R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 68

J. Gresham Machen

Today, the word "fundamentalist" is often used to refer to someone who is uneducated, ignorant, or uncultured. But the great fundamentalist scholar J. Gresham Machen was none of these. In this brief clip, W. Robert Godfrey describes Machen’s influence in the 20th century.

Transcript:

Machen is important on several fronts. He illustrates something of the character and role of Presbyterianism in America. But more importantly, he was recognized as the single most effective scholarly voice on the fundamentalist side of the controversies that were emerging in America in the first half of the 20th century. Dr. Machen, in that regard, helps us to see that fundamentalists in the early part of the 20th century were not at all what fundamentalism came to mean later, when it was used in a derogatory way. "Fundamentalist" today is often used to refer to uneducated, stubborn, ignorant, uncultured sorts of people, and Dr. Machen was none of those things. He was not always entirely comfortable with the label “fundamentalist,” but not because he thought it was too negative or too critical a label, but because he felt it was important for Christians to have a fuller theology than that represented by the fundamentals alone. And so, Dr. Machen was a Westminster Confession of Faith man. He wanted the whole confession, not just part of it, and that was his only reservation about fundamentalists. In fact, he came to be known by some as the “Doctor Fundamentalis,” the fundamental doctor, because he was seen as such an important voice in America in the 20s and 30s in defense of conservative Protestantism.

Does God Elect His People to Salvation Based on Any Condition They Have Met?

Nothing in us can possibly merit God’s election. Our salvation belongs entirely to His good pleasure and the riches of His grace. From one of our Ask Ligonier events, Stephen Nichols suggests that the wonder of election should drive Christians to worshipful gratitude.

Do you have another biblical or theological question? Ask Ligonier is your place for answers.

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What Difference Does an Inerrant Bible Make?

Does it matter whether the Bible is errant or inerrant, fallible or infallible, inspired or uninspired? What's all the fuss about the doctrine of inerrancy? Why do Christians debate this issue? What difference does an inerrant Bible make?

Before answering that question, we should consider in what way inerrancy doesn't make a difference. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy states:

We affirm that a confession of the full authority, infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ. We deny that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences both to the individual and to the church (Article 19).

The statement strikes a delicate balance. It affirms that the doctrine of inerrancy is "vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith" and that to deny it has grave consequences for the individual and the church. However, this statement also makes clear that belief in inerrancy is not necessary for salvation. While inerrancy is crucial for understanding the Christian faith and "increasing conformity to the image of Christ," a person does not have to hold to it to be a Christian.

The Authority of Christ

But what difference does the inerrancy of Scripture make? Why does it matter? There are many ways in which it matters a great deal. However, ultimately, the inerrancy of Scripture is not a doctrine about a book. The issue is the person and work of Christ.

Allow me to illustrate. Years ago I was speaking in Philadelphia on the question of the authority of Scripture. After my lecture I came down to the front of the church, and I saw a man making his way toward me. Instantly, I recognized his face, even though it had been about twenty years since I'd seen him last. His name was Charlie. We were roommates in college and prayer partners. We made our way through the crowd and embraced one another.

We dismissed ourselves from the conference and went out for dinner. As we sat down, Charlie said to me, "Before we have a conversation, there is something I have to tell you." I said, "What's that?" He told me, "I don't believe any more what I used to believe about Scripture when we were in college together. Back then I believed in inerrancy, but I've been to seminary and have been exposed to higher criticism. I just don't believe that the Bible is inerrant anymore. I wanted to clear the air so that we can go on from there." I replied, "Fine, Charlie, but let me ask you this. What do you still believe from the old days?" And triumphantly Charlie said, "I still believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Lord." I was happy to hear that, but then I started to ask questions that clearly made Charlie uncomfortable.

I asked, "Charlie, how is Jesus Lord of your life?" He replied, "What do you mean?" I said, "Well, a Lord is someone who exercises authority over you, who gives you marching orders, who has the ability to compel you to obey, and who requires you to submit to obligation and duty. If Christ is your Lord, aren't you saying He has sovereign authority over you?" "Yeah," he said.

