R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 32

Does God Love Us Just the Way We Are?

It is dangerous to tell a nonbeliever, “God loves you unconditionally.” From one of our live events, R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur express how the gospel provides us with a far greater message to proclaim. Get answers to your biblical and theological questions online as they arise at ask.Ligonier.org.

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Is It True That God Blesses Those Who Bless Israel and Curses Those Who Curse Israel?

One of the first promises in the Bible is given to Abram, whom God appointed to be a blessing to the whole earth. Not only did God tell this patriarch that he would receive a good land and have many children, but He also promised Abram, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse” (Gen. 12:1–3). That’s an incredible promise, isn’t it? God will favor those who favor Abram and set Himself against those who oppose Abram.

Like me, you probably want God’s blessing and favor on your life. This verse gives us the secret to obtaining that blessing. We just need to bless Abram. Abram, later renamed Abraham, died some four thousand years ago. So, one might think that it is no longer possible to bless him. That is not the case. The promise to Abraham was passed down through his son Isaac to his grandson Jacob (Gen. 27:1–29). Jacob, of course, was renamed Israel, his sons being the founding fathers of the tribes of Israel. So, the promise of Abraham passed on to Israel as well (Num. 24:1–9).

So, God is going to bless those who bless Abraham, which means He is going to bless those who bless Israel. And this promise was never withdrawn. It must come to pass, which means it is still in force today. But does the Israel of God exist today?

From a biblical perspective, the Israel of God does still exist. But here is where things get perhaps a little tricky, for in today’s world there is a nation-state named Israel that is occupying much of the geography that the Old Testament refers to as the promised land. So, this must mean that if we want God’s blessing, we have to do good to the modern nation of Israel by supporting everything that nation does, right?

Not exactly. You see, the Bible is also clear that the Israel of God is not any modern nation-state and that it is not made up of one people group. The Israel of God is Jesus Christ and all those who are united to Him by faith alone. Referring to the young Jesus’ return to the promised land after the death of Herod the Great, Matthew quotes the prophet Hosea, who said “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matt. 2:15). This quote comes from Hosea 11:1, where Hosea is referring to the nation of Israel. Essentially, Matthew is saying that the true son of God named Israel is none other than Jesus the Messiah. Similarly, in John 15:1, Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” Every Jew who heard Him would have remembered the many places in the Old Testament where Israel is referred to as God’s vine or God’s vineyard (e.g., Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 6:9; Hos. 10:1). Jesus’ point is clear: because He is the true vine, He is the true Israel of God.

But the Israel of God is not Jesus alone. It’s also all those who trust in Him alone for salvation. Turning to Romans 11, we find the Apostle Paul explaining why so many Jews—Israel according to the flesh—do not believe Jesus is the Messiah while so many gentiles do. Paul likens Israel, the people of God, to an olive tree and notes that those who are part of the tree by birth—the natural branches, the Jews—can be broken off by their unbelief in Christ, and those who were not part of the tree by birth—wild branches of a different tree, the gentiles—can be grafted in to the olive tree of Israel and become part of that tree. Faith in Christ, then, is what makes a person a member of the Israel of God, not mere ethnic descent. Paul confirms this elsewhere in Galatians 6:16, where he calls the Galatian church—made up predominantly of gentiles who believed in Jesus—as “the Israel of God.” The true Israel of God, then, consists of Christ and all the Jews and gentiles who believe in Him.

Blessing the Israel of God, therefore, does not mean supporting every policy of the modern nation-state of Israel. There may be good political reasons to support many of the modern nation-state’s policies, but Genesis 12:3 does not provide a theological reason to do so. And of course, Christians are called to do good to all people and to take the gospel to both Jews and gentiles (Rom. 1:16; Gal. 6:10). But blessing the Israel of God means, in this new covenant era, blessing the church of Christ—supporting its work, doing good to its people, striving for its peace and purity, and so forth. God will bless those who bless His people, the church.

$5 Friday (And More): Guilt, Baptism, & The Church

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as contentment, guilt, baptism, the church, the gospel, theology, 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:

Christian Ethics with R.C. Sproul, CD $38 $12 Where in the World Is the Church? by Michael Horton, Paperback $17 $12 Making a Difference by R.C. Sproul, Paperback $18 $12 A Voyage of Discovery by Derek Thomas, Paperback $15 $11.50 Rejoicing in Christ by Michael Reeves, Paperback $16 $10And More

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

 

Ask Ligonier with Derek Thomas, February 2021

On Thursday, February 4, Dr. Derek Thomas joined us as a special guest on our Ask Ligonier team to answer your biblical and theological questions live online.

