R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 14

The Mysticism of Plotinus

Mysticism has gained popularity in our day, but it’s far from a new idea. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul contrasts the true communion shared between Christ and His people with the mystical teachings of the philosopher Plotinus. Watch the full message today.

Transcript:

But for Plotinus, the good life, the virtuous life, is the life of the mystic who makes a pilgrimage along life’s way from being preoccupied with the physical word, where most people spend their lives just as materialists. Their whole life is focused on things that you can handle, taste, touch, see, and hear, and that sort of thing. And, he said that the first step beyond that is to the contemplative life, whereby the mind rises above the shadowy cave of Plato, where people are locked into the world of material things, the world of the receptacle. Remember, Plato wanted us to get out of the cave of sense perception and into the realm of the mind, where contemplation is the highest source of truth. Well, Plotinus adds a new dimension to this. There is still another stage after that, and it is the stage of “mystical union.” Now, how does this fit with Christianity? You read the New Testament, and there are obviously elements of mysticism found within it. Paul is up in the third heaven, and Paul talks about our union with Christ, what we would call the “mystical union” of the believer with Christ, and so on. But there is different kind of thinking in historic Christian mysticism from what we find in these ancient philosophers. For the ancient mystic, this stage of progression, this movement, this pilgrimage that I have talked about begins with sense perception, or sensation, and then moves to contemplation, and then it moves to what the mystics call “communio,” which is a being “with” God, a communion with God. We talk in Christian theology about the “communion of the saints” and the sense in which we have fellowship with each other, not only with those who are alive, but also with those who were part of the church past, present, and future. But that’s more or less the end of the road for Christian mysticism: the highest form of mysticism is to have this mystical communion with God. But not so with Plotinus and other mystics. The next stage is “unio,” where you become “one with” God. Now, this is a common feature in Eastern religions, where the goal of your religious experience is to lose your personal identity, to become one with the “over-soul.” So often, you will hear the illustration of the drop of water that falls into the ocean and loses its identity as it becomes absorbed into the whole of things. Now, this is significant for Plotinus because of his concept of God. For Plotinus, God is called “the One.” He calls God “One” in such a way that would suggest a pure pantheism. But most experts who study Plotinus say that Plotinus was not really your garden-variety pantheist. In fact, he tried to avoid pantheism and at the same time avoid Christianity, but still the highest being is called “the One.”

 

Why did God promise to give a new heart of flesh to His Old Testament people?

God promised to take away Israel’s heart of stone and give His people a heart of flesh. But weren’t Old Testament believers already born again? From one of our Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul explains what this promise entails.

If you have a biblical or theological question, just visit ask.Ligonier.org to ask your question live online.

Read the Transcript

 

Recovering the Priority of Personal Holiness

“If the Word does not dwell with power in us,” wrote Puritan John Owen, “it will not pass with power from us” (The Works of John Owen, vol. 16, p. 76.). This godly minister personified this truth in his personal life and public ministry more than three centuries ago. For years he carried the message of Jesus Christ into the trenches of a culture as chaotic as our own while simultaneously dealing with the death of his wife and all eleven of his children. John Owen was no ivory tower theologian, but rather a zealous pastor who worked to the brink of exhaustion to further the work of the Reformers. He is remembered for shining gospel light into the spiritually dark arenas of politics and academia. And his love of Scripture was clearly and forcefully articulated from the variety of pulpits into which God called him.

Yet what gave John Owen success in ministry was not so much his oratory skill, nor his evangelistic zeal, nor even his love for the people he shepherded. John Owen was used mightily by God in all these ways because he was a man characterized by personal holiness. And in an age when the church is emulating the world, where it is no longer distinguishable from our pleasure-oriented culture, the example of John Owen shines like a beacon on a stormy night.