I probed a little deeper, "How does Christ exercise that sovereignty over you? How do you get your marching orders from Him? It's apparently not from the Bible." Charlie thought for a moment, "I get it from the church." I said, "Okay, which church? The Methodist Church, the Episcopalian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, or the Presbyterian Church?" He answered, "The Presbyterian Church." I then asked, "The Presbyterian Church in Wichita, the Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, or the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia—which church?" He answered, "The General Assembly." I replied, "Which General Assembly?" He finally admitted, "Well, I've got some problems that I haven't worked out yet." I said, "You certainly do have problems that you haven't worked out yet. You want to affirm the Lordship of Christ, but your Lord is impotent. He has no way of conveying any mandate to you whatsoever, because you stand above the recorded mandates of Christ in Scripture. You set yourself over them in critical judgment."

The Integrity of Christ

At this point, our conversation shifted from the question of authority to the question of salvation. I asked Charlie, "What would it take for Jesus to save you? If Jesus sinned, could He save Himself? Could He save you?" He acknowledged that if Jesus were a sinner, He couldn't save Himself, let alone Charlie and me. But then Charlie asked, "What difference does it make whether we believe in inerrancy? And how does Jesus' being sinless relate to your point?" "Because Charlie," I said, "Jesus taught inerrancy."

My conversation with Charlie demonstrated an interesting phenomenon. Charlie, like many contemporary biblical scholars who deny inerrancy, agreed that Jesus of Nazareth believed and taught what we would today call the doctrine of inerrancy. At the same time, like many contemporary biblical scholars who deny inerrancy, Charlie confessed Jesus as His Lord and Savior. But that is inconsistent, and I wanted to point that out to my friend. So I asked him, "Okay, now you are disagreeing not with me or B. B. Warfield or Charles Hodge of the old Princeton School. Now you are quarreling with Jesus and the apostles and the prophets. Were they wrong?" He said, "Yes, they were wrong." "Okay," I said. "Think seriously about it. What are the implications of Jesus being wrong about His doctrine of Scripture?" Charlie, an astute theologian, said, "Look, R.C., what difference does it make whether Jesus was wrong? Jesus doesn't have to be omniscient to be my Savior.'' I agreed, "He doesn't."

The issue in our conversation, however, was not omniscience. When we talk about omniscience, we are talking about an attribute of God. That is, God knows everything. Charlie's point was that Jesus—touching his human nature—did not know all things. He then went right to the Bible to prove it, pointing out, for example, that Jesus does not know the day and hour of His return (Matt. 24:36). But the conversation I had with Charlie wasn't really about omniscience. It was actually about sinlessness.

Touching His human nature, Jesus is not required to be omniscient to be my Savior. However, He is required to be sinless. Jesus would be numbered among the transgressors for teaching an error. He claimed to speak on the basis on His Father's authority (John 8:28; 14:10). He also declared, "I am the truth" (John 14:6). That is the highest claim to teaching authority ever uttered. If a man who claims to be the truth and to say nothing except by divine authority teaches error, that's sin. And if He sins once, we don't have a Savior. That's what is at stake.

When I spelled this out for Charlie, he told me, "I've got a problem." To which I replied, "Yes, you do. You want to get rid of Jesus' view of Scripture and hold onto Him as your Savior and Lord. You're on very shaky grounds, if you want to be consistent." Charlie was living in the delightful breeze of a happy inconsistency. But do you see what the issue is here? It is the integrity of Christ.

Charlie is a good example of a person who can deny inerrancy but still believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But this is possible only if one is inconsistent. Happily, God doesn't demand perfect consistency in our theology for salvation. If that were the case, no sinner could be saved because no sinner holds to a perfect theology. That doesn't mean, however, that we should be content with inconsistency. At the end of the day, inerrancy is inseparable from Christology. If Jesus didn't teach this view of Scripture, the argument would be over. The issue is not the sacrosanctity of a book, a "paper pope," or bibliolatry. The issue at stake is the integrity of the person and work of Jesus. He can save us only if He is sinless, and He is sinless only if all of His teaching—including what He teaches about Scripture—is true.

Special $5 Friday (And More) Sale: 170+ Discounted Resources

This week’s $5 Friday (and More) sale falls on the 511th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, so we’re making 170+ books, teaching series, audiobooks, and more available today for $5 and other significant discounts.

Many know John Calvin for the profound intellect displayed in his Bible commentaries and theological writings. But more than anything else, Calvin considered himself a pastor, called to faithfully deliver the Word of God to the people of God. Today only, save on a wide range of discipleship resources featuring trusted teaching on John Calvin, Reformed theology, the Christian life, the Bible, and much more.

Don’t miss this special $5 Friday (and More) sale. Shop before 11:59 p.m. ET and save. While supplies last.

The State of Innocence

Here’s an excerpt from The State of Innocence, Richard P. Belcher Jr.'s contribution to the July issue of Tabletalk:

It is important to understand that the world as it was first created was a very different place from the world we live in today. The world we live in is a tangled mess. Every day, the news documents natural disasters and the violent behavior of human beings. The first two chapters of Genesis describe the unspoiled original creation, which has implications for our understanding of life today.

Continue reading The State of Innocence, 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.

This Summer, Your Support Is Greatly Needed and Deeply Appreciated

In a moment of global upheaval, uncertainty stirs in people’s hearts, and the world doesn’t know where to turn for answers. God’s people, however, do know where to turn.

The world appears to be changing as a result of the pandemic and recent civil unrest. But you and I know that the Lord never changes. Jesus is always building His church, and the fundamental need of every soul remains unchanged. People still need to know who God is so that they will know who they are and how much they need a Savior. Your gift of any amount to Ligonier Ministries helps people know God.

It is encouraging to see how your vital partnership with Ligonier in the gospel melds into a massive effort to serve the kingdom of God. As you know, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, sparking fear, sickness, and economic shutdowns, Ligonier decided to lean into this moment for ministry and offered many resources for free, including our entire teaching series library via streaming. Together, we have spread hope and have brought faithful answers to ultimate questions as the nations navigate this challenging situation. Notes of appreciation and encouragement continue to come in from people who have benefitted from this trusted teaching:

“Thanks for making the entire library of teaching series FREE of cost during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. The hunger for God’s Word amid fear and uncertainty is growing all the more. Thanks, Ligonier, for this priceless gift.”—Bobby, App User

We thank you, because by God’s grace and with your help, Ligonier is reaching more people with sound Bible teaching, pointing men, women, and children to Christ, our ultimate hope in both good times and bad.

We are determined to follow the same mission R.C. mapped out for us in 1971. “Here we stand” describes our unwavering commitment to the immovable truth of God, but we refuse to stand still in reaching as many people as possible with this truth. With your support, the ministry responds to the present crisis and the next one and the next one. There is a famine of the knowledge of the Lord worldwide (Amos 8:11) that must be addressed.

Here is only a brief update to give you a glimpse of in-progress outreach:

Teaching series in Farsi are reaching into Iran through satellite TV. Dr. Sproul’s classic book The Holiness of God is now available in French for the first time, and several of his children’s titles have been published in Spanish. Later this summer, we will also launch our new Chinese outreach.
In September, we will release the Spanish edition of the Reformation Study Bible. This is a milestone ministry event. Thanks be to God, we’re releasing the Portuguese edition shortly thereafter.
Our shift from holding an in-person 2020 National Conference to hosting Made in the Image of God as an online livestream event brought biblical truth on God’s sovereign purposes and comfort to more than 100,000 online viewers. And we plan to do more events like these.
We have hosted multiple panel discussions with our Teaching Fellows and special guests in order to address the theological concerns raised by the COVID-19 crisis and to bring timely encouragement to God’s people.
On-campus enrollment for Reformation Bible College continues to increase, and an online version of RBC’s Foundation Year program launches this fall.

We must do more because there is more to do. That is why Ligonier’s leadership team and board of directors are continually in conversation about maximizing our response to a situation no one could have anticipated when we first made plans for 2020. We’re monitoring donor response and are adjusting budgets and spending to stretch every gift as far as possible.

But the truth is, we cannot continue to do this without your help. Ligonier has not been untouched by the financial ramifications of the worldwide economic calamity. Now, perhaps more than ever before in our ministry’s history, we need God’s people to stand with us for the sake of the gospel. Your gifts and prayers allow you to share in Ligonier’s mission of eternal significance, knowing that right now counts forever.

Our holy, good God is at work in exalting His glory and in providing for His people. Countless souls need to hear that truth, and Ligonier unashamedly proclaims great truth to people living in a time of great need. Your gift of any amount will propel Ligonier’s outreach further. Only in eternity will we fully see the marvelous way that God can multiply your generosity.

Every gift now matters forever. God is able to do far more than we can ask or dream with the widow’s mite or the merchant’s wealth. The Lord brings His gospel to the world through His messengers by a beautiful synergy of our ministry outreach and your gifts and prayers.

Thank you for standing with us to serve a truth-starved world in this hour of critical need.

Our Dignity Is Given to Us

There is no other creature like mankind. From our livestream event Made in the Image of God, Stephen Nichols teaches that human dignity cannot to be earned, achieved, or ultimately destroyed, for it has been uniquely given to us by God.

Transcript:

God takes that handful of dust and the very breath from His nostrils – and all of this is an anthropomorphism – the very breath of His nostrils. And there we are, material and immaterial being, a living soul. There's no other creature like this. There's no other in this fantastic account of the creation of all things. There is nothing like the crowning achievement of God's creation of mankind. And that's our dignity. Mark it down. Our dignity is not something we earn or achieve because we're athletic or because we can achieve some great economic status and therefore we're worth more. Or somebody who doesn't achieve or doesn't earn or doesn't have, you know, the looks or the athleticism or the connections, and so their status is less and somehow we achieve a greater status. All of those things cultures use to quantify people, to make categories – "us” and “them," gender, race, socioeconomic status, skill, ability, profession – all of those things. None of that is our dignity, none of that is our actual identity ontologically, none of that is our worth. Our worth, our identity, and therefore our dignity is given to us. We did not earn it. God gave it to us. It is given, it is derived from Him and being made in His image.

How Do We Become Spiritually Mature?

We don’t want to remain spiritual children, perpetually stuck in infancy. We don’t want to be weak, vulnerable, and immature. Nor do we want to be ignorant about God’s truth, because we want to fully glorify Him for everything He has done. We want to appreciate Him in all His fullness, knowing and loving Him thoroughly. If that’s the goal, then how do we get there? How do we respond to the Word in a way that drives that progress?

I see three definitive steps in the biblical pattern of sanctification. The first is cognition. John 17:17 gives our Lord’s prayer: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” We have to understand what the Bible says and what it means if it is going to produce growth in us. Sanctification begins with spiritually renewing the mind, that is, changing how we think. We need “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). There is no premium on ignorance or naivete in sanctification. The discipline of putting the truth constantly at the forefront of our minds is crucial.

If we lack spiritual maturity, we must read everything we can that faithfully and accurately explains the Word of God to us. We must study the Bible and memorize it; we must read commentaries from biblical scholars, listen to sermons from faithful expositors, and read the biographies of godly saints whose lives display the kind of maturity we want to see in our own lives. We must soak our minds in the Scriptures, fueling the Spirit’s sanctifying work.

That seems like an obvious first step, but it’s one that many believers fail to take. They can’t fathom why they keep succumbing to the same temptations and why their love for the Lord has cooled and their interest in His church has plateaued. They fail to understand that the absence of biblical knowledge retards spiritual thinking and slows spiritual growth.

Don’t confuse childlike faith with childish thinking. Legalism won’t lead us to holiness and spiritual maturity. Mysticism and sacramentalism won’t get us there, either. Pragmatism will likely lead us in the wrong direction, and it invites us to pursue quick fixes and worldly wisdom instead of grounding us in the truth of God’s Word. The only activity that catalyzes the ongoing sanctifying process is taking in the truth of Scripture. Cognition—knowing and understanding the truth—is the first step in pursuing spiritual growth through the Word of God.

After cognition comes conviction. As we learn the truth of Scripture, we must begin to develop beliefs into convictions. Our lives are controlled by our convictions. As the truth of God’s Word begins to occupy our minds and shape our thoughts, it will produce principles that we desire not to violate. This is what sanctification is about—being inwardly compelled to obedience.

The Apostle Paul suffered many things during his ministry—imprisonment, severe beatings, shipwrecks, and a constant stream of unfounded accusations from false teachers.

In 2 Corinthians 4, he describes the difficulties of his life: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (vv. 8–9). In verse 11, he continues, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake.” Every day, he understood that any one of the several plots against him could come to fruition. At any moment, he could be dead. Everywhere he went, he offended people. He was constantly being thrown out of synagogues and into prison. He lived in a perpetual cycle of opposition and oppression.

