Sproul Quotes & Sayings

Fallen man is free to choose what he desires, but because his desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. As long as he remains in the flesh, unregenerate, he will never choose Christ. He cannot choose Christ precisely because he cannot act against his own will. His fall is so great that only the effectual grace of God working in his heart can bring him to faith. — R.C. Sproul

I am not accusing God of sinning; I am suggesting that he created sin — R.C. Sproul Jr.

We need to learn to "read with a comb" - that is, developing a value system that gives us the ability to be critical of what we study. Here the word critical does not mean approaching our studies with a negative attitude. It means being cautious and discerning. — R.C. Sproul

We do not determine right or wrong based on what everybody else is doing. — R.C. Sproul

The day of one's birth is a good day for the believer, but the day of death is the greatest day that a Christian can ever experience in this world because that is the day he goes home, the day he walks across the threshold, the day he enters the Father's house. — R.C. Sproul

Jesus' life was a storm of controversy. The apostles, like the prophets before them, could hardly go a day without controversy. Paul said that he debated daily in the marketplace. To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. We can have peace, but it is a servile and carnal peace where truth is slain in the streets. — R.C. Sproul

We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. — R.C. Sproul

If Christ could make a complaint, it would be, "My bride never talks to me". — R.C. Sproul

We have no right to come before God at all, apart from the finished work of Christ. — R.C. Sproul

Because of Christ, our suffering is not useless. It is part of the total plan of God, who has chosen to redeem the world through the pathway of suffering. — R.C. Sproul

It is easy to get faith into our heads. It is hard to get faith into our bloodstream. — R.C. Sproul

The more sanctified a person is the more heavily weighted his prayer time is in adoration. — R.C. Sproul

It is one thing to fall victim to the flood or to fall prey to cancer; it is another thing to fall into the hands of the living God. — R.C. Sproul

The attention at the beginning of these petitions is on the exaltation of God and His concerns. In the initial phrases of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus fixes our gaze not on ourselves but on God.
People — R.C. Sproul

Only if we believe God can we maintain joy in the midst of hardship. — R.C. Sproul

Worship is not simply a feeling that is experienced; it must also involve understanding and the mind. — R.C. Sproul

The great triad of enemies for Christian growth contain the world, the flesh, and the devil. — R.C. Sproul

We have a generation of people who think they can stand before the judgment seat of God despite their sins. — R.C. Sproul

The Christian should be able to say with the psalmist, 'Oh, how I love your law.' — R.C. Sproul

We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost. — R.C. Sproul

By definition, the big difference between mercy and justice is that mercy is never ever obligatory. — R.C. Sproul

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, beginning as the smallest of seeds but growing until the birds of the air make their nests therein. There are old worlds and new ones. There are earthy worlds and cyber worlds. But one truth remains the same now and forever, that Jesus rules them all. — R.C. Sproul Jr.

If it were left to us, we would all fall away from the faith and perish. — R.C. Sproul

When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God. We may dislike giving our attention to God's wrath and justice, but until we incline ourselves to these aspects of God's nature, we will never appreciate what has been wrought for us by grace. Even Edwards's sermon on sinners in God's hands was not designed to stress the flames of hell. The resounding accent falls not on the fiery pit but on the hands of the God who holds us and rescues us from it. The hands of God are gracious hands. They alone have the power to rescue us from certain destruction. — R.C. Sproul

We talk about predestination because the Bible talks about predestination. If we desire to build our theology on the Bible, we run head on into this concept. We soon discover that John Calvin did not invent it. — R.C. Sproul

Throughout history, God has demonstrated that He is supremely trustworthy. That's why, in one sense, nothing could be more foolish than not to trust in the promises of God. — R.C. Sproul

If I thought even for one moment that a single molecule were running loose in the universe outside the control and domain of almighty God, I wouldn't sleep tonight. — R.C. Sproul

Know God's Will? How Should I Live in This World? What Does It Mean to Be Born Again? Can I Be Sure I'm Saved? What Is Faith? What Can I Do with My Guilt? What Is the Trinity? What Is Baptism? Can I Have Joy in My Life? Who — R.C. Sproul

