R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 611

Twitter Highlights (1/2/11)

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

Tabletalk Magazine January article from @JohnPiper now posted: "The Precious Gift of Baby Talk" http://bit.ly/gxARVR



Reformation Trust We want Jesus to save us, but we want to be like this athlete, that theologian, this rock star, or that political figure. -RC Sproul Jr.



Ligonier Piper on missions: Go, send, or disobey. /via @desiringGod




Ligonier Academy @Christianitycom interviews our Dean of Admissions/OT Prof Michael Morales about the Academy -check it out here: http://bit.ly/eG9pnU



Ligonier The more we understand how righteous God is the less we can deceive ourselves about our ourselves. -R.C. Sproul



Ligonier When the gospel is at stake, everything is at stake. -R.C. Sproul

 

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

Living in God's Kingdom

The people of God are always pilgrims. We are always living in exile if we are living in the kingdom of God. We may respectfully serve the magistrates of this world. We may obey their proper commands. Nehemiah honored the king and prayed for him. He was diligent to give civil obedience where possible without compromising the commands of God. He sought, as the apostle Paul did, to live at peace with all men.

There are always pagans like Sanballat the Horonite or Demetrius of Ephesus who seek the destruction of the work of God. Neither Paul nor Nehemiah responded to such pagans with hatred, but neither did they enter into unholy alliances with them.

Neither did Nehemiah lead a monastic retreat into the wilderness. Jerusalem was not a monastery, but a city set on a hill. The task of rebuilding the Holy City was not one of world withdrawal. Nehemiah understood that the home base of our mission is still the church.

The staging zone for the divine operation must be sound if the mission to the world is to be effective.

Coram Deo: What is your specific, God-given role in reaching the world with the gospel of the kingdom?

Nehemiah 4:6: "So we built the wall, and the entire wall was jointed together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work."

Nehemiah 6:15–16: "So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God."

Weary in Doing Good

I'm tired, and my dear wife is happy about it. Two weeks of speaking and travelling among the saints in Colombia, South America has left me run down, fighting a cold, and muddle headed. My wife, God bless her, is no sadist. Her joy over my weariness is perfectly understandable. She likes "Tired Me" because "Tired Me" is much more soft, attentive, emotional and tender than "Energized Me." I suspect that there are other husbands like me, and other wives like my own.

Having been through this pattern before I was tempted to think nothing of it. It's a nice bonus that my wife is blessed by this current state of mine. And I had always been content to discount the phenomenon as not touching on the real me, tough guy that I am. But for some reason, perhaps because I watched Inception on my flight back from Colombia, I am not left wondering this- what if "Tired Me" is the real me? What if my weariness doesn't obscure, but instead reveals who I actually am? What if I expend energy, when I have it to spare, suppressing my feelings? What if Andrew Peterson's song The Queen of Iowa drives me to tears because it should, and that something is wrong with me when it doesn't? What if my Shannon's smile, my Donovan's hugs, Darby and Delaney's singing voices, Erin Claire's thoughtfulness, Maili's stories, Reilly's  prayer requests, and Campbell's overflowing love for his siblings are supposed to keep me perpetually choked up? What if "Tired Me" is better at sympathizing with Yolie and Sue and Eileen and Tim and Joni in all the challenges they are facing?

Indeed, what if God in His good providence, sees to it that I am more tired, so that I might be more like His Son? Maybe that's why I should be getting up earlier to pray. Maybe that's why I should be working harder, not so that I might get more done, but that more might be done in me.

Our prayers expose the folly of our strategies. We ask for strength, because we think it will do the kingdom good. But the kingdom grows in our weakness. We ask for health, thinking it will make us more effective, when it might just make us more affected- pretending to be strong and bold. We ask for ease, which only makes us more at ease in Babylon. What we ought to be asking is to be more like Jesus. He had no place to lay His head. He was acquainted with sorrows. He carried the burden of our sins, and drank the Father's cup. And through it all He is what we are supposed to want to be.  Lord, make me tired. Make me weak. Make me tender and make me soft. Make me reach out to hold my wife, to squeeze my children. Make me more like your Son, for the sake of His kingdom, for the sake of His saints, and for the sake of my soul.

