R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 99

Examples of Callings in Scripture

Here’s an excerpt from Examples of Callings in Scripture, Scott Redd's contribution to the January issue of Tabletalk:

At one point or another in life, everyone asks, What am I here for? Not the larger question of universal purpose (What is human or world history for?), but rather the specific question of individual human callings. In other words, what makes us as humans made in the image of God not interchangeable with one another? Why is one a writer and the other a banker? Why is one a farmer and the other a soldier? Are such decisions made as a result of happenstance or merely environmental conditions, or do they speak to something deeper occurring in the heart of the person?

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Kindness of the Law

The laws of the Old Testament can be severe, but they are meant, at their core, as a kindness of God. In this brief clip, W. Robert Godfrey examines how God's law is a kindness to His people.

TRANSCRIPT

In verse 15 of chapter 19, "A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." Well now that's interesting, isn't it? Because that kind of verse, that last one, verse 21, "eye for eye," that's a sign of how severe the Old Testament was, how legal the Old Testament was. Well that's true up to a point, but do you notice this is also about loving the neighbor? What are the terrible things you could do to a neighbor? Well one of the worst things you could do to a neighbor is lie about him, lie about him in a court, lie about him in a court proceeding that may well lead to very serious punishment. And this provision is, if you lie about somebody in court, then the punishment you tried to have visited on someone else is going to be visited on you. That's justice. But there's also a kind of kindness to that, because this severity ought to lead people to stop being false witnesses, and that's kind to everybody if the reality of false witnesses comes to an end.

Does Christology Matter?

“We all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us one and the same Son, the self-same perfect in Godhead, the self-same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man … acknowledged in two natures, unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably … the properties of each nature being preserved.”

So wrote the church fathers in the Definition of Chalcedon in AD 451. But even if they spoke “unanimously,” their doctrine of Christ sounds so complex. Does it really matter?

Given the sacrifices they made to describe Christ rightly, one can imagine that if these Christians were present at a group Bible study on Philippians 2:5-11, they might well say to us, “From what we have heard, it never mattered more.”

Imagine the discussion on “Though he was in the form of God … emptied himself” (Phil. 2:6-7, RSV). Says one: “It means Jesus became a man for a time and then went back to being God afterwards.” “No,” says another, “He only emptied himself of His divine attributes and then He took them up again.” “Surely,” says another (not pausing to reflect on the miracles of Moses, Elijah, or the Apostles), "He mixed humanity with His deity—isn’t that how He was able to do miracles?"

Does it really matter if those views are wrong, indeed heretical, so long as we know that Jesus saves and we witness to others about Him? After all, the important thing is that we preach the gospel.

But that is precisely the point—Jesus Christ Himself is the gospel. Like loose threads in a tapestry—pull on any of these views, and the entire gospel will unravel. If the Christ we trust and preach is not qualified to save us, we have a false Christ.

Reflect for a moment on the descriptions of Christ above. If at any point He ceased to be all that He is as God, the cosmos would disintegrate—for He is the One who upholds the universe by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). If He were a mixture of deity and humanity, then He would not be truly or fully human, and therefore would no longer be one of us and able to act as our representative and substitute. He could neither save sinners nor succor saints. This is why Hebrews emphasizes that Christ possesses a humanity identical to ours, apart from sin. No mixing or confusing here.

Most of us are sticklers for clearly describing anything we love, be it science, computing, sports, business, or family life. Should we be indifferent to how we think and speak about our Savior and Lord?

This is why the church fathers, and later the Westminster divines, stressed that God’s Son ever remained “of one substance, and equal with the Father” and yet, in the incarnation, took “upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and infirmities thereof, yet without sin… . So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion” (WCF 8.2).

What makes this statement so impressive is that it safeguards the mystery of the incarnation while carefully describing its reality. The Son’s two natures are not united to each other, but they are united in His one person. So in everything He did, He acted appropriately in terms of His deity or His humanity, one divine person exercising the powers of each nature in its own proper sphere.

This, then, underscores the value of the church’s creeds. They were written by men who had thought more deeply and often suffered more grievously than we do. They spoke out of a deep love for Christ and His people, concerned for a lost world. Their testimony helps us in three ways:

It protects us by setting boundaries for our thinking.
It instructs us by helping us see biblical truth expressed in its briefest form.
It unites us, so that everywhere in the world, Christians can share the same clear confession of who Christ is and what He has done.

Does it really matter? In light of the sacrifices our forefathers made in order to articulate the grandeur of the person of our Savior and what Christ had to be in order to save us, you bet it matters.

