R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 567

What Is the Trinity? (Free Downloads)

"It has been said that there have been four centuries when the church’s understanding of the person of Christ has been most under attack. Those centuries were the fourth and fifth, as well as the nineteenth and twentieth. If this is true, we are living in the immediate aftermath of two hundred years of devastating attacks against the church’s orthodox understanding of the person of Christ. 

The concept of the Trinity has emerged as a touchstone of truth, a non-negotiable article of Christian orthodoxy. However, it has been a source of controversy throughout church history, and there remains much confusion about it to this day, with many people misunderstanding it in very serious ways. That’s why it’s so important in our day that we revisit this whole concept of the Trinity."

—R.C. Sproul

A proper understanding of this doctrine is essential for the well-being of the church. In order to help further your understanding of the Trinity, we are offering one of R.C. Sproul's newest Crucial Questions booklets, What Is the Trinity?, as a free epub and PDF download now through the end of October. This booklet will also be 50% off for the next month making it a great way to share this important doctrine with your church, family and friends. 

You may also freely download Dr. Sproul's series The Mystery of the Trinity through October 31. 

What Is the Trinity?

eBook Download: WhatIstheTrinity.epub
PDF Download: WhatIstheTrinity.pdf
Buy the Booklet for $2.50

The Mystery of the Trinity (Right-Click to Save)

Monotheism: Audio | Video
The Biblical Witness: Audio | Video
Early Controversies: Audio | Video
Fifth-Century Heresies: Audio | Video
Contradiction vs. Mystery: Audio | Video
One in Essence, Three in Person: Audio | Video

Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, October 2011

The October edition of Tabletalk is out. Death and disease affect everyone, even Christians. This issue explores the nature of death and disease from a biblical perspective, providing hope to those who trust in Jesus and encouraging believers to view these heinous effects of sin in light of God's revelation and promises. Contributors include R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Nicholas Batzig, Harry Reeder, Kevin DeYoung, Donald Whitney, Joni Eareckson Tada, and R.C. Sproul Jr.

We do not post all of the feature articles or the daily devotionals from the issue, so you'll have to subscribe to get those. But for now, here are links to a few select columns and articles from this month:

"Death, Disease & the Gospel" by Burk Parsons
"Death Does Not Have the Last Word" by R.C. Sproul
"The Pastor and the Funeral" by Harry Reeder
"This Isn't Going To Be As Easy As It Looks" by Keith Mathison
"Nothing Like the Church" by Robert Rayburn
"A Purpose in the Pain: An Interview with Joni Eareckson Tada"
"That the Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled" by John Piper
"A Future So Bright" by R.C. Sproul Jr.

*****

If you have not subscribed yet, you should. It's only $23 for 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). Special discounts for churches or businesses are available for those who want multiple copies of each issue. Start receiving Tabletalk by calling one of Ligonier Ministries' resource consultants at 800-435-4343 (8am-8pm ET, Mon-Fri) or subscribe online.

$5 Friday: Worldviews, Lord's Prayer & Gospel

Find $5 Friday resources today on worldviews, the Lord's Prayer, names of God, preaching & gospel, and resolutions. Sale starts Friday at 8 a.m. and ends Saturday at 8 a.m. EST.

View today's $5 Friday sale.

Japan: Six Months After 3/11

My family and I recently traveled to Japan to visit relatives. My wife’s mother and step-father live in Osaka, the second largest metropolitan area after Tokyo.  On the trip I had a chance to get a pulse of the country post 3/11. The treble disasters of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown that hit the northeastern part of the country earlier this year on March 11, 2011, continue to bring pain and discomfort to many in the region.

I spoke with a few people who volunteered in the aftermath of the disaster. Mr. Akihiro Shouno, a Christian living in Osaka, has made eight trips to the region since April and gave me a sense of the conditions on the ground – both physical and spiritual. Many people are still without a permanent dwelling place. Thousands of people are displaced from the area in which they have lived their entire lives. Another woman I spoke with says that some people don’t even have simple necessities like pots and pans.

Mr. Shouno says that although at first many were receptive to the gospel, after things settled down the people seem to have reverted back to trusting in idols. The Fukushima and Miyagi areas are filled with idols and in a country where less than one percent of the population is Christian, the areas most affected by the quake are some of the most pagan.

Japan has been called the “graveyard of missionaries” due to the low conversion rate to Christianity and high burnout rate of Christian missionaries. The older generations of Japanese tend to be Buddhists or Shinto, while most of the rest of society prefers to have no religion at all. People in Japan work very hard and men in particular have little free time for things like Bible studies and worship services. Further complicating things is the fact that in Japan “the nail that sticks up will be hammered down.” In their shame-based culture, Japanese experience enormous pressure to conform. Consequently, many who do have an interest in Christianity are afraid to get baptized or make a full commitment. It is not uncommon for those who do become Christians to suffer persecution from family members. Some Japanese parents are ashamed when their children are converted to a “western religion” (as Christianity is often described.)  

