R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 31

Our King-Servant-Anointed Conqueror: Jesus

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights. (Isa. 42:1)

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isa. 53:2–3)

There is no peace. . . for the wicked. (Isa. 48:22)

These startling words are not addressed to the heathen nations but to God’s covenant people. They describe the people’s condition after their return to the Promised Land from exile. They are a lament. The people have learned so little in their captivity. The reason for their exile is spelled out with a solemn indictment: they had sinned against the Lord, “in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey” (Isa. 42:24). They returned to Jerusalem the way they had left it.

What Israel needed was salvation.

What Israel needed was a Savior. One who would come from “outside of themselves.” What Israel (Judah) needed was a Servant Savior who would do what she evidently could not do for herself.

This also is our need.

And God had good news for His rebellious people, news built upon His “covenant love” (hesed) for them. (Isa. 54:8, 10)

The prophecy of Isaiah made promises that were difficult to fulfill.

Chapters 2 and 11 depict a united, transformed world, but there is no sign of that when the exiled Hebrews return to the ruins of Jerusalem. Chapter 9 suggests a glorious David-like kingdom, but there is no sign of this reality on the horizon. Are these promises more like aspirations than certainties? Longings of what might have been rather than what actually did occur?

No, there is more than wishful thinking here. These promises find partial fulfillment in the dawning of the new covenant era: the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; the significance of Pentecost; and the spread of the church from Jerusalem to “the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And to bring this larger canvas into reality, a Messiah-figure is promised. His depiction is threefold:

1. A King, like David, who will rule and reign over an expansive, worldwide kingdom (see Isa. 1:26–27; 7:14; 9:7; 11:1; 32:1–6; 33:17–24).

2. A Servant, depicted in four “songs” (Isa. 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12). Twice, the servant is identified as Israel,5 but it is immediately apparent that she cannot be the sinless servant depicted in these songs. She has neither character nor desire to fulfill this role. On the other hand, the true Servant is a revealer of truth, perfect, obedient, and explicitly, a substitutionary sin bearer who voluntarily dies and lives again to clothe His people with His own righteousness.

3. An anointed Conqueror. As Isaiah looks forward, he anticipates one who is anointed by the Spirit, engaging in both salvation and vengeance, blessing and cursing (see Isa. 59:21; 61:1–3; 61:10–62:7; 63:1–7).”

And it becomes increasingly clear that the Messiah will come for both the covenant community and the gentiles (the nations):

I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. (Isa. 42:6)

We might have expected that this responsibility would have been fulfilled by the covenant people themselves. Had they not been told that their joyful obedience would lead the nations to say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deut. 4:6)? But, as we have seen, God’s people in Isaiah’s day are “blind” and “deaf” (Isa. 42:18–19; 43:8).

If not Israel, then who?

And the answer is another King-Servant-anointed Conqueror—Jesus. From the corridors of the eighth century BC, Isaiah saw the coming of Jesus who would bring redemption and restoration. This is why Isaiah is called “the evangelical prophet”—his entire focus is on the evangel, the “good news” of the gospel.

Good news for sinners like you and me.

This excerpt is adapted from Strength for the Weary by Derek Thomas.

$5 Friday (And More): Reformed Theology, Scripture, & the Will of God

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as reformed theology, scripture, the will of God, Christian maturity, George Whitefield, prayer, 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:

Young, Restless, Reformed by Collin Hansen, Paperback book $17 $12 Heaven on Earth by Derek Thomas, Hardcover book $13 $8 The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven Lawson, Hardcover book $16 $8 The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther by Steven Lawson, Hardcover book $16 $10 Growing in Holiness by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $18 $9And More

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

 

God’s Providence Applied in Our Lives

Here’s an excerpt from God’s Providence Applied in Our Lives, Joel R. Beeke's contribution to the February issue of Tabletalk:

Nothing is more practical than the doctrine of providence, for it engenders both faith and godly fear. When Christ teaches us how to deal with anxiety, He reminds us that God the Father feeds every little bird and clothes every flower with its lovely colors (Matt. 6:25–30). How much more, then, should we trust Him to care for His own beloved children? Whether one is willing to admit it or not, everyone constantly lives in the presence of the living God. The more the believer is conscious of God’s providence, the more it can be said of him, as B.B. Warfield wrote, “Everywhere he sees God in His mighty stepping, everywhere he feels the working of His mighty arm, the throbbing of His mighty heart.”

Continue reading God’s Providence Applied in Our Lives, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3-month trial.

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Announcing Our Dedicated-Language Outreach in Hindi

With gratitude to God, Ligonier Ministries is pleased to announce its new dedicated-language outreach in Hindi, the most spoken language in India.