Related: The Ligonier Statement on Christology.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

Defining the Will of God

Here’s an excerpt from Defining the Will of God, John Tweeddale's contribution to the January issue of Tabletalk:

Throughout the annals of time, many people have struggled to define the will of God. When we talk about God’s will today, we tend to speak about things in reference to ourselves—usually good things such as our spouses, our children, our jobs, our finances, and our hobbies. Historically, however, when theologians have discussed the will of God, they have done so to say things primarily about God—usually about deep things such as God’s nature, God’s decree, God’s freedom, God’s sovereignty, and God’s wisdom. This wasn’t to ignore life’s big decisions but to locate them in the vast expanse of the eternal purposes of God.

Continue reading Defining the Will of God, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3-month trial.

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Is Addiction a Sign That Someone Is Not a Christian?

We all fall into certain sins. The question is, are we truly repenting? From one of our Ask Ligonier events, Burk Parsons helps understand how to take steps toward repentance and accountability to escape patterns of addiction.

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

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Accepting "No" as God's Will

I am astonished that, in the light of the clear biblical record, anyone would have the audacity to suggest that it is wrong for the afflicted in body or soul to couch their prayers for deliverance in terms of "If it be thy will…." We are told that when affliction comes, God always wills healing, that He has nothing to do with suffering, and that all we must do is claim the answer we seek by faith. We are exhorted to claim God's yes before He speaks it.

Away with such distortions of biblical faith! They are conceived in the mind of the Tempter, who would seduce us into exchanging faith for magic. No amount of pious verbiage can transform such falsehood into sound doctrine. We must accept the fact that God sometimes says no. Sometimes He calls us to suffer and die even if we want to claim the contrary.

Never did a man pray more earnestly than Christ prayed in Gethsemane. Who will charge Jesus with failure to pray in faith? He put His request before the Father with sweat like blood: "Take this cup away from me." This prayer was straightforward and without ambiguity—Jesus was crying out for relief. He asked for the horribly bitter cup to be removed. Every ounce of His humanity shrank from the cup. He begged the Father to relieve Him of His duty.

But God said no. The way of suffering was the Father's plan. It was the Father's will. The cross was not Satan's idea. The passion of Christ was not the result of human contingency. It was not the accidental contrivance of Caiaphas, Herod, or Pilate. The cup was prepared, delivered, and administered by almighty God.

Jesus qualified His prayer: "If it is Your will…." Jesus did not "name it and claim it." He knew His Father well enough to understand that it might not be His will to remove the cup. So the story does not end with the words, "And the Father repented of the evil He had planned, removed the cup, and Jesus lived happily ever after." Such words border on blasphemy. The gospel is not a fairy tale. The Father would not negotiate the cup. Jesus was called to drink it to its last dregs. And He accepted it. "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

This "nevertheless" was the supreme prayer of faith. The prayer of faith is not a demand that we place on God. It is not a presumption of a granted request. The authentic prayer of faith is one that models Jesus' prayer. It is always uttered in a spirit of subordination. In all our prayers, we must let God be God. No one tells the Father what to do, not even the Son. Prayers are always to be requests made in humility and submission to the Father's will.

The prayer of faith is a prayer of trust. The very essence of faith is trust. We trust that God knows what is best. The spirit of trust includes a willingness to do what the Father wants us to do. Christ embodied that kind of trust in Gethsemane. Though the text is not explicit, it is clear that Jesus left the garden with the Father's answer to His plea. There was no cursing or bitterness. His meat and His drink were to do the Father's will. Once the Father said no, it was settled. Jesus prepared Himself for the cross.

This excerpt is taken from Surprised by Suffering by R.C. Sproul.

Treasuring Scholastic Piety

Were the Scholastics just dry and dull academics? In this brief clip from his teaching series A Survey of Church History, W. Robert Godfrey explains how, at their best, the Scholastics were passionate about true faith being built up in the church. Watch this entire message for free.

Transcript

Now, one of the charges always brought against the scholastics was, they were dry, they were dead and they were deadening. That’s just not true. They weren't dry, they weren't dead and they weren't deadening. They were tough, but they were profound, and they were helpful. And personally they were very concerned about piety, and that needs to always be borne in mind. They were great preachers. Francis Turretin was a great preacher, the people heard him gladly in Geneva, because he didn't take his theology book into the pulpit and read, he preached to the hearts and lives of the people. He knew the difference between scholastic he knew the difference between scholastic theology and preaching. He knew the difference between theological graduate students and lay people in the churches. He knew how to change the way in which he communicated from one to the other. And he was passionate about piety and true faith being built up in the hearts of the people; that's what the scholastics were like at their best, and it's worth remembering and treasuring what they’ve done for us.

Do You Think the State Will Soon Require Churches to Perform Same-Sex Weddings?

Is it possible that churches may soon be required to perform weddings that violate Scripture’s commands? From one of our live events, R.C. Sproul and Derek Thomas advise us as we consider tensions between the church and the state.

When you have biblical and theological questions, just ask Ligonier. Visit Ask.Ligonier.org.