The church in Japan is also undergoing hardship. Many churches have been influenced by destructive teachings like the word faith movement and the prosperity gospel. The Reformed church is practically non-existent in Osaka, the fourth largest economy in the world (by city).

So what will change the hearts of the Japanese, if not experiencing epic scale disasters? The same power that changes the hearts of people everywhere else – the gospel working itself out through the self-sacrificing love of the church. Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

We should never think that any country or heart is too difficult for the gospel to penetrate. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the power of the gospel to all who believe ­­­– including the Japanese. We should continue to pray for the unreached peoples of the world and strive for the gospel in lands near and far, despite the odds. May Japan one day be known as the land of the risen Son.

Chip Crissey is Production Coordinator for the Creative department at Ligonier Ministries. He previously taught English in Japan for seven years, where he met and married his wife, Chie.

The Days of the Dead

In this article from the September issue of Tabletalk, R.C. Sproul Jr. reflects on a September from 10 years ago.

September 11, 2001, was, in many respects, a rather ordinary day. I began the day working at my desk, writing. But my plans quickly changed. Many of us spent hours staring not at our computer screens but at our television screens. We were stunned, staggered, overcome with disbelief.

But others still managed to put in a full day’s work. American business continued on. American culture, though shocked, continued on. We were dismayed, terrorized, but we kept on. Because the business of America is business, we kept going.

Keep Reading "The Days of the Dead."

Get Dr. Sproul's Series on Suffering for a Donation of Any Amount

In Surprised by Suffering, Dr. R.C. Sproul addresses the most difficult struggle in human experience: the problem of pain. He demonstrates that God is involved in our suffering and does not leave or forsake us. Even in times of great suffering we can have a peace that passes all understanding. Dr. Sproul reminds us that the time is coming when the full blessings of Christ’s kingdom will be ours — and our suffering will be finished forever.

This week you can get this CD series for a donation of any amount. Messages include:

Suffering: A Case Study
Suffering: A Divine Vocation
Dying in Faith
Life After Death?
The Resurrection of Christ
What Is Heaven Like?

Offer valid through September 29th. Donate Now .

Great Quotes from Lifeviews

I recently had the opportunity to read through almost all of the books of R.C. Sproul. Along the way I built a collection of some of the best quotes from each one of them. Here are several of the best from Lifeviews.

Some missionaries go to Africa—others travel to the Orient or to Europe. Every missionary goes somewhere. We all have a mission field, if only our own neighborhood or office building. Every corner of the world is a mission field. There are no boundaries in this world beyond which Christian witness is out of bounds.

I’ve often wondered where Jesus would apply His hastily made whip if He were to visit our culture. My guess is that it would not be money-changing tables in the temple that would feel His wrath, but the display racks in Christian bookstores.

Our lives say much more about how we think than our books do. The theories we preach are not always the ones we actually believe. The theories we live are the ones we really believe.

It is important to remember that labor does not come to us as a result of the Fall. It originates from our God who is a working God. God creates through divine industry, and He calls us to mirror and reflect that operation.

As Christians, we are to be concerned about three qualities: the good, the true, and the beautiful. These three are virtues that touch the very heart of Christianity. It is a triad of values, each of which points beyond itself to the character of God. We are concerned about goodness because God is Good. We care about truth because God is Truth. We care about beauty because God is Beautiful.

What makes art Christian art? Is it simply Christian artists painting biblical subjects like Jeremiah? Or, by attaching a halo, does that suddenly make something Christian art? Must the artist’s subject be religious to be Christian? I don’t think so. There is a certain sense in which art is its own justification. If art is good art, if it is true art, if it is beautiful art, then it is bearing witness to the Author of the good, the true, and the beautiful.

Twitter Highlights (9/25/11)

Here are some highlights from the various Ligonier Twitter feeds over the past week.