Today, Christians in India are facing an increasingly perilous situation. Persecution is on the rise for converts—Christian and non-Christian—from radical Hinduism. Physical attacks and exile from homes and livelihoods is increasingly commonplace. Few trustworthy resources are available in Hindi to support the discipleship needs of the church, while foreign missionaries have largely been expelled. Further, reports reveal the ongoing susceptibility of under-resourced Christians falling prey to shallow theology, nominalism, and cultic teachings.

Thanks to the generous support of friends such as you, Ligonier is now stepping forward to supply trustworthy Bible teaching in Hindi that exalts the holiness and grace of God, equipping the church for Christian discipleship and gospel outreach.

After years of prayer and preparation, we have launched a dedicated website in Hindi, hi.ligonier.org, as well as a Hindi Facebook page, to share trusted teaching and discipleship resources from Dr. R.C. Sproul and other gifted teachers. The website features articles, historic creeds, and The Ligonier Statement on Christology. Newly translated articles will be uploaded in Hindi every week, and new digital content, including books and videos, will be added in the coming months as the Lord enables.

Within the next five years, India is set to overtake China as the country with the largest population in the world. There are already over 300 million Facebook users in India alone, more than any other country. With over 600 million people speaking Hindi, coupled with the prime minister of India’s push to make Hindi the official language of the country, the need for Hindi resources will only grow. The fields of ministry opportunity here are ripe, and the laborers are few.

With the launch of this dedicated-language outreach in Hindi, teaching from Ligonier is now available in the world’s five most spoken languages (which also include Arabic, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish). Nearly half the world’s population natively speak one of these languages. Ligonier also has dedicated websites in French and in Farsi, and by God’s grace, more are on the way. We give thanks to our sovereign and gracious God for these manifold opportunities to build up growing Christians around the world in the eternal truth of Scripture.

None of this global gospel outreach would be possible without the ongoing prayers and financial generosity of friends such as you. Thank you for giving to help translate, publish, and distribute biblical teaching that is grounded in the historic Christian faith, all so that more people in more places may be awakened to the holiness of God. To Him belongs all the glory.

 

Legalism Takes Your Eyes off Jesus

Legalism steals our attention from the perfect work of Christ and concentrates instead on our own works, which are as filthy rags. In this brief clip, Derek Thomas prompts us to fix our eyes on who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

Transcript:

When I was a very young pastor—I've said this many times before, but I don't apologize for repeating it again today, because it's the perfect lesson that Paul is actually teaching us here. I was a young preacher. I would visit these two sisters. There was a third, she had died. I never actually met Miss Kathleen, but I'd met Miss Madge and Miss Anna. And when I first knew them, they were in their 80s, and they both lived to over 100. And I would visit them. They lived fairly close to the church, and I would visit them about once every couple of weeks. And it was usually a fairly lengthy visit, a couple of hours or more, and they'd make a cup of tea, and there'd always be cookies. And I was 26, 27 years old. And one day, I'm feeling a little down and a little sorry for myself, and Miss Madge who only had one eye—she'd had cancer and her eye had been removed and she had a prosthetic—and she looked at me with her good eye, and she said, "Young man, see no one in the picture but Jesus." And you know, when I first heard it, I thought, "Well, that's a little sentimental!" And I thanked them, and I didn't think anything more of it until I got into the car. And then it just kind of haunted me, and I doubt that a day has gone by since that I haven't thought about what she said: "See no one in the picture but Jesus." "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." And I think that's what Paul is saying here. When you go down this road of legalism, you're taking your eyes off Jesus. You're taking your eyes off what He has accomplished, off what He has bought, off what He has won for you. So, see Jesus. Remind yourself of what He has accomplished. Remind yourself of His perfect obedience. Remind yourself of Him crucified upon a cross, dying, buried, risen, victorious, ascending to heaven, coming back again. Freedom is a beautiful thing because it's a Jesus thing, and Jesus is altogether beautiful.

 

The Centerpiece of God’s Saving Purpose in the Universe

The doctrines of grace are a cohesive system of theology in which the sovereignty of God is clearly displayed in the salvation of elect sinners. Not only is God acknowledged to reign over all of human history, both micro and macro, but He is also seen to be sovereign in the dispensing of His saving grace. From Genesis to Revelation, God is emphatically represented in Scripture as being absolutely determinative in bestowing His mercy. He is shown as choosing before the foundation of the world those whom He will save and then, within time, bringing it to pass.

The Apostle Paul clearly announced God’s sovereign grace in man’s salvation. He wrote that, from eternity, God chose, willed, decided, and planned to save some sinners. To elect is to choose, and God chose who would be saved. Paul wrote: “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Rom. 9:15–16). “This is to say, God decides whom He will save in order to display His glory: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:4–5); “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thess. 1:4); “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13); God “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Tim. 1:9); and “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1).