Let's consider whether we have allowed contemporary culture to infiltrate our minds and hearts. Have we inverted Christ’s desire that the church be in the world by bringing the world into the church instead? If we take an honest look, perhaps we’ll discover that we are contributing to this trend. Rather than relying solely on the sufficiency of God’s Word, are we employing counselors in our churches who apply worldly methods of psychological analysis to address felt needs? Have we adopted worldly means to reach the seekers who sit skeptically in the back pews rather than offering them the truths of the Gospel and the Christian life? Faithful teaching of God’s Word is vanishing. Are we among the number that have replaced preaching with elaborate drama productions aimed at entertaining? In terms of covenantal relationships, the rate of divorce and remarriage reflects societal statistics. Where do we stand on this issue? The church has become tolerant of all kinds of biblical compromise, casting aside principles that Owen and his contemporaries would have given their lives to protect and defend.

Unlike Owen, we are in danger of falling prey to the belief that without entertainment and other-worldly concessions, no one will want what Jesus offers. Let's not forget the exchange, in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew's gospel, between Jesus and the rich young ruler when Jesus told the man the realities of true discipleship. As the rich man realized that personal sacrifice is required to live in God’s kingdom, he walked away. What did Jesus do? He did not do what many churches do today: run after the man in an effort to make the Gospel more appealing. No, Jesus let him go, because the only terms on which anyone can truly follow Christ are God’s terms.

Owen engaged the culture without capitulating to it because his chief desire was to reflect God's purity in his life and ministry. He remained faithful in his preaching to the truths of Scripture — even in the face of life-threatening persecution — because of his commitment to holiness. People flocked to hear Owen preach because he reflected God’s character. Owen wrote, as noted in Peter Toon's book God's Statesman: The Life and Work of John Owen: “I hope I may own in sincerity that my heart's desire unto God, and the chief design of my life … are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own life and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God, so that the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things” (p. 56).

I fear that personal holiness is not a priority within the church — even among its leaders — as it was in the days of the Puritans. Many ministers are often nowadays more concerned with visual growth and success than with cultivating personal purity. That was certainly not the case with John Owen. Rather than devoting much time to developing innovative amusements for the worship hour, Owen made private communion with God a top priority. He understood why the apostle Paul wrote: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). The Word of God is the means employed by the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ, so if preaching and evangelism are to be effective, private communion with God in His Word must be more important than discovering the latest ministry technique. Owen wrote that “whatever else be done in churches, if the pastors of them, or those who are so esteemed, are not exemplary in gospel obedience and holiness, religion will not be carried on and improved among the people” (Works, vol. 16, p. 88).

Yet holiness isn’t just a necessity for ministers. If the church is to recover its distinctiveness, holiness is a requirement for each individual member. Hebrews 12:14 says,“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Unless we recover this emphasis on holiness, how will the world look in and be able to see the Jesus we profess? Evangelistic efforts will ring hollow if such efforts are not accompanied by personal purity.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

$5 Friday (And More): Martin Luther, the Canons of Dort, & Reformed Theology

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as Martin Luther, the Canons of Dort, reformed theology, grace, Richard Sibbes, and more.

Plus, several bonus resources are also available for more than $5. These have been significantly discounted from their original price. This week’s bonus resources include:

The Legacy of Luther , Audiobook CD $20 $12 By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair Ferguson, Hardcover book $18 $10 Getting the Gospel Right by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $18 $9 Saving the Reformation: The Pastoral Theology of the Canons of Dort by W. Robert Godfrey, Hardcover book $19 $12 Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $18 $10

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

View Today's $5 Friday Sale Items

 

The Effects of Anxiety

Here’s an excerpt from The Effects of Anxiety, Rebecca VanDoodewaard's contribution to the May issue of Tabletalk:

Sometimes, even if we know that something is wrong, it can take a bit to see the ugly side. Starting the generator right outside the door on the porch might seem like a good idea in a thunderstorm, but the headaches caused by carbon monoxide poisoning will soon enough tell us otherwise. Like anything else that Scripture warns us about, anxiety also has some very damaging effects. The New Testament word for anxiety, merimna, is also translated “care” or “worry.” Because anxiety is real and prevalent in our world, so is the impact. And while anxiety may come from imagined scenarios, real and present issues, or a sense of impending doom, a life of perpetual anxiety makes it impossible to love God and neighbor as we should. Regardless of the cause or source, anxiety disrupts life on multiple levels.

