R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 51

Distorting Parables

How should we read the parables of Jesus? Does every detail in these stories carry some rich spiritual meaning? In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul provides a principle to help us interpret the parables of Christ.

Transcript:

Now there’re some principles that we need to know whenever we meet parables in the New Testament. The first one is that a parable normally—and I say, normally—is not an allegory. And the church got herself in lots of trouble historically by trying to interpret the parables as if they were allegories. Now you’re familiar with that particular genre of literature that we call the allegory. We think of Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, or perhaps the most famous allegory of all time is Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, where every element in the story has some particular symbolic meaning and everything stands for something. And the temptation is to look at the parables of Jesus and read them all as if they were allegories. Now it becomes problematic because the Parable of the Sower has strong elements of allegory within it. And the wicked husband is another parable that has elements of allegory in it, but in the main, the basic rule of interpreting parables is that most of the parables are delivered with the idea of communicating one central critical point. And if you try to find too much hidden in the incidental elements of the story, you’ll end up with all kinds of bizarre theories and distortions of the Word of God.

What Would You Say to a Christian Who Rejects the Inerrancy of Scripture?

Many Christians today are abandoning belief in the Bible’s inerrancy. How should we respond to them? From one of our live events, R.C. Sproul pleads with Christians to have a view of the Bible that is no higher than Jesus’ view—and no lower.

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

Read the Transcript

Martin Luther's Definition of Faith

Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. "Faith is not enough," they say, "You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved." They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, "I believe." That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn't come from this 'faith,' either.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace... —Martin Luther

Instead, faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn't stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they're smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.

This excerpt is taken from An Introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans by Martin Luther.

$5 Friday (And More): Predestination, Repentance, & Evangelism

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as predestination, repentance, evangelism, sola scriptura, faith, John Knox, 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:

What Is Repentance? by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $2 $1
Does God Control Everything? by R.C. Sproul, Paperback book $2 $1
A Voyage of Discovery by Derek Thomas, Paperback book $15 $11.50
The Providence of God with R.C. Sproul, CD $24 $12
Pray Big: Learn to Pray Like a Disciple by Alistair Begg, Paperback book $13 $9
The New Testament Canon by Michael Kruger, DVD $30 $12
The New Testament Canon by Michael Kruger, Study Guide $15 $8
The Moment of Truth by Steven Lawson, Hardcover $19 $9
The Mighty Weakness of John Knox by Douglas Bond, Hardcover $19 $10
Good News: The Gospel of Jesus Christ by John MacArthur, Hardcover $16 $10
Good News: The Gospel of Jesus Christ by John MacArthur, Hardcover $19 $10
The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield by Steven Lawson, Hardcover $19 $10
Dust to Glory (New Testament) with R.C. Sproul, DVD $66 $19
The Daring Mission of William Tyndale by Steven Lawson, Hardcover book $16 $9
Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul, DVD $30 $12
Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World by John MacArthur, Paperback book $27 $15
Knowing Scripture with R.C. Sproul, CD $27.90 $10
Lessons from the Upper Room with Sinclair Ferguson, CD $31 $12

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

Suffering with Christ

Here’s an excerpt from Suffering with Christ, Jeremy Walker's contribution to the October issue of Tabletalk:

Not everything we suffer as Christians is Christian suffering. By nature, we are fallen creatures in a fallen world, subject to sin and its consequences in and around us. Under such circumstances, all suffer in measure, and all far less than we deserve. We suffer as sinners and as creatures in a world wrecked by sin. Apart from God’s free favor, we would face the eternal sufferings of hell.

Continue reading Suffering with Christ, 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.

Chance Has No Power

There is no such thing as chance. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul demonstrates why it is illogical to appeal to chance as the reason why events happen or as the source of the world’s existence.