Dr. Thomas is senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and author of many books, including How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home.

This special online event was streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also watch a recording of the event below.

 

God’s Providence Revealed in Scripture

Here’s an excerpt from God’s Providence Revealed in Scripture, Robert Rothwell's contribution to the July issue of Tabletalk:

Have you ever heard a non-Christian say, “Everything happens for a reason”? I have, and probably more times than I can count. I’m not sure what to think when I hear it. On the one hand, I’m glad when a non-Christian expresses doubts that purposeless things happen. After all, one can quickly move from belief that some things have no purpose, to belief that life has no purpose, to sheer nihilism that bears fruit in suicide or sociopathic behavior. On the other hand, I know that when most non-Christians confess that everything happens for a reason, they do not have the right reason in mind. Usually they are just admitting belief that blind, impersonal fate controls everything. But of course, how can blind, impersonal fate have a reason for everything? Purpose comes only from personal agents who make a plan and follow it. If everything happens for a reason, something—or rather, Someone—must decide the reason for it.

Continue reading God’s Providence Revealed in Scripture, 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.

 

“Be Killing Sin, or Sin Will Be Killing You”

John Owen famously wrote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” From his teaching series Assurance of Faith, Joel Beeke describes how the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to put sin to death and grow in righteousness throughout their lives.

Transcript:

John Owen said so famously, "Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you." "Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you." You see, to kill sin, to clear the woods of sin in our heart, is a critical part of the whole process of sanctification. And the more we experience that, the more assurance we will have that our desires are Godward and therefore that we are the children of God. Owen has another beautiful word picture, by the way. He paints the natural human heart as thick woods. And, he says, "By nature, it's just all woods." Now we think of “woods” as positive, but think of woods as negative for a moment. Our whole nature, it's just like thick woods and brush, the brush of sin. And, he says, when the Spirit comes in this life, He cleans out little patches, and you maybe conquer that sin over there, and there's some brushes taken away, some trees removed; there's a bit of a clearing there. And, then there's a bit of a clearing over there, and over here, and over here. And as you grow in grace, more and more gets cleared out. There's a progressive sanctification. But, he says, the woods won't be cleared off completely until you die. There's always going to be the brush, sin, the underground brush of sin, the above-ground brush of sin, the woods that are impediments in your spiritual life. But the more that gets cleared away, the better. And your aim must be to always be killing all sin, so that sin does not kill you. The Spirit will help you. He helps you by making you alert to sin, by making you grieve over sin, by applying the sin-killing work of Christ at the cross to you, by fighting the good fight of faith, and by enabling you to put the sword through sin. That's all the work of the Spirit within you, and you've got to give Him the credit for that.

 

Ask Ligonier with Derek Thomas: Live Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET

On Thursday, February 4, at 7:30 p.m. ET, Dr. Derek Thomas will join us as a special guest on our Ask Ligonier team to answer your biblical and theological questions live online.

Dr. Thomas is senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and author of many books, including How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home.

Simply tweet us your questions by using the hashtag #AskLigonier or leave them as comments or messages on our Facebook page. This special online event will be streamed live on Ligonier’s blog, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. We hope you’ll join us tomorrow.

 

The Divine Mandate for Parents

I don't know how many times I've heard parents who are members of churches say to me:

I intentionally never discuss theology or religion with my children, because I want them to believe whatever they come to believe honestly and not because they've been indoctrinated by us in the home. I don't want them to be slaves to a parental tradition. I want them to experience reality on its own terms and come to whatever conclusion they are drawn from the evidence.

Such sentiments mystify me because they are at such odds with the teaching of Scripture. Just consider Deuteronomy 6:4–9:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

What I find remarkable about this text is how closely it places the mandate to teach our children to what Jesus calls the greatest commandment, namely, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (v. 5; see Matt. 22:36–40). There is no commandment more important than to love our Creator, but what's the very next command in Deuteronomy 6? That the law of God is to be on our hearts and taught to our children. The divine mandate is that parents should teach the Lord's commandments to their children. Not that the parents should send their children somewhere else to learn these things, but the responsibility is given to the parents.

