R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 578

$5 Friday: Worship, Islam & Worldliness

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R.C. Sproul on Angels

Angels are part and parcel of the biblical message from early in creation, from the book of Genesis all the way to the book of Revelation. We don’t simply see a flurry of angelic activity concentrated in the pages of the New Testament during the life of Jesus; we encounter them throughout the whole scope of redemptive history.

We have learned through modern science that there are realities out there beyond the scope of our ability to perceive them. Why is it that we believe that germs that we can't see are out there, but we have a bias that says there cannot be supernatural, heavenly beings—spirit beings—like angels, even though the Scripture texts are full of them?

The angels attend our Lord in the manifestation of His glory. But when the glory of God is eclipsed in a culture and in the church, as it is in our day, angels are dismissed as insignificant. When the glory of God is honored and the exaltation of Christ is upheld, we see attending those moments the heavenly host, who serve as an escort for the King.

—R.C. Sproul, excerpts from Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons

Related Resources

Angels by R.C. Sproul (Teaching Series)
"Angels: Messengers and Ministers of God" by Phil Johnson
"Angels as Messengers" (Devotional)
"Angels and Demons Go Pop Culture" by Gene Veith
"Earthly Enforcers" (Devotional)
"The Heavenly Choir" by R.C. Sproul (Message)
"The Heavenly Host" (Devotional)
"No Little Angels" by Burk Parsons (Article)
"Servants of the Saints" (Devotional)

A Sacrificial Ethic

Paul the apostle wrote to the Romans, encouraging them to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (12:1). The notion of sacrifice may seem foreign to our contemporary ears today, but it certainly would not have been so during the first century when the apostle penned these words. In fact, the image of sacrifice was implicit in just about everyone’s understanding of worship in antiquity. It makes perfect sense, therefore, for Paul to exhort his readers to spiritual worship using the imagery of sacrifice.

I’ll take this a step further and suggest that offering sacrifice was the very purpose for which man was created in the first place. As many Old Testament scholars — both Jewish and Christian — have suggested, the creation narrative in the book of Genesis describes the formation of the heavens and earth in terms of the creation of a cosmic temple with Eden as its inner sanctuary. If such is the case, then questions arise. What are temples for? What practice are they designed to facilitate? The answer is obvious. Temples exist in order for sacrifice to be offered within them. This gives rise to a further question. What kind of person is ordained to offer sacrifice? Again, it is obvious: sacrifice can only be offered by a priest. Thus in his original role in creation, Adam was given not only the kingly role of exercising dominion over creation but also the priestly role of offering himself back to his Creator in sacrificial, self-giving love. His fall into sin, however, represented his failure to fulfill the destiny for which he was originally created. Thus, Adam the primeval priest became desecrated and defiled, unfit to offer sacrifice.

Keep Reading "A Sacrificial Ethic."

R.C. Sproul on Hell

I suppose there is no topic in Christian theology more difficult to deal with, particularly on an emotional level, than the doctrine of hell. In fact, the doctrine has become so controversial in the modern era that it is almost never addressed.

We seem to be allergic to any serious discussion of the doctrine of hell. In fact, there has probably never been a time in the history of the church when more people have challenged this doctrine than in our own day. Liberal theologians, of course, completely dismiss it as part of the mythological worldview of primitive people, a concept unworthy of the love of God and of Jesus. Others, even within the professing evangelical camp, have created quite a stir by suggesting the doctrine of annihilationism, which says that the ultimate judgment of the sinner is not ongoing, eternal punishment in a place called hell, but simply the annihilation of the person’s existence, and that the great punishment, the great loss, that accompanies annihilation is the loss of the happiness promised to those who will live eternally in heaven. So we have moved away from looking very seriously at the concept of hell.

Whenever I enter into discussions about the doctrine of hell, people ask, “R.C., do you believe that the New Testament portrait of hell is to be interpreted literally?” I usually respond by saying, “No, I don’t interpret those images literally,” and people typically respond with a sigh of relief.

If we take the New Testament’s descriptions of hell as symbolic language, we have to remember the function of symbols. The assumption is that there’s always more to the reality than what is indicated by the symbol, which makes me think that, instead of taking comfort that these images of the New Testament may indeed be symbolic, we should be worrying that the reality toward which these symbols point is more ghastly than the symbols.