Tabletalk Magazine “God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.” ― C.S. Lewis



Ligonier It's because God is good that there is such a place as hell where He punishes evil. -R.C. Sproul



Reformation Trust Jesus submitted Himself to His Father’s will & endured the curse, that we, His people, might experience the ultimate blessedness. -RC Sproul



Tabletalk Magazine "Atheism is so senseless & odious to mankind that it never had many professors." - Isaac Newton



Reformation Trust Jesus did not die to make salvation possible for all; He died to make the salvation of His sheep certain. -Joel Beeke http://bit.ly/eeqP7C



Ligonier It is Jesus' own righteousness..it is His performance, not my performance...that is the grounds of my justification. - R.C. Sproul



Reformation Trust If you truly have it, you never lose it; and if you lose it, you never truly had it. -R.C. Sproul http://bit.ly/kB50XT

You can also find our various ministries on Facebook:
Ligonier Ministries | Ligonier Academy | Reformation Bible College
Reformation Trust | Tabletalk Magazine

There's Someone Wrong on the Internet

There have always been men who thought Jesus was coming back on a particular day. There have always been men who believed it quite okay to divorce a wife suffering from Alzheimer’s. There have always been pastors who believe that abortion is an option for moms of conjoined twins. There have always been men who believe hell is virtually empty. There have always been men who believe that women should only teach other women about how to love their husbands to be keepers at home. The difference now is that these wrong ideas at least have the potential to reach a world-wide audience. The difference is that the world can then mull over, chew on, and write about the bad ideas others have brought to the watching world.

Like everyone else when Pat Robertson’s abysmal and unbiblical counsel to a husband whose wife suffered from Alzheimer’s hit the news I felt the temptation to jump in. There was blood in the water, and I was just fool enough to confuse my shark instincts with a passion to defend the holiness of marriage. I managed to just take a nibble, confining my comments to a single tweet. I managed to steer clear of Chuck Smith’s abysmal and unbiblical counsel to the young mom carrying conjoined twins. Harold Camping faced my pen, though in a more meta way as I sought to make a subtle point about the difference between false prophecy and bad exegesis. Rob Bell likewise provoked my pen.

That guy who once wrote that women shouldn’t be teaching each other theology, well, that was me. Happily I did respond to that abysmal and unbiblical advice that I gave, confessing (eventually) that I had been wrong. My confession of my error, however, had about one tenth the reach of my mistake. “I was wrong” pieces just don’t have all the appeal of actually being train-wreck wrong.

I suspect that we respond to these blunders less because we are so passionate about defending the future return of Christ, the sanctity of marriage, the sacredness of life, the reality of hell, the liberty of ladies to encourage one another with the whole of the Bible, and more because it is an occasion to make ourselves look better. “Look at what that idiot said. I’m so much smarter, bolder, more faithful, more humble than him.” When the world wide web was first invented it wasn’t called the web, nor the internet, Rather the demons in research and development below labeled it “The Narcissism Machine.” If we are going to succeed in redeeming it, in plundering the Egyptians, we need to understand its nature. It wasn’t invented to propagate the errors of Robertson, Smith, Camping, Bell and Sproul Jr. It was invented to tickle and titillate the egos of everyone logging on. Pornography exists to tell us how desirable we are, beautiful women just throwing themselves at us. Facebook  and Twitter exist to tell us how much we are “liked.” And blogs, complete with sundry analytics, tell us how smart and influential we are.

Blistering posts about the other guy will not win this war. Sound theology and its defense will not win this war. It will take stronger stuff… like humility.

Parents, Are You Hindering Your Children?

Like all Christian parents, I sincerely desire to see my children trust in Jesus Christ and live in the hope of the gospel. My wife and I regularly pray for our children's salvation, and consciously try to have regular conversations with each of them about the good news of the gospel and the need for the good news. But, are there ways in which I'm hindering my children from coming to Christ?

In Joel Beeke's latest book, Parenting by God's Promises, now available for pre-order, he suggests 6 ways parents can hinder their children from coming to Christ and calls parents to vigilantly guard against each.

It is possible for us as Christian parents to hinder our children from coming to Christ, just as the disciples tried to keep children away from Him (Mark 10:13-16). We must guard against this possibility with great vigilance. We hinder our children when:

We ourselves do not go to Jesus. If we do not go to Jesus, how can we expect our children to do so?
We fail to foster Christ-centered conversation in the home. It is not enough just to talk about church affairs or to critique sermons. We must talk about Christ, His majestic glory, His love for sinners, His power to save, and His willingness to receive all who come to Him.
We fail to live in integrity. This happens when our children hear what we say, but they do not see love for God and our neighbors shining through our actions.
We fail to love Christ and His church.
We fail to trust God and hold fast to His promises.
We show little interest in spiritual things, so that our Bibles lie untouched from Sunday to Sunday, and our religion is a matter of empty forms and rites, devoid of the power of true godliness.

If we find ourselves hindering our children in these or other ways, we should pray that God will enable us to be helpers rather than hindrances to them, actively bringing them to the Lord.

Excerpt from Joel Beeke's Parenting by God's Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace.