R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 86

How Is Your Church Maintaining Worship and Fellowship in a Time of Quarantines and Self-Isolation?

How can churches maintain corporate worship and fellowship when large gatherings are restricted? From our livestream event Made in the Image of God, H.B. Charles Jr. and Burk Parsons explain how their churches are navigating this unprecedented health crisis.

Do you have a biblical or theological question? We invite you to ask Ligonier.

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Family Worship 101

“Why did you steal my gods?” With these words, Laban ended a passionate speech against his son-in-law Jacob (Gen. 31:30). In fact, Laban’s daughter Rachel had stolen his idols, doubtless to keep alive the memory of her family after moving away with her husband, Jacob. Rachel literally took her family religion with her.

Every family has a god. Every day, young adults leave home with the gods of self-fulfillment, money, leisure, work, or even ministry. Some leave with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To a large extent, the difference is determined by how our families worship in the home.

Understanding Family Worship

Family worship is the regular use of Scripture, song, and prayer by a family unit, guided by the head of the household.

Family Worship Is Worship

Family worship is not merely a religious discipline; it is a meeting with the triune God in a spirit of adoration by means of three key ingredients.

First, families worship through Scripture. When we read the Bible, God preaches about Himself and the indescribable gift of His dear Son to a needy world. This message is not just for information, but also for exaltation.

Second, families worship through singing. It is inescapable: God’s people sing! The 150 psalms reference singing around 150 times. The New Testament call to admonish one another through song applies well in the context of the home (Col. 3:16).

Third, families worship through prayer. Since prayer is the chief way in which we show thankfulness to God (see the Heidelberg Catechism, question 116), our prayers must be worshipful, not merely formal. Family prayers should reflect the pastoral ethos and pathos of our High Priest (John 17).

Family Worship Is Regular

As illustrated by the practice of the early church, weekly congregational worship is insufficient for families that have been touched by God’s grace (Acts 2:47; 5:42). Scripture exhorts us to worship God daily, giving glory to Him in all things (Ps. 92:2; 1 Cor. 10:31).

Family Worship Is Covenantal

Before God established worship in the tabernacle, his people worshiped in family tents. “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous…” (Ps. 118:15). Job’s piety shines in his prayers for his children (Job. 1:5). The faith of young Timothy blossomed in the fertile soil of family worship (2 Tim. 1:5). Christians must spend time alone with God in their prayer closets (Matt. 6:6). But they should also worship together with their families through the use of Scripture, song, and prayer.

Defending Family Worship

Scripture Requires Family Worship

Specifically, God requires heads of households, like good shepherds, to lead their families into green pastures (Josh. 24:15). God expected Abraham to “command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD” (Gen. 18:19). Consider also the example of Cornelius, “a devout man…who feared God with all his household” (Acts. 10:1). It is no surprise that when Peter came to Caesarea to preach the gospel, Cornelius rallied his household to attendance. “We are all present before God,” he said, “to hear all the things commanded you by God” (v. 33).

Family Worship Yields Spiritual Growth

Family worship is an indispensable instrument for instilling both old and young with a consciousness of the Lord, His Word, and our call to worship. In his research for one of his books, George Barna demonstrates that parents who pass along to their children the baton of spiritual maturity and vitality have one thing in common: they “take God’s words on life and family at face value, and apply those words faithfully and consistently.” Missionary John Paton relates the indelible impact family worship left on his life: “When, on his knees and all of us kneeling around him in Family Worship, [our father] poured out his whole soul with tears…for every…need, we all felt as if in the presence of the living Saviour, and learned to know and love Him as our Divine Friend.”

Children notice when worship is only a once-a-week activity. God often works powerfully in young lives whose souls are warmed by the incubator of daily family worship.

Improving Family Worship

Many families are convinced by the need for family worship, but struggle in implementation. In such cases, what can be done?

Study Family Worship as a Family

Some time ago, our family spent a month carefully reading and discussing Joel Beeke’s booklet Family Worship. Partly due to the dynamic of learning together, this study made a lasting impression on us.

Stick to a Plan

Haphazard Scripture reading rarely edifies over the long haul. Families should include variety in their plans and adjust them over time. But following a regular Scripture reading plan helps us read the Bible the way it was meant to be read: as a cohesive history of God’s redemptive work.

Select a Time that Works

Unless worship is codified in a family’s schedule it will likely be supplanted by life’s busyness. Some families will flourish with morning worship; others will better meet in the evening. Families that can find no time in their week for worship need to adjust their schedule.

Sing!

For some Christians—particularly those who were not raised in the church or in singing homes—the thought of introducing song into family worship seems utterly unrealistic. But, as with all things, in order to establish a fresh tradition of family singing, begin with what you know. Start with familiar songs and progress to less-familiar songs with the help of tools (e.g. www.hymnary.org).

Strive for Regularity, Not Perfection

Most of us have become frustrated when our family worship ideals eclipsed reality. Family worship is like a great friendship. It has its bumps, but it is forged through regular, meaningful interaction. William Gouge observed that “a nail that at one blow barely enters, with many blows is knocked all the way in.” So it is with repetition in family worship.

Through the gospel, Jesus enters our lives and our families. Where He has entered, He is to be worshiped. Where He is worshiped, we trust He will stay and live and work and bless.

$5 Friday (And More): Prayer, Scripture, & the Great Commission

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as prayer, Scripture, the Great Commission, the parables of Jesus, repentance, Martin Luther, 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:

A Simple Way to Pray , Paperback book $8 $7 (Save 30%)
The Work of Christ , Hardcover book $16 $9 (Save 55%)
Morning and Evening , Hardcover book $12 $10 (Save 33%)
By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me , Audiobook download $16 $12 (Save 40%)
Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World , Audiobook CD $21.60 $15 (Save 44%)
The Moment of Truth , Audiobook CD $16.00 $12 (Save 40%)
June 2017 Tabletalk: The Beatitudes , Magazine $3.00 $1 (Save 66%)
November 2013 Tabletalk: Him Forever , Magazine $3.00 $1 (Save 66%)
September 2016 Tabletalk: The Church , Magazine $3.00 $1 (Save 66%)
Shadow Of The Cross , Paperback book $5 $3.50 (Save 30%)

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.

Pray with Us for Global Awakening

Now is the time for fervent prayer, urgent action, and bold proclamation.

You and I have seen how the COVID-19 pandemic has swiftly brought the fragility and brevity of life into focus for the seven billion souls on our planet. Families, communities, and nations have had their world upended. We mourn with everyone who has experienced loss and we marvel at the courage of those in the medical community. May the Lord have mercy. Christians everywhere are praying.

Since we know the Lord answers prayer, and many of us have been praying for a global awakening to God’s holiness, do we not think that we might be witnessing an answer unfolding before us? Many of us have not seen such openness to matters of eternal consequence in our lifetime. The fields are white for harvest, and the Lord of the harvest is on the move (John 4:35).

There is much work for the church during and after this worldwide upheaval. So we must rebuild on the authoritative, unchanging, and sufficient Word of God. Let people everywhere call out to the only Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, because “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Therefore, in order to serve growing Christians around the world and to bring the relief of God’s Word to anxious souls in a time of need, we have made our ministry’s deep library of hundreds of teaching series free to stream. In addition, we have compiled a list of many other resources that Ligonier has made freely available to further support God’s people at such a time as this. Please help spread the word so that, together, we can serve many more people who desperately need to hear the truth in a troubling time. You are more than welcome to share this page with others in your family, church, and community.

Be encouraged to know that hundreds of thousands of people are being newly exposed to the trusted teaching of Dr. R.C. Sproul and other gifted teachers through the global outreach many of you enable by your steadfast prayers and faithful financial support. Certainly, this is no time for us to pause ministry. The truth of Jesus Christ must move forward unhindered. It is God’s gospel, and it can never be quarantined.

In ways we are only beginning to understand, it seems that the Lord has prepared Ligonier for this challenging moment to bring needed reinforcements to God’s people. Dr. Sproul fixed our purpose as a ministry to awaken as many people as possible to the holiness of God by proclaiming, teaching, and defending His holiness in all its fullness. We have been doing that since 1971, and it is a kindness from the Lord that He is allowing us to do that now in these turbulent times.

Please continue to pray with us for global awakening. May the fears of the moment give way to a steadfast fear of the Lord. May you be strengthened by the Spirit’s work through His Word. And may Jesus Christ be praised in our witness to a watching world.

 

Fear Not, for I am With You

Here’s an excerpt from Fear Not, for I am With You, Eric Watkins' contribution to the March issue of Tabletalk:

Fear cripples people. It is a plague that can ravage the people of God and hinder us from walking confidently with our God and doing His will. When we are overwhelmed by the “giants in the land,” the only thing that can displace our fear is the powerful presence of God.

The book of Joshua begins on a dismaying note. Moses is dead. The great prophet and leader of Israel whom God used as the human agent to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt was no longer with them. Moses died outside the land of promise as a result of his sins. It would be hard to overstate how categorically perplexing that must have been to Israel: the man who had led them out would not himself enter. In addition, an entire generation of Israelites had died in the wilderness due to their unbelief. From that generation, only Joshua and Caleb were alive. That generation’s children who grew up to replace their parents would be going into the land. Fear was not simply a plague that threatened the people of Israel; it had birthed unbelief in their hearts and hindered them from obtaining the promise.

Continue reading Fear Not, for I am With You, 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.

All the Lord Needs Is a Hornet to Accomplish His Purpose

God can use the littlest things to accomplish His grand purposes. From his teaching series Discovering Deuteronomy, W. Robert Godfrey explains why we can go forward with confidence in the Lord even when the nations are in an uproar.

Transcript:

And in serving the Lord among the nations, we should remember that we have nothing to fear from the nations. I think that's a valuable word for us today. This is what is said at verse 17 and 18 of Deuteronomy 7: "If you say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?' You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt." I think, in our day, particularly as American Christians who historically have had so much influence and been so blessed, sometimes we can feel like everything's in retreat. Everything's going from bad to worse. Everything's going from rack to ruin. And the Lord is still saying to us, "Don't lose heart." The nations are powerless in the face of the power of our God. He will accomplish His purpose. He will do what He sets out to do. And, I think, really kind of delightfully here in this verse, in this chapter, verse 20, Moses says, "Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them.” Now, there are a couple of times in the Old Testament where the Lord literally sent hornets. It's recorded in Exodus 23 and in Joshua 24, but I think the point here is, what's a hornet? An annoyance, a tiny bit of pain. What's a hornet? Who would be overly afraid of a hornet? And yet, the Lord can use hornets to accomplish His purpose. God doesn't need elephants or rockets or atom bombs. All the Lord needs is a hornet to accomplish His purpose. And this is meant, I think, to encourage the people of Israel and to encourage all of us that God can use the littlest things to accomplish His purposes. We don't need to fear. We need to go forward in faith with confidence in the Lord and what He can accomplish.

Five Themes on Providence from the Psalms

In 1557, John Calvin published his large commentary on the book of Psalms. In the English translation, this commentary runs to five substantial volumes. This commentary reflects a life lived with the Psalter. He loved the psalms: he knew them, studied them, wrote on them, preached them, and sang them.

In the course of his commentary on the Psalms, Calvin gave strong expression to various aspects of his doctrine of providence. Five themes about providence recur in his exposition.

First, he recognizes God’s power as the active governor of the world:

He gives us to understand by this word, that heaven is not a palace in which God remains idle and indulges in pleasures, as the Epicureans dream, but a royal court, from which he exercises his government over all parts of the world. If he has erected his throne, therefore, in the sanctuary of heaven, in order to govern the universe, it follows that he in no wise neglects the affairs of earth, but governs them with the highest reason and wisdom.

Second, he declares that this active power should lead all creatures to honor God as God:

As God by his providence preserves the world, the power of his government is alike extended to all, so that he ought to be worshipped by all.

Third, he teaches that in His governance of the world God always acts as the loving Father of His people:

By the face of God, must be meant the fatherly care and providence which he extends to his people. So numerous are the dangers which surround us, that we could not stand a single moment, if his eye did not watch over our preservation. But the true security for a happy life lies in being persuaded that we are under divine government.

This fatherly care of God does not mean that His people will not suffer:

We are here warned that the guardianship of God does not secure us from being sometimes exercised with the cross and afflictions, and that therefore the faithful ought not to promise themselves a delicate and easy life in this world, it being enough for them not to be abandoned of God when they stand in need of his help. Their heavenly Father, it is true, loves them most tenderly, but he will have them awakened by the cross, lest they should give themselves too much to the pleasures of the flesh. If, therefore, we embrace this doctrine, although we may happen to be oppressed by the tyranny of the wicked, we will wait patiently till God either break their sceptre, or shake it out of their hands.

Fourth, Calvin affirms that confidence in providence causes Christians to grow in faith in Christ and confidence in living for Him:

Besides, the joy here mentioned arises from this, that there is nothing more calculated to increase our faith, than the knowledge of the providence of God; because without it, we would be harassed with doubts and fears, being uncertain whether or not the world was governed by chance. For this reason, it follows that those who aim at the subversion of this doctrine, depriving the children of God of true comfort, and vexing their minds by unsettling their faith, forge for themselves a hell upon earth. For what can be more awfully tormenting than to be constantly racked with doubt and anxiety? And we will never be able to arrive at a calm state of mind until we are taught to repose with implicit confidence in the providence of God.

Fifth, Calvin teaches that knowing that God directs all things leads His people to more frequent and heartfelt prayer:

Were they to reflect on the judgments of God, they would at once perceive that there was nothing like chance or fortune in the government of the world. Moreover, until men are persuaded that all their troubles come upon them by the appointment of God, it will never come into their minds to supplicate him for deliverance.

In his preface to his commentary on the book of Psalms, Calvin made a most remarkable statement about providence that went to the very heart and soul of the religion he embraced and counseled others to embrace. He writes that knowing the Psalter teaches Christians to suffer for God so that “we renounce the guidance of our own affections, and submit ourselves entirely to God, leaving him to govern us, and to dispose our life according to his will, so that the afflictions which are the bitterest and most severe to our nature, become sweet to us, because they proceed from him.”

The bitterest afflictions of this life are sweet when Christians know that they come from God, serve His purposes, and ultimately contribute to their good. Calvin had a truly astounding daily confidence in God and His ways, and he encouraged the same confidence in his followers.

This excerpt is adapted from John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology.

Fear of Dying

Here’s an excerpt from Fear of Dying, Lou Priolo's contribution to the March issue of Tabletalk:

What is it that Christians fear most about the process and results of dying? Here are six common fears and a very brief biblical remedy for each of them.

1. FEAR OF DYING A PAINFUL DEATH (THE PROCESS OF DEATH)

“I’m not so much afraid of dying as I am of the final leg of the journey.”

God promises never to leave or forsake us, not to tempt us beyond what we are able to handle by His grace, and to provide the grace we need to endure the trials and temptations He allows to come our way. This does not mean that death isn’t hard or difficult, but God promises in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that as Christians, our temptations (and the trials associated with them) are and will be limited by God both in scope and duration.

Continue reading Fear of Dying, 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.

What Can the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” Movement Learn from the Historic Reformation?

The truth of God is no passing fad. From one of our live events, Burk Parsons provides counsel to Christians belonging to the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” movement.

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

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Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

We may live in a culture that believes everyone will be saved, that we are "justified by death" and all you need to do to go to heaven is die, but God's Word certainly doesn't give us the luxury of believing that. Any quick and honest reading of the New Testament shows that the Apostles were convinced that nobody can go to heaven unless they believe in Christ alone for their salvation (John 14:6; Rom. 10:9–10).

Historically, evangelical Christians have largely agreed on this point. Where they have differed has been on the matter of the security of salvation. People who would otherwise agree that only those who trust in Jesus will be saved have disagreed on whether anyone who truly believes in Christ can lose his salvation.

Theologically speaking, what we are talking about here is the concept of apostasy. This term comes from a Greek word that means "to stand away from." When we talk about those who have become apostate or have committed apostasy, we're talking about those who have fallen from the faith or at least from the profession of faith in Christ that they once made.

Many believers have held that yes, true Christians can lose their salvation because there are several New Testament texts that seem to indicate that this can happen. I'm thinking, for example, of Paul's words in 1 Timothy 1:18–20:

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Here, in the midst of instructions and admonitions related to Timothy's life and ministry, Paul warns Timothy to keep the faith and to keep a good conscience, and to be reminded of those who didn't. The Apostle refers to those who made "shipwreck of their faith," men whom he "handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme." This second point is a reference to Paul's excommunication of these men, and the whole passage combines a sober warning with concrete examples of those who fell away grievously from their Christian profession.

There is no question that professing believers can fall and fall radically. We think of men like Peter, for example, who denied Christ. But the fact that he was restored shows that not every professing believer who falls has fallen past the point of no return. At this point, we should distinguish a serious and radical fall from a total and final fall. Reformed theologians have noted that the Bible is full of examples of true believers who fall into gross sin and even protracted periods of impenitence. So, Christians do fall and they fall radically. What could be more serious than Peter's public denial of Jesus Christ?

But the question is, are these people who are guilty of a real fall irretrievably fallen and eternally lost, or is this fall a temporary condition that will, in the final analysis, be remedied by their restoration? In the case of a person such as Peter, we see that his fall was remedied by his repentance. However, what about those who fall away finally? Were they ever truly believers in the first place?

Our answer to this question has to be no. First John 2:19 speaks of the false teachers who went out from the church as never having truly been part of the church. John describes the apostasy of people who had made a profession of faith but who never really were converted. Moreover, we know that God glorifies all whom He justifies (Rom. 8:29–30). If a person has true saving faith and is justified, God will preserve that person.

In the meantime, however, if the person who has fallen is still alive, how do we know if he is a full apostate? One thing none of us can do is read the heart of other people. When I see a person who has made a profession of faith and later repudiates it, I don't know whether he is a truly regenerate person who's in the midst of a serious, radical fall but who will at some point in the future certainly be restored; or whether he is a person who was never really converted, whose profession of faith was false from the start.

This question of whether a person can lose his salvation is not an abstract question. It touches us at the very core of our Christian lives, not only with regard to our concerns for our own perseverance, but also with regard to our concern for our family and friends, particularly those who seemed, for all outward appearances, to have made a genuine profession of faith. We thought their profession was credible, we embraced them as brothers or sisters, only to find out that they repudiated that faith.

What do you do, practically, in a situation like that? First, you pray, and then, you wait. We don't know the final outcome of the situation, and I'm sure there are going to be surprises when we get to heaven. We're going to be surprised to see people there who we didn't think would be, and we're going to be surprised that we don't see people there who we were sure would be there, because we simply don't know the internal status of a human heart or of a human soul. Only God can see that soul, change that soul, and preserve that soul.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.