—R.C. Sproul, excerpt from Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons

Related Resources

"Can a Person Be Evangelical and Not Believe in Hell?" by R.C. Sproul Jr. (Article)
"The Final Exile" by Ken Jones (Article)
Hell by R.C. Sproul (Teaching Series)
"Hold the Fire and Brimstone, Please" by Burk Parsons (Article)
"The Horror of Hell" by Tom Ascol (Article)
"Take Hell Seriously (Part 1)" by R. Fowler White (Article)
"Take Hell Seriously (Part 2)" by R. Fowler White (Article)
"Weeping and Gnashing" (Devotional)

Great Quotes from Chosen by God

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 5 of the best from Chosen By God.

What predestination means, in its most elementary form, is that our final destination, heaven or hell, is decided by God not only before we get there, but before we are even born. It teaches that our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God.

If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.

The assumption many of us make when we struggle with the Fall is that, had we been there, we would have made a different choice. We would not have made a decision that would plunge the world into ruin. Such an assumption is just not possible given the character of God. God doesn’t make mistakes. His choice of my representative is greater than my choice of my own.

Most non-Reformed views of predestination fail to take seriously the fact that fallen man is spiritually dead. Other evangelical positions acknowledge that man is fallen and that his fallenness is a serious matter. They even grant that sin is a radical problem. They are quick to grant that man is not merely ill, but mortally ill, sick unto death. But he has not quite died yet. He still has one tiny breath of spiritual life left in his body. He still has a tiny island of righteousness left in his heart, a tiny and feeble moral ability that abides in his fallenness.

From all eternity, without any prior view of our human behavior, God has chosen some unto election and others unto reprobation. The ultimate destiny of the individual is decided by God before that individual is even born and without depending ultimately upon the human choice. To be sure, a human choice is made, a free human choice, but the choice is made because God first chooses to influence the elect to make the right choice. The basis for God’s choice does not rest in man but solely in the good pleasure of the divine will.

R.C. Sproul on Heaven

One cannot take Christianity seriously without seeing the central importance of the concept of heaven. There really is a “pie-in-the-sky” idea that is integral to the Bible, and especially to the New Testament, and I’m afraid we’ve lost our appetite for the delights God has stored up for His people in the future.

Everyone, Christian or not, longs for reunion with those loved ones who have gone on before them, but the Christian longs to be with Christ. I cannot wait to see my father, my mother, and my friends who have died when I get to heaven, but the ultimate hope of my soul is to see the resurrected Christ in His Father’s house, and He also has promised that that will happen.

—R.C. Sproul, excerpts from Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons

Related Resources

"Anticipating Heaven" (Devotional)
Can We Enjoy Heaven Knowing of Loved Ones in Hell? by R.C. Sproul (Conference Message)
"Dreams of Paradise" by Robert Field (Article)
From Suffering to Glory by R.C. Sproul (Sermon)
Heaven by R.C. Sproul (Teaching Series)
"A Heavenly Country" (Devotional)
"The Heavenly Host" (Devotional)
"I Believe in the Life Everlasting" by R.C. Sproul (Article)
"Life After Death" (Devotional)
"The New Creation" by Ken Gentry (Article)
"The New Day" by David King" (Article)
"No More Tears" (Devotional)
A Place for You by R.C. Sproul (Sermon)
The Reversal of the Curse" by Vern Poythress (Article)
"Rising from the Dust" (Devotional)
"Sitting on a Suitcase" (Devotional)
"Thinking of Home" (Devotional)

A Culture of Sacrifice

"It was October 25, 2007, and the moon shone brightly over the rugged terrain of eastern Afghanistan. Elements of 1st Platoon, B Company (173rd Airborne Brigade), walked cautiously back to their outpost after completing their assigned mission. But unknown to them, an unseen enemy waited in ambush. In the three minutes of confusion and chaos that comprised this surprise attack, then Specialist Sal Giunta responded under the intense enemy fire with such courage that he was nominated for, and eventually received, America’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. When asked why he braved incessant machine-gun and small-arms fire during the ambush to charge the enemy alone in search of one of his fellow soldiers, his straightforward reply was, 'He would have done the same for me.'"