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

 

Avoid the Unexamined Life

Too many people go through life without ever paying much thought to how we should think about the world around us. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul shows that this is not an option for Christians, for we are called to seek the mind of Christ.

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Transcript:

No two of us view the world in which we live from exactly the same perspective. We have our antennae; we have the grid; we have the patterns; we have our own personal history; all of which contribute to the way we interpret reality as we encounter it. Now, from a philosophical perspective, we call that a “worldview,” a way of examining the world in which we live and the meaning of our own individual lives. Now, everybody has a worldview. For the philosopher or the theologian, perhaps the structure of that worldview has been carefully thought out. It’s been criticized. It's been analyzed. It's been evaluated. Certain elements have been discarded; others have been added. Most of us go through our lives with our own individual way of seeing the world around us, without ever giving a moment's consideration to it. This is what Socrates called the “unexamined life,” where we just sort of respond to what's there. But a Christian, I'm convinced, is called to seek the mind of Christ, to seek an understanding of his or her world from the viewpoint of the eternal, to see things as best as we possibly can, the way God would have us view them, so that the things that we affirm are the things that God affirms and the things that we deny would be the things that God denies. And so, what we're going to do in this series of lectures is to look, by way of introduction, at the most basic foundational elements that together make up the grid or the structure of a personal worldview.

 

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Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?

Does prayer make any difference? Does it really change anything? Someone once asked me that question, only in a slightly different manner: "Does prayer change God's mind?" My answer brought storms of protest. I said simply, "No." Now, if the person had asked me, "Does prayer change things?" I would have answered, "Of course!"

The Bible says there are certain things God has decreed from all eternity. Those things will inevitably come to pass. If you were to pray individually or if you and I were to join forces in prayer or if all the Christians of the world were to pray collectively, it would not change what God, in His hidden counsel, has determined to do. If we decided to pray for Jesus not to return, He still would return. You might ask, though, "Doesn't the Bible say that if two or three agree on anything, they'll get it?" Yes, it does, but that passage is talking about church discipline, not prayer requests. So we must take all the biblical teaching on prayer into account and not isolate one passage from the rest. We must approach the matter in light of the whole of Scripture, resisting an atomistic reading. Again, you might ask, "Doesn't the Bible say from time to time that God repents?" Yes, the Old Testament certainly says so. The book of Jonah tells us that God "repented of " the judgment He had planned for the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:10, KJV). In using the concept of repentance here, the Bible is describing God, who is Spirit, in what theologians call "anthropomorphic" language. Obviously the Bible does not mean that God repented in the way we would repent; otherwise, we could rightly assume that God had sinned and therefore would need a savior Himself. What it clearly means is that God removed the threat of judgment from the people. The Hebrew word nacham, translated "repent" in the King James Version, means "comforted" or "eased" in this case. God was comforted and felt at ease that the people had turned from their sin, and therefore He revoked the sentence of judgment He had imposed.

When God hangs His sword of judgment over people's heads, and they repent and He then withholds His judgment, has He really changed His mind? The mind of God does not change for God does not change. Things change, and they change according to His sovereign will, which He exercises through secondary means and secondary activities. The prayer of His people is one of the means He uses to bring things to pass in this world. So if you ask me whether prayer changes things, I answer with an unhesitating "Yes!"

It is impossible to know how much of human history reflects God's immediate intervention and how much reveals God working through human agents. Calvin's favorite example of this was the book of Job. The Sabeans and the Chaldeans had taken Job's donkeys and camels. Why? Because Satan had stirred their hearts to do so. But why? Because Satan had received permission from God to test Job's faithfulness in any way he so desired, short of taking Job's life. Why had God agreed to such a thing? For three reasons: (1) to silence the slander of Satan; (2) to vindicate Himself; and (3) to vindicate Job from the slander of Satan. All of these reasons are perfectly righteous justifications for God's actions.

