R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 40

Help Equip Others like Andi

People like you can help equip the global church with trustworthy teaching from God’s Word. Andi from Albania wrote to tell us how Ligonier Ministries has helped him in his own ministry.

“For the last four years, I have worked as a prison minister in seventeen prisons in Albania, and I used to drive a lot. Renewing Your Mind with Dr. R.C. Sproul has been my companion for many miles and years, helping me to build my theological and biblical convictions and to understand the Bible better. I also came across Ligonier Connect several years ago. We are taking these courses with a group of five leaders, and we look forward to using them with more groups. Our knowledge about God and His character has increased.”

Your prayers and financial generosity enable more Bible teaching to be broadcast in more places and translated in more languages, serving growing Christians wherever they may be found. As Ligonier prepares to begin its fiftieth year of gospel outreach, will you give today to help bring vital teaching to more people in more places? All donations made before December 31 at 11:30 p.m. ET are tax deductible. Thank you for your generous stewardship in helping, by God’s grace, to build up the church of Jesus Christ.

 

When John Calls Jesus "the Logos," Is He Referring To Greek Philosophy?

When the Apostle John begins his gospel by identifying Jesus as “the Logos,” is he comparing Christ to an idea in ancient Greek philosophy? From one of our Ask Ligonier events, W. Robert Godfrey explains what is happening at the beginning of this gospel account. Ask your biblical and theological questions live online at ask.Ligonier.org.

Read the Transcript

What Does the X in Xmas Mean?

The X in Christmas is used like the R in R.C. My given name at birth was Robert Charles, although before I was even taken home from the hospital my parents called me by my initials, R.C., and nobody seems to be too scandalized by that.

X can mean so many things. For example, when we want to denote an unknown quantity, we use the symbol X. It can refer to an obscene level of films, something that is X-rated. People seem to express chagrin about seeing Christ's name dropped and replaced by this symbol for an unknown quantity X. Every year you see the signs and the bumper stickers saying, "Put Christ back into Christmas" as a response to this substitution of the letter X for the name of Christ.

There’s No X in Christmas

First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.

We don't see people protesting the use of the Greek letter theta, which is an O with a line across the middle. We use that as a shorthand abbreviation for God because it is the first letter of the word Theos, the Greek word for God.

X Has a Long and Sacred History

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That's how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There's a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.

This excerpt is adapted from Now, That’s a Good Question! by R.C. Sproul.

You Can Help People like Guadalupe

Guadalupe in Texas recently told us how the Lord has used translated discipleship materials from Ligonier Ministries to help her family grow as Christians.

“The Reformation Study Bible in Spanish is an answer to prayer. When I saw it in English, I asked God to bring it to us in Spanish. Now that it has arrived, it's a blessing. I am using this unique Bible for family devotions with my children. Thanks for sharing this Bible in Spanish.”

By God’s grace, this kind of Christian growth is made possible by friends like you. Would you prayerfully consider giving to help us reach even more people like Guadalupe with teaching that exalts the holiness of God? Your gift is vital to our gospel outreach. Donations must be made before December 31 at 11:30 p.m. ET to be tax deductible. Thank you for your visionary support that equips Christians around the world to grow in their knowledge of God and His gospel.

 

Why Don't We Celebrate the Ascension?

If we do not consider the ascension of Christ an event worth celebrating, we have much to learn about what Jesus came to accomplish and what He is doing now. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul shows how the ascension left Christ’s disciples forever changed.

Transcript:

The church in our day doesn’t understand the significance of this redemptive historical event. We get all excited about the atonement, we get all excited about the resurrection, we get all excited about the return of Jesus, but we hardly even celebrate the ascension of Christ. We act as if we were still living in the Old Testament. We look with envy at the people who lived on the earth when Jesus was here, and we long to be numbered among those who were alive at His return. And we think, in the interim, in between time, we are, of all people, the most unfortunate because we have to live in His absence.

Now, when Jesus told His disciples that He was leaving, they were filled with sorrow. Their hearts were troubled. But what we find in this little verse in the gospel of Luke is that after Jesus was taken from them, after He ascended before their very eyes, they returned to Jerusalem rejoicing, and they were found praising God all around the town. Now, what happened between the time that Jesus first told them, “I’m leaving,” and when they were filled with sorrow and the time when He actually left and their hearts were filled with joy? How do we account for that radical change in their disposition towards His departure? How could anyone be happy about Jesus leaving? Well, the reason for their joy is simple. They came to understand why He left, where He was going, and what He would be doing.

 

What Does It Mean to Be “Called” in the New Testament?

Jesus says that many are called but few are chosen. But the Apostle Paul teaches that everyone who is called will be justified. How do we reconcile this? From one of our Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul outlines the different ways that Scripture refers to calling. Get answers to your biblical and theological questions online as they arise at ask.Ligonier.org.

Read the Transcript

The Incarnation: Its Relevance

To call the incarnation "relevant" almost sounds patronizing. But we need to recognize the intimate connection between this important doctrine and personal piety.

It Opens Up Scripture

Until we grasp that Christ is God-in-flesh, the Old Testament will remain a collection of stories about how men and women struggled with the call to faith. The incarnation helps us to see that the Old Testament sets the stage for God to once again live with man as He did in Eden. On every Old Testament page, God promises a human deliverer who is also stronger than Satan (Gen. 3:15); both a suffering servant and an anointed king.