The Apostle Peter and John taught precisely the same supreme authority of God in the salvation of His elect. Peter wrote: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1); and “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). The Apostle John wrote: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come” (Rev. 17:8).

In this system of theology, the glory of God is central. As every planet revolves around the blazing sun, every truth of sovereign grace rotates around this one fixed point—the glory of God. The unrivaled pre-eminence of God stands at the focal point of this theological universe. That God is to be the chief object of praise in the display of His grace is what energizes this solar system of truth. As the compass always points north, so the doctrines of grace constantly point upward toward the lofty heights of the glory of God.

What is God’s glory? The Bible speaks of God’s glory in two primary ways. First, there is the intrinsic glory of God, which is the sum total of all His divine perfections and attributes. It is who God is—His infinitely vast greatness. Glory in the Old Testament kabod originally meant “heaviness,” “importance,” or “significance.” It came to represent the stunning magnificence of certain objects, such as the blazing sun or the regal majesty displayed by a king. Hence, glory came to be used to describe the magnificent splendor and awesome radiance of God Himself revealed to man. In the New Testament, the word for “glory” is doxa, which means “an opinion” or “an estimate” of something. When used of someone’s reputation, it means “importance,” “greatness,” “renown,” or “significance.” God’s intrinsic glory is the revelation of the greatness of His divine attributes to His creatures. It involves God’s greatness and grandeur being manifested to sinners, especially in the salvation of man from sin. No one can add anything to God’s intrinsic glory. God is who He is, never diminishing, never increasing, forever the same, the sovereign Ruler, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, all-true, allwise, loving, grace-giving, merciful, righteous, and wrathful. It is this intrinsic glory that God delights in making known to His creatures.

Second, the Bible also speaks of the ascribed glory of God, or the glory that is given to Him. Doxa also has to do with expressing praise to God based upon the revelation of His supreme majesty. The only rightful response to the display of God’s perfections must be to give Him glory. Man must bring the praise due His name. Man must give the worship that belongs exclusively to Him. The display of God’s intrinsic glory causes man to give ascribed glory to God. The more man beholds God’s intrinsic glory in salvation, the more man ascribes glory to God.

This, then, is the centerpiece of God’s saving purpose in the universe—the revelation and magnification of His own glory. This is what is at the very center of God’s being—the passionate pursuit of displaying His own glory for His own glory. This is what should be at the center of every human life—the promotion of the glory of God, that is, beholding and adoring His glory. This is what is primary in the salvation of every lost sinner—the revealing of the glory of God so that sinners might rejoice in the glory of God. No wonder Paul writes: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).

This excerpt is taken from Foundations of Grace by Steven Lawson

God’s Providence Summarized in The Westminster Confession

Here’s an excerpt from God’s Providence Summarized in The Westminster Confession, John W. Tweeddale's contribution to the February issue of Tabletalk:

God’s ways at times seem baffling. As the Apostle Paul says, they are inscrutable (Rom. 11:33). That’s why as Christians we often encourage each other to trust in God’s providence, to remember His invisible hand, and to rest in the knowledge that He orchestrates all things for our good (8:28). We call on providence when God’s ways are “past finding out” (11:33, KJV). When tragedy strikes. When joy surprises. When sorrow overwhelms. When opportunity knocks. When circumstances push us to the edge. When we have no answers. Somehow. Some way. As Christians, we know the solution lies deep in the providence of God.

Continue reading God’s Providence Summarized in The Westminster Confession, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3-month trial.

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Whom Has Christ Authorized to Baptize? Can Parents Baptize a Child at Home?

Are parents authorized by Jesus Christ to baptize their children at home? Can a Bible study privately partake of the Lord’s Supper? From our special online event Made in the Image of God, Burk Parsons and Stephen Nichols consider who may legitimately administer the sacraments.

To ask a biblical or theological question, just visit ask.Ligonier.org or message us on Facebook or Twitter.

Read the Transcript

 

Content in His Providence

Blaise Pascal, the famous French philosopher and mathematician, noted that human beings are creatures of profound paradox. We’re capable of both deep misery and tremendous grandeur, often at the same time. All we have to do is scan the headlines to see that this is the case. How often do celebrities who have done great good through philanthropy get caught up in scandals?

Human grandeur is found in part in our ability to contemplate ourselves, to reflect upon our origins, our destiny, and our place in the universe. Yet, such contemplation has a negative side, and that is its potential to bring us pain. We may find ourselves miserable when we think of a life that is better than that which we enjoy now and recognize that we are incapable of achieving it. Perhaps we think of a life free of illness and pain, yet we know that physical agony and death are certain. Rich and poor alike know that a life of greater wealth is possible but grow frustrated when that wealth is unobtainable. Sick or healthy, poor or rich, successful or unsuccessful—we are all capable of growing vexed when a better life remains outside of our grasp.

