever.

And let’s be honest — Reformed and evangelical churches nowadays often imitate the culture precisely where we most need to confront and counteract its influence. As churches seek to become bigger, flashier, and more technologically savvy, they usually tend to become more cold and impersonal. Contemporary churches sometimes even seem to encourage the “me first” agenda of self-love rather than the “one another” commands of Scripture. As a result, we don’t bear one another’s burdens as we should.

Yet Paul made this duty a high priority. It was the centerpiece of his admonitions to the Galatian churches. The first half (or more) of Galatians is a defense of justification by faith and a series of arguments against the false teaching that threatened to place those churches in bondage to the Law. In Galatians 5:14 he reminded them: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

How is that love best manifest? “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2).

The first and preeminent example of burden-bearing Paul mentions involves dealing with the burden of another Christian’s sin. “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (v. 1). That, of course, isn’t a different approach from the steps of church discipline Jesus outlined in Matthew 18:15–17. It merely explains how that process is to be carried out (gently and meekly), and it underscores the true goal (restoration, not punishment or public rebuke per se).

In other words, the person restoring the sinning brother isn’t to approach him as if he were a master over him but meekly — as one who is willing to help shoulder the burden so that the one who has stumbled can get to his feet again.

Verse 2 then simply states the underlying principle as an imperative (“Bear one another’s burdens”). Obviously, the precept applies to all kinds of burdens — not merely the burdens of those who stumble into sin. When Paul suggests that burden-bearing “fulfill[s] the law of Christ,” he makes it clear that he has the whole moral law in view. Every act of compassion and self-sacrifice on behalf of our brethren is a practical means of displaying the love of Christ and thereby fulfilling the moral demands of His law.

But the apostle clearly has in mind spiritual, emotional, and temperamental encumbrances — not physical freight only. The burdens we need to help carry for one another include guilt, worry, sorrow, anxiety, and all other similar loads.

Do you want to fulfill the moral requirements of the Law? Love your neighbor. How do you love him? By bearing his burdens.

It’s interesting that Paul would emphasize this theme in an epistle written to confront people who were falling into legalism. It’s as if he were saying, “You want to observe a law? Let it be the law of Christ. If you have to impose burdens on yourselves, let it be through acts of love toward your neighbor.”

If you will do that faithfully, your own burden won’t seem so heavy. Best of all, you will find it easier to keep your focus heavenward, regardless of the trials you suffer in this life.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

The Church and the State After Constantine

In this brief clip from his teaching series A Survey of Church History, W. Robert Godfrey examines how the relationship between the church and the state dramatically changed after Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. Watch this entire message for free today. 

Transcript

Many more modern historians have said in a lot of ways the conversion of Constantine was disastrous, or at least very difficult for the church, because from this moment on in all of Western history the life of the church and the life of the state are intertwined. And from this point on for much of Western history, the state becomes to some extent a supporter of the church, becomes part of the way in which the church operates. And it’s very interesting Constantine establishes himself as emperor in 312 and in the very next year, 313. In the very next year, 313, the church appeals to him to render a theological judgment. There’s a split in the church in North Africa, and the church tries to settle the split, they can’t, and they appeal to the emperor to make a decision, a theological decision on who’s right in the church and who’s wrong, and when Constantine makes his decision, of course the losers won’t listen, and Constantine sends troops into North Africa to suppress what he regards as the false church.

So, almost in one year the Roman Empire goes from being a persecutor of the church to being a military defender of the true church according to its wisdom. And from that moment on in Western history over and over and over, the power of the government will be used, the claim will be made, in the interest of true religion. And so to this day if you go to Europe, you will find in many countries in Europe, still an established church that is supported by the state. Queen Elizabeth in England is… bears the title of Defender of the Faith, and she’s the head of the Church in England. If you go to Scandinavia, the Lutheran Church is established and supported by tax money, in parts of Germany the Lutheran Church is supported by tax money, in other parts the Roman Catholic Church is supported by tax money. If you go to Spain you find the same thing. The intertwining of church and state is a continuing, present reality in Europe today, and that’s really all a product of what began with the conversion of Constantine. 

Why Church History?

The bombing of Britain during World War II leveled most of the area known as “Elephant & Castle” in the city of London. A row of pillars stood defiantly among the piles of rubble. These pillars belonged to the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the church that housed the larger-than-life preacher of the nineteenth century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Those pillars well represent Spurgeon. He was solid. He stood tall in his own day, and like the pillars, his legacy still stands.

Spurgeon has friends across many pews. Baptists like Spurgeon because he was a Baptist. Presbyterians like Spurgeon because he was so Reformed. Even Lutherans like Spurgeon because he was very nearly a nineteenth-century version of Martin Luther.

