Sanctification & the Christian Life¶
We've crafted an unofficial, source-cited, non-commercial index of Dr. R.C. Sproul's publicly available teachings, weighted by how many independent sources corroborate each point. The content is authored by Dr. R.C. Sproul and published by Ligonier Ministries (a few items are third-party YouTube re-uploads); see the Methodology & Rights page for more info. Quotations are brief, linked to their source, and reproduced for study under Ligonier's Copyright Policy (ligonier.org/copyright-policy). This site is humbly offered for personal use only, out of love and respect, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ligonier Ministries or St. Andrew's Chapel.
281 positions — 19 corroborated across multiple sources.
Well-attested positions¶
Independently stated in two or more of his messages.
A disciple is merely a learner who follows Jesus, while an apostle is someone who is commissioned and sent out by a superior.
A disciple—in Greek, a mathētēs —is a learner, a student, one who followed Jesus and learned at His feet. But to be an Apostle is something quite different. An apostle, “one who is sent,” is one commissioned and called by a superior, such as a king or a general in the army, or in this case a person called by the Lord of glory and sent out from Him, carrying the authority of the One who sent him.
Corroborated across 5 sources: Christ’s Call to Make Disciples (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 23:11 · Beginning of Jesus' Public Ministry (Ligonier) · A New Apostle (Ligonier) · The Sending of the Twelve (Ligonier)
The Great Commission is a call to make disciples and share Christ's authority globally, rather than merely focusing on evangelism or church membership.
The Great Commission is the call of Christ for His disciples to extend His authority over the whole world. We are to share the gospel with everyone so that more and more people might call Him “Master.”
Corroborated across 3 sources: Christ’s Call to Make Disciples (Ligonier article) · What “Ekklesia” Means in the Bible (Ligonier article) · We’re Called to Make Disciples, not Simply Converts (Ligonier article)
The ultimate goal of the Christian life is righteousness, not spirituality, piety, or morality.
The goal of the Christian life is not spirituality, and the goal of the Christian life is not piety. The goal of the Christian life's not morality, but the goal of the Christian life is righteousness.
Corroborated across 3 sources: Do You Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 0:00 · From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
Spiritual maturity involves living by God's word and is achieved through diligent use of the means of grace.
Spiritual maturity looks like godliness that has been learned over time through making diligent use of the means of grace so that grace has had time to mature and ripen in our souls and our lives as our minds have been renewed by learning to look at life from the perspective of the biblical Word.
Corroborated across 3 sources: Love and Maturity: What the Corinthians Got Wrong (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 22:56 · Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Jesus called potential disciples by giving the simple command to follow Him, requiring them to abandon their current lives.
He went to prospective disciples where they were, whether in the marketplace or at their place of work, and give this simple command: “Follow Me.” The command was literal—He called them to drop their present duties.
Corroborated across 3 sources: We’re Called to Make Disciples, not Simply Converts (Ligonier article) · Jesus on Trial (Ligonier) · Beginning of Jesus' Public Ministry (Ligonier)
False accusations and slander should be viewed as opportunities for spiritual growth and sanctification.
Therefore, every false accusation, every slander, every ill word spoken about me is an opportunity for me to grow in my sanctification.
Corroborated across 2 sources: A Charitable Reaction (Ligonier article) · How Should Christians Respond to Attacks and Insults? (Ligonier article)
The Christian life requires striving to live in imitation of Christ, which includes bearing injuries with joy, patience, love, and gentleness.
We are all called to bear our injuries with joy, patience, love, and gentleness. This kind of response is required of all of us because the Christian life is about the imitation of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).
Corroborated across 2 sources: A Charitable Reaction (Ligonier article) · How Should Christians Respond to Attacks and Insults? (Ligonier article)
True biblical discipleship requires a complete life change involving submitting fully to Christ's authority, which extends beyond mere teaching.
That’s the essence of discipleship—submitting fully to the authority of Christ, the One whose lordship goes beyond just the classroom.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Christ’s Call to Make Disciples (Ligonier article) · We’re Called to Make Disciples, not Simply Converts (Ligonier article)
True obedience is motivated by love for Christ, rather than a desire to achieve righteousness.
Jesus understood that when He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” If I may have the liberty to paraphrase: “Keep My commandments not because you want to be just, but because you love Me.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: God’s Will and Your Job (Ligonier article) · What Is Grace? (Ligonier article)
Christian growth is a continuous process that requires diligent use of the means of grace and pursuing God's truth through the Word.
There is no substitute for making diligent use of the means of grace and diligently pursuing the truth of God through the Word of God because the Spirit—beloved, please hear this—the Spirit of God works with the Word, through the Word, and never, ever against the Word.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Regeneration: The Most Significant Beginning (Ligonier article) · The Holy Spirit to the Gentiles (Ligonier)
The pastor must not only preach doctrines but also actively train the congregation in practical skills necessary for spiritual growth.
It is not enough for a pastor simply to communicate information through expositional preaching or to explain the doctrines of the faith to his flock. He is also called to see to it that they are trained in certain skills necessary for growth in the faith.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Shepherding the Flock (Ligonier article) · What Does It Mean to Be a Shepherd Over the Flock? (Ligonier article)
To understand God's will for one's life, one should focus on the preceptive will of God, which is exemplified by sanctification.
We are encouraged by Scripture to learn the will of God for our lives, and we do so by focusing our attention not on the decretive will of God but on the preceptive will of God. If you want to know God’s will for your life, the Bible tells you: “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3).
Corroborated across 2 sources: What Is the Will of God for My Life? (Ligonier article) · Sanctification (Ligonier)
The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit's leading, according to the New Testament, is not for life decisions but for the believer's holiness.
But, in the New Testament, the primary meaning of the leading of the Holy Spirit is not to lead us who to marry, or what job we should take, or what city we should live in. But the primary leading of the Holy Spirit is the leading to holiness.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 0:14 · R.C. Sproul @ 1:34
Christians must be prepared to choose between obeying those who command sin and obeying Christ.
So, I urge you Christians to be prepared for that time when you must choose between obedience to those who command sin or obedience to Christ.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 4:03 · Obeying God or Man? (Ligonier)
The process of sanctification involves a continuous 'warfare' between the flesh of man and the Spirit of God.
So that the whole struggle and process of sanctification involves what Paul calls ”warfare.” There’s a war going on, and it’s a war between the flesh of man and the Spirit of God.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 14:21 · R.C. Sproul @ 1:31
To be a disciple, one must be willing to hate their family and even their own life.
Context: Quoting Jesus's words (Luke 14:25).
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 10:47 · The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Sanctification is a lifelong process that continues until death, aiming for the believer to grow into the image of Christ.
Sanctification is a lifelong process that is never completed until our entrance into heaven, at which point we will be glorified and freed from sin altogether. In the meantime, we are called to move from infancy in our spiritual journey toward adulthood, to grow up into the fullness of the image of Christ and be more and more conformed to Him each day.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Asking & Knocking (Ligonier) · The Raising of Dorcas (Ligonier)
The New Testament teaches that Christ's sonship goes beyond mere obedience and points to a unique, transcendent relationship with the Father.
No, the New Testament, though it clearly talks about His sonship in terms of obedience, nevertheless goes beyond this to the transcendent aspect of Christ’s unique relationship to the Father.
Corroborated across 2 sources: A Basket Case (Ligonier) · Sanctification (Ligonier)
Numerical church growth is not automatically proof that God's hand is upon the work; human efforts can also lead to growth.
Because of that, we tend to think that any time a church grows numerically, it must be irrefutable evidence that the hand of the Lord is upon it. But that is not necessarily so.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Life in the Early Church (Ligonier) · The Team of Barnabas and Saul (Ligonier)
Further positions¶
Drawn from a single high-trust (official transcript) source.
Christian learning should encompass all aspects of inquiry because all truth ultimately belongs to God.
Since all truth is God’s truth, all aspects of scientific inquiry are to be within the province of biblical and Christian learning.
Source: God Is the Source (Ligonier article)
The missionary mandate is never over and is the church's duty to fulfill the Great Commission.
If someone stands up in a church meeting and says that the day of mission is over, resist him with all of your might, because that person is advocating nothing less than treason to the Lord of the church. It is the church's duty to fulfill the Great Commission, to send people into all the world.
Source: The Biblical Basis for Missions (Ligonier article)
Humans are repeatedly called to be disciples and learners, requiring teachers to learn and enabling great teachers to produce great learners.
In Scripture, we are called again and again to be disciples, or more precisely, learners. We need teachers if we are to learn, and great teachers raise up great learners who can then go on to produce other great learners.
Source: The Blessing of Great Teachers (Ligonier article)
The Christian life and all actions must be directed toward giving honor and glory to God alone.
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God, has been accomplished by God, is for God’s glory that we must glorify Him always, we must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God, and for the glory of God alone.
Source: Calvin’s Defining Passion in the Protestant Reformation (Ligonier article)
Discipleship is a lifelong process of learning Christ's mind and will, involving full obedience to His lordship.
Disciples are people who have wholeheartedly committed to follow the thinking and conduct of the Master. Such discipleship is a lifelong experience of learning the mind of Christ and following the will of Christ, submitting ourselves in full obedience to His lordship.
Source: Christ’s Call to Make Disciples (Ligonier article)
Christ's life of perfect obedience is vital for redemption, providing the positive dimension that wins the blessing of the covenant of works.
Beyond the negative fulfillment of the covenant of works, in taking the punishment due those who disobey it, Jesus offers the positive dimension that is vital to our redemption. He wins the blessing of the covenant of works on all of the progeny of Adam who put their trust in Jesus.
Source: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article)
Christ's perfect righteousness, gained through His perfect obedience, is imputed to all who place their trust in Him, making active obedience essential for justification.
