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If the Bible is unreliable in what it teaches about these things, the church is left to speculate and has nothing of value to speak to the world.
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R.C. Sproul |
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Though sin often brings immediate pleasure, it gives no lasting joy.
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R.C. Sproul |
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dc4f58a
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Sproul is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international multimedia ministry based in Lake Mary, Florida. He also serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's in Sanford, Florida, and his teaching can be heard on the daily radio program Renewing Your Mind. During his distinguished
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R.C. Sproul |
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There is no more direct statement or more clear affirmation of the deity of Christ to be found anywhere in Scripture than in the first verse of John's Gospel.
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R.C. Sproul |
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Have mercy upon me, 0 God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight- That
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R.C. Sproul |
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74b1bcc
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We are told today that in the boldness of faith we are to "name it and claim it." I suppose I should be more measured in my response to this trend, but I can't think of anything more foreign to the teaching of Christ. We come to the presence of God in boldness, but never in arrogance. Yes, we can name and claim those things God has clearly promised in Scripture. For instance, we can claim the certainty of forgiveness if we confess our sins ..
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R.C. Sproul |
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bf3a2f6
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At its root, this is what faith is. It is not believing in God. It's believing God.
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R.C. Sproul |
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The mind of God does not change for God does not change. Things change, and they change according to His sovereign will, which He exercises through secondary means and secondary activities. The prayer of His people is one of the means He uses to bring things to pass in this world. So if you ask me whether prayer changes things, I answer with an unhesitating "Yes!"
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R.C. Sproul |
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22ea5bd
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It is the highest expression of faith to submit to the sovereignty of God. The real prayer of faith is the prayer that trusts God no matter whether the answer is yes or no. It takes no faith to "claim," like a robber, something that is not ours to claim. We are to come to God and tell Him what we want, but we must trust Him to give the answer that is best for us. That is what Jesus did."
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R.C. Sproul |
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b390d39
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We argue endlessly over matters of religion and philosophy, about ethics and politics, but each person must ultimately face the personal issue squarely: "What do I do about my sin?"
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R.C. Sproul |
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Suffering
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R.C. Sproul |
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Living in submission to what God commands is the essence of faith.
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R.C. Sproul |
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Subjectivism takes place when we distort the objective meaning of terms to suit our own interests.
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R.C. Sproul |
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957c5ab
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Regeneration does not take place in stages. It is instantaneous. It is accomplished by one touch of the Holy Spirit on our souls. It is a sovereign work, a thoroughly effective work accomplished by the immediate power of the omnipotence of God. Only God can bring something out of nothing and life out of death. Only God can quicken the human soul.
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R.C. Sproul |
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bd10563
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In this life, we need the second touch of Christ. Indeed, we require a third, fourth, fifth, and continual touch. Though the scales are removed from our eyes, we still need to be led by the hand of Jesus.
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R.C. Sproul |
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When God quickens a human soul, He does it immediately. When I say "immediately,"
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R.C. Sproul |
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Regeneration is the beginning of a journey. It is a journey with successes and failures, with growth amid stumbling. At times, the progress seems painfully slow, but progress is there.
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R.C. Sproul |
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acd57f6
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This yields a practical help for Bible study: read the Bible with a red pen in hand. I suggest that you put a question mark in the margin beside every passage that you find unclear or hard to understand. Likewise, put an X beside every passage that offends you or makes you uncomfortable. Afterward, you can focus on the areas you struggle with, especially the texts marked with an X. This can be a guide to holiness, as the Xs show us quickly ..
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R.C. Sproul |
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f1b589e
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The governing authorities are understood to be ordained by God. We are not permitted to obey only those authorities that we consider to be legitimate. It is a de facto matter, not a do ejur matter. God certainly does not endorse everything civil magistrates do, but He does give them certain rights and requires our obedience to them. No government rules autonomously. All civil authorities must, and ultimately will, answer to God. We have the..
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R.C. Sproul |
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Nothing betrays our deepest theories more eloquently than our practice.
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R.C. Sproul |
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What higher approval could a person enjoy than to know that what he or she has done is pleasing to God? Every Christian should have a passion to please God. We are to delight in honoring Him. It should be our greatest desire to please our Redeemer.
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R.C. Sproul |
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b319ad6
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We neither surrender to the world nor flee from the world. We are to penetrate the world with a new and different spirit.
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R.C. Sproul |
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ba28734
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The world is in a mad dash of personal peace and affluence. Sadly, too often the evangelical church is not much different. Of course, we want our children to become Christians. But that is just an addition to the all-consuming goal, that they would attain their own personal peace and affluence.