Moreover, Deuteronomy 6 doesn't say that "you shall teach them casually, occasionally, once in a while to your children." No, it says,

You shall teach them 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (vv. 7–9)

That is, these things are to be taught so diligently that they are going to be taught every single day, in every place, even in every room of our homes.

I don't think there's a mandate to be found in sacred Scripture that is more solemn than this one. That we are to teach our children the truth of God's Word is a sacred, holy responsibility that God gives to His people. And it's not something that is to be done only one day a week in Sunday school. We can't abdicate the responsibility to the church. The primary responsibility for the education of children according to Scripture is the family, the parents. And what is commanded is the passing on of tradition.

In our forward-looking age, many look upon tradition with scorn. It is seen as the province of reactionaries and conservatives who refuse to get with the times. But when we look at Scripture, we find it has much to say about tradition, some of it negative, some of it positive. One of the judgments of God upon the nation of Israel and upon the teachers of Israel was that they began to substitute human traditions for the Word of God, with the human traditions taking the place of Scripture. Because of that error, we may jump to the conclusion that we should, therefore, never communicate traditions.

Yet when we come to the New Testament, we find a distinction made between the traditions of men and the tradition of God. The Apostle Paul, for example, claims that he did not invent out of his own mind the message that he proclaimed to the churches and was passing on to the churches—the paradosis, the tradition, of God. Paradosis is the Greek word for "tradition," and it comes from the same root as the Greek term for "gift" as well as the prefix para-, which means "alongside of " or "passing on." Literally, the meaning of "tradition" in the Scriptures is the passing on of a gift. The gift that is to be passed on is the gift of the knowledge of God, of what He has revealed about Himself in His Word, of what He inspired the prophets and Apostles to tell us in sacred Scripture.

It's my responsibility as a parent and it's your responsibility as a parent to pass on that gift. If you aren't a parent, it's your responsibility to support the work of the church and those who are parents in passing on that gift. It is a great and glorious calling to lead our children into the truth of God's Word. Indeed, there is no more solemn mandate given to parents and adults in the church than to raise up covenant children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, February 2021

The February issue of Tabletalk features an overview of the doctrine of the providence of God. In generations past, Christians had a good understanding of the providence of God, referring regularly to the Lord’s overarching control of all things and wise governance of whatsoever comes to pass. Since the Enlightenment, however, there has been a steady decline in believers’ awareness of the providence of God. Confusion regarding how the Lord works out His plan in history has led many people to embrace a kind of fatalism, believing that God’s sovereign providence means their actions and decisions have no value. Others have embraced the opposite extreme, believing that the success of God’s plan depends on their efforts, resulting in much anxiety and a loss of trust in the Lord. Frequently, even Christians live as practical atheists, not considering that the Lord is involved in every detail of our lives. Lacking a good understanding of God’s providence, many believers have an incomplete or inaccurate view of God’s relationship to sin and evil, believing Him to be a passive observer of wickedness or the author of sin. This issue of Tabletalk seeks to help Christians develop a better biblical and theological understanding of the providence of God, showing how this doctrine applies practically and offers us assurance in every aspect of life.

You can purchase the issue or subscribe to get the print issue every month.

In the Providence of God by Burk ParsonsGod's Providence Revealed in Scripture by Robert RothwellGod’s Providence Summarized in The Westminster Confession by John TweeddaleGod’s Providence Applied in Our Lives by Joel BeekeDying to Sin and Living to Righteousness by Mark JohnstonWives of Elders by Iver MartinThe Law as Restrainer by Caleb CangelosiGod’s Global Work by J.D. Bridges

Subscribe to Tabletalk today for only $23 a year, and $20 to renew. You save even more if you get a 2- or 3-year subscription (as little as $1.36 per issue). Get your subscription to Tabletalk today by calling one of Ligonier Ministries’ resource consultants at 800-435-4343 or by subscribing online.

How Is Total Depravity True When Many People Appear to Act Morally and Do Good Deeds?

Does the doctrine of total depravity suggest that people are as evil as they can possibly be? From one of our live events, Derek Thomas corrects this common misunderstanding about the radical corruption of man.

Do you have another biblical or theological question? Ask Ligonier is your place for answers.

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