The reality of God-with-us is explained and applied throughout the rest of Scripture starting with Matthew. The New Testament is not simply a collection of ethical instruction, or even a commentary on the life of a certain Nazarene. It is the real-life story of what happened when God came to men that they might belong to Him. The New Testament is the answer to the Old Testament anticipation of a redeemer. Only in the incarnate Christ, are all of the promises answered with a resounding "yes!" (2 Cor. 1:20).

Near the story's last chapter, John heard these words from heaven: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with then, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and be their God" (Rev. 21:3).

It Makes God Accessible

In the Old Testament, God was accessible only through the mediation of prophets, priests, tabernacle, and temple. No Israelite could properly see God (John 1:18). John Calvin said the revelation of God prior to Christ was like a pencil sketch.

In Christ, God became accessible to us in a most familiar form. Six times in the opening of His first letter, John says, "We saw him!" (1 John 1:1-4). During Jesus' earthly ministry, the majestic God of heaven and earth cried out to the crowds, "Come to me!" (Matt. 11:28). If you want to know what God is like, study Christ. As Richard Phillips has written, Jesus' earthly posture, tone of voice, attitude, and reaction to events were those of God. "God is Christ-like."

It Reveals Our Only Mediator

At Mount Sinai Israel needed mediation; they were justly terrified by God's thunderings. "If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die." (Deut 5:25). God gave Moses as a temporary mediator (Deut. 5:27) who admonished the people to look for a better one! (Deut 18:15). Of the man Jesus, Paul later wrote, "There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men…" (1 Tim. 2:5). In His humanity Christ suffered our judgment for sin. In His divinity He endured that judgment to the very end.

It Reveals God's Humility and Glory

Christ prostrated Himself to the earth because we needed rescue–that's humbling. God lowered Himself to gather to Himself His rebellious children. Even the earthly body of Christ was lowly. It was as crude as the tabernacle in the desert compared with the pyramids of Egypt or the ziggurats of Babylon. Christ willingly compromised His reputation by becoming a man (Phil. 2:7). Paradoxically, in Christ's humility, God also reveals His other-worldly glory. Phillips explains: "Jesus saw the event of His greatest earthly humiliation–the apex of His servant obedience–as His true glorification on earth. 'The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified' (John 12:23)." Calvin boldly states that the richness of God's glory "is invisible until it shines forth in Christ…the majesty of the Father is hidden until it shews itself impressed" on Christ's image."

It Compels Us to Godly Living

"For the love of Christ compels us…those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:14-15). True godliness is lived out in a mutually loving experience with God. With biblical warrant, we usually think of the cross as the greatest manifestation of God's love. But if on the cross, Christ's descent reached the pit of hell, the incarnation was His first step in that agonizing descent. We need to know Christ as He truly is, God and man in one beautiful, glorious person. Knowing Christ ensures being changed by Him.

See also:

The Incarnation: The Athanasian Creed
The Incarnation: Its Relevance

Rev. William Boekestein is pastor of Covenant Reformed Church in Carbondale, Pa. He is co-author of Why Christ Came.

$5 Friday (And More): Prayer, Martin Luther, & the Parables of Jesus

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as prayer, Martin Luther, the parables of Jesus, the Trinity, grace, George Whitefield, 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:

A Field Guide on False Teaching , Paperback book $10 $5
Kingdom Feast by R.C. Sproul, DVD $33 $12
Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul, DVD $24 $10
The Last Days According to Jesus by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $16 $10
Pray Big: Learn to Pray Like a Disciple by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $13 $9
Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer by R.C. Sproul, Blu-ray $30 $15
And More

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

Purifying Ourselves as Christ Is Pure

Here’s an excerpt from Purifying Ourselves as Christ Is Pure, Matthew Dudreck's contribution to the December issue of Tabletalk:

If you’ve had or have small children, you’re likely very familiar with the following scenario. Your son wearing his father’s baseball cap as he’s about to run into a wall he can’t see. Your daughter tottering about in her mom’s shoes. It’s cute and heartwarming to see their attempts to imitate you or your spouse, but their efforts are all the more striking for a reason we often don’t recall. Our children, on the basis of both nature and nurture, are bound to grow up to look and act just like us. Yet, they see us and want to do all they can to be like us as we are now, headwear and footwear included. They’re eager to grow up. They just can’t wait.

Continue reading Purifying Ourselves as Christ Is Pure, 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.

If You Have Jesus, You Have Everything

This world and all its fullness will not satisfy the utmost longings of the soul. But if we have Christ and nothing else, we have everything. In this brief clip, Derek Thomas considers what it means to be crucified “to the world” (Gal 6:14).

Transcript:

Paul glories in the cross because he sees the cross not simply as a death and therefore one to which we might render sympathy, but he sees it as redemptive and saving and reconciling and justifying. He sees the gospel in the cross, God's good news of eternal life for sinners through the satisfaction and substitution of the work of Christ on our behalf. And so, he says "by which the world has been crucified to me." And I think he means this in the sense that the world had nothing to offer him, not in the sense that Paul didn't have a world and life view, not in the sense that Paul couldn't appreciate art or music or architecture or sports or hobbies or whatever, not in that sense, but in the ultimate sense the world had nothing to offer him, the world in its fallenness, the world in its vanity had nothing to offer him. There was something about even the beauty that there is in the world would remind him of ruined castles where the beauty had faded. And in the sense that Mick Jagger would've put it, "I can find no satisfaction," that which would satisfy the soul, that which would satisfy the sinner in need of redeeming grace. He cannot find it in the world. What profit is there if I gain the whole world and I lose my soul? You know, do the math. If you have the world, you have the world. You have the whole world, but you don't have Jesus. What have you got? And it's nothing. What if you don't have anything, but you have Jesus. You've got everything.