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the-family-s-chief-end
parenting
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R.C. Sproul Jr. |
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31851a7
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Only God can bring something out of nothing and life out of death.
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R.C. Sproul |
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b44f59a
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Have mercy upon me, 0 God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.... Purge me with hyssop, ..
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R.C. Sproul |
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ea473b8
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Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And
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R.C. Sproul |
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8046bbe
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We are told today that in the boldness of faith we are to "name it and claim it." I suppose I should be more measured in my response to this trend, but I can't think of anything more foreign to the teaching of Christ. We come to the presence of God in boldness, but never in arrogance. Yes, we can name and claim those things God has clearly promised in Scripture. For instance, we can claim the certainty of forgiveness if we confess our sins ..
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R.C. Sproul |
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a066d0c
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preceptive will. They express and reveal to us what is right and proper for us to do. The preceptive will is God's rule of righteousness for our lives. By this rule we are governed. It is the will of God that we not sin. It is the will of God that we have no other gods before Him; that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves; that we refrain from stealing, coveting, and committing adultery. Yet the world is filled with idolatry, hatred, t..
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R.C. Sproul |
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875bae2
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A sacrament gives a dramatic sign that points beyond itself to some truth of redemption that is crucial to the life of the people of God.
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R.C. Sproul |
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a562c3e
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Unbelief is judged by Jesus not as an intellectual error but as a hostile act of prejudice against God Himself.
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R.C. Sproul |
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73fdac0
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All that God does is for His glory first and for our benefit second. We pray because God commands us to pray, because it glorifies Him, and because it benefits us.
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R.C. Sproul |
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699b49a
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The Minister's Burden From the beginning of his ministry to the very end Paul was acutely conscious of the burden that Christ had put upon him as an apostle of God's gospel. He knew that his duty was to communicate the full counsel of God. That burden has been shared by every earnest minister of the gospel ever since. The pulpit is not a place for the minister to orate or opine on his personal preferences or insights. The pulpit is where th..
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R.C. Sproul |
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8033094
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Do the unborn have basic rights that should be protected by constitutional law?
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R.C. Sproul |
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60e6bbf
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Every time the gospel has been proclaimed boldly and accurately in church history, there has been persecution. Every time the church speaks out to confront ungodliness in the culture, there is a backlash. I have no desire to go looking for persecution and conflict, but the fact that I live so free of persecution makes me question my commitment to the things of God. I don't like conflict, but I hate to stand among people like Caiaphas.
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R.C. Sproul |
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8026cab
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When the Bible speaks of the will of God, it does not always mean the decretive will of God. The decretive will of God cannot be broken or disobeyed. It will come to pass. On the other hand, there is a will that can be broken: "the preceptive will of God." It can be disobeyed."
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R.C. Sproul |
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ef2ad78
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Throughout history, God has demonstrated that He is supremely trustworthy. That's why, in one sense, nothing could be more foolish than not to trust in the promises of God.
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R.C. Sproul |
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864d46f
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The sanctity-of-life principle underscores the gravity of the question of when human life begins.
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R.C. Sproul |
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Those who are in Me and do not bear fruit are cut off; those who do bear fruit are cleansed, purified, nurtured, and pruned, so that they may become even more productive.
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R.C. Sproul |
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a37c2a6
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If our origin is accidental and insignificant, and if our destiny is annihilation, is it not absurd to believe that we have some significance in between?
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R.C. Sproul |
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Isn't that a wonderful metaphor for the Christian life? Once we're converted, God does not say: "I have now put My stamp of approval on you, so `Let go and let God.' I'll take care of the rest of your life. You don't have to worry about anything." No, He loves us so much that He cleanses us. In other words, He chastens us. He brings his hand on us heavily from time to time. That is part of the process we must go through to be made pure."
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R.C. Sproul |
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7a755d2
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The zealous person who promises us a life free from suffering has found his message from a source other than Scripture.
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R.C. Sproul |
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554b910
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Jesus declared that our productivity, our fruitfulness, is directly linked to our abiding in Him. As Christians, we will bear fruit, but it will vary in degree. The closer we stay to Christ, the more fruit we will bear. The more we wander out from the center and neglect the means of grace that He has given to us, the less fruit we will produce.
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R.C. Sproul |
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7f4fc03
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The Supreme Court decided that the state has no compelling interest in the fetus until viability. (One wonders at what point the fetus has a compelling interest in the state.) By denying the unborn the fundamental right to live, the state has reneged on its solemn duty.
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R.C. Sproul |
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0768031
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Cyprian declared, "He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the church for his Mother." We need the church as urgently as a starving baby needs his mother's milk. We cannot grow"
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R.C. Sproul |