While Spurgeon held forth at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Londoners would flock to hear him preach. In fact, people even traveled the Atlantic to hear him preach. He wrote many sermons, of course, while he was at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. And Spurgeon also wrote many books.

In one of his many books, Spurgeon made a comment well worth hearing. It comes from the preface to his book on commentaries. He had written this book to convince pastors of the need to use commentaries and to engage in deep study for their sermon preparation. Spurgeon well knew the value of reading for preaching. He had a personal library of around twenty-five thousand books. And this was in the 1800s. What’s more, he actually read most of them.

In the preface to this book, he speaks to an objection to using commentaries. The objection goes something like this: As a Christian, I have the Holy Spirit. I have the Spirit’s wonderful work of illumination. I don’t need commentaries; I don’t need to rely on the thoughts of others. I can go right to the source.

To that objection, Spurgeon replied, “It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others.”

Spurgeon reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not an individual gift. The Holy Spirit is a corporate gift to the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has taught others, and the Spirit uses others to teach us. Spurgeon’s argument reaches the conclusion that preachers should use commentaries. Don’t be arrogant, and don’t think you have a corner on the market of the Holy Spirit, because you don’t.

But what if we were to expand Spurgeon’s argument in order to apply it to the relationship of today’s church to church history? Here’s my paraphrase of Spurgeon’s argument: “I find it odd that the church of the 21st century thinks so highly of what the Holy Spirit has taught it today that it thinks so little of what the Holy Spirit taught the church in the first century, the second, the third, the fourth, and so on, and so on.”

The Holy Spirit is not unique to our age. The Holy Spirit has been at work in the church for the past twenty centuries. We could put the matter this way—it is rather prideful to think that we have nothing to learn from the past. And remember, pride is a sin. And also remember, as Scripture says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). We need a little humility. Enough humility to say we may not have all the answers in the present. Enough humility to say we need the past, and enough humility to visit it from time to time.

As Deuteronomy 6:10–11 vividly portrays for us, we drink at wells we did not dig, we eat from vineyards we did not plant, and we live in cities we did not build. We need that dose of humility that reminds us how dependent we are on the past and how thankful we need to be for those who have gone before us and dug the wells, planted the vineyards, and built the cities.

The past enriches our lives in surprising ways. In our past, our family history, we see examples of faithful disciples. We can be encouraged and even inspired by their faithfulness. But, far more, we see examples of God’s faithfulness to His people. How does Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 1:10? He declares: “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

The centuries of church history give us a litany of God’s deliverances. God has done it before, many times and in many ways, and He can do it again. He will do it again. And in that, we find courage for today and for tomorrow.

In church history, we see men and women facing challenges not unlike the challenges before us today. We look back and we learn. We also learn from the mistakes and missteps of the past. And, though it is a cliché, learning can be fun. Family stories of the exploits of crazy uncles inform; they also entertain. It is the same with our history, our family story.

This excerpt is adapted from 5 Minutes in Church History by Stephen Nichols.

$5 Friday: The Holy Spirit, Preaching, & Joy

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as the Holy Spirit, evangelism, preaching, joy, the doctrines of grace, the Apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and more.

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

5 Minutes in Church History, New from Stephen Nichols and Reformation Trust

The history of the church is filled with stories. Stories of triumph, stories of defeat, stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. In 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols provides forty snapshots of the church through the centuries. You’ll meet fascinating saints, travel to curious places, examine precious artifacts, and watch as surprising turns of events unfold.

This lively and informative journey not only captures the richness of Christian history, but also reveals a record of God’s providence and faithfulness to His people. It’s a story to encourage, challenge, and even entertain. This is our story—our family history. 

“One of the great dangers the church faces is moving into the future without being firmly anchored in the past. It is essential that as we look forward we also look back, and for this reason I'm especially thankful for Stephen Nichols. He has deep knowledge, a skilled pen, and a contagious enthusiasm. I highly recommend his book and the podcast from which it originated.”

—Tim Challies

Founding blogger of Challies.com, a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, 

You can also listen to Dr. Nichols’ 5 Minutes in Church History podcast on which this book is based. Listen online or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.



We recently sat down with Dr. Nichols and asked him why this church history is important for all Christians. Watch as he answers in this brief clip.

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Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is president of Reformation Bible College, chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow. He is host of the podcasts 5 Minutes in Church History and Open Book. He is author of numerous books, including For Us and for Our Salvation, Peace, A Time for Confidence, 5 Minutes in Church History, and volumes in the Guided Tour series on Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, and J. Gresham Machen. He is coeditor of The Legacy of Luther and Crossway’s Theologians on the Christian Life series. He is on Twitter at @DrSteveNichols.