By contrast, Satan's purpose in stirring up these two groups was to cause Job to blaspheme God—an altogether wicked motive. But we notice that Satan did not do something supernatural to accomplish his ends. He chose human agents—the Sabeans and Chaldeans, who were evil by nature—to steal Job's animals. The Sabeans and Chaldeans were known for their thievery and murderous way of life. Their will was involved, but there was no coercion; God's purpose was accomplished through their wicked actions.

The Sabeans and Chaldeans were free to choose, but for them, as for us, freedom always means freedom within limits. We must not, however, confuse human freedom and human autonomy. There will always be a conflict between divine sovereignty and human autonomy. There is never a conflict between divine sovereignty and human freedom. The Bible says that man is free, but he is not an autonomous law unto himself.

Suppose the Sabeans and Chaldeans had prayed, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." I'm absolutely certain that Job's animals still would have been stolen, but not necessarily by the Sabeans and Chaldeans. God might have chosen toanswer their prayer, but He would have used some other agent to steal Job's animals. There is freedom within limits, and within those limits, our prayers can change things. The Scriptures tell us that Elijah, through prayer, kept the rain from falling. He was not dissuaded from praying by his understanding of divine sovereignty.

No human being has ever had a more profound understanding of divine sovereignty than Jesus. No man ever prayed more fiercely or more effectively. Even in Gethsemane, He requested an option, a different way. When the request was denied, He bowed to the Father's will. The very reason we pray is because of God's sovereignty, because we believe that God has it within His power to order things according to His purpose. That is what sovereignty is all about—ordering things according to God's purpose. So then, does prayer change God's mind? No. Does prayer change things? Yes, of course. The promise of the Scriptures is that "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (James 5:16). The problem is that we are not all that righteous. What prayer most often changes is the wickedness and the hardness of our own hearts. That alone would be reason enough to pray, even if none of the other reasons were valid or true.

In a sermon titled "The Most High, a Prayer-Hearing God," Jonathan Edwards gave two reasons why God requires prayer:

With respect to God, prayer is but a sensible acknowledgement of our dependence on him to his glory. As he hath made all things for his own glory, so he will be glorified and acknowledged by his creatures; and it is fit that he should require this of those who would be subjects of his mercy . . . [it] is a suitable acknowledgement of our dependence on the power and mercy of God for that which we need, and but a suitable honor paid to the great Author and Fountain of all good.

With respect to ourselves, God requires prayer of us . . . Fervent prayer many ways tends to prepare the heart. Hereby is excited a sense of our need . . . whereby the mind is more prepared to prize [his mercy] . . . Our prayer to God may excite in us a suitable sense and consideration of our dependence on God for the mercy we ask, and a suitable exercise of faith in God's sufficiency, so that we may be prepared to glorify his name when the mercy is received. (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974], 2:116)

All that God does is for His glory first and for our benefit second. We pray because God commands us to pray, because it glorifies Him, and because it benefits us.

See also:

If God Is Sovereign, Why Pray?Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?

This excerpt is taken from R.C. Sproul's Crucial Questions booklet Does Prayer Change Things?. Download more free ebooks in the Crucial Questions series here.

“...The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Can you remember the first time you heard Bible teaching that changed your life? One of the most important moments in my life was when I was in college, anxious about my future and important decisions that loomed ahead. A friend took me to Genesis 15 and walked me through one of the most pivotal events in all of history: God’s sworn oath to Abraham. My friend had learned this teaching from none other than Dr. R.C. Sproul. In that moment, God changed the trajectory of my life, such that one day I would be privileged to serve at Ligonier Ministries.

As our thanks for your gift of any amount this month, we will send you a new resource featuring decades of clear and trusted Bible teaching from Dr. Sproul. But more on that below.

Later, I heard R.C. teach the message himself. R.C. drew out the inherent drama of the text, noting that God was saying to Abraham, “May I be cut in half if I fail to keep My Word.” We see that by walking between the animal pieces, the Lord pledged to suffer the curse Himself if He did not keep His promise to Abraham.

God, of course, can’t be cut in half. That’s the point of the text. Since the immutable, everlasting God can never be torn to pieces, He cannot receive the curse. And since He can’t suffer the curse, He cannot fail to keep the promise.