Transcript:

So, the premise that I’m going to give you, and this is what the philosophers and scientists of all ages have all agreed, that the word “chance” becomes a word to define our ignorance. We throw the word “chance” in the equation when we don’t know what’s going on out there. When we can’t do our homework analytically and come up to a cogent understanding, we begin to attribute things to chance, to the power of chance. You say, “But wait a minute, R.C. We play games of chance where the cards are shuffled randomly and the cards are dealt, and there are statistical odds that you can determine on the basis of the dealing of every hand of cards that you play.” That’s true, and I like to play cards, and I’ve studied mathematical possibilities in bridge and gin rummy and all the rest. And when I play, I play according to the odds, and it really helps me to know what the mathematical possibilities are in so-called games of chance. But it’s a game of chance because I don’t know how those cards were sorted. But the reason why I am dealt the hand that I am dealt in a game of bridge or in a game of gin rummy is because how they were arranged when they were shuffled the first time, how they were arranged when they were shuffled the second time, how they were dealt, you know, and in what sequence they were dealt, and so on. Chance was not some invisible demon that jumps into the middle of the card dealer and causes certain cards to be set in a certain sequence. Because there is no such invisible power called “chance,” because again, chance has no being. And since it has no being, it has no power.

A False Sense of Assurance

“Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.” (Westminster Confession of Faith 18:1)

This section teaches that unregenerate people may possess a false sense of assurance but that genuine believers may attain a true sense of assurance. Assurance must be considered for the four kinds of people in the world.

The first group of people are not saved and are aware that they are not. They are unregenerate and they know it. They have no interest in becoming Christians.

The people in the second group are in a state of grace, but they are not sure that they are saved. The confession, as we will see, says that assurance of salvation is possible and indeed should be sought. Nevertheless, not everyone who is in the state of grace has yet arrived at the conclusion that he is in that state. Such people may think or hope they are saved but may not have full assurance that they are. Their degree of assurance vacillates from firm to shaky. During our study of the perseverance of the saints, we indicated that they can fall seriously and radically, but not fully and finally. When people are in the midst of a serious fall, they can have grave questions about the state of their soul.

The third group of people is easy to explain. They are in a state of grace and are assured of their salvation.

What complicates the whole question of assurance is the fourth group: those who are not saved but think that they are. There are two groups who possess assurance of salvation, but only one of those groups actually has salvation. So if someone has assurance of salvation, how can he be sure that his assurance is genuine, and not the false assurance of the hypocrite and the unbeliever? And how can people who are not saved nonetheless have full assurance that they are?

The main way that people acquire a false sense of assurance of their salvation is by having a false understanding of the way of salvation. Many people hold to justification by death, which is the creed of the universalist. The reasoning goes like this: “All people are saved by a loving and merciful God. Since I am a person, it follows that I am saved and cannot lose my salvation.” Our purpose here is not to debate the claims of universalism, which cannot be substantiated from the Bible, but to show how people can come to a false sense of assurance by being universalists.

Probably the most prevalent doctrine of justification in modern culture is the doctrine of justification by works. Most Americans, including those who call themselves evangelicals, believe that people will get into heaven if they live a good life. They think: “I am pretty good.I do the best that I can, and haven’t done anything terribly wrong. God will be satisfied.” Christians may think: “I look forward to the day when I will be welcomed into heaven. After all, I’ve gone to church for forty years, I have been a Sunday school teacher, I’ve given money to the church and other good causes, and I’ve never murdered anyone or committed adultery.” The confidence of such people is based upon their own goodness, which is not the biblical understanding of salvation.

This false concept of salvation is pervasive in our culture, and it is as pernicious as it is pervasive, because it completely obscures and denies the true gospel. What is so damaging about it is that it gives people a false sense of security. Jesus warns us about that in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7). Near the end of the sermon, He says of the day of judgment, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’” (Matt.7:22). They do not say “Lord” twice for emphasis but for intimacy. About fifteen times in the Bible, the personal form of address is used twice to express a deep level of personal intimacy. That is why this warning of Jesus is so terrifying. Jesus is saying that people are going to come to Him on the last day not only confessing Him as Lord but also claiming an intimate, personal relationship with Him. He is talking about people who will approach the judgment with a strong sense of assurance of their state of grace and of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They will claim to have cast out demons in His name, to have preached, to have worked, to have been engaged in the missionary activity of the church, and to have been involved in evangelism. But Jesus says, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (v.23).

