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Martin Luther didn’t intend to start the Reformation. In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul explains how Luther’s 95 Theses spread across Germany and sparked a chain of events he never saw coming.

The greatest command, said Jesus, is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sometimes missing today among many professing Christians is the emphasis on the mind.A great evangelical theologian died December 14, 2017, R. C. Sproul (rhymes with role), the founder of Ligonier Ministries. And I think he exemplifies the notion of loving God with our mind, as well as our other faculties. Even his radio program was called “Renewing Your Mind with R. C. Sproul.”Sometimes one gets the impression that the more religious you are, the less likely you are to be educated. But...

Fifty years ago, when I snapped my neck under the weight of a dive into shallow water, quadriplegia smashed me up against the study of God. Lying in bed paralyzed, I had hard-hitting questions such as, “God, who’s behind all this suffering, You or the devil? Are You permitting this or ordaining it? I’m still a young Christian. If You’re so loving, why treat Your children so meanly?” A well-meaning friend gave me a copy of The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Dr. Loraine Boettner. It was weighty and I had to turn its pages with a mouth stick, but...

Dr. Robert Charles Sproul has been many things over his accomplished lifetime – an acclaimed Bible teacher, theologian, author, radio speaker, jokester, golfer, even artist and musician. As one close associate said, he might best be described as “omni-competent.” Better known as “R.C.” to his family, friends, students, readers of his books, and hearers of his lectures, Sproul forged a reputation as a staunch, determined defender of the Scriptures, becoming a central combatant in the so-called “battle for the Bible” during the 1980s and 90s. He also was noted for being unusually skilled in distilling theological truths and principles into...

So sad to see him go but will rejoice one day with him.

Noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries R.C. Sproul has been hospitalized due to breathing problems and as of Tuesday remains in critical condition. On its website, Ligonier reported Dec. 3 that Sproul had been hospitalized on Dec. 2 because of "respiratory difficulties," listing him as being "in guarded condition at the intensive care unit and receiving expert care and attention." "The doctors believe this is not pneumonia, but an exacerbation of his emphysema due to the flu so he has been put on a ventilator to help his breathing. Thank you for praying for his recovery," noted the...

Dr. Sproul is not improving as we had hoped and so these next few days are critical. He has a fever today due to the infection he has been fighting. Moreover, he is not decreasing in his reliance on the ventilator to support his breathing. Your prayers in behalf of Dr. Sproul are deeply appreciated. They mean so much to the family and all who love R.C. We will keep you informed here on the blog and on Facebook and Twitter if his condition changes.

An update on Dr. Sproul's health: He is currently in the hospital near his home in Florida and is receiving steroids intravenously at his pulmonologist's recommendation. His breathing has been difficult over the past several months. We are encouraged that his vital metrics are good and the chest X-ray was clear showing no signs of pneumonia. He is getting expert care from the medical staff and they will continue to observe his progress and see how he responds to treatment. Please keep the Sproul family in your prayers.

The Sword and the KeysKey to resolving the issues regarding how the church must relate to the state is an understanding of the distinct functions Scripture assigns to each authority. Church and state are actually both ministers of God that are appointed to fulfill certain tasks. Historically, human beings have always run into trouble when the state attempts to do the work of the church and the church attempts to do the work of the state.

[Embedded Audio (7:39)] Fascism is an economic system that marries the state to business, where business holds the title but state holds control. Transcript: Some of you, though I trust not all of you, are familiar with what we call “Godwin’s law.” This is a particular law which is born out of empirical study of the Internet and it holds that, given enough time, any and all internet arguments will eventually involve some side of the argument accusing the other side of the argument of either being like Hitler or of being a Nazi. The corollary to that is...

In this interview, Dr. R.C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb discuss the differences between Islam and Christianity. Saleeb, a former Muslim from the Middle East, is the co-author of Answering Islam and is a Christian missionary to Muslims in the United States. As Saleeb exposes the true teachings of Islam, he explains why fundamentalist Muslims are so aggressive in their attempt to wipe out all other religions. This interview is especially helpful for those who are witnessing to Muslims in their communities.

Good news: Dr. Sproul is home from the hospital. As many of you know, he suffered a stroke, which required an extended hospital stay. We give thanks to God that there has been no paralysis and he remains his same jovial self. But there are some remaining effects of the stroke that affect his speech and strength. Further, he's been diagnosed with a diabetic condition that will be addressed through diet and regular medical attention. He is fatigued and in coming days will be concentrating on regaining his strength as well as his speech therapy. Again, Dr. Sproul expresses his...

HELL by R.C. Sproul We have often heard statements such as “War is hell” or “I went through hell.” These expressions are, of course, not taken literally. Rather, they reflect our tendency to use the word hell as a descriptive term for the most ghastly human experience possible. Yet no human experience in this world is actually comparable to hell. If we try to imagine the worst of all possible suffering in the here and now we have not yet stretched our imaginations to reach the dreadful reality of hell.Hell is trivialized when it is used as a common curse...

No, and yes. The Bible does not have specific text that suggests that the Bible alone is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Those who delight to point this out, however, typically Roman Catholics and the eastern Orthodox, typically miss the point. First, their energies more often than not are aimed at the Anabaptist error that we call solo Scriptura. Here the person affirms that all he needs is himself and his Bible. The wisdom of the church in history, the community of believers, are all deemed irrelevant to understanding the things of God. Solo scriptura...

Shortly after the Reformation began, in the first few years after Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenberg, he issued some short booklets on a variety of subjects. One of the most provocative was titled The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In this book Luther was looking back to that period of Old Testament history when Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon and the elite of the people were carried off into captivity. Luther in the sixteenth century took the image of the historic Babylonian captivity and reapplied it to his era...

7 Truths We Have Forgotten from R.C. Sproul Jr. Jan 03, 2015 Category: Articles Every generation has not just its blind spots, but its amnesiac moments—truths once held, even honored, that the rising generation let go of. One might call these things “Slipping Off the Shoulders of Giants.” Here are seven truths our fathers in the faith grasped that we have forgotten: It’s not about me. One of the reasons the greatest generation earned their title is because they sacrificed for others. In our day, because we engage in distant wars for hazy reasons, our soldiers are left fighting for mere...

When we consider the predicament that the evangelical church of the twenty-first century faces in America, the first thing we need to understand is the very designation “evangelical church” is itself a redundancy. If a church is not evangelical, it is not an authentic church. The redundancy is similar to the language that we hear by which people are described as “born-again Christians.” If a person is born again of the Spirit of God, that person is, to be sure, a Christian. If a person is not regenerated by the Holy Spirit, he may profess to be a Christian, but...

Answering theological questions from his students has been a continual commitment throughout Dr. R.C. Sproul’s ministry. Originally called “gabfests” by his early students and later, “Ask R.C.,” these sessions continue to take place at our conferences, on Renewing Your Mind, and online. Have a theological question for Dr. Sproul? Submit your questions on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ using the official #AskRC hashtag. We’ll compile those questions and Dr. Sproul will answer a selection live tonight at 7:30pm ET. Watch live tonight at live.ligonier.org.

We have often heard statements such as “War is hell” or “I went through hell.” These expressions are, of course, not taken literally. Rather, they reflect our tendency to use the word hell as a descriptive term for the most ghastly human experience possible. Yet no human experience in this world is actually comparable to hell. If we try to imagine the worst of all possible suffering in the here and now we have not yet stretched our imaginations to reach the dreadful reality of hell. Hell is trivialized when it is used as a common curse word. To use...