Such liberating truth. My understanding of God’s character, His faithfulness, and the certainty of the gospel was forever changed. R.C. was a blessed instrument God used to convey biblical truth to my friend, who conveyed it to me.

Dr. Sproul established Ligonier Ministries to faithfully and clearly proclaim God’s Word. For fifty years, by God’s sustaining grace, this teaching fellowship has worked to unfold the riches of Scripture with the power and passion it possesses and deserves. As R.C. said, “The power is in the Word of God, not in methods.” And friends such as you make it possible for God’s Word and His glory to be lifted high in every outreach of Ligonier.

With eternity on the line for nearly eight billion souls worldwide, the stakes could not be higher. This is why we’re redoubling our efforts at Ligonier to declare the compelling truth of God’s Word in as many places and to as many people as possible. Our sovereign Lord uses your support to bring the liberating truth of Scripture to more people.

Our pace of outreach is quickening. We’re expanding translation projects in the world’s most spoken languages so that we can strategically respond to the needs of Christian leaders on the ground. Of course, this includes Dr. Sproul’s classic video teaching series The Holiness of God. This series is already available in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and five other languages.

We’re also working hard to make Dr. Sproul’s teaching available in new ways for new audiences. This includes the launch of the new podcast Ultimately with R.C. Sproul, which also includes teaching never before released publicly.

You’ve heard that we’re preparing to launch a new version of Ligonier.org, which I hope will become a daily destination for your Bible study. This updated site will make the teaching you love easily available to more people, and it will help ensure that if people ever threaten to censor us for our faithfulness to God and to His Word, we can easily keep the website live and open.

In addition to all this, we continue to record new teaching with new teachers. In time for Easter, last month we released a new series on the resurrection, and we have just wrapped up filming a monumental 42-part series on Philippians.

The generosity of Ligonier’s supporters has been blessed by the Lord over the past year, and we’re receiving more requests for assistance than ever before. Military chaplains, inmates, missionaries, pastors are reaching out to us every week for trusted teaching. For instance, an international relief agency contacted us recently in search of 10,000 Reformation Study Bibles to distribute to South America. Your timely support enables us to say yes to new opportunities and then to get out of the way and watch the Lord work.

To thank you for your financial support this month, we have a special resource for you. As this is our fiftieth year of ministry, the Ligonier team has hand selected fifty of Dr. Sproul’s most beloved messages and put them on a new 50th Anniversary USB resource drive. On it, you’ll hear him teaching on the character of God, drawing you into the drama of church history, and engaging important questions that every Christian faces. You’ll even hear Dr. Sproul’s teaching on Genesis 15, as I first did almost three decades ago. This resource will not be available in our store; it was specially developed to thank you for your support this month.

Friends of the ministry such as you are vital co-laborers who send God’s truth around the world every day. In God’s kingdom economy, your giving and prayers are essential for this mission to succeed. Thank you, and may the Lord bless and keep you.

 

The Source of Anxiety

Here’s an excerpt from The Source of Anxiety, Matt Ryman's contribution to the May issue of Tabletalk:

It has been nearly two years since someone came to me and said, “I think you have a lot of anxiety and you don’t even know it.” I smiled and pridefully thought to myself: “What in the world is she talking about? I don’t have anxiety.” Nobody had ever suggested such a thing to me. I committed to prayerfully considering her concerns. About a month later, the elders of our church granted me an emergency sabbatical. She was right on both counts. I was indeed experiencing a significant amount of anxiety, and I didn’t even know it.

I discovered that my anxiety had not been affecting me only. Because it influenced the way I interacted with others, it had negatively affected members of our staff to varying degrees. I spent a lot of time apologizing to staff members and asking for forgiveness. Everyone was gracious. I’ll never forget that. As my sabbatical came to an end, I no longer questioned whether I had anxiety. Instead, I began to ask a very important question: “Where is my anxiety coming from?”

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

 

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous but a gift for the guilty. From one of our live events, Steven Lawson articulates what Jesus Christ has done to redeem His people from their sin and from the just condemnation of a holy God.

Do you have a biblical or theological question? We invite you to ask Ligonier.

Read the Transcript