It is His perfect righteousness, gained via His perfect obedience, that is imputed to all who put their trust in Him. Therefore, Christ’s work of active obedience is absolutely essential to the justification of anyone.
Source: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article)
Our salvation is grounded in Christ's obedience, encompassing both His passive obedience on the cross and His active obedience in His life.
It is the obedience of Christ that is the ground of our salvation, both in His passive obedience on the cross and His active obedience in His life.
Source: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article)
The church should maintain its call to holiness and virtue while also showing compassion to people overwhelmed by temptation.
Given the bombardment of the external stimulation that the young person today receives, it is well advised for the church, even though we are called to maintain the call to holiness and virtue that is ours from Scripture, to have at the same time compassion for people who are overwhelmed by temptation.
Source: Cultural Revolution (Ligonier article)
The most common change resulting from prayer is the transformation of the wickedness and hardness of one's own heart.
What prayer most often changes is the wickedness and the hardness of our own hearts. That alone would be reason enough to pray, even if none of the other reasons were valid or true.
Source: Does Prayer Change God’s Mind? (Ligonier article)
The conscience is prone to being fluid and adjusting downward, causing ethics to align with personal desires rather than God's commands.
Almost all people adjust their consciences between childhood and adulthood, and the adjustment is almost always downward. That is, we learn how to turn the volume of our conscience down, and we make the necessary adjustments so that our ethics align with how we want to live and not how God tells us we should live.
Source: Don’t Adjust Your Conscience to Fit the Culture (Ligonier article)
True piety is not merely a surface-level thing, but is demonstrated by outward obedience, even unto death.
But His spirituality was not merely a surface thing. His inner life displayed itself in outward obedience, obedience even unto death.
Source: Don’t Confuse Spirituality with Righteousness (Ligonier article)
The Christian life is inherently corporate because God places redeemed people in the church to learn, grow, serve, and worship together.
The Christian life is a corporate thing, for Christ places His redeemed people in the church to learn together, grow together, serve together, and worship together.
Source: What “Ekklesia” Means in the Bible (Ligonier article)
The Christian must strive to ensure their conscience aligns with the mind of Christ to prevent carnal impulses from leading to disobedience.
The dilemma of double jeopardy demands that we diligently strive to bring our consciences into harmony with the mind of Christ lest a carnal conscience lead us into disobedience.
Source: Ethics and the Conscience (Ligonier article)
Biblical patience is not merely the ability to wait for future gains, but rather a virtue focused on longsuffering and forbearing in personal relationships.
When we are injured by others, we long for vindication, a vindication that is speedy. We fear that the axiom “justice delayed is justice denied” will work its havoc in our souls.
Source: Waiting on God (Ligonier article)
Delighting in God's precepts leads to a life of fruitful obedience, which is necessary to demonstrate love for God.
A knowledge of the law of God gives to us the pattern of loving obedience. If we love the Lord, we must also love His law.
Source: The Goodness of the Law (Ligonier article)
The Epicureans practiced a more refined form of hedonism, which was a second stage of the philosophy.
The Epicureans adopted a more refined variety of hedonism.
Source: What Is Hedonism? (Ligonier article)
Christians should take care to avoid the sin of hypocrisy because unbelievers observe the discrepancy between what Christians profess and how they live.
Unbelievers see us talking the talk and not walking the walk, and that should not be so among us.
Source: Hypocrites in the Church (Ligonier article)
The Christian life involves responding to divine imperatives, which express obligations and necessities.
The Christian life, in many ways, is a life of responding to divine imperatives. An imperative expresses an obligation. It is a way of saying what we must do.
Source: Is It OK to Be Angry? (Ligonier article)
The Christian life is a continuous process of growth and seeking, rather than a static event.
The Christian life begins at conversion; it does not end where it begins. It grows; it moves from faith to faith, from grace to grace, from life to life.
Source: Is Jesus Knocking at the Heart of the Unbeliever? (Ligonier article)
Jesus handled controversies differently, using force against hypocrites but gentleness toward those who were aware of their sin.
When Jesus dealt with these men, He asked no quarter and gave none. When He pronounced the judgment of God on them publicly, He used the oracle of woe that was used by the Old Testament prophets: “Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte [convert], and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves” (Matt. 23:15). Jesus dealt with many of the religious leaders of His day so forcefully because of their hard-hearted hypocrisy. Other people who were cognizant of their sin and ashamed of it—these He addressed with love and encouragement.
Source: What Is the Judgment of Charity? (Ligonier article)
Paul's example of growing up from childish ways serves as an admonition for the Corinthians to mature in their Christian lives.
He points to himself as an example: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Cor. 13:11).
Source: Love and Maturity: What the Corinthians Got Wrong (Ligonier article)
The ultimate purpose of spirituality is sanctification, meaning the Holy Spirit's activity should guide believers toward righteousness.
The purpose of being spiritual in biblical terms is that we be sanctified. The purpose of the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives is to instruct us and move us toward righteousness.
Source: Love and Maturity: What the Corinthians Got Wrong (Ligonier article)
The mature Christian lives by every word proceeding from God, which is achieved through diligent use of the means of grace and renewed minds.
Spiritual maturity looks like godliness that has been learned over time through making diligent use of the means of grace so that grace has had time to mature and ripen in our souls and our lives as our minds have been renewed by learning to look at life from the perspective of the biblical Word.
Source: Love and Maturity: What the Corinthians Got Wrong (Ligonier article)
Practices like prayer and Bible study are not ends in themselves, but are designed to help believers live righteously.
That is, the discipline of prayer, Bible study, church fellowship, witnessing, and the like are not ends in themselves, but are designed to assist us in living righteously.
Source: The Meaning of God’s Will (Ligonier article)
The perceived theological change in the Roman Catholic Church following Vatican II was due to confusion over the council's significance.
I think this misunderstanding has been driven primarily by confusion over the significance of Vatican Council II (1962–65).
Source: Misunderstanding Vatican II (Ligonier article)
Believers should live their lives with a strong conviction of the glory established in heaven, rather than remaining focused on earthly life.
We hold on tenaciously to life in this world because we are not really convinced of the glory that the Father has established in heaven for His people.
Source: The Nature and Wonder of Heaven (Ligonier article)
Christian life involves spiritual growth (sanctification), which is a necessary process that cannot be achieved through passive waiting or secret knowledge.
Christianity is about spiritual growth as well, and spiritual growth involves effort—the hard work of sanctification. We manifestly don’t work for our regeneration or our justification.
Source: No Shortcuts to Growth (Ligonier article)
A church that fails to discipline its members for serious sins risks adopting the immorality of secular culture.
When the church fails to discipline its members for gross and heinous sins, particularly sins of a public nature, that community becomes infected with the immorality of the secular culture.
Source: The Perils Facing the Evangelical Church (Ligonier article)
The ultimate goal of the Christian life is godliness, which stems from obedience to Christ.
What is the goal of the Christian life? Godliness born of obedience to Christ. Obedience unlocks the riches of the Christian experience.
Source: The Place of Prayer (Ligonier article)
The evolutionary model posits a progression of religious development through animism, polytheism, henotheism, and finally monotheism.
The evolutionary approach to the Bible speculated that Jewish religion followed the general pattern of development that went as follows: animism----polytheism----henotheism----monotheism
Source: Pluralism and Relativism (Ligonier article)
The Christian life involves an ongoing conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, meaning that sin and struggle persist even after conversion.
My life didn’t begin to be complicated until I became a Christian, because only then did I have to go to war every day between that which is of the flesh and that which is of the Spirit. The conflict is ongoing because the capacity for evil that resides in the heart of a regenerate person is almost without limit.
Source: Regeneration: The Most Significant Beginning (Ligonier article)
The church must maintain its focus on the eternal dimension of life and should not compromise its beliefs due to cultural pressures.
Let the culture be paganized, let the culture be barbarian, but let the church be the church and never negotiate the eternal dimension of life.
Source: Right Now Counts Forever (Ligonier article)
He warns that focusing on controlling demons undermines the biblical concept of sanctification and personal responsibility.
The first is that we yield to the temptation to take no personal responsibility for our sin. How can we be responsible if in fact we are not able to resist? Second, we are lured into thinking that we are powerless without the aid of the deliverance minister.
Source: Satan the Proud and Powerful (Ligonier article)
There is no guaranteed one-to-one correlation between obedience and blessing, and faithful people can experience great defeat, while faithless people may enjoy outward success.
Scripture warns us that on this side of glory, there is not a one-to-one correlation between obedience and blessing. Faithful people are often successful, but sometimes they experience great defeat.
Source: Seeing Is Not Always Believing (Ligonier article)
Human beings do not earn righteousness before God through their own obedience; rather, they receive blessings through the Lord's grace, even when they are disobedient.
We don't merit righteousness before our Father by our obedience, and the Lord's grace is so vast that He regularly blesses us in spite of our disobedience.
Source: Seeing Is Not Always Believing (Ligonier article)
The rise of the monastic movement, beginning with extreme asceticism, was a major influence on the future of Christianity.
A third element that had great influence on the future of Christianity was the rise of the monastic movement. Beginning with the extreme asceticism of people such as Anthony of the Desert (ca. 251–356), this radical brand of self-denial became institutionalized with the rise of various monastic orders, most of which exist to this day.
Source: Setting the Stage: The First Millennium (Ligonier article)
Greek education shifted from seeking truth for its own sake to focusing on practical techniques and methods for daily life.
Greek education thus shifted away from a pursuit of truth for truth’s sake to a pursuit of technique, methodology, and ways that the person’s practical concerns could be strengthened.
Source: Socrates or Sophism? (Ligonier article)
It is dangerous to assume that all changes on Earth resulted from gradual processes.
but it is risky business to assume that all of the changes that have occurred on our planet have been the result of gradualism.
