Should Christians Protest at Abortion Mills?

Yes and no. As I have argued here, there are some fine reasons why Christians should be a constant presence at their local abortion mill. It is true that different believers, even different churches have different callings. Trouble is, too often we “feel called” to that which is most comfortable, most respectable. If there are ten churches within a five mile radius of the local mill, and everyone of them supports Bible study programs for successful businessmen something is wrong. Just remember that both the priest and the Levite had some thriving ministries to get to back in Jerusalem as well. Our neighbor is the baby being led to the slaughter.

That said, and given the same principle of different gifts, and not wanting to start a war over competing strategies, I do think it important that in our own minds, when we go the mill that we not see ourselves as but protestors. A protestor is one who merely protests. It is tantamount to standing before the watching world and declaring “I object!” When I merely protest I want me, my neighbors, my friends, passers-by, and those inside the mill to know how I feel about what they are doing. The point of the protest is to make the bad guys feel bad and the good guys feel good. But the babies, and the souls of those who kill them, still die agonizing deaths.   Continue at R. C. Sproul Jr.

The Soul of the Solas

It puzzles me deeply that so few are puzzled deeply by the paradox. We are so used to the befuddling language that we miss its befuddling nature. It ought to stop us in our tracks and arrest our attention, like those signs I see for Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Bank I could understand. Third Bank I could understand. I could understand them merging to become Fourth Bank. But Fifth Third Bank? What does that even mean?

In like manner, how is it that when our spiritual ancestors, our theological heroes, set out to tell us one thing, they ended up telling us five things? Suppose I had lived in a cave for the last five hundred years and then met someone who wanted to get me up to speed on the Reformation and what I should believe. What if they said: “There are five things. The first one is sola…”? Would I not have to say: “Stop right there. If there are five, how can even one of them be called sola?”

It does, of course, in the end make perfect sense. The alones are not alone because they are talking, in a manner of speaking, on different wavelengths. An infinite line is really infinite, but it doesn’t cover everything. An infinite plane is, in a manner of speaking, even more infinite than an infinite line, but it doesn’t cover everything. What sola Scriptura is seeking to keep out isn’t grace, faith, Christ, or God’s glory. It’s trying to keep out unbiblical tradition. Grace alone doesn’t exclude the Bible, faith, Christ, or the glory of God.

In a very real sense, though they spin on different axes, these five are one. The Bible alone is God’s infallible revelation of His glory, which reveals His grace in Christ, which becomes ours through the gift of faith. God’s grace is uniquely revealed in His Word, which reveals the work of Christ, which becomes ours by faith, all redounding to His glory. The solas are precise and potent affirmations of this truth—it’s all about God. They remind us not just how we might have peace with God but that peace with God is not the full and final end of all things. They remind us that the story of the Bible isn’t simply how we who are in dire straits can make it to safety and how nice God is to play such an important role in making that happen. Instead, they remind us that He is the end, and we are the means. The story is about Him and His glory more than us and our comfort.  Continue at R. C. Sproul Jr.

Is It True That God Blesses Those Who Bless Israel and Curses Those Who Curse Israel?

It must be true, because this is what God says, isn’t it? Well, actually God says this, “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

 When God makes a promise we can know that it is certain, and that He will not change. The problem is, however, when we hear Him saying what He did not say. This text does say that God will bless those who bless Israel, but rather those who bless Abraham, to whom God is speaking. Later, however, in Numbers 24, it gets a little more clear. There Balaam, clearly speaking about the nation of Israel says, “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”

That should settle the matter, should it not? The difficulty is still, however, answering about whom this promise is made. Does not Paul himself say, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). Here it is all too easy to get confused. What could it mean that not all Israel is of Israel?   Continue at R. C. Sproul Jr.

Does the Bible say anything about cremation?

No. Cremation, however, may have something to say about the Bible. The proper handling of human bodies after death is not something the Bible expressly deals with.  There are sundry ceremonial laws in the Old Covenant about touching dead bodies, but no instruction on what to do with these bodies. As such we need to be careful not to condemn what the Bible does not condemn. How though, could cremation speak to the Bible? Keep Reading...

Writing Checks Your Faith Can’t Cash

We, these United States are in what is, for us, hard times. Foreclosures abound. Unemployment is high. And inflation may well be warming up in the bullpen.  That said, I remain somewhat surprised at the news today that a particular church in southern California has recently declared bankruptcy, that economic hardship has touched this particular spot. With tens of millions of dollars of debt, and while being sued by sundry vendors who would like to be paid, The Crystal Cathedral is crying uncle.  The church, founded by Robert Schuller and now “pastored” by his daughter, was once the epicenter of a peculiar brand of American religion, the can-do, happy attitude, power of positive thinking gospel.  Schuller is the grandfather, if not the godfather of the entire church growth movement, his spiritual progeny running to Bill Hybels through Rick Warren and down to Joel Osteen. He first determined to grow his church by preaching the good stuff. Continue Reading>>>

Christians & Government

Repentance and Reformation