To suffer as a Christian carries no shame. Peter concludes: "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19). Here, Peter erases all
doubt about the question of whether it is ever the will of God that we should suffer. He speaks of those who suffer "according to the will of God." This text means that suffering itself is part of the sovereign will of God. — R.C. Sproul

Romans 8:28 is one of the most comforting texts in all of Scripture. It assures the believer that all "tragedies" are ultimately blessings. It does not declare that all things that happen are good in themselves but that in all the thing that happen to us God is working in and through them for our good. This is also fimrly grounded in His eternal purpose for His people. — R.C. Sproul

It distresses me somewhat to hear a person say, "I am a born-again Christian." What's wrong with such a statement? Well, what other kind of Christian is there? If rebirth is absolutely essential in order to get into the kingdom of God, as Jesus said it is, there cannot be such a thing as a non-born-again Christian. To say "born-again Christian" is like saying "Christian Christian." It's a redundancy, a kind of theological stuttering. — R.C. Sproul

We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of God. Amazing grace is no longer amazing to us. — R.C. Sproul

Place in the fall of 1979, with Drs. Geisler, Hoehner, Nicole, and Radmacher in attendance. It was the consensus of those present that we should not undertake to modify a statement that so many people had signed, both at the summit meeting and afterward. But
in order to ward off misunderstandings and to provide an exposition of the position advocated by the ICBI, it was thought desirable to provide a — R.C. Sproul

The moment we think we deserve mercy a little alarm bell should go off in our head because we are not talking about mercy anymore but justice. — R.C. Sproul

It is by virtue of the atonement that God can maintain His justice and yet demonstrate His mercy ... — R.C. Sproul

Never will I sit motionless while directly or indirectly apology is made for the murder of the helpless. In securing any kind ofpeace, the first essential is to guarantee to every man the most elementary of rights: the right to his own life. Murder is not debatable.
-Theodore Roosevelt — R.C. Sproul

No sinner has the right to say with impunity, 'God you owe me grace.' If grace is owed, it is not grace. The very essence of grace is its voluntary character. God reserves to himself the sovereign, absolute right to give grace to some and withhold that grace from others. — R.C. Sproul

The whole concept of providence is that God knows everything about what we do. — R.C. Sproul

When people ask me to name the Ligonier teaching material they should use to help them grow; I tell them, 'You should start with The Holiness of God.' — R.C. Sproul

Prayer is not optional for the Christian; it is required. — R.C. Sproul

The sweetest fragrance, the most beautiful aroma that God has ever detected emanating from this planet, was the aroma of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus that was offered once and for all on the cross. — R.C. Sproul

The presumptuous sin of Uzzah was that He assumed his hands were less polluted than the dirt. — R.C. Sproul

You can grieve for me the week before I die, if I'm scared and hurting, but when I gasp that last fleeting breath and my immortal soul flees to heaven, I'm going to be jumping over fire hydrants down the golden streets, and my biggest concern, if I have any, will be my wife back here grieving. When I die, I will be identified with Christ's exaltation. But right now, I'm identified with His affliction. — R.C. Sproul

Christ is "truly God and truly man" (Vera Deus, vera homo). — R.C. Sproul

The merely worldly is disparaged in all religions, rejected for its relativity. But what they mean is only that you should not forget the dependence of our reality and pretend against all evidence of change that it is constant and eternal. Praise of the world, rightly understood as a reflection of the absolute, is just as central to religion. Myths — Barbara C. Sproul

Wealth is not wisdom's goal, but is often wisdom's reward. — R.C. Sproul

The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God. — R.C. Sproul

Whatever else abortion does, it does not promote the life of the unborn child. — R.C. Sproul

The most obscene symbol in human history is the Cross; yet in its ugliness it remains the most eloquent testimony to human dignity. — R.C. Sproul

If we are to be biblical, then, the issue is not whether we should have a doctrine of predestination or not, but what kind we should embrace. — R.C. Sproul

In a universe governed by God there are no chance events. Indeed, there is no such thing as chance. Chance does not exist. It is merely a word we use to describe mathematical possibilities. But chance itself has no power because it has no being. Chance is not an entity that can influence reality. Chance is not a thing. It is nothing. — R.C. Sproul

Frenzy, the counterfeit of fervency, is a contrived attempt to simulate godly fervor. Those who deliberately manipulate
people's emotions are served warning here. There is something holy, something sovereign, about genuine spiritual fervor that cannot be manufactured artificially. It is easy to confuse frenzy and fervor, but the confusion is deadly. — R.C. Sproul

Faith is central to the motivation of the human heart to live in a way that honors God. — R.C. Sproul

As Christians continue to be vilified let us continue to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. It means we are salt, light and with Him. — R.C. Sproul Jr.