Source: Taking Thought for Tomorrow (Ligonier article)
Effective teachers must be lifelong learners who continuously revise their material and adjust their skills.
Excellent instructors keep on revising their material and adjusting their skills throughout their teaching careers. Simply put, they keep learning.
Source: Teachable Teachers (Ligonier article)
Wise teachers learn not only from preparation and other teachers but also from their students.
The point is that wise teachers learn not only from their preparation and not only from other teachers but also from their students.
Source: Teachable Teachers (Ligonier article)
A teacher must be willing to accept the questions and knowledge of students, even if it is painful, in order to grow.
Over the years, I’ve learned that if I as a teacher am threatened by the questions or knowledge of my students, I will never grow as a teacher.
Source: Teachable Teachers (Ligonier article)
To be effective missionaries, one must study the local culture and society, not just the Gospel content.
It’s not enough simply to know the content of the Gospel. It is also important that we understand the society in which we are acting out our role as missionaries.
Source: The Importance of Cultural Awareness (Ligonier article)
To overcome sin, one must either decrease the desire for sin or increase the desire to obey God.
Therefore, the simple conclusion is that to overcome the power of sin within us, we need either to decrease our desire for the sin or to increase our desire to obey God.
Source: The Meaning of Man’s Will (Ligonier article)
Achieving righteousness through Christ's sacrifice does not grant believers the freedom to sin, and they must still strive to follow God's preceptive will.
However, that righteousness does not give us the license to do as we please. We must still seek to do God’s preceptive will, especially as we swim through the perilous waters of the moral, ethical, and social dilemmas of our age.
Source: The Meaning of Man’s Will (Ligonier article)
Restricting Scripture to certain portions is a form of canon reduction that has historical parallels with the heretical movements of the early church.
That is to say, restricted portions of Scripture are deemed as God’s revelation, not the whole of Scripture. In this case, we have seen movements that have been described by historians as neo-Marcionite.
Source: Tota Scriptura (Ligonier article)
He prefers the term 'preservation of the saints' over 'perseverance of the saints' because the keeping in grace is accomplished by God.
So I prefer the term the preservation of the saints , because the process by which we are kept in a state of grace is something that is accomplished by God.
Source: TULIP and Reformed Theology: Perseverance of the Saints (Ligonier article)
A narrow, exclusive attitude is dangerous because it leads people to reject others who do not fit within their specific group's definition of discipleship.
He sees a narrow exclusiveness, a parochial attitude that basically says, "If he's not a part of our group in its purest form, he has nothing whatsoever to do with us."
Source: A Warning Against Division in the Church (Ligonier article)
The Great Commission mandates the church to make disciples of all nations, rather than simply focusing on evangelism.
He gave a mandate to the church of all ages not simply to evangelize but to make disciples.
Source: We’re Called to Make Disciples, not Simply Converts (Ligonier article)
A truly Christian life requires integrity, meaning all aspects of life—religious and nonreligious—must be lived consistently before God.
The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.
Source: What Does “Coram Deo” Mean? (Ligonier article)
Genuine sanctification involves an increasing awareness of one's sinfulness, which leads to an increasing awareness of God's grace, resulting in greater love and obedience.
The great teachers of the church say the first point of genuine sanctification is an increasing awareness of our own sinfulness. With that comes, at the same time, an increasing awareness of God’s grace. And with that, again, increasing love and increasing willingness to obey Him.
Source: What Is Grace? (Ligonier article)
Understanding God's grace leads to a profound gratitude that motivates a life of obedience and ethical action.
The Christian motivation for ethics is not merely to obey some abstract law or a list of rules; rather, our response is provoked by gratitude.
Source: What Is Grace? (Ligonier article)
Humans tend to prioritize acquiring supernatural power and doing over cultivating supernatural love.
But we are people who are more interested in power, in doing rather than being. We’re more concerned to seize the supernatural power that God can give rather than the supernatural love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
Source: What Is Love? (Ligonier article)
The concept of adiaphora was established in the New Testament when Paul addressed ethical concerns in the early Christian community.
The concept of adiaphora was developed in the New Testament when the apostle Paul had to address emerging ethical concerns in the nascent Christian community.
Source: When to Stop, When to Go, When to Slow Down (Ligonier article)
While Christians must be sensitive to those with scruples, this sensitivity must not escalate to the point where it becomes a defining law of behavior.
It is not a matter of Christian liberty to bash or to ridicule those who have these scruples. We are called to be sensitive to them. We are not to offend unnecessarily those referred to in the Bible as weaker brothers. On the other hand, sensitivity to the weaker brother stops at the point where he elevates his sensitivity to become the law or defining rule of Christian behavior.
Source: When to Stop, When to Go, When to Slow Down (Ligonier article)
To achieve sanctification and grow in Christ's image, one must acquire knowledge of God's truth and doctrine.
Now, if you want to be sanctified, if you want to grow in conformity to the image of Christ, you need to know the truth of God. You need to know doctrine.
Source: Why a Study Bible? (Ligonier article)
Jesus emphasized that a faithful servant must not only perform their duties but also perform them in a timely manner.
We notice that Jesus emphasizes that timeliness is important. Jesus spoke of the faithful servant who was responsible not only to provide the food, but also to provide it on time.
Source: Will He Find You Faithful? (Ligonier article)
The master will grant the servant greater responsibility and esteem because of their faithfulness in the tasks given to them.
The master will give the servant even more responsibility and esteem because he has been faithful in the things given to him.
Source: Will He Find You Faithful? (Ligonier article)
Christ has commanded believers to be visible agents of light and salt in the world, which requires obedience.
Christ has commissioned us to be light and salt in this world (Matt. 5:13–16). We have no option but to obey.
Source: Into the World (Ligonier article)
The speaker suggests that the lack of an explicit command to baptize in the New Testament implies that the practice of including children of believers was assumed to continue unless God explicitly forbade it.
I'm saying the reason why there's no explicit command to baptize in the New Testament is that it would be clearly assumed by any Jewish or early Christian believer that the same practice and principle of including the children of believers in the reception of the covenant sign would continue unless God said, "Stop it."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 27:38
The speaker cautions that the word 'to sanctify' in 1 Corinthians regarding the unbelieving spouse might be misleading because the term is usually reserved for growth in holiness following justification.
that the word there that is used "to sanctify" could be a little bit misleading to us because we normally use the term "sanctification" or "to sanctify" to refer to that growth in holiness and progress and conformity to the image of Christ that immediately follows after our justification and presupposes justification.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 28:59
The primary biblical meaning of the term 'to sanctify' is 'to set apart' or 'to consecrate.'
If you look and see what it means to sanctify, biblically its primary meaning is "to set apart" or "to consecrate," "to be placed in another or different setting or environment."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 31:15
God's holiness is the foundational article of the church, and humanity's justification is achieved by God offering the holiness of His Son as a covering for sin.
God is holy, and I am not is the article upon which the church stands or falls, and I negotiate it with nobody because it's the gospel.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 30:55
The Sabbath day serves as a reminder that humanity is called to live a life of holiness.
Sabbath day is to remind us that we are called to holiness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:12
The ultimate goal and purpose of creation is holiness, which is exemplified by the Sabbath rest.
The goal of creation is Sabbath rest and holiness. God sanctifies the completion of His creation. The end of His creation, the goal, the purpose is holiness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:07
The Christian community should avoid withdrawing into isolation to maintain purity, as this is a recurring historical tendency.
Oh how I wish we would listen to the prayer of Christ at that point because in every generation of Christian history there is always that pull and that tug within the Christian community to so dissociate ourselves from anything that smacks of this world that we withdraw into isolation in order to keep ourselves pure.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 7:08
Christian life requires believers to be transformed by the renewal of their mind rather than conforming to the world's structures.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 11:48
The desire for popularity among peers can lead individuals to conform to social expectations.
Everybody wants to be liked by other people, but we learn as children – as I learned when I was in the sixth grade – that if I was going to be popular there was a price tag to be paid, and the most important price for popularity was conformity.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 15:38
Genuine biblical non-conformity involves character and integrity, such as trustworthiness and moral action, rather than merely adopting superficial lifestyle differences.
If you want to be a non-conformist in the biblical sense, be somebody whose word can be trusted. Be somebody who will do what’s right even if it costs them money. That’s different.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 24:47
Christian life requires living openly in God's presence, rather than having a secret or private life hidden from others.
Now, Luther says we should live our whole lives, not as people seeking the cover of darkness where we have a secret life, a private life that is hidden from the gaze of our friends or of authorities, but that our lives should be lived openly in the presence of God, before the face of God, practicing a kind of consciousness of God from moment to moment.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 4:44
True piety requires continuous effort through difficult moments, not just initial vows or emotional commitments.
So what it means to please God is not simply to make a commitment or a vow, but to press forward through those moments and times where we are paralyzed and frustrated in our spiritual growth.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 7:24
True spiritual growth requires continuous discipline and guidance from a more mature source, much like overcoming artistic paralysis.
If I were to get over my periods of paralysis where I was stuck in music, I had to go to a teacher, a teacher who was on the other side of that plateau who could help bring me across the threshold into a new liberation and a new freedom, and I think the same thing’s true in spiritual life and in spiritual growth.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 23:21
The Holy Spirit works within believers to move them toward greater obedience as Christians.
This is the will of God, the Scriptures say, even your sanctification. And so, the Spirit is working in us to move us to become more obedient as Christians.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:30
Churches that preach the Scriptures and embrace classical Christianity are experiencing significant growth, while other denominations are struggling.
while the churches that are growing in leaps and bounds are the churches where the Scriptures are being preached, and where classical Christianity is embraced and proclaimed.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 44:36
Experiencing God's discipline is an experience of His love, assuring the believer that God will not abandon them.