What made him keep going in spite of all the hardship he faced? In verse 13, he quotes the Psalms, saying, “I believed, therefore I spoke.” That is conviction. Paul might as well say: “What else do you want me to do? There is no alternative for me. This is my conviction from the Word of God.”

That conviction shaped Paul’s life and ministry. Earlier in 2 Corinthians, he testified, “For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you” (1:12). Paul was true to the wisdom of God, and his conscience did not accuse him, regardless of the accusations against him. In Acts 23:1, he says, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day,” and in Acts 24:16, “I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.” Paul’s firm convictions, rooted in Scripture, helped him live a righteous life, with nothing to be ashamed of.

John Bunyan, the great Puritan preacher and author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, remained in jail for twelve years, but it wasn’t the prison bars that held him there. He could have walked free if he would simply promise to stop preaching. Facing that option, Bunyan wrote, “If nothing will do, unless I make of my conscience a continual butchery and slaughter-shop, unless putting out my own eyes I commit me to the blind to lead me, I have determined, the Almighty God being my help and shield, yet to suffer, if frail life might continue so long, even till the moss shall grow on mine eyebrows rather than thus to violate my faith and principles.”1 That is conviction. When we read the Bible, we are learning the Word of God in order to develop convictions that will rule our lives and hold our consciences captive, activating them when we start to violate God’s righteous standard. Biblical truth establishes cognition in the mind and develops restraint in the conscience.

The third feature is affection. The love of God’s truth is a consistent theme throughout Scripture, and particularly in the Psalms. Psalm 119 is an exhaustive account of the psalmist’s love for the truth and his delight in the law. We’ve already looked at Psalm 19, where David says that God’s Word is “more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (v. 10). Or look at Psalm 1, which describes the great blessing for the one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (v. 2). As we expose ourselves to the Word, we begin to understand what it says. It begins to form our convictions, and then it becomes our sincere affection.

How strong should that affection be? Peter put it this way: “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). Spiritual growth comes when we know the Word, when it shapes our convictions, and when we learn to long for the sustenance it alone can provide.

Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.” The psalmist is not referring to the way some people read the Bible as a curiosity or as ancient literature. He’s not talking about perusing the Bible for intellectual stimulation or gathering ammunition to win an argument. This is studying Scripture eagerly and earnestly, hungry to extract all of the nourishment we so desperately need out of the Word.

The Word of God is our spiritual sustenance. May we have the same solitary longing for it that a baby has for milk—because by it, we are conformed to the image of Christ, who sanctified Himself for us. The Word reveals Christ to us, and the Word transforms us into His likeness. We are reminded of what our Savior repeated three times in the upper room—that He would send us the Holy Spirit. We know that sanctification is a divine work through the Word by the Spirit of truth. So, we must plead with the Spirit that He would mold and shape us into the image of Christ, through the truth, from one level of glory to the next. As the Apostle Paul explains, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

This excerpt is adapted from Final Word: Why We Need the Bible by John MacArthur.

Who Am I?

Here’s an excerpt from Who Am I?, Burk Parsons' contribution to the July issue of Tabletalk:

In the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic work Les Misérables, the protagonist Jean Valjean comes to a crisis point in his life when he becomes overwhelmed by his guilt as a former criminal and convicted felon. In a strikingly emotional scene, Valjean asks the penetrating question, “Who am I?” As he considers his past, his present, and his future, he wrestles with the reality of his guilt and his deserved condemnation before man and God. He is forced to question his identity and his integrity and to reckon with the innocence of a man falsely accused because he has been wrongly identified as Valjean. Though Valjean has escaped being known as a convict by changing his name and identity, he has to come to grips with the truth about who he really is—a convict whose prison number is 24601.

Continue reading Who Am I?, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3-month trial.

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What Christian Biographies Have Impacted You the Most?

Christian biographies can show us how God uses ordinary people to accomplish great things for the cause of Christ. From one of our Ask Ligonier events, John MacArthur reveals which biographies have most impacted him.

If you have a biblical or theological question, just visit ask.Ligonier.org to ask your question live online.

Read the Transcript