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5 Ways to Pray for Your Church Family in 2020

As we turn our calendars to a new year, we instinctively make plans to give attention to what matters. As Christians, we know that when we think about our priorities, prayer is right at the top of the list. I was reading through Nick Batzig’s helpful post on how to pray for our pastors and thought about how we could pray for our churches. Here are five ways that we can be praying for our own church family and other churches as well.

1. Pray for a hunger for the Bible.

If the goal of the church is Christlikeness, then the diet for the church must be the Bible. After all, it is the Bible that God uses to make the child of God more like the Son of God (John 17:17). Therefore, we can pray that the church would be filled with people who hunger for hearing from God in their private devotions, public gatherings, and conversations with other believers. Imagine the impact of a church full of people who wake up eager to come and hear the Word preached on Sunday morning. Imagine a church that longs to open the Bible each morning to discover anew the truth of God’s character and conquests. Imagine hearts so overflowing with the Bible that their text messages, conversations, and meditations just drip with the Scriptures. Everything pivots on what we do with the Bible.

Our Father, give our church—give me—an abiding delight in Your Word. Cause me always to hunger for the truth while being ever satisfied with the truth. Lord, make our church a Bible-saturated church.

2. Pray for thankfulness.

A thankful church should not be taken for granted, and an unthankful church should not be left alone. The Apostle Paul identifies being unthankful as a footprint of unbelief (Rom. 1:21) while noting thankfulness as a mark of a believer (Col. 3:15–17). One way we can be praying for our churches is to plead with God that we would be thankful.

But thankful for what? And thankful to whom?

The Apostle shows us that the thankfulness we are after is God-centered and gospel-wrought. In other words, we want to see churches enveloped by a real joy in God because of what He has done for us in Christ. You see this in Colossians 1 as Paul, himself in prison, prays for a church full of people whom he has never met—that they would understand the greatness of God and joyfully respond to the gospel with thanksgiving to God (Col. 1:9–14).

God, make us to be a church that is thankful to You and for You. May Your worth and work captivate our hearts, minds, and wills so that circumstances are transcended by the fact that You are for us in Christ.

3. Pray for gospel growth.

The gospel is intended to advance. Jesus commissioned His disciples as missionaries (Matt. 28:19–21) and churches have been advancing the gospel ever since. This cannot happen, however, with churches full of people unmoved by the gospel. The truth of the gospel must get down deep into the marrow of our beings, our very souls. It is a truth that must color every thought, action, and reaction. As we grow in our understanding of the gospel (and its implications), we find ourselves growing in our knowledge and application of the Bible. We become mature. Now, please understand—there is a difference between knowing about the Bible and gospel growth. The Pharisees knew a lot about the written Word but they rejected the incarnate Word. You have to do more than graduate with a degree in Bible Trivia. To grow in the gospel is to have one’s identity, mission, security, and hopes all built on what Christ has done. A church that is growing in the gospel is filled with people who are joyfully loving, serving, and sacrificing for one another as they demonstrate the gospel. They are also tactfully, winsomely, and zealously declaring the gospel to each other and the world around them.

God, strengthen us in the gospel. Draw us deeply into the glory of Christ. Make us more and more impressed with Him this very day. Cause us to grow in the gospel and walk in a manner worthy of it.

4. Pray for holiness.

The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be holy because God Himself is holy (1 Peter 1:15–16). Before the church is anything else, she is set apart to holiness. Therefore, one of the prevailing burdens for us in prayer is to walk in holiness that corresponds to the reality of being positionally set apart by God. This is a challenge because we live in the midst of a world that is not holy. It does not regard holiness as a virtue. It, quite frankly, mocks holiness. As a result, we need to continually pray for our church family that we would be a holy people. The Bible tells us to pursue, or strive, after holiness with an intense effort (Heb. 12:14). This unwavering burden to reflect the divine character to one another and to the world around us must be an ongoing prayer.

Our holy God, make us to prize and pursue Your holiness. Strengthen our burden, commitment, and endurance to strive daily after holiness in our lives.

5. Pray for unity.

The gospel brings people together. What’s more, it brings sinful people with various backgrounds (geographic, ethnic, economic, etc.) together. The gospel takes selfish people and causes them to love one another. However, we know from reading the New Testament and from experience that selfishness constantly attempts to overthrow unity. How do we combat this? We are told to preserve unity (Eph. 4:2) by walking in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. This is a humble, gentle, enduring, and loving walk. It tends toward preserving unity rather than fracturing it. As long as selfishness exists, we must find ourselves praying for unity. We get there by asking for believers to walk this gospel walk, leaving footprints of humility.

Father, You are one God in three persons. There is such a loving, happy unity in the Trinity. Make this church—make me—to feel this happiness. Cause us to be united in and through the Trinity so that we might be united together, as a church, in love.

$5 Friday: Romans, Joy, & John Knox

It’s time for our weekly $5 Friday sale. This week’s resources include such topics as Romans, joy, John Knox, law, predestination, prayer, and more.

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

View today’s $5 Friday sale items.