Our destiny is not determined by whether we know Jesus but by whether He knows us. Obviously, He knows everyone’s name, but when He says, “I never knew you,” He means, “I never knew you in a personal, intimate, saving way; you are pretending.” It is frightening, but possible, that we may have false assurance. That is why we must examine ourselves carefully to make sure that our profession of faith is in fact genuine.

The first and basic reason why people arrive at a false sense of assurance is that they have a false understanding of salvation. They think that they are saved by their good works. Other people believe that they are saved automatically through the sacraments of the church. In this view, the classic Roman Catholic view, the gifts of God are communicated ex opere operato, “by the working of the works,” through the sacramental ministry of the church. There are literally millions of people whose confidence rests on the ministrations of the church. This mentality is not restricted to Roman Catholics but is shared by many Protestants who think that if they are church members, that is all it takes to be saved.

When there is a false sense of assurance, the doctrine of salvation is probably wrong. There are people who say: “Doctrine doesn’t matter. All you need to know is Jesus.” The question then is, “Who is Jesus?” If we answer that question, we are engaged in doctrine. Our theology has to do with the content of the Christian faith, with the teaching of the Bible, with the most important issues of human existence, namely, how we can relate to the living God. That is a doctrinal question. If our doctrine is wrong, it can lead to a wrong sense of assurance. On the other hand, even if our doctrine is right, that is not enough to give us real assurance of salvation. We are not justified by holding to the doctrine of justification. The devil can earn a perfect score on a systematic theology exam. The devil knows the truth, but he hates it, and his heart remains estranged from it. Just having the doctrine of justification correct in one’s mind is not a guarantee of salvation. One can have an incorrect understanding of the doctrine of justification and still be justified. It is possible to have the wrong doctrine, but the right content in the mind and heart, and not be able to articulate it.

Suppose the right doctrine is the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which means justification by Christ alone, and someone says he understands that the only way he can be saved is by putting his faith in Jesus and resting on His righteousness alone. He says further that he is indeed resting on Christ, that he has faith, and that therefore he is sure that he is in a state of salvation. Can a person delude himself about the state of his faith? Yes. Can we think we have saving faith and not have it? Can we have it and not be sure we have it? Yes, we can really have it and not be sure that we have it. We can really not have it and be sure we do have it. That is why we have to study the Scriptures diligently and prayerfully, so that we can learn to distinguish between true assurance and false assurance.

This excerpt is adapted from Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul. In Truths We Confess, now thoroughly revised and available in a single, accessible volume, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. Order the hardcover book today.

Covenant Theology Applied

Here’s an excerpt from Covenant Theology Applied, Donny Friederichsen's contribution to the October issue of Tabletalk:

In high school, I saw a print ad for a tire company that vividly stuck in my memory. It was the picture of a sprinter. He was coiled up at the starting blocks. His muscles were tensed and ready to explode into an all-out sprint. But on his feet were bright red high-heeled shoes. The ad’s header explained this jarring juxtaposition: “Power means nothing if it cannot be applied.” It doesn’t matter how powerful the sprinter is if that power cannot be effectively applied to the track. It is the same for our theology. It does not matter how powerful your covenant theology is if you cannot practically apply that theology to the real lives of the family, the church, and the individual. What does covenant theology do? What does our covenant theology look like when it is applied to our lives?

Continue reading Covenant Theology Applied, 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.

How Many Days Was Jesus in the Grave—Two or Three?