2 Days Left for Your Year-End Gift to Ligonier

We wanted to give you a final opportunity to help Ligonier Ministries close out 2010 on firm financial footing. You still have today to ensure that your gift to this ministry counts toward our year-end goal of balancing our ministry budget.

Please, for the sake of our continued outreach and the blessing you receive from the teaching of God's Word through Ligonier, don't put off making your secure online gift. Again, there is still time till 11 p.m. EST on December 31 to participate on our website and receive a 2010 tax deduction.

We greatly appreciate your support of the ministry. May God bless you in the year ahead.

Donate Now

John Petersen is the director of development for Ligonier Ministries.

RYM's Top Broadcasts in 2010

Since 1994, Renewing Your Mind with Dr. R.C. Sproul has provided accessible, in-depth Bible teaching to millions around the world. As the principal outreach of Ligonier Ministries, this radio broadcast and podcast has instructed listeners in the life-changing truths of historic Christianity and has kept the church community informed about pertinent issues facing believers today. The broadcast is available every day right here at Ligonier.org or through our podcast. And here is a list of the broadcasts that drew the most online listeners in 2010.

10. For Those Whom the Father Has Given
If God's purpose of the cross was to save the world, then why isn't everybody saved? The answer is found in Jesus' prayer for His people.

9. Opposing Foundations
What are the real teachings of Islam? How well are you prepared to explain and defend the gospel to your Muslim neighbors?

8. Everyone Believes This Doctrine
Many Christians say that they do not believe in predestination. But, as Dr. Sproul demonstrates, everyone believes this doctrine.

7. Christ the Only Way
Of all the different religions in the world, how can you say that Jesus is the only way to God? Are you prepared with an answer?

6. Questions and Answers
How many light years away is heaven from earth? Is it just beyond the edge of the universe? Will we get bored for lack of things to do?

5. What Is Truth?
Truth seems to be a rare commodity these days in the market place of ideas. What is truth? Can we know the truth about truth?

4. What Is Free Will?
How can you truly have free will if God predestines you to salvation? Dr. Sproul exposes the fundamental flaws in the popular notion of free will.

3. Ask R.C.
How can a person be a Christian and continue to sin? Can we ever have any assurance of salvation as long as we sin? Can a person be saved and have no assurance at all? Can you know that you are one of the elect? R.C. Sproul answers these questions and more from listeners.

2. Baptism: The Case for Infant Baptism
Does New Testament baptism replace Old Testament circumcision? Dr. Sproul gives the case for infant baptism.

1. Baptism: The Case for Believer's Baptism
Does the Bible command or prohibit infant baptism? Dr. John MacArthur gives the traditional case for believer's only baptism.

 

The Covenant Way

"Even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation" (Ps. 71:18).

One of the things I feel an urgency to proclaim to our covenant sons and daughters is that "God created man in his own image … male and female he created them… . And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion'" (Gen. 1:27–28).

Male and female — created equally in God's image but assigned different, equally valuable functions in His kingdom. This glorious difference points to our glorious triune God.

Read more in "The Covenant Way" by Susan Hunt

This Year's Top Articles

The Ligonier Ministries website offers thousands of resources and hosts millions of visitors every year. As we come to the end of 2010, we thought you might like to know which of our articles and blog posts received the most attention. So here are the ten most popular blogs and articles from 2010:

10. R.C. Sproul & John MacArthur Debate Baptism by Karisa Schlehr

9. What Is the Gospel? by R.C. Sproul

8. Top 5 Commentaries on the Book of Romans by Keith Mathison

7. Reformed Theology? There's an App for That by Karisa Schlehr

6. The Manhattan Declaration: Why didn't you sign it, R.C.? by R.C. Sproul

5. What Does "coram Deo" Mean? by R.C. Sproul

4. Should Christians Be on Facebook? by R.C. Sproul Jr.

3. Top Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible by Keith Mathison

2. The Glory of Plodding by Kevin DeYoung

1. Why is X Used when it Replaces Christ in Christmas? by R.C. Sproul