You know that He is doing this as a father chastens his child that he loves. So you experience the love of God in the midst of the chastening, and you understand that the Spirit never drives us to despair; but rather He is working for our restoration.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 21:26
God's righteousness and holiness are non-negotiable, meaning He will punish the wicked even if He has a disposition of goodwill toward them.
And that is a point that we must remember—that even in His benevolence, God will never negotiate His righteousness or His own holiness. And He will still punish the wicked despite His being in a disposition of goodwill toward them.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:16
God's commitment to righteousness and holiness means that even in his benevolence, he must still punish the wicked.
And that is the point that we must remember -- that even in his benevolence, God will never negotiate his righteousness or his own holiness, and he will still punish the wicked despite his being in a disposition of good will toward them.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 13:02
Humanity is inherently sinful, recognizing that God's holiness makes a relationship with Him impossible without intervention.
The Bible uses words like "we're dead in sin," "we're in bondage to sin," "we're by nature the children of wrath." We do not want God in our thinking, because He's holy and we're not.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:25
Fellowship with mature Christians is necessary for achieving a higher state of sanctification because fellowship is considered a means of grace.
If you want to be brought into a higher state of sanctification, you need to spend time with Christians who are more mature than you are and benefit from the fellowship of the company of the saints, because fellowship is a means of grace.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
Church involvement, membership, and attendance are all considered means of grace that nurture and nourish the new life of a Christian.
Because the church and church membership and church attendance and church involvement is a means of grace. It is a means by which your new life is nurtured and nourished and fed so that you can grow.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
After ascending to heaven, Jesus functions as a High Priest who intercedes for believers daily.
And the chief function of our High Priest, as he tells us, is to intercede for us daily for the Father.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 20:46
True conversion requires a genuine turning away from former sinful ways of life and submitting to Christ's lordship.
But there can be no real conversion without a real turning from your former ways of life and fleeing now to the arms of Christ, whereby at the very core of your being you have resolved to leave that sinful lifestyle behind you and seek the forgiveness of sin.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 21:29
The development of the Trinity was necessitated by the tension between affirming the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and maintaining the biblical concept of monotheism.
the constant tension that was always there was, how do we relate the affirmation of the deity of Christ particularly, as well as the Holy Spirit, but particularly the deity of Christ with the biblical concept of monotheism?
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:01
The passage Paul quotes instructs believers to put on Jesus Christ and prevent the flesh from fulfilling its desires.
but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:29
The greatest enemy of one's own spiritual growth is oneself.
but the biggest enemy of my own spiritual growth is who? Me. You've heard the axiom, ""You're your own worst enemy,"" and we should add to it ""and what a formidable opponent.""
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:55
Scientific progress relies on making distinctions, such as differentiating between different types of matter or diseases.
The very difference between matter and energy, between a common cold and brain cancer, is all the difference in the world.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 16:16
Making friends with the world requires compromising one's allegiance to Christ.
because if you’ve made friends with the world, you could only have done that by compromising Christ.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
The ultimate goal should be to ask God for humility to enjoy His grace.
And then when you're done, get on your knees and say, "God, give me humility that I may enjoy your grace."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 7:49
The speaker questioned what fundamental changes in God's character or relationship with humanity could make a practice once considered odious to God into something He delights in.
What has changed in redemptive history? What has changed in the character of God and of His relationship to His people that makes a practice that once was utterly odious to Him now something in which He takes delight?
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:42
The solution to the problem of human imperfection and God's holiness is the righteousness achieved by someone else, which is available through faith in Christ.
And what Christianity is all about is that righteousness has been achieved by somebody else, for me, and for all who put their faith in Him.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 3:01
A reformation of ethics is urgently needed in the church, requiring moral courage.
If ever there was a need for a reformation of ethics, it's now, not only in government and in the school, but especially in the church, but for that to happen it requires, among other things, moral courage.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 21:37
The core principle that should be maintained across cultures is the willingness of women to be submissive and subordinate to their husbands in the church.
In the first option, we can say that part of the passage is principial and applies and is binding on all generations, and that part is the principle of female subordination to the man. And so someone can come to this text and say, all right, I believe that Paul is setting forth a principle here that women ought always to be willing to be subjective to their husbands and be in submission in the church, and that's the principle. How that principle is manifested can vary from culture to culture.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 4:28
For major life decisions, one should follow the guidance of Scripture rather than attempting to divine God's will.
All I can tell you is to do what Scripture tells you to do, and that's to make a sober evaluation of your gifts and talents and see where you can be used of God in this world and try to find your vocation in that manner.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:07
The primary call of God on a person's life is sanctification, which is the process of becoming holy.
But if you really want to know the will of God for your life, the most important aspect of the will of God for your life, you can listen to what the Scripture says. The Scripture said, "This is the will of God for you, even your sanctification."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:30
The term 'saint' literally means 'holy one,' reflecting the calling to holiness.
And so Christians in the New Testament are called saints, and the word that is translated by the English word "saint" means literally "holy one."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 3:28
The pursuit of holiness and righteousness should be taken with great seriousness and commitment, similar to the effort applied to mastering a skill like golf.
And I can remember many times going to bed at night after one of those workouts and say, "Wow! If you would give this kind of energy and this kind of commitment to your sanctification, wouldn't that be something?"
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:32
Redemption involves Christ granting His holiness, which justifies us before God and then calls us to actively work out our salvation.
It is that Christ in His holiness grants His holiness to us because we don't have it and then as He reconciles us to God, as He justifies us before God, then He says, "Go to work with fear and trembling. Work out this salvation."
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:22
Believers must not take advantage of their salvation but must continue to grow in holiness and live virtuously.
I think that it means that we can't take advantage, you know, of our salvation. You know, we need to be thankful for it and realize that it...you know, that it is a gift and just, you know, not stop at being saved and accepting Christ, but growing as the person that God wants us to be and just continue to grow in that relationship.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 25:51
True holiness involves doing what God commands not out of obligation, but out of a desire to worship and please Him.
When it talks about being holy, I think it has to do with righteousness, doing what He commands and loving it. Not doing it because He says so, but doing it because you want to and you want to worship Him and make Him happy in a way.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 25:52
Christian life is a continuous process of striving for holiness and drawing closer to God.
I think Christianity is just a constant process, no matter how old or young you are, of getting closer to God and getting closer to holiness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 25:54
Making the search for the true, holy God the primary focus of one's life will lead to a profound transformation.
If you will make the seeking of Him the main business of your life, you'll turn your world upside down.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 25:53
Sproul argues that increasing education does not eliminate sin or evil, but rather produces more sophisticated sinners.
Because what we've discovered is that the more we educate people, all we're doing is producing more sophisticated sinners.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
While we should imitate the virtuous actions of saints, we must not imitate their sinful actions.
Yes, we should imitate their heroic and virtuous actions, but we ought not to imitate their sinful actions, and just because David did something, or even just because Paul did something, does not in itself make it necessarily commendable; although, and here's where it gets tricky, it might.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 20:06
Satan serves as a significant obstacle to Christian growth, and his function includes accusing the believer's conscience.
I distinguished that from temptation. Temptation is where you go, “Wouldn’t you like to get involved in this? This is what will really make you happy: if you’ll just compromise your ethics at this point,” and so on. That’s temptation. Accusation is that situation by which Satan torments the conscience of the believer.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:02
Believers become free and please God by living daily in dependence upon His grace, confessing sins, and moving forward without being paralyzed by guilt.
We understand that Christ is our righteousness and the only way we are ever going to please Him is by living daily in dependence upon His grace, keeping short accounts, confessing our sins as we go, but not being paralyzed by the guilt that we incur along the way, confessing it, being cleansed of it, and moving on for the high calling that is ours in Christ.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 26:34
Jesus' teaching, when applied to the sanctity of life, suggests that God forbids both the potential and actual destruction of human life.
Jesus says not only does God condemn the actual destruction of actual human life, but the broader dimension of the teaching of God's law is that God forbids the potential destruction of actual human life.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:07
Dr. Sproul established Ligonier Ministries to proclaim the fullness of God's holiness.
Dr. Sproul founded Ligonier Ministries to proclaim the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
One can learn a great deal about a person by observing their outward habits and by reviewing their past record.
Now there are certain things that we can learn about people just from being around them. We may begin to notice their little habits of how they walk and how they dress and how they react. I can learn an awful lot about that person just by studying that person outwardly. If you want to know something about me, you can hire a private investigator, and they can go back, and they can look at my track record.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:26
The general concept of the sanctity of life places a heavy burden on us when considering matters involving life and death.
What I'm trying to get us to understand is that the general concept of the sanctity of life has very heavy burden on us when we're considering a question that possibly involves a life and death matter.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:45
Jesus' teaching on the law of sanctity of life extends beyond merely prohibiting murder to include controlling anger and actions that diminish a person's quality of life.
That is, what Jesus is saying here is you are not allowed to kill people and that means you're not only allowed not to murder them in the first degree, you are not allowed even to be angry at them unjustly.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 15:02
Christ desires that His people and disciples manifest righteousness as the top priority of the Christian life.
That is to say, when Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God,” He’s saying, “This is the top priority of the Christian life – seeking the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness,” and so what Christ wants from His people and from His disciples are people who actually manifest righteousness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 3:26
The speaker suggests that the tithe serves as a starting point for the Christian life, representing a minor act of obedience.
The starting place of the Christian life is the tithe. That’s a minor – it’s simple. That’s a little thing.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 21:04
The future destiny of humanity is characterized by holiness and rest, which involves freedom from anxiety and inner turmoil.
That is to say that the future of humanity, the destiny of man is found in holiness and in rest. Not that our future is moving towards taking a nap, but rest from uncertainty, rest from inner turmoil, rest from the elusive pursuit of peace, rest from what the existential philosophers call that built-in problem of anxiety that plagues human existence.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:14
Man was created to reflect the character of God and live in fellowship with Him, which is summarized as being made for holiness.