"This type of trust and commitment is often mentioned by those who exhibit extraordinary heroism in combat. They risk much with the knowledge that those around them are equally committed. In ways many cannot understand, the success or failure of the U.S. military’s mission rests upon this type of fraternity. It holds teams and platoons together in the face of the sheer terror, or sheer boredom, of war."

This is how David Temples, pastor at Westwood Presbyterian Church in Dothan, Alabama, begins his contribution to this month's issue of Tabletalk. As a former platoon commander with both infantry and reconnaissance units in the U. S. Marine Corps, he speaks with some authority. You will want to read what he has to say about A Culture of Sacrifice.

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The Realities of Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons

The concept of the invisible spiritual realm is something which is difficult for us to grasp. What we can see, hear, and feel we can take on face value that it is reality. But what about those things that are unseen? Scripture speaks about heaven, hell, angels and demons which are a part of this invisible spiritual realm. In his new book Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons, R.C. Sproul helps us gain an understanding of these things so that we can come to a realisation that in fact all four are true realities that impact upon our everyday lives.

“Most of us accept the biblical testimony that there is a God who rules in heaven and earth (though we don’t always accept everything Scripture says about Him). However, we are much less certain about other spiritual truths, such as heaven and hell, angels and demons, and their prince, Satan. …Our selectivity when it comes to what we believe troubles me, for heaven and hell, angels and demons are taught as realities in Scripture as much as is God Himself.

I believe that if we are to be consistent Christians, believing all of the Bible rather than portions of it, we must recognize that the supernatural places and beings described on its pages are real. There is an uncompromised supernaturalism at the heart of the Christian worldview, and we must not let the world’s scepticism with regard to these things affect our belief systems. We must trust and affirm that there is much more to reality than meets the eye.” —R.C. Sproul

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The Face of Evil

There are any number of dangers of a steady pop culture diet. To catch our attention Hollywood must increase the tension. The struggle must get more and more dramatic; the stakes must increase. We don’t merely hope the good guys catch the bank robber. Now they are chasing down a serial killer. It is no longer the cavalry taking on a rogue band of Indians. Now cowboys do battle with aliens intent on world conquest. In order for our heroes to be more heroic than the last hero he must face a nemesis more evil, more deadly, more grasping than the old nemesis.

Some fear that as we watch these increasingly global battles that we are increasingly desensitized to mayhem. A constant stream of explosions and stabbings and gun battles, some say, will make us blind to the horror of violence. They may be right.

My fear, however, is rather different.  I’m afraid all our celluloid enemies will cause us to miss the genuine evil in our midst. I’m afraid that the monsters that are all too real miss how monstrous they are, because they so little resemble the monsters on TV.  Universe colonizing aliens are not real. Serial killers are exceedingly rare. If we looked at the world through the lens of the Bible we would know how to spot real monsters--they are men who leave their wives and children. Real heroes put their pants on one leg at a time. Real villains take their pants off one leg at a time.

I’ve been to their crime scenes. I’ve seen the tear stained faces of their victims. I have listened to the heaving sobs of abandoned women. Those who are called to the role of hero here are not white-hatted cowboys. They are not grizzled detectives. They are not spandex wearing supers. They are the elders of the local church. And I have watched countless such men of Ephraim turn back in the day of battle. At best they ring their hands, wishing there were something they could do. At worst they baptize the evil in their midst with blasphemous talk of a “grace” that is not at the expense of Christ, but the expense of the wife and children.

Christ has given the church the power of the keys not because it is less potent than the sword, but because it is more potent. That virtually every “church” in America refuses to wield this great weapon isn’t mere theological folly. It isn’t merely another alarming trend toward worldliness to write learned articles about. It is silence in the face of evil, which is evil in itself. Boys were made to protect girls, and elders were made to protect families.

Rise up, O men of God. The day of battle is here. Selfish evil men, who know all the right answers to all the trendy theological debates of the day, are dropping bombs on their own homes. Women and children are being torn to pieces.  Man your stations. Play the man. No army, not even the Lord’s, can survive without discipline.