RC Sproul's lays out the love of God

I love RC Sproul’s response to those people who say that if God loves the whole world, He will provide multiple ways.

Suppose there actually is a God in heaven, and suppose this God created the world and everything in it. Suppose that, in the process of making myriad species of birds, fish, and animals, He formed human beings in His image and gave them the most exalted position in all of creation. Suppose He said, “You will be holy, even as I am holy,” and gave them only one command to obey – but fifteen minutes after He made them, these human beings revolted against Him by doing the very thing He had commanded them not to do. Suppose God then said, “I’m going to provide a way for you to escape My judgment,” and then He called Abraham out of paganism, brought him to Himself, and said, “I’m going to make you the father of a great nation.” Suppose that He blessed all the descendants of Abraham, expanded them to a whole nation, and said, “Through this nation I’m going to bless the whole world”- but this nation repeatedly turned against Him. Suppose God sent prophets to these people to tell them to come back to Him, just as an unfaithful spouse returns to his or her partner-but the people killed the prophets. Suppose God finally said, “I love you so much, even though you are a stiff-necked people, that I’m going to send My eternal, only begotten Son to you” – but the people rose up against His Son and crucified Him. Suppose that God loved the people enough in all of this that while they were in the very act of killing His Son, He transferred the sins of His people to His Son and said: “if you’ll put your trust in Him, if you’ll confess your sins and believe in Him, if you’ll turn your gaze upon Jesus, you will not experience death. I’m going to give you eternal life with no pain, no tears, no evil, and no darkness.” If God were to do all that, would you have the insolence to say to Him, “God, You haven’t done enough for this world that hates You?” 1

Our culture says “If God provides only one way of salvation, He doesn’t really love the world.”
REALLY?? How much more loving could God be? People today don’t understand the depths of God’s love and the depth of their depravity.
Has any other religious leader ever died for you?  To even think that there may be some validity to those false religions is blasphemy.  There is only one way and that is Jesus Christ.


[1]  RC Sproul, “John” (Sheridan Books, Inc.) 45

The righteous anger of Jesus

John 2:13-17 (ESV)
[13 ] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14 ] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. [15 ] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16 ] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” [17 ] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”


I wonder what Jesus would do if he walked into some of the churches on the Gulf Coast today.




I know how angry and disappointed I get with them and all of the man-centered preaching and teaching that goes on, but those feelings are still tinged with pride and sin. Here Jesus shows a pure and Holy anger. It strikes fear into me to imagine being in that temple that day. Just to catch a glimpse of the pure and just anger of God.

It's not that the money changers or the people who selling animals for the sacrifice were doing anything wrong in and of itself, but it was where they were doing it, or as RC Sproul puts it "Legitimate Activities, Inappropriate Place." What about us?  Do we bring activities into the church that shouldn't be there?  Do we turn the focus from hearing God through the preaching of His word onto other things that are more pleasent for us to hear?
Can you imagine coming into your church only to be bombarded by tons of things that steal your attention away from worshiping God?
Can you imagine if there were all sorts of things for your convenience located in the church so that you could focus on your comfort instead of worshiping God?
Can you Imagine if there were pep talks to make you feel good instead of sermons on the Scriptures?
Can you imagine if church was centered on the man instead of on the man's creator and the one who has saved Him from the judgment to come?
Can you imagine if the credit for your salvation was taken from God and given to man?
Do you think God would be angry?

Two Farmers

Two men owned farms side by side. One was a bitter atheist, the other a devout Christian. The atheist was constantly annoyed at the Christian for his trust in God. So one winter the atheist said to him, “Let’s plant our crops as usual this spring, each the same number of acres. We’ll both work hard, you your six days and I seven. You pray to your God and I’ll curse him. Then come October, let’s see who has the bigger crop.” When October came the atheist was delighted because his crop was larger. “See, you fool,” he taunted, “What do you have to say for your God now?” The other farmer replied, “My God doesn’t settle all His accounts in October.”


All accounts will be settled with God. No sin will ever go unpunished. You will either pay for your sins yourself in Hell, or Jesus will have paid for your sins on the cross. There are no other options. Do not tempt God by saying that you will put it off repentance until the later days of life. Death could be at your door tonight and then it will be too late.

WHEN PERSONAL CONVICTION CROSSES THE LINE

When does a personal conviction cross the line into a public conviction?
When does conviction of a sinful area of my life become a public thing?
Merriam Webster defines conviction as
1 : the act or process of convicting of a crime esp. in a court of law
2 a : the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
3 a : a strong persuasion or belief

b : the state of being convinced
For the purposed my post we will focus on definition 2 and 3.
Should personal conviction be public?



Just to get something straight, a personal conviction is something different from a command. If God gives us a commandment in His Word, then it doesn't matter if we feel convicted about it or not as to whether we should obey it. These commandments usually don't bring too much controversy into the body of Christ, but when it comes to areas that are not clearly spelled out in the Bible, things can get ugly.
What do you do with something that you feel is wrong, but is not clearly spelled out in Scripture? Do you put together a bunch of Scripture to prove your point? I think that you can to support your conviction. I think that we most often feel personal convictions when we are reading and studying Scripture. Personal conviction is good. It is a major part of sanctification. This is where God reveals our sin to us so that we can repent of it and turn our lives more toward Him.
But what happens when other does feel that same conviction, even when you present the same passages of Scripture to them? Should we take the time to point it out to them? What if they don't feel the same way about the issue? Do we label them a sinner, a false convert, a "bad" Christian?

I think that the answer lies in Scripture. Let the Bible and the Holy Spirit do the convicting of the person. If it really an area of sin in their life that God wants to reveal to them, then He will do it through His Word.
Does the Bible talk of personal convictions defined in this way?
I think that Paul speaks to this matter in Romans chapter 14
Paul gives us examples different things that people had different feelings on in his time. In verses 2 and 15 it is food. In verse 5 it is holy days. Please take a minute to read these 23 verses. Paul is telling us that everything is clean, verse 14 and verse 20, but if someone is convinced (convicted) that it is unclean, then "it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean." (v.14) So, a person in their freedom should not press the issue with this person that it really isn't a sin the eat the meat. If that person feels that it is a sin to eat the meat, then it is a sin to him. He is not responsible to you for his actions, but to God. V.4 "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? (we are all servants of God) It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." v.10 "Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." (ESV)
Instead of holy days and food, what are some of the issues that cause us to judge one another today?
Do we look at a brother or sister in Christ and judge their life based on our convictions? I'm not talking about pointing out clear sin in their life like murder, sexual sin, lying, stealing, etc. I'm talking about the parts that aren't clearly spelled out in the Bible.
What about serving in the church? I know that has been one where I have stumbled in the past. "Look at this guy or this gal. They don't do anything inside the church. They must not be very Christ like." Sound familiar? Let's look at this example for a second. Does the Bible tell us to serve in the Body of Christ? Yes. Out of love we are to love others. Christ died not only for me, but for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Out of my love and devotion for Him, I should love and serve them. Does this mean that a person who does not serve in the church doesn't love Christ? No. They may be at a point in their life where God, through His Spirit, has convinced them that they need to focus on their family life, and for them to take time away from their children or their spouse to serve in the church would be a sin.