Again, we were made in the image of God and we were made to have fellowship with God. And we were made to mirror and reflect the character of God. In a word, we were made for holiness.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
The New Testament teaches that premarital and extramarital sex are serious offenses against God's holiness.
We cannot deny that the New Testament clearly teaches that in God's sight premarital sex and extramarital sex are serious offenses against His holiness,
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 6:15
Man's sin is characterized by seeking God's benefits outside of submission and obedience to God.
And that the essence of human sin is the quest for the benefits of God outside of submission and obedience to God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:11
The Scriptures teach that God's principal will for a person's life is sanctification.
if you want to know the will of God for your life, the Scriptures tell us, “This is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3, KJV).
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:09
Achieving this transformation requires rigorous discipleship and disciplined study of the scriptures.
And that doesn't come magically, intuitively, or mystically, or experientially. It comes by rigorous discipleship, disciplined study of the scriptures.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:50
Spiritual practices and disciplines are pursued not for the sake of being spiritual, but to achieve righteousness.
We seek spiritual power, spiritual gifts, spiritual disciplines, not so that we can be spiritual, but so what? So that we can be righteous.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:17
Early creedal statements were primarily used as questions and answers for people seeking membership in the early Christian community.
And so the creedal statements were really either baptism or catechetical formulae given to people who wanted to join the early Christian community.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:51
True piety and righteousness are not found in adhering to minor, human-made regulations, but in fulfilling core commands like loving one's enemies.
Which is easier, to refrain from lipstick or to refrain from pride, to stop going to movies or to start loving your enemies? I have all I can do to try to seek the righteousness that God’s law shows us to do without worrying about petty issues.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:49
The Holy Spirit initiates the Christian life (regeneration) and continues to guide the believer's growth toward spiritual maturity (sanctification).
The Christian life begins with the quickening of God the Holy Spirit where it is the function of the Spirit to change the disposition of our hearts to cause us to come alive to the things of God. So that the very beginning of the Christian life, what we call regeneration, is effected by the power of the Holy Ghost. And, but yet that's only the beginning, our birth into the fellowship of God. The whole process of our Christian experience, our growth in grace, our growth into spiritual maturity what we call the process of sanctification, comes under the province of God the Holy Spirit.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 3:07
A group of scholars and theologians, led by J. Gresham Machen, established Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia to commit to orthodox Christianity.
In 1929, several of the faculty members of Princeton left to start a new seminary in Philadelphia that would be committed to orthodox Christianity.
Source: The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier)
Active obedience refers to Christ's entire life of willingly and actively obeying everything the Father commanded.
In contrast to passive obedience, which really was an action even though it was a passive action, we have the active obedience of Jesus, which refers to His whole life of living under the law in total subjection to the Father, actively and willingly obeying everything the Lord God commanded Him to do.
Source: The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier)
Believers should strive to pursue peace and actions that build up others.
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Source: Bearing Others' Burdens (Ligonier)
The Christian life requires actively seeking and pursuing things that promote peace, rather than seeking conflict.
Rather, we are to be those who search for those things that make for peace.
Source: Bearing Others' Burdens (Ligonier)
The Christian life involves pursuing edification (building up) and avoiding the destruction of the work of God.
There is the concept of edification, where Paul says that we ought to pursue the things of peace and the things by which we edify one another. Later on in this same epistle, he speaks again about those things which are done for edification. In stark contrast to the concept of edification is the negative prohibition: Do not destroy each other, or the work of God, over food.
Source: Bearing Others' Burdens (Ligonier)
Sproul recounts a friend's unusual view of spiritual progress, suggesting that sanctification might be perceived through changes in dreams.
Context: Recounting a friend's statement.
He said to me, “R.C., I won’t know that I’m really progressing in my sanctification until my dreams change.”
Source: Behave Like a Christian (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Christian behavior should be guided by principles that are not derived from ancient wisdom but are instead divine wisdom.
This teaching comes to us not from the cumulative wisdom of ancient sages, but it is wisdom from God Himself, who understands all things and does all things well.
Source: Behave Like a Christian (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Sproul teaches that true friendship with Jesus requires keeping His commandments and doing what He tells us to do.
Beloved, Jesus said this: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. If you’re My friend, do what I tell you to do.”
Source: Betrayed (Ligonier)
The rewards received in heaven will be determined by a person's obedience, even though entrance into heaven is not based on works.
Even though our entrance into heaven will not be according to our works, the rewards we receive once we get there will be according to our obedience.
Source: Blessings & Curses (Ligonier)
To be a true disciple of Christ, one must be willing to lose reputation, as pleasing everyone is impossible and contradicts God's will.
If you are a man-pleaser, the Bible says that you cannot please God. I promise you, if you’re going to be a disciple of Christ, all men will not speak well of you. To be a Christian, you must do as your Lord did: make yourself of no reputation.
Source: Blessings & Curses (Ligonier)
The pursuit of church growth by catering to people's desires is misguided because it neglects the necessity of feeding people the Word of God.
That commitment flies in the face of the current popular philosophy of ministry, which says that if you want to have a church that grows, you must give the people what they want. You must entertain them. You must “de-churchify” church.
Source: The Blind Man (Ligonier)
According to Freud, the development of religion begins with the personalization of impersonal natural forces, which then progresses to sacralization.
Context: Reporting Freud's theory.
The next step from the personalization of inanimate impersonal forces, Freud said, is the sacralization of them, considering them sacred and divine. Out of all of this comes the beginnings of religion, and then religion gets more abstract and sophisticated.
Source: The Calming of the Storm (Ligonier)
True discipleship involves abandoning one's former life and following Jesus completely.
So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Source: The Catch of Fish (Ligonier)
God fulfilled the promises made to the fathers by raising up Jesus.
God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus.
Source: Christ and David (Ligonier)
The lepers were cleansed not immediately upon seeing Jesus, but gradually while they were traveling to the priests.
It was not when they first saw Jesus, but after they started on their journey to see the priest, while they were walking along the road, that their fingers were suddenly becoming whole.
Source: Cleansing of the Leper (Ligonier)
The Christian life requires moving beyond simple, basic teachings to engage with the deeper, more challenging truths of God's Word.
They were satisfied with milk when they were enjoined to seek after the deeper things of God, the meat of the Word. What we have been examining in the book of Romans is not pabulum.
Source: Conclusion (Ligonier)
Christian growth and character development (edification) means being built up until one's faith, character, and devotion are firmly established.
Rather, as we grow in grace, as our sanctification proceeds, we are to be edified, built up to that point at which our faith, character, and devotion are established.
Source: Conclusion (Ligonier)
A person must count the cost and forsake everything they possess to become a disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Source: The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Before committing to discipleship, one must carefully consider and count the cost, ensuring they have the resources to complete the commitment.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?
Source: The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Jesus used common life examples, such as building and warfare, to teach his disciples the necessity of counting the cost before committing to discipleship.
Jesus was taking illustrations from common life, from the building of a building to the waging of a war, in order to say to those who would be His disciples, “Wait just a minute, count the cost, and ask yourselves, ‘Can I afford this?’”
Source: The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Jesus warned that those who are lukewarm in their faith or commitment are not fit to be His disciples.
Jesus said: “If that’s the way it is, you just can’t be My disciple. I won’t have it.”
Source: The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Jesus desires disciples who have counted the cost and who maintain their spiritual potency regardless of circumstances.
Jesus wants disciples who have counted the cost and who keep their salt no matter what.
Source: The Cost of Discipleship (Ligonier)
Justification is not achieved by holiness, but rather it is for the purpose of enabling believers to grow into the image of Christ.
We have not been justified by our holiness or through our holiness, but we are justified for the purpose that we might grow into conformity to the image of Christ.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The believer is constantly growing in grace, while the old, sinful self is continually dying.
We are changed, and the old man is dying daily. He dies the death by inches. But each day we live in the grace of God, the new man that has been raised with Christ is being strengthened and growing, and the old man is dying more and more.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 2) (Ligonier)
When confronted with temptation, the God who raised the believer from spiritual death provides the grace necessary to resist that sin.
However, if you consider each particular sin that you are confronted with, at the moment of that temptation, the God who has raised you from spiritual death has given you the grace then and there to resist that sin.
Source: Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Christ, as the new representative, lives a life of perfect obedience for the sake of humanity, reconciling and saving them.
This is Paul’s premise when he turns our attention away from Adam and the destruction he brings to the world to the new Adam, the new representative who does not succumb to the enticements of the serpent but lives a life of perfect obedience. He lives that life not just for His own sake but for the sake of His people, whom He came to represent, to reconcile, and to save.
Source: Death in Adam, Life in Christ (Ligonier)
A genuine commitment to follow Christ is characterized by immediate and unconditional obedience.
Lord, my Sovereign One, the One who has absolute authority over me, whatever You say for me to do, I’ll do it. Wherever You tell me to go, I’ll go.
Source: Discipleship (Ligonier)
If following Jesus is not a top priority in one's life, then Jesus does not want that person as a disciple.
Let me just say it like it is: if you do not want to follow Jesus as a top priority in your life, He does not want you as a disciple.
Source: Discipleship (Ligonier)
To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means that one's entire identity is defined by following Christ.
To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to have your following of Jesus Christ define who you are as a person.
Source: Discipleship (Ligonier)
Those who are genuinely born of the Spirit and walk with Jesus Christ will maintain a steadfast direction toward finishing the course of following Him.
Those who have been born of the Spirit of God, however, whose lives have been changed and are now walking with Jesus Christ—they may stumble, they may lose resolve from time to time, but their face is set in one direction: to finish the course of following Him.
Source: Discipleship (Ligonier)
In heaven, one's focus will shift to the glory of God, making one more concerned with divine righteousness and judgment than with personal relationships.
you’ll be so purified from sin and so sanctified by the Holy Spirit that you’ll be much more concerned about the glory of God than you will be about the well-being of your mother.