After His crucifixion, was Jesus in the grave for three full days? From one of our Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul examines what it means that Jesus was raised “on the third day.”

Just ask Ligonier to get clear and trustworthy answers to your biblical and theological questions.

Read the Transcript

Why Was the Reformation Necessary?

The church is always in need of reform. Even in the New Testament, we see Jesus rebuking Peter, and we see Paul correcting the Corinthians. Since Christians are always sinners, the church will always need reform. The question for us, however, is when does the need become an absolute necessity?

The great Reformers of the sixteenth century concluded that reform was urgent and necessary in their day. In pursuing reform for the church, they rejected two extremes. On the one hand, they rejected those who insisted that the church was essentially sound and needed no fundamental changes. On the other hand, they rejected those who believed that they could create a perfect church in every detail. The church needed fundamental reform, but it would also always need to be reforming itself. The Reformers reached these conclusions from their study of the Bible.

In 1543, the Reformer of Strasbourg, Martin Bucer, asked John Calvin to write a defense of the Reformation for presentation to Emperor Charles V at the imperial diet set to meet at Speyer in 1544. Bucer knew that the Roman Catholic emperor was surrounded by counselors who were maligning reform efforts in the church, and he believed that Calvin was the most capable minister to defend the Protestant cause.

Calvin rose to the challenge and wrote one of his best works, “The Necessity of Reforming the Church.” This substantial treatise did not convince the emperor, but it has come to be regarded by many as the best presentation of the Reformed cause ever written.

Calvin begins by observing that everyone agreed that the church had “diseases both numerous and grievous.” Calvin argues that matters were so serious that Christians could not abide a “longer delay” for reform or wait for “slow remedies.” He rejects the contention that the Reformers were guilty of “rash and impious innovation.” Rather, he insists that “God raised up Luther and others” to preserve “the truth of our religion.” Calvin saw that the foundations of Christianity were threatened and that only biblical truth would renew the church.

Calvin looks at four great areas in the life of the church that needed reform. These areas form what he calls the soul and the body of the church. The soul of the church is composed of the “pure and legitimate worship of God” and “the salvation of men.” The body of the church is composed of the “use of the sacraments” and “the government of the church.” For Calvin, these matters were at the heart of the Reformation debates. They are essential to the life of the church and can only be rightly understood in light of the teaching of the Scriptures.

We might be surprised that Calvin placed the worship of God as the first of the Reformation issues, but this was a consistent theme of his. Earlier, he had written to Cardinal Sadoleto: “There is nothing more perilous to our salvation than a preposterous and perverse worship of God.” Worship is where we meet with God, and that meeting must be conducted by God’s standards. Our worship shows whether we truly accept God’s Word as our authority and submit to it. Self-created worship is both a form of works-righteousness and an expression of idolatry.

Next, Calvin turned to what we often think of as the greatest issue of the Reformation, namely, the doctrine of justification:

We maintain, that of what description so ever any man’s works may be, he is regarded as righteous before God, simply on the footing of gratuitous mercy; because God, without any respect to works, freely adopts him in Christ, by imputing the righteousness of Christ to him, as if it were his own. This we call the righteousness of faith, viz., when a man, made void and empty of all confidence of works, feels convinced that the only ground of his acceptance with God is a righteousness which is wanting to himself, and is borrowed from Christ. The point on which the world always goes astray, (for this error has prevailed in almost every age,) is in imagining that man, however partially defective he may be, still in some degree merits the favor of God by works.

These foundational matters that form the soul of the church are supported by the body of the church: the sacraments and the government of the church. The sacraments must be restored to the pure and simple meaning and use given in the Bible. The government of the church must reject all tyranny that binds the consciences of Christians contrary to the Word of God.

As we look at the church in our day, we may well conclude that reformation is needed—indeed, is necessary—in many of the areas about which Calvin was so concerned. Only the Word and Spirit of God will ultimately reform the church. But we should pray and work faithfully that such reform will come in our time.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.