Scripture prescribes only one remedy to this frustration: contentment.

Biblical contentment is a spiritual virtue that we find modeled by the Apostle Paul. He states, for example, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil. 4:11). No matter the state of his health, wealth, or success, Paul found it possible to be content with his life.

In Paul’s era, two prominent schools of Greek philosophy agreed that our goal should be to find contentment, but they had very different ways of getting there. The first of these, Stoicism, said imperturbability was the way to contentment. Stoics believed that human beings had no real control over their external circumstances, which were subject to the whims of fate. The only place they could have any control was in their personal attitudes. We cannot control what happens to us, they said, but we can control how we feel about it. Thus, Stoics trained themselves to achieve imperturbability, an inner sense of peace that would leave them unbothered no matter what happened to them.

The Epicureans were more proactive in their search for contentment, looking to find a proper balance between pleasure and pain. Their aim was to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. Yet even achieving a goal in this arena can result in frustration. We might never obtain the aimed-for pleasure, or, having obtained it, we might realize that it does not bring what we thought it would.

Paul was neither a Stoic nor an Epicurean. Epicureanism leads eventually to an ultimate pessimism—we can’t get or maintain the pleasure we seek, so what’s the point? The Apostle’s doctrine of the resurrection and the renewal of creation does not allow for such pessimism. Creation “will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:18–25; see 1 Cor. 15). Paul also rejected the passive resignation of Stoicism, for he was no fatalist. Paul actively pressed toward his goals and called us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, believing that God works in and through us to bring about His purposes (Phil. 2:12).

For the Apostle, true contentment was not complacency, and it was not a condition, on this side of glory, that could admit no feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction. After all, Paul frequently expresses such feelings in his epistles as he considers the sins of the church and his own shortcomings. He did not rest on his laurels but worked zealously to solve problems both personally and pastorally.

Paul’s contentment pertained to his personal circumstances and the state of his human condition. Whether he suffered lack or enjoyed material prosperity, he had “learned” to be content wherever God placed him (Phil. 4:12). Note that this was something he learned. It was not a natural gifting but something he had to be taught.

What was the secret to contentment that he had learned? Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

In short, the Apostle’s contentment was grounded in his union with Christ and in his theology. He saw theology not as a theoretical or abstract discipline but rather as the key to understanding life itself. His contentment with his condition in life rested on his knowledge of God’s character and actions. Paul was content because he knew his condition was ordained by his Creator. He understood that God brought both pleasure and pain into his life for a good purpose (Rom. 8:28). Paul knew that since the Lord wisely ordered his life, he could find strength in the Lord for any and all circumstances. Paul understood that he was fulfilling the purpose of God whether he was experiencing abundance or abasement. Submission to God’s sovereign rule over his life was the key to his contentment.

As we continue to wrestle with the desires of the flesh, we can be tempted to believe God owes us a better condition than we presently enjoy. To believe such a thing is sin, and it leads to great misery, which is overcome only by trusting in the Lord’s sustaining and providential grace. We will find true contentment only as we receive and walk in that grace.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

The Danger of False Doctrine

Some Christians think we shouldn’t focus on doctrine as long as we maintain a vibrant community in the church. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul explores the Pastoral Epistles to reveal how bad theology can infect our relationships and every aspect of our church life.

Transcript:

Now in the Pastoral Epistles, we see again Paul’s functioning as a task theologian, and we see his constant wrestling with the problems that are affecting the infant church. And one of the most egregious of those problems is the infecting of the congregations with false doctrine. And I’m amazed in our day and age how little attention we want to give to matters of sound doctrine. We are perhaps the more relationally oriented—or the most relationally oriented generation of Christians in the history of the church. What I mean by that is that we want to put so much emphasis on community and fellowship and relationships, and we see the tendency of doctrine and doctrinal differences to provoke debate and quarrels and divisions that we’ve come to the place in many circles where we say, “Well we shouldn’t be engaged in the study of doctrine at all, because all it does is end up in controversy and divisions and the like.” But that idea would be utterly foreign to the thinking of the Apostle Paul. Because Paul always saw an unbreakable relationship between a true understanding of the Word of God and righteous relationships. It would have been a false dichotomy for the Apostle to have a wedge driven between doctrine and practice. And he was very much concerned, as the church was beginning to grow in its original setting, with the invasion of false teaching. And there’s that tendency, particularly in any new enterprise that’s more or less in its formative stages, where it seems to be up for grabs, and everybody wants to impose their particular perspective or their views on the nascent institution. And so, we see this concern repeated over and again in the Pastoral Epistles.