Source: The Dividing Christ (Ligonier)
The New Testament era allowed for the change in dietary laws, declaring previously unclean foods clean for the assimilation of gentiles into the church.
All of a sudden, when the New Testament economy appeared, the gospel spread to the gentiles. The gentiles are to be assimilated into the church and into the new Israel, the commonwealth of the people of God, and food once considered unclean was now declared clean.
Source: Do Not Cause Another To Stumble (Ligonier)
True righteousness is not found in trivial categories of behavior, but in the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, patience, and humility.
Righteousness is not defined in trivial categories of eating and drinking. Churches are destructive when they elevate trivial matters to be the true test of Christian living. “You’re really a Christian if you don’t go to movies and you don’t dance.”
Source: Do Not Cause Another To Stumble (Ligonier)
True Christian living is characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, patience, longsuffering, meekness, and humility.
It is the fruit of the Spirit that Christ wants to see from His people: love, patience, longsuffering, meekness, and humility.
Source: Do Not Cause Another To Stumble (Ligonier)
The Christian life involves actively and busily seeking God's kingdom, which is the work of discipleship and sanctification.
From that moment, the rest of your life should be busily engaged in seeking more of the things of God. That is the work of discipleship. That is sanctification.
Source: The End of Anxiety (Ligonier)
Jesus warned his disciples to be careful of the hypocrisy associated with the Pharisees.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Source: Fearing God (Ligonier)
The speaker observes that the disciples often approach Jesus giving Him advice, which is compared to how believers give counsel to God.
It is interesting to me that, once again, the disciples were coming to Jesus and giving Him advice as though He needed it. How like the disciples we are in our prayers when we try to give counsel to God Almighty and be His instructors.
Source: The Feeding of the Five Thousand (Ligonier)
The Pharisees maintained their holiness by keeping distance from notorious sinners.
The Pharisees embraced the idea of salvation by segregation, by keeping themselves at a safe distance from notorious sinners.
Source: The Forgiven Woman (Ligonier)
When judging people according to His righteousness, God declares that He will not continue striving with mankind forever.
When God judges people according to the standard of His righteousness, He has declared that He will not strive with mankind forever.
Source: God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness (Ligonier)
The intermediate steps of church discipline are designed to curb sin, lead to repentance, restore fellowship, and protect the soul.
All the intermediate steps of discipline are designed to curb your sin, bring you to repentance, restore you to fullness of fellowship in the church, and guard your soul from utter ruin.
Source: God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness (Ligonier)
If a person remains consistently hardhearted and impenitent, the final step of church discipline is excommunication.
But if you remain consistently hardhearted and impenitent, after all the intermediate steps, the final step is to be excommunicated.
Source: God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness (Ligonier)
The adjective boldness, when used in Scripture, describes an attribute of virtue that should mark the life of the church in every generation.
When the New Testament speaks of the quality of boldness, it describes an attribute of virtue, an attribute that is to mark the life of the church in every generation.
Source: Holy Boldness (Ligonier)
Conversion dramatically changes a person's life and interests, but it does not immediately eliminate all patterns of sin.
My life changed in dramatic ways, yes, but there were still patterns of sin that I brought with me into the Christian life with which I struggled every day.
Source: The Holy Spirit to the Gentiles (Ligonier)
When evaluating spiritual growth, one must challenge the understanding of the experience based on Scripture, not the experience itself.
If they come and tell me that since they started speaking and praying in tongues, that they have gone through great growth in their spiritual life, I say: “Praise the Lord. It is not your experience I am challenging. It is your understanding of your experience that I am challenging based on the Word.”
Source: The Holy Spirit to the Gentiles (Ligonier)
Christian growth is a personal process, and there is no instant fix for weakness.
Sins that you struggle with may be sins I put away the first week I was a Christian, whereas things that never bothered you may take me forty years to deal with because no two of us are at the same point in our Christian growth.
Source: The Holy Spirit to the Gentiles (Ligonier)
The apostles asserted that they must obey God rather than human authorities.
We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Source: If It Is of God (Ligonier)
Despite being commanded to stop preaching, the apostles continued their ministry daily in the temple and in private homes.
So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Source: If It Is of God (Ligonier)
The Apostles demonstrated boldness by prioritizing obedience to God over obedience to human authorities.
It is as if they said, “We are going to say it again because it seems that you missed it the other day: we ought to obey God rather than men.”
Source: If It Is of God (Ligonier)
Simply following the commandments is insufficient for salvation or true righteousness.
The saddest thing about that encounter is that Jesus met a man who really thought he was good. Obviously, the rich young ruler had not been present on the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus explained the depth of the import of the Ten Commandments.
Source: The Indictment of the Jews and Gentiles (Ligonier)
While not everyone must be a missionary, every church member is responsible for ensuring that missionary activity takes place.
It is not everyone’s responsibility in the church to be a missionary, but every member of the church is responsible to make sure that missionary activity gets done.
Source: Israel Needs the Gospel (Ligonier)
The speaker personally struggled with the doctrine of God's grace for several years after conversion until studying Romans 9.
I have to confess that I struggled with it for at least five years after my conversion despite being exposed to godly and able professors who tried to explain the Scriptures to me, but that built-in resistance to the sovereignty of God’s grace found root in my soul.
Source: Israel's Rejection of Christ (Ligonier)
Sproul warns that believers must be careful not to become haughty, as apostasy can pollute them just as it polluted Israel.
Paul says: “Be careful. Do not become haughty. Just as apostasy polluted Israel, it can pollute you.”
Source: Israel's Rejection Not Final (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Spiritual growth and changed lives are achieved through the combination of the Holy Ghost and the preaching of the Word.
The only thing that moves people to changed lives and to growth in the Spirit is the attendance of the Holy Ghost with the preaching of the Word.
Source: From Jerusalem to Illyricum (Ligonier)
The text indicates that Jesus grew, became strong in spirit, became filled with wisdom, and was covered by the grace of God between the time of his presentation in the temple and when he appeared at age twelve.
All we’re told in this text initially is that from the time He was presented in the temple until the time He appeared again at age twelve, He grew, became strong in spirit, became filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
Source: Jesus in the Temple (Ligonier)
Jesus's development included increasing in wisdom, stature, and favor with both God and man.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with men.
Source: Jesus in the Temple (Ligonier)
People who claim to be religious can be hypocrites by failing to live up to the standards they preach or enforce.
Paul says: “You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?”
Source: The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
The Apostle Paul's description of his struggle in Romans 7 describes a contemporary, ongoing struggle with sanctification, not a former state.
I can simply say dogmatically that I find absolutely no justification whatsoever for finding in this text anything other than the contemporary struggle the Apostle was having with respect to his own progress in sanctification.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The doctrine of a second work of grace, which promises instantaneous sanctification, is challenged by the text of Romans 7.
The most important biblical text that militates against such a doctrine of a second work of grace, which produces instant sanctification, is the text I have just read to you in Romans 7.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The process of growing in grace leads to a greater awareness of one's own shortcomings and ongoing need for God's grace.
As we grow in grace, we grow in our understanding of our ongoing need for the grace of God.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
He struggled intensely for instant sanctification due to his ongoing sins and addiction.
I had sins that were besetting and ongoing. I will never forget sitting in the local college grill within the first few months of my conversion, and my math professor, who was a Christian, was sitting across from me while I was smoking.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The Christian life involves struggling with besetting sins, and the ultimate goal is to seek God's grace.
In a sense, though it should not be, it becomes a normal dimension of the Christian life that we all are faced with besetting sins. We come before God and we seek to get rid of them, and sooner or later we have to hear the words, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Certain movements have taught that a higher level of sanctification, sometimes called the 'deeper life' or 'Spirit-filled life,' exists beyond ordinary spiritual growth.
Out of Wesley’s teaching has come broad attention to the idea of some kind of higher life of sanctification that results in two tiers or two levels of Christians.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Advocates of the 'Spirit-filled life' teach that some Christians reach a second plateau of sanctification, though they do not claim total perfection.
The advocates of the Spirit-filled life, for the most part, do not claim total perfection, just a much greater level of sanctification than is normally achieved by other Christians.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The desire to be obedient to Christ results in internal conflict between the general desire for obedience and the specific temptation to sin.
When you want to be obedient to Christ, you will find conflict in your own heart between your general desire for obedience and the specific act of obedience that confronts you along with the strength of the temptation towards disobedience.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Christians must remain diligent in their sanctification process and should not become complacent because they have not reached perfection.
The fact that no one makes it all the way to the finish line in this world does not mean we are supposed to stop running. We are never allowed to be at ease in Zion and say, “This far I’ve progressed and no further.”
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
While all Christians are called to sanctification, the progress of each individual is unique due to differing life experiences and circumstances.
Not only do we come to the Lord at different times, under different circumstances, and with different baggage, but our progress in sanctification is also different one from another.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Christians should avoid judging others by elevating their own successes or gifts to the standard of true spirituality.
One of the worst sins we can commit is to establish our own achievements as the norm by which all Christians are to be judged. That is the temptation.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Christian growth involves recognizing that individual struggles and difficulties are unique to each person, necessitating mutual support.
The things that I struggle with, you may never struggle with at all. That is why we are in this together, sharing in the Spirit, sharing in the Word, sharing in encouragement, praying for each other, and covering each other with charity.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The struggle for perfect obedience in Christians is due to the conflict between the new nature (desiring to please God) and the old nature (the flesh).
The new man in your heart has a desire now to please God, but there still lives in your members the vestigial remnants of the old man of the flesh, who has declared war on the leanings of the Spirit.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
To achieve spiritual growth, one must establish external disciplines and environments, such as prayer groups or Bible studies, to overcome personal weaknesses and laxity.