If you are of the truth, if you have learned the truth, if you see the sanctity of the truth, then speak truth. We are not called to be deceivers or liars. God is a God of truth, and His people are called to have an enormously high standard of truth. — R.C. Sproul

Once we refuse to honor God as God, our whole view of life and the world becomes distorted. — R.C. Sproul

You are required to believe, to preach, and to teach what the Bible says is true, not what you want the Bible to say is true. — R.C. Sproul

So, Nietzsche said, "Life is meaningless, but have courage anyway." Jesus also called His people to be courageous in the face of difficulty, adversity, and hostility, but He did not call them to a groundless courage. As we know, Jesus told His disciples, "Take heart" (John 16:33), or, as some translations put it, "Be of good cheer." However, He did not simply tell them to take heart for the sake of taking heart. He gave them a reason why they ought to have a sense of confidence and assurance for the Christian life. He said, "Take heart; I have overcome the world. — R.C. Sproul

The principle rule of interpreting Scripture is that Scripture interprets Scripture. — R.C. Sproul

Sproul. These were discussed in a number of ways by groups of delegates from the Advisory Board and in various partial and plenary sessions at the summit. Furthermore, written comments were solicited and received in considerable numbers. A Draft Committee composed of Drs. Clowney, — R.C. Sproul

Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power. The only kind of God we can love by our sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands. Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds His holy love in our hearts, unless He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him ... To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls. — R.C. Sproul

Chance is a perfectly good word to describe mathematic possibilities, but it is only a word. It is not an entity. Chance is nothing. It has no power because it has no being; therefore, it can exercise no influence over anything. Yet, we have sophisticated scientists today who make sober statements declaring that the whole universe was created by chance. This is to say that nothing caused something, and there is no statement more anti-scientific than that. Everything has a cause, and the ultimate cause, as we have seen, is God. — R.C. Sproul

when the Bible speaks of hope, it is not referring to a desire for a future outcome that is uncertain, but rather a desire for a future outcome that is absolutely sure. — R.C. Sproul

Our marks of piety can actually be evidences of impiety. When we major in minors and blow insignificant trifles out of proportion, we imitate the Pharisees. When we make dancing and movies the test of spirituality, we are guilty of substituting a cheap morality for a genuine one. We do these things to obscure the deeper issues of righteousness. Anyone can avoid dancing or going to movies. These requ ire no great effort of moral courage. What is difficult is to control the tongue, to act with integrity, to reveal the fruit of the Spirit. — R.C. Sproul

Truth is too important to kill it in the streets for the sake of peace. — R.C. Sproul

We persevere because we are preserved by our High Priest's intercession. — R.C. Sproul

Doctrine divides, but doctrine also unites. It binds together the hearts of God's people who celebrate the truth of God together. — R.C. Sproul

To honor God as God, we must worship Him as He and He alone decrees. — R.C. Sproul

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. — R.C. Sproul

I cannot have God in my heart if he is not in my head. Before I can believe in, I must believe that. — R.C. Sproul

The redeemed of God who are snatched from the flames by the hand of the Lord are still covered with ashes. We remain streaked with charcoal and blemished with soot. We are redeemed, but not sinless. Satan is quick to call attention to the dirt. He wants us to be more conscious of our sin than of God's mercy. — R.C. Sproul

The house that is built upon the sand will crumble at the first sign of a windstorm. — R.C. Sproul

When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, He does so to bring us to repentance and, ultimately, to bring us to reconciliation with God, to forgiveness, to healing, and to cleansing. In other words, when the Spirit of God convicts us of sin, His entire purpose and entire motive is redemptive. When Satan accuses us, perhaps of the same sin, his purpose is to destroy us. That's why Paul says: "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. — R.C. Sproul

Just so we're clear the words "free will" are not actually in the Bible. Predestination, on the other hand ... — R.C. Sproul Jr.

Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. — R.C. Sproul

General revelation provides us with the knowledge that God exists. "The heavens declare the glory of God," says the psalmist. God's glory is displayed in the works of His hands. This display is so clear and manifest that no creature can possibly miss it. It unveils God's eternal power and deity (Romans 1:18-23). Revelation in nature does not give a full revelation of God. It does not give us the information about God the Redeemer that we find in the Bible. But the God who is revealed in nature is the same God who is revealed in Scripture. — R.C. Sproul

The one place where the Christian can be naked without fear is in the presence of Christ. — R.C. Sproul

Christ exposed Himself not only to the unbridled hostility of angry men, but, more significantly, to the unmitigated wrath of God. — R.C. Sproul

Could not God originally have decreed that no one ever would be able to sin, thus — R.C. Sproul

God just doesn't throw a life preserver to a drowning person. He goes to the bottom of the sea, and pulls a corpse from the bottom of the sea, takes him up on the bank, breathes into him the breath of life and makes him alive. — R.C. Sproul

Christ is still in Christmas, and for one brief season the secular world broadcasts the message of Christ over every radio station and television channel in the land. Never does the church get as much free air time as during the Christmas season. — R.C. Sproul

We want to be saved from our misery, but not from our sin. We want to sin without misery, just as the prodigal son wanted inheritance without the father. The foremost spiritual law of the physical universe is that this hope can never be realized. Sin always accompanies misery. There is no victimless crime, and all creation is subject to decay because of humanity's rebellion from God. — R.C. Sproul

The One who knows the fullness of my sin loves me as my Father right now. — R.C. Sproul Jr.

The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the benefits of God while at the same time fleeing from God Himself. — R.C. Sproul

The cliche is that misery loves company. Another is that there is fellowship among thieves. But thieves do not seek the consoling presence of the fellowship of police officers. Sinful misery does not love the company of purity. — R.C. Sproul

Apostasy occurs when a church leaves its historic moorings, abandons its historic confessional position, and degenerates into a state where either essential Christian truths are blatantly denied or the denial of such truths is widely tolerated. — R.C. Sproul

For a Christian to be a Christian, he must first be a sinner. Being a sinner is a prerequisite for being a church member. The Christian church is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition for membership. — R.C. Sproul

Just as the church needs members with different skills, our world must have various forms of labor, interdependent and thus valuable. A world full of ministers would be without churches, bread for the Lord's Supper, and printed Bibles to read. — R.C. Sproul Jr.

I get irritated when I hear preachers say, "Come to Jesus and all your problems will be over." That's just simply a lie. — R.C. Sproul

When God issues a call to us, it is always a holy call. The vocation of dying is a sacred vocation. To understand that is one of the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn. When the summons comes, we can respond in many ways. We can become angry, bitter or terrified. But if we see it as a call from God and not a threat from Satan, we are far more prepared to cope with its difficulties. — R.C. Sproul

Government is to minister as an instrument in the hand of God to promote justice and to punish evil. — R.C. Sproul

The resurrection was God the Father's way of authenticating all of the truths that were declared by Jesus. — R.C. Sproul

Jesus suffered for us. Yet we are called to participate in His suffering. Though He was uniquely the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, there is still an application of this vocation for us. We are given both the duty and the privilege to participate in the suffering of Christ. — R.C. Sproul

Dr. Boice's commentary series is a treasure for the church and for her pastors. No expository preacher can afford to be without it. — R.C. Sproul

To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive — R.C. Sproul

There's a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect. — R.C. Sproul

The worst sin against stewardship is to waste your life. — R.C. Sproul

The kingdom of God is not of the people, by the people, or for the people. It is a kingdom ruled by a King, and God does not rule by the consent of His subjects but by His sovereign authority. His reign extends over me whether I vote for Him or not.
'The — R.C. Sproul

We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because He holds tightly to us. — R.C. Sproul

We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about. — R.C. Sproul