When I am on that spike where I have a strong desire at the moment to become more proficient in prayer, I can enroll myself in a prayer group. I enroll myself in an environment where all the factors that surround me will be helping and aiding me to overcome my own lax disposition towards prayer.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Instead of making daily decisions, it is better to establish a principle or habit within a family to ensure consistent participation in religious activities.
No, you establish a principle in your family. You say “In our family, one of the things we do is make sure we are in the Lord’s house every Sabbath day. We do not have to make decisions or sweat over it.”
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The group dynamic is highly beneficial for spiritual discipline because self-discipline tends to lose its passion and zeal when practiced alone.
The group dynamic is a beautiful idea. That is why so many people have been helped by it, because if left to yourself, self-discipline tends to lose its passion and zeal.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Spiritual growth involves actively putting to death the old self and nurturing the new self.
He is saying that we have to put to death the old man. We have to feed the new man.
Source: Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Regarding the observance of holy days, believers should allow others to observe them to the Lord, provided it does not contradict Christian freedom.
Paul said: “If they observe that day to the Lord, fine, let them observe the day to the Lord. If another person observes it to the Lord, let another person do that.”
Source: The Law of Liberty (Ligonier)
Christians are called to intellectual maturity and deep study of the gospel, moving beyond superficial knowledge.
The Word of God rebukes those who, in their Christian lives, are satisfied with a diet of milk and pabulum. We are called to go for the meat of the gospel, to dig as deeply as we possibly can in our lifetimes.
Source: Living Sacrifices to God (Ligonier)
The fundamental will of God for a person's life is sanctification and spiritual maturity.
Let me tell you what the will of God is for your life, according to the Bible. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3). It does not matter what your job is, who your wife is, or what city you live in.
Source: Living Sacrifices to God (Ligonier)
True discipleship involves extending mercy and kindness to others, even those who are unthankful or act wickedly.
What good is it if you love those who love you? Even sinners do that. What good is it if you only do good to those who do good to you?” He said, “You will be, if you follow this advice, the sons of the Most High, because God is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Therefore, be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful.”
Source: Love Your Enemies (Ligonier)
Christian life requires living by principle and conscience, rather than acting out of mere convenience or personal desire.
This is the heart of Christian ethics and life, that we are to live by conscience as people of principle, not out of expediency, not doing willy-nilly whatever our hearts desire.
Source: Love Your Neighbor (Ligonier)
Jesus uniquely recruited students by actively selecting them, unlike other rabbis who did not.
In this case, this rabbi, who is different from any other rabbi in Israel, goes out and handpicks His students: “I want you, you, and you. You’re fishing for fish. Follow Me, and I’ll have you fishing for men.”
Source: Beginning of Jesus' Public Ministry (Ligonier)
Jesus' calling of disciples was a sovereign act, recruiting individuals whom He desired, rather than following established social customs for study.
He went out and recruited those whom He wanted to be tutored by Himself. He called them not to a study of the law, biology, chemistry, or physics, but He called them to Himself.
Source: The Calling of the Disciples (Ligonier)
When Jesus established the twelve disciples, the verb used implies that He actively created or made them into a special group, not merely selecting them.
The primary meaning of this verb in the Bible is to make something or to create something. It is exactly the word used in the Septuagint version of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Source: The Calling of the Disciples (Ligonier)
The authorities in Jerusalem were not genuinely concerned about the disciples' hygiene, but rather about ritual defilement.
No, hygiene had nothing whatsoever to do with the complaint that was being lodged against Jesus and His disciples. In view here were ritual cleansing and ritual defilement.
Source: Defilement from Within (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Adhering to human traditions and man-made rules can be useless and distract from authentic holiness.
They pay more attention to human regulations and human traditions than they do to My law. They don’t care about My glory. They don’t care about My house. They don’t care about My kingdom. They care about their status in the community.
Source: Defilement from Within (Part 1) (Ligonier)
Cleansing the heart is a continuous, lifelong process that requires ongoing nurturing and strengthening through Christ.
The cleansing of the heart is a lifelong pursuit, and that’s one of the reasons we come to the Lord’s Table. We come to be strengthened and to be nurtured by our Redeemer, so that our hearts may be made clean.
Source: Defilement from Within (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Jesus frequently denounced the sin of hypocrisy, particularly criticizing religious leaders for their outward appearance of righteousness without genuine inner fruit.
If you follow the teaching of Jesus through His earthly ministry, you can see the severity with which our Lord regularly denounced the sin of hypocrisy. This was His basic critique of the Pharisees of the day.
Source: The Fig Tree and the Temple (Ligonier)
Christians should be patient with one another because spiritual growth is highly individualized and never complete.
We know that conversion does not cure all our sin, and that the process of sanctification is something that takes our entire lives. There are no two people in this room this morning who are at the same point in their spiritual growth.
Source: The Fig Tree and the Temple (Ligonier)
Jesus warned his disciples that they must remain vigilant and pray to avoid falling into temptation.
Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Source: The Garden of Gethsemane (Ligonier)
Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is necessary for sanctification and obedience to Christ's image.
The distinction is that baptism is not necessary to salvation, but it is necessary for sanctification. Why do I make that distinction? We are commanded to be baptized, and if we do not obey that command, that is a failure in terms of our being conformed to the image of Christ and our obedience in relation to our sanctification.
Source: The Great Commission (Ligonier)
The hardening of the heart is a recurring theme in scripture, exemplified by Pharaoh's refusal to let Israel go.
But Pharaoh said, “No.” Why? Because his heart was hard. Moses threw down the rod of Aaron, and the Nile turned into blood, the fish died, the river began to stink, and the water could not be drunk.
Source: Jesus Walking on Water (Ligonier)
The detail of Jesus going ahead of his disciples in Jerusalem signifies their amazement at his resolute determination to fulfill his destiny.
I think the reason for this detail Mark gives is that they were amazed by the resolute determination they saw in Jesus to go to His destiny. His face was set like flint, and He knew that He was called to give Himself over to His enemies in Jerusalem.
Source: Kingdom Climbers (Ligonier)
Conflict and rivalry are common in organizations, exemplified by the disciples' desire for status.
Two of them want to be exalted over everybody else: “All we’re asking, Jesus, is to let one of us sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left hand. In fact, You pick which one goes where.”
Source: Kingdom Climbers (Ligonier)
Jesus defended the disciples' actions by directing the religious leaders' attention to the Bible and citing precedents.
The first thing He did was direct the attention of the religious leaders to the Bible itself. Like a good attorney would, Jesus cited precedents in order to justify the behavior of His clients, the disciples.
Source: Lord of the Sabbath (Ligonier)
Jesus was primarily concerned with truth and holiness, rather than public opinion or political correctness.
Jesus was not much concerned with public opinion or political correctness to appease the theologians or the politicians. His meat and His drink were to do the will of the Father. He was concerned with truth and holiness.
Source: Marriage and Divorce (Ligonier)
Biblically, true obedience is defined as 'hyper-hearing,' which goes beyond merely hearing sounds.
So, obedience in biblical terms is “hyper-hearing.”
Source: The Parable of the Sower (Ligonier)
The wine-growing process in Palestine involved planting vines, building a hedge, and using a wine press and vats.
Farmers would set about planting their grapevines, and in addition to the vines, they planted a hedge around the entire vineyard. Following that, they would build a wine press and vats to contain the squeezed juices, which would ferment over time and produce various vintages of wine.
Source: The Parable of the Vinedressers (Ligonier)
The growth of the Kingdom of God is a gradual process that requires divine action.
Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is not like throwing some seed on the ground and five minutes later reaping a humongous harvest.” They ought to listen to Paul when he says, “One sows, another waters, but it is God who brings forth the increase.”
Source: Parables of the Kingdom (Ligonier)
Many people rely on their good deeds and obedience to gain entry into heaven.
They said this: “I’ve tried to live a good life. I’m not a criminal. I’ve never murdered anybody. I go to church every Sunday, or almost every Sunday. I go to Sunday School. I’m a deacon. I’m an elder. I’m a minister.” Those are the answers that were given eighty percent of the time, where people were relying upon their performance, their good deeds, and their obedience to get them into heaven.
Source: The Rich Young Ruler (Ligonier)
Jesus warned his disciples to be careful of the scribes because they were focused on status and worldly recognition.
Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.
Source: The Scribes and the Widow (Ligonier)
True devotion, or discipleship, is demonstrated not by giving from one's substance, but by giving out of one's poverty.
When Jesus saw the woman make her sacrifice, He called His disciples, and He said: “Look at that. That’s devotion. That’s what it means to be a disciple. That’s what it means to love My kingdom. She did not give out of her substance; she gave out of her poverty.”
Source: The Scribes and the Widow (Ligonier)
The instruction to travel light means that the disciples should only take what is necessary for the journey.
Jesus said the same to His disciples: “When you go, all you can take with you is a staff.”
Source: The Sending of the Disciples (Ligonier)
Jesus permitted the disciples to take a walking staff but forbade them from taking their powerful shepherd's rod.
Jesus was saying, “You’re not allowed to take your powerful rod with you, but you can take a walking stick.”
Source: The Sending of the Disciples (Ligonier)
The disciples should focus solely on their mission and should not worry about the practical concerns of food, money, or housing.
You are to concentrate on your mission, and I want you to be free from concerns about food and money and housing.
Source: The Sending of the Disciples (Ligonier)
The disciples will be cared for by their hosts in the villages, eliminating the need for a second tunic to protect them from the elements while sleeping outside.
Jesus said: “I’m not going to let you sleep under the stars. You’re going to be cared for by those who host you in the villages.”
Source: The Sending of the Disciples (Ligonier)
Jesus taught that those who desire to be first must instead embrace being last and serving everyone.
After Jesus sat down and his disciples assembled, He said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Source: Who Is the Greatest? (Ligonier)
Service is an important virtue and is considered a means of grace, aiding in spiritual growth and sanctification.
Let me stop and say that service is an extremely important virtue in the Christian life. In fact, service is considered to be one of the means of grace. The means of grace are those instruments God gives to His people to assist them in their personal growth in righteousness and conformity to the person of Christ.
Source: Martha & Mary (Ligonier)
Christian growth requires dedicating time not only to worship but also to structured learning and study of God's things.
I am urging you to give all of Sunday morning to your Christian development and growth in your Christian life. Even beyond worship, make it a point to be involved in learning the things of God through Sunday school or other education that the church offers.
Source: Martha & Mary (Ligonier)
Justification must precede sanctification, as the two processes are linked.
I talk a lot about justification, and we cannot be sanctified unless we are first justified. We are justified unto sanctification.
Source: Martha & Mary (Ligonier)
The maximalists wrongly draw a parallel between Eve and Mary, suggesting that Mary's obedience was necessary for salvation.
The maximalists say that the same parallel exists between Eve and Mary. As through one woman’s disobedience death came into the world, so through the other woman’s obedience life came into the world.
Source: Mary's Fiat (Ligonier)
The early church was characterized by obedience, staying where they were told to stay, and gathering together as a unified body.
The first thing that characterized the church in the early days was obedience. They had instructions from the Lord, and though they did not want to wait—who of those who had witnessed Christ would not be eager to go out and spread the news everywhere?—they were biting at the bit, eager to go, nevertheless, they stayed where they were told to stay.
Source: A New Apostle (Ligonier)
In the early days, the disciples gathered together in unity, obedience, and prayer, focusing on Scripture.
They came together in unity. They came together in obedience. They came together in prayer, and they came together to focus their attention on the teaching of the Scriptures.
Source: A New Apostle (Ligonier)
The general principle is to be submissive in daily life, but to stand in defiance when the magistrate commands disobedience to God.
So again, the general principle is that we bend over backward to be submissive, but we stand with ramrod defiance when the magistrate commands disobedience to God.
Source: Obeying God or Man? (Ligonier)
True brotherhood and sisterhood are limited only to those who are in Christ, not all people.
The image in Scripture is that only those who are in Christ are in the brotherhood and sisterhood.
Source: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Ligonier)
Jesus redefined family membership, stating that true brothers and sisters are those who hear and practice His Word.
Jesus was not disowning His mother or His earthly brothers and sisters, but He said, “My brothers and sisters are those who hear My Word and do it.”
Source: The Parable of the Revealed Light (Ligonier)
Believers should be willing to remain faithful and obedient wherever God directs them, rather than reacting like John Mark.
We must be careful that we are not like John Mark in response to where God has placed us in the enterprise of the kingdom of God. Rather, we should be willing to be faithful wherever God pleases to put us.
Source: Paul's Sermon at Antioch (Ligonier)
For those who already possess God's life, the goal is continuous spiritual progression from one state of grace to the next.
I pray that you will move from light to light, from life to life, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace, as we learn of Him.
Source: The Prologue of John's Gospel (Ligonier)
Fletcher's interpretation of scripture suggests that it is sometimes acceptable to God to break commandments when considering concrete life situations.
If we look at concrete life situations and the laws that are written in the Bible, we can envision certain ethical situations where it is acceptable to God to break some of the commandments.
Source: Put on Christ (Ligonier)
The Pharisees were hypocrites who focused on outward appearances of righteousness while concealing inner filthiness.
You’re like dead men’s tombs, whited sepulchers painted without blemish on the surface, but inside filled with dead men’s bones. You clean the outside of the platter, but the inner side is filthy.
Source: Render Unto Caesar (Ligonier)
Jesus' life was characterized by a mixed measure of humiliation and exaltation, rather than a consistent, linear progression.
The pendulum swung between humiliation and exaltation, but it was not a consistent plane in which Jesus started with humiliation, dropped to the nadir of that humiliation, then moved gradually into a process of exaltation. Rather, it was a mixed measure, where during times of humiliation there would be a certain glimpse, a momentary breakthrough, of glory and exaltation.
Source: The Resurrection (Ligonier)
Jesus did not set down a rule that everybody must embrace poverty to be His follower.
Jesus did not set down a rule that everybody must embrace poverty to be His follower.
Source: The Rich Young Ruler (Ligonier)
According to Rome, becoming just requires cooperation with grace, and failure to achieve complete righteousness leads to purgatory.
You must cooperate with that grace to such a degree that you will, in fact, become righteous. If you die with any impurity in your soul by which you lack complete righteousness, you will not go to heaven, but if no mortal sin is present in your life, you will go to purgatory, which is the place of purging.
Source: Righteousness Revealed (Ligonier)
Paul's life and ministry served as a model of obedience within the Apostolic church, following Christ's instructions.
Paul’s life and ministry was the paradigm of obedience in the Apostolic church. He did what Christ told him to do.
Source: A Second Account (Ligonier)
Jesus instructed the apostles to travel lightly and rely on the Jewish principle of hospitality while on mission.
Jesus told the Apostles: “Preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs [plural] nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.”
Source: The Sending of the Twelve (Ligonier)
Individuals should use their specific spiritual gifts in the manner for which they were given, rather than trying to elevate one gift above others.
Paul is saying: “Don’t let it happen here. Find out what your gift is, then exercise your gift. Don’t be jealous of other people’s gifts, and don’t try to elevate your gift over everybody else.”
Source: Serve God with Spiritual Gifts (Ligonier)
Believers should present their bodies to God as instruments of righteousness for holiness, rather than allowing sin to rule them.
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Source: From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
Christians have a responsibility to cooperate with God's grace by diligently using the means of grace and maintaining spiritual discipline.
We now have the responsibility to cooperate with the grace that God makes available to us, to make diligent use of the means of grace, to make sure that our souls are being fed regularly by the Word of God, to make sure that we are on our faces before God earnestly on a regular basis, to make it a matter of principle to never, ever miss the corporate worship of the people of God unless we are absolutely indisposed.
Source: From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
Believers are called to present their lives as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
Source: From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
The blood of martyrs is a foundational element that helps the church grow.
It has been said so many times, it is almost trite: the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
Source: Stephen on Trial (Ligonier)
The government's support of what God appoints to protect against is a travesty of the sanctity of life.
The very thing that God appoints government to protect against, the government now supports. That is a travesty of the sanctity of life.
Source: Submit to Government (Part 2) (Ligonier)
As one matures, they must move beyond simple spiritual nourishment and delve deeply into the Word of God.
As you grow into adulthood, you want to dig deeply into the Word of God, to the meat of Scripture, and be nurtured by the meat of the Word of God.
Source: Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me (Ligonier)
Bad-good actions are acts of virtue and obedience intended for God, but they may still be accompanied by shortcomings or failures.
These kinds of actions are intended to be acts of virtue and obedience to God but nevertheless may be accompanied by shortcomings and failures.
Source: From Suffering to Glory (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Numerical church growth is not automatically proof that God is actively working in it.
Because of that, we tend to think that any time a church grows numerically, it must be irrefutable evidence that the hand of the Lord is upon it. But that is not necessarily so.
Source: The Team of Barnabas and Saul (Ligonier)
When God actively works in a missionary outreach or evangelistic effort, growth occurs.
But when God puts His hand upon a missionary outreach and evangelistic enterprise of the church, growth happens.
Source: The Team of Barnabas and Saul (Ligonier)
Thomas was highly zealous and willing to accompany Jesus even to the point of death when the disciples faced difficulty.
Thomas was the one who said, “We will go with you, and we will die with you.”
Source: The Twelve Apostles (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The lives of the apostles and saints demonstrate that Christians should be prepared to give their lives in martyrdom for the Lord.
Their lives represent a testimony for us, that to be a Christian at this time in history was to put your life on the line. In every generation of Christians throughout church history, every believer should be prepared to give his or her life in martyrdom for the Lord.
Source: The Twelve Apostles (Part 3) (Ligonier)
Christian life should be lived before God, under His authority, and for His glory, rather than being defined by worldly ambitions.
Everything we do should be done before God, under His authority, and to His glory, not bound to the world and the ambitions that define our earthly estate.
Source: The Way of Humility (Ligonier)
The Lord will add to the church those whom His sovereign will call, especially when the church pursues holiness and devotion to God's glory.
When the church recovers its transcendent understanding of worship, and when the church becomes devoted to the glory and honor of God and pursues holiness, it makes the statement that our Lord wants it to make to the world. And the Lord then will add to the church those that His sovereign will calls.
The church must adopt an active, militant stance before it can achieve a triumphant state.
There is always a polemical element involved in the confrontation between the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and the truth of the Christian gospel. And so we have to be willing to be the church militant before we’ll ever expect to be the church triumphant.
The practice of going through Mary and saints to reach God and Christ diminishes the inherent graciousness and compassion of God and Christ.
That whole idea is an assault on the saving nature of God, who is by nature a Savior and full of compassion and mercy toward sinners. He can be pled with directly, and this layering assumes that God is less than gracious, merciful, kind, compassionate, and sympathetic to the sinner.
Source: Can praying to Mary or the saints keep a professing Christian out of heaven? (Ligonier Q&A)
Christianity does not permit sin after experiencing grace, citing Paul's response to the question of continuing in sin.
Nevertheless, there is the old question that Paul writes, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” And his answer is, “God forbid!” (Rom. 6:1–2).
Source: How should we respond to the hyper-grace movement? (Ligonier Q&A)
The ultimate goal of theology is not intellectual stimulation but rather instructing believers toward maturity and obedience to God.
The purpose of theology is not to tickle our intellects but to instruct us in the ways of God, so that we can grow up into maturity and fullness of obedience to Him.
Source: Why Should Christians Study the